Little Big Diner — Restaurant in Newton

I know I am going to get flamed by leaving a negative review after troves of people and Zagat named it the "BEST PLACE EVER!!" First of, we ordered the chicken kara-age, it was SOOOO over-fried, that it was like chewing on chicken jerky, the portion is huge, but a huge bowl of chicken jerky. Then the ramen, the wife and I order 2 bowls of ramen, she had the non-spicy miso ramen and I ordered the Chef's Ultra Ramen. The noodles was nothing special, since anyone can buy the noodles, the regular Sun noodles. The soup was thick but bland and very very fatty. Not sure what bones are being used to make the soup, but it was VERY VERY FATTY. The soup is not the only thing, our ramens came with "chashu", its ALSO VERY VERY VERY FATTY and OILY, it almost as if that is their theme, "FATTY!!!" sure, some will say "richness" but I say fatty. The noodles was slightly over cooked as well, the bases of any "ramen" bowl is the noodles and it's screwed up already, avoid the ajitama, its WAY TOO SALTY.

I think if I ever want anything "fusion" or "new age" ramen in Boston area, I would go to Oisa in Boston (and no, I don't know the owner personally, nice lady though), at least someone there would know what real Japanese ramen is like. The wife and I can't help but to think when we where leaving LBD that this is just another one of those places that is just trying to cash in on the whole ramen craze in Boston area. The only saving grace from this place was the service, the service was great, very accommodating, I don't like the food, but I left the person that waited on us hopefully a nice tip.

Sure after reading so far, some would say..."oooh its not as oily as Yume wo Katare's soup!", well I actually think it is, but you see, thats a different style of ramen, I am not sure what LBD is trying to go for here, are they trying to make something like Pikaichi's soup? Bone broth creamy white soup style? or going with what Yume wo Katare is going for? I...

A hidden ramen gem in the Boston area!

This ramen spot is an absolute gem — one of the best ramen experiences I’ve had in the Boston area. The restaurant is quite small and cozy, so don’t expect to just walk in and get a table, especially during peak hours. They don’t take reservations, but the wait system is very efficient. We were told the wait would be about 20 minutes, and exactly 20 minutes later, we received a text that our table was ready. Super smooth and well-organized.

The vibe inside is warm and welcoming, with great music playing and a laid-back, yet energetic atmosphere. There’s also outdoor seating available in the summer, which is a fantastic bonus.

Now, onto the food: the ramen is outstanding. The menu is not overly extensive, which I actually appreciate — they focus on a few well-crafted dishes and execute them perfectly. Every option we tried was rich in flavor and cooked with obvious care. They clearly label the spicy options (and yes, you can ask for them to make it not spicy, which is great if you’re not into heat).

One cool touch is that if you’re seated at the bar, you can see straight into the kitchen through a glass panel. It’s always a good sign when a restaurant is confident enough to let customers watch the chefs at work, and everything looked clean and well-managed.

Prices are very reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food. They also offer a solid selection of beers, which pairs really well with the dishes.

The service was excellent: fast, friendly, and attentive without being overbearing. Everyone we interacted with was polite and seemed genuinely happy to be working there.

All in all, this place nails it — from the food to the atmosphere to the service. Definitely worth the wait. Highly...

I should preface this review by saying I work in the service industry and have for 15 years. I am also extremely patient when it comes to eating out because I know first hand how crazy things can be, especially now when everyone is short staffed and spread thin. That said, after being quoted 30 minutes, we waited for over an hour to be seated (which we weren’t mad about because no one can predict how quickly customers will move through a meal). After we sat down, we were served drinks and asked if we wanted to put something in so we ordered an appetizer. The appetizer was dropped without a word and no one took our order. We finished the app, even stacked our menus and waited for someone to take our order. No one came over for our order for 40 minutes. One waitress was 100% preoccupied with organizing the take-out orders and the other was chatting with a table of people who were clearly her friends. (The table was directly next to ours and not once did she glance our way or pause her conversation). There were only 10 tables in a very small space and between the two waitresses, no one cleared the 4 dirty tables, refilled our waters or drinks, took away the empty appetizer plate or took our order. We decided we weren’t going to stay and put out credit card on the table to try to cash out and we were still not helped for another 10 minutes. The woman I was with said she had eaten here before and that it was amazing so hopefully this was a fluke but we couldn’t believe how terrible the...