Marufuku Ramen — Restaurant in San Diego

Easily some of the best chicken ramen I ever had. Our server told us RakiRaki was their biggest competitor? RakiRaki doesn't even come close.

Marafuku Ramen, located in the Sky Deck in Del Mar was a relaxing spot. It wasn't busy so that was nice, and considering the location being surrounded by many other businesses it is rather comforting.

Our server, Jocelyn, had outstanding service. She was very nice and attentive and familiarized us with the menu. Always nice when employees do this cause it makes deciding easier the next time around.

My wife and I ordered the gyoza, and the frozen strawberry lemonade. The gyoza was average nothing crazy, but definitely better than RakiRaki's gyoza... and the frozen lemonade was bomb. It is 8 bucks so I probably wouldn't get it again just cause its lemonade but it was good. I ordered the chicken paitan ramen, which is what they are known for I believe. The ramen comes with a side of 18 hour (?) marinated chicken thigh. Limited to only 15 servings a day! So I was lucky enough to snag one. A pricey ramen for sure coming in at a total of $21.95. Just the chicken ramen with no chicken leg is $18.00.

And, this establishment did something really nice that other places just wouldn't do. So personally I don't like a bunch of stuff in my ramen. Preferably just egg, noodles, and green onion. The ramen originally came with a bunch of stuff in it, so I just shrunk it down to just green onion and egg. Then she asked me if I wanted to add something in it instead for free as like a substitute for the stuff I removed. I was shocked! I asked if I could get an extra egg and she said yeah no problem. And yeah the egg was free. So many other places would just take all the stuff out and if you wanted to replace it with something else, they'd probably charge you. Especially an egg, so that was just awesome because I always get an extra egg and it was nice to be free.

I got my ramen and it was amazing. I love creamy ramen and my ramen was creamy, rich, and very savory. A nice thing about this place too is that you can adjust the spice level on your ramen. Some of the BEST chicken ramen I have ever had. The thigh was also amazing, the meat fell right off the bone and paired really well with the ramen.

The typical basic ramen is tonkatsu, but I rarely get it just because it is pork. Therefore, I am unaware how the tonkatsu ramen is but if you like chicken ramen, especially creamy and flavorful ramen then I...

Classic bait-and-switch scheme here. Beware!

When initially inquiring about happy hour special, server made no mention of the requirement that 1 alcoholic beverage must be purchased for each happy hour (HH) food item in order to partake in the HH food specials.

My party was lured in as the server literally, initially and ONLY said they offer HH and that nearly all the appetizers are on HH special except the edamame. Server failed to mention the alcoholic drinks requirement. Sever did not show us HH menu with the fine print either.

Once party was seated, another server assigned to the table disclosed the 1 alcoholic drink for each appetizer requirement. It left my party feeling awkward as some members in party were sober and for medical reasons couldn't drink alcohol. When telling the server this and how they initially failed to mention this, the server said there was nothing they could do. To avoid embarrassment, my party stayed and we ordered appetizers (only got 1 on HH special) and I only ordered 1 drink, but felt horrible drinking in front of them.

The server and restaurant failed to make a reasonable accommodation. Their policy assumes everyone who attends HH drinks alcoholic beverages. Newsflash, some people go to HH just to have something to eat and not drink alcohol. Newsflash, there are also people who cannot drink alcohol for various reasons… Why should they have to pay full price on HH food? I have never been to a happy hour that requires you purchasing 1 alcoholic drink for each HH food item you order. Ridiculous policy for it being 2024. If they’re sticking to this backward policy, they need to be fully transparent with this and reiterate it a few times.

When the general manager was called the following day to bring this to her attention, she was rude, combative, and had a dismissive, entitled attitude. She basically said she didn’t want us coming back. Yes, your shop is in Del Mar, but do better...

Normally, I would give a positive review to this restaurant. I'm always keen to leave a positive review. You ask, "well what happened to you that could be so horrible?" 🤔 I will tell you. First off, I ordered the chicken Paitan, something I previously ordered and enjoyed, a salad and a topping of three extra meats. These have all proven to be yum yum meals in the past. However, this time, the waiter was negligent. He did not ask the spice level i wanted and gave me mild. No spice. It seemed much more flavorless than normal but I did not complain. I can add the spices that they provide on the table. I asked for no mushrooms and then of course, I asked for my chicken topping. Three extra bits of chicken that will be in my soup.

The chicken came out around 10 minutes before my soup.... why. I thought it was supposed to be... a topping... I put the chicken to my lips to take a bite because I was hungry whilst waiting for the soup I ordered to satiate my hunger. A shiver crawls down my spine. The chicken was ICE COLD! Third strike.... you are out. At this point, I became upset with my order but did not mention it. 😐 I guess the soup can warm up my chicken TOPPING... (why was it not on top of my soup?)

Ok whatever, i will warm it up with my soup. But before I put in the extra chicken, I noticed the fungus in my soup that I had requested be removed. I took a bite of my chicken that was pre implemented into the soup. COLD COLD COLD. 🥶 🤧

I was real upset at this point but still held onto hope. I put my three extra bits of chicken (one bite taken out) what happened next... the chicken cooled down my soup to an unpleasant lukewarm.

I drove home in an unpleasant mood. What made this worse is that I ate here (at dinner time) but it was only an hour after they opened.

This used to be my go to place for yum yum meals but I don't really want to go...