Nara Ramen and Sushi Bar - Meridian — Restaurant in Meridian

Truly one of the worst dining experience I’ve experienced. Short version: the food is bad, the service/management severely lacking. Would not recommend to anyone.

Long version: stopped in for lunch on a Thursday. It’s a sit down place and when I got there around 4-5 tables were seated. No wait staff in sight, just a few sushi chefs behind the bar. The front has a “wait to be seated sign.” There wasn’t really someone manning the front of the restaurant though. A server did come out fairly quickly and seated me. I ordered the agedashi tofu and a ramen. The agedashi tofu was neither authentic nor tasty. The tofu was coated in a thick batter and the sauce was weirdly sour. It tasted unlike any agedashi tofu I’ve had before. The ramen was just as bad. The soup itself was too salty, and the one slice of pork in the dish was half burnt, dry and overcooked. The service unfortunately only made things worse. The two servers waiting the tables were college-age at best. My server ended up chatting with another customer for 5 minutes instead of checking to see if my food was ready. After the ramen was served she didn’t come back to check if everything was ok. I had to wave her down to let her know the pork was not edible. No apology or anything, just asked if I wanted to get another piece instead. She probably has heard the same complaint many times. When the second piece of pork came, it was cold. Clearly the pork was cooked who know when and is not freshly made. Overall this Nara is completely unacceptable as a food service establishment. I’ve been to various Nara locations over the past few years and every time the experience has gotten a little worse, and this last time is completely horrible. I strongly recommend you take your money and spend it elsewhere. Clearly Nara has opened too many locations and they don’t really care about running a good restaurant and serving good food. What a...

I’ve never tried their sushi before so I have nothing to say about the taste. However I ordered sushi this night on a Friday at 7 pm with both door dash AND their own website saying it would be a 20 minute wait to pick up. I ordered through their website and called after 20 minutes after receiving no text or email about my order they said it would be done at 745 latest and I even asked if they were sure so I’d know what time to leave. The girl on the phone wasn’t rude but dismissive saying it’s busy she can’t do anything I said ok but you should let someone know about the website she didn’t even respond to that. Which again I get it is busy but having your website have no accurate waiting time? That’s pretty ridiculous. I get there at 45 they say 10 more minutes, so I’m confused to why I was told to be there at that time. So now 20 minutes turned into an hour. Go back in and they say it’ll be another ten? This is bizarre, so many things could’ve been done up to this point and I was offered no apology and just passive aggressive answer like “its busy i don’t know what to tell you” no genuine apology and such a lack at organization and customer service. We go back in 10 minutes later and are told they haven’t even started the order… This was a horrible experience and such a waste of our time we didn’t even get the food just a refund and a 20$ gift card as an apology which again is nice but this was just the worst experience. I understand stress and being busy but having incorrect wait times, employees giving out wrong information, and lacking any empathy or compassion is just...

After losing our beloved neighborhood bar, Homestead, we were all feeling a bit lost. The new spot that took over didn’t quite hit the mark, but then we stumbled upon Nara Ramen & Sushi Bar—and WOWZA, what a game changer!

Let’s start with the appetizers: tempura veggies and tempura jalapeño poppers—yup, you read that right. YUM doesn’t even begin to cover it! Then came the show-stoppers: the Rose Roll and Firecracker Roll. Every bite was packed with flavor and pure joy.

Now, about the drinks—Long Island Iced Tea, emphasis on Long Island! Delicious and dangerously smooth (maybe they should include an Uber voucher? Haha, just kidding… kind of). It’s clear that Nara is bringing the neighborhood bar vibe back!

Here’s the kicker(winner!!): the price. Ready? Five rolls, two appetizers, two (yes, alcoholic) drinks, and a tip—all for just $76. That’s not just good, that’s pre-Covid prices, baby! Okay, maybe not 100%, but for that quality? Absolute value!

The only thing missing? A little nighttime pizzazz—like karaoke, trivia, or other fun activities. But I’ve got a feeling they’ll bring the party soon enough.

If you’re looking for delicious food, amazing drinks, and an awesome atmosphere, this is the spot. Trust me, you’ll leave happy, full, and already planning...