Toro Ramen and Poke Barn — Restaurant in San Marcos

Great food!

We started with the veggie rolls which were one of the best rolls we’ve had. There was the thin crunch from the roll on the outside and the inside was soft and flavorful. They were SO good. The sauce they served with it was equally delicious to send your palate on a flavor journey. Obviously as you can see in the picture, we were already half way done before I remembered to take the picture 😅

I love sushi but had never tried a Poke bowl. I decided to try it here and ordered it with yellowtail, tuna, and spicy tuna. It also had crab salad when they brought it out. Wow, it was incredible! I loved it.

My wife and daughter got the chicken ramen and the said it was ok. Neither the best they’ve had or the worst. My wife said it was too salty and the chicken is fried and served on the side in chunks, which was a little strange. I tried some though and thought it was pretty good.

I had to either bump this review down to 4 stars or keep it at 5 because I can’t do 4 1/2. The bathroom usually has a full star weight behind it in my reviews. It was clean, which is why I left it at 5 stars, but the handles for the faucets were broken, the paper towel dispenser was also broken, and the room could use some extra elbow grease to get it up to par. Overall though, it was clean which is my mine deciding factor.

I have to base this review on my experience and the food was amazing. If I used my wife’s and daughters feedback, it would go down to 4 stars, but everyone loved the veggie rolls and the poke bowl was awesome, so I’m keeping it at 5.

Definitely try...

Only 5 stars. Because there aren't more to give!! So, I lived in Japan for a few years and one of the staple dishes of course is ramen, in many flavors and forms. I've visited ramen shops in various states over the last year, looking for a shop that had "it" -- that flavor, that texture, that soothing something that real Japanese ramen had to offer. I thought I had found it before, but I was quite wrong. I was only in San Marcos by chance, but had to try this place out. I knew exactly what I wanted--takoyaki starter, spicy tonkatsu ramen with extra chashu and tamago. 100% delivered!

Takoyaki--crispy outside, hot soft and flavorful inside with balanced octopus pieces. Not too soft or runny on the inside, which is what I see at a lot of restaurants.

Ramen--where do I start? The broth itself was perfectly on point. Umami, thick, spicy, perfectly balanced between a saucy soup and a comforting hug. The noodles were done to perfection and clung to the broth in a wonderful symphony of noodle soup versus pasta in marinara--just enough. The chashu was soft, just salty enough and flavorful and the soy egg might have been one of my favorite parts, as many ramen shops forego the soy egg for just a soft boiled one.

Service: on point! Waitress was super attentive, made sure my water was never empty, made sure I didnt need anything else before I left.

Probably one of the best and most authentic ramen shops I've been to in the U.S. I'm sad I don't live near it tbh. Go here and...

Went with my a party of 6 ( 3 adults, 1 teen, 2 toddlers (under 3)

Ordered: Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen x2 (1 with Kale Noodles) w/ Extra egg and cha-shu , Creamy Veggie Ramen (Kale Noodles) no corn and extra egg, Tonkatsu Ramen + spicy garlic tofu + chicken wings

Let's beging with the atmosphere. There's a pungent sewage smell when you walk around the building and even first enter. It possibly could be the umami based food as the ramen itself also smelled foul but did not taste off. The bathroom is best used with nose pinched and does not feel a slight bit clean at all

The staff almost seem rushed but not rude. Not the greatest customer service but not the worse either.

The taste was great. I would come again to eat Ramen for sure. It may have smelled off a bit but didn't get sick and even gave it time before writing this review. The kale noodles were surprisingly tasty. chicken was juicy and crunchy but only like 5 wings. Ramen was a good portion and taste was excellent. Spicy Tofu was great also!

My main issue is having a party of 6 but only 4 individuals able to actually make an order, we were charged gratuity. At already 80+ dollars to charge an 18% on top of that is crazy. Especially given the fact two of the people were under 3 years old and required no ordering, we didnt even use extra plates, just bowls provided for the extra cha-shu.

I'd go back if there's less people in my party only for the taste of the ramen. But then again, I still prefer my go...