The Kazoku — Restaurant in Longmont

We had a friend come in from out of town for a bit of a ski trip. Tonight was our last night and he was excited to see some of the cool places Longmont had to offer. We proposed a few options like The Roost or Westside Tavern. He was a bit dehydrated and asked if there was somewhere that had a good soup. We weren't sure but ended up finding this place with an astonishing 200+ reviews and 4.7 stars! From the reviews we saw, the artsy logo, stylish interior we were excited to say the least and ended up getting a group together to tryout Longmont's top rated ramen shop. As we entered we were greeted by a polite waitress who complemented us and asked us to sit wherever we would like. We were the only ones in the restaurant but we didn't find this that unusual for a Sunday night. We ended up getting some takoyaki as an appetizer and they came out on a bed of cabbage and covered in hoisin sauce and each got a dollop of Japanese mayonnaise. They had forgotten to bring us plates but it was alright as takoyaki is only about a bite each anyway. These were packed with flavor as you could imagine from anything covered in hoisin and mayo. Along with our appetizer we each got a ramen and they were not good. The pork on top was nice and had a bit of a char to it but not dry. There was half a seasoned egg in each they were a little overcooked but I think the issue was more that they were still cold and it cooled down the broth. The broth itself was just watery and the noodles were overcooked as well. None of us ended up finishing the dishes despite having not eaten since the morning. We left feeling a bit awkward and hungry and ended up getting some Taco Palace before we left for the airport. After further exploring some of the other reviews I believe the restaurant is aware of the issues and is working on it to try and improve. Overall I think they have a lot of potential and hopefully I can update this review after my...

Update Monday morning:

Y’all… it got worse. I called to take advantage of the refund with no intention of accepting another meal on the house. It’s a solid move on their part but once bitten, twice shy with an allergy for this dude.

The man who answered the phone processed the refund kindly and then as we were about to disconnect this guy tells me that sometimes purveyors don’t put all of the ingredients on their packaging.

To understand my reaction, please know that I’ve spent 20 years in the restaurant industry, both front and back of house. I know for a fact that even if this were true (it’s not) that it’s still the restaurants responsibility not to poison its customers. Especially when the customer says “this thing will poison me, am I safe to eat here?”

I was pretty direct with him about the fact that it’s an amateur move to try and blame the purveyor. You never know who you’re talking to and now instead of telling everyone how they gracefully handled an error my story about The Kazoku will be one of unmet expectations and lack of accountability.

The owner should be embarrassed.

——-original review———- Regrettably this place is not safe for allergies. I did my diligence and spoke with the person on the phone and double checked upon arrival. I probably should have spoke up when she said “you should probably be ok”

Disappointing because it’s obvious from the decor and the menu that the proprietors are either professionals or highly skilled home cooks. The food was well prepared and gorgeous, too bad it’s given me a reaction despite my bringing up my allergy...

We are very discerning when it comes to ramen. Since moving from SoCal where there’s an abundance of ramen spots, we’ve struggled to find a place we really enjoy.

Until we found The Kazoku.

Every other place we’ve tried has let us down in one way or another whether it be the broth, noodles, marinated egg, chashu pork, or a combination of the above. It’s hard to find a coherent bowl of ramen and this is.

This spot has everything just about perfect in our opinion. We order the tonkotsu black and the broth has excellent flavor, the chashu pork is cooked excellently and has a good ratio of lean/fattiness, and the egg is marinated to perfection and cooked just the right amount. The only thing we aren’t crazy about are the noodles (we are used to house made but this is a big ask) - this is easy to overlook when every other aspect is so well done. My only other wish would be for the egg to be on top of all the other toppings but this may only be an issue for takeout.

Super friendly service and a very cozy indoor/outdoor seating area. Looking forward to more visits, it’s hard to keep ourselves away!

P.s. I recommend adding extra chashu if you get...