Myself and the foodie gang tried this place out today. I had been hearing about the ramen here so I wanted to give it a try. Overall this place is pretty solid but there were a few things that kept me from giving it 5 stars. The first thing is they offer a combo that comes with Tokyo Tonkotsu Shouyu ramen, a bao pork bun, a dessert, and a drink. I asked if I could swap the ramen out from the one that comes with the combo to one of my choosing. It was a no. I had to get the one that is offered with the combo even though most of the other ramen dishes are the same price or like $1 to $2 difference. Why not allow your customers to pay the difference if they choose a different ramen or pick one that is the same price point as the one being offered in the combo. One of the appetizers we ordered was the Takoyaki Octopus Balls. They were decent. Not the best I've had in ATL (that award still belongs to Hijame). The next thing is the popcorn chicken. I usually carry my own Tabasco Sriracha sauce and oh how I wish I had it with me this time. The chicken was screaming for some type of sauce to dip it in due to being severely under seasoned. The chicken was cooked really well though. I liked the crunch of it. Needless to say that dish was underwhelming. The ramen dishes we tried were the Sapporo Miso Ramen, 1 mild and 1 spicy, and the Kyushu Tonkotsu Shio. They were all delicious. The flavors of the ramens came together very well. Next up are the dessert dishes. I really could have done without either one of these. Not that tasty at all. We had the matcha pudding and the Japanese cherry blossom. We also ordered the Grapefruit Tea with aloe. I do recommend ordering this if you just love fresh Grapefruit like I do. Service was pretty good. They have a button at the table that you can push whenever you need assistance. My last gripe is I just absolutely hate it when restaurants add the tax when calculating the tip amount. Tips are to be calculated pre-tax. I have no idea why so many restaurants are calculating with tax included. Nothing I cant fix myself but it annoys me to have to go back and calculate. Like I said Overall solid but a few gripes that kept it from receiving 5 stars. Would I eat there again? A pretty good chance. I would just have to be in the sandy springs area due to living in the city. I probably would not drive out of my way again...
Read moreCute new ramen place in Sandy Springs! I tested this new spot yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The interior space was very modern and cute, with hexagon cubby-style booths lining one wall, regular tables in the middle, bar seating overlooking the kitchen, and a few secluded private booths too. The restaurant shared the space with a bubble tea bar too, complete with a meal-delivering robot.
We sat in the cute hexagon booth at the very top, and got to overlook the whole restaurant, which was cool! The booths were roomy for two, but I don't know that you could comfortably fit more than a party of two in each one.
We ordered the pork bao appetizer to start, and these were very yummy. The pork belly was very tender and the serving was considerably large compared to other places that serve baos. The bun even had the restaurant name branded on the outside (see photo) which was unique!
For my meal, I ordered the kimchi ramen, which was flavorful and filling. I forgot to take a photo before I dug in, but the presentation was nice! The portion was large and I had enough to take home for leftovers. I also ordered the brown sugar milk tea with tapioca, which was pretty sweet but delicious! (At the actual boba counter there is a full menu with options to adjust sweetness level.) There was just the right amount of boba for the small cup.
Our server was also very friendly and helped us when we needed it. The hexagon booths feature a call button on the wall which is helpful when you need to get server's attention without making them climb the booth stairs a thousand times to check on us.
My only critique is that the physical menu is kinda vague, and from what I saw it does not have details on the different ramen broth options. There are a few similar options on the menu and we wouldn't have known the difference between them had we not asked our server about it. The actual names of the ramen will describe the meaning, but unless you are a ramen-expert, you probably don't know the difference between Shouyu and Shio broths.
All-in-all I definitely recommend this place for a quick and...
Read moreMy initial impression was that the decor was unique, which is probably what many people's first impressions were. The honeycomb structure is adorable. My wife and I were seated at the top right corner, and as we were climbing, I immediately felt that the stairs were far too narrow. So narrow and so high in fact, that as I lifted my foot up to the final step, the anti-slip grip that used, which covered even the vertical part of the step for some reason, scraped against my shin and created a 3x2 inch patch of bloody scrapes.
Staff fortunately had bandages on hand, but that it was a pretty poor start to the evening. I ordered a Ramen combo, and my wife got the Omurice combo. Everything was relatively bland, by based on the temperature of the food and the relative quickness by which it came out, I could tell that most parts of the dish had been made in advance and been sitting under a heat-lamp for at least 20 minutes, with some finishing touches done at time of order.
I wrote all this in hope that it can be of some constructive criticism. Please fix the stairs, and spend some time on making the food to order. It doesn't need to come out in 3 minutes. I don't mind waiting 10-15 minutes for better food. One positive note is that your staff is incredibly well trained and polite, which was the high note...
Read more