Ramen Gaijin — Restaurant in Sebastopol

The sad thing is that we genuinely have been wanting to come here for years. We don't go out often so when we do we try to support local and try new spots. I had heard so many amazing things about Ramen Gajin but unfortunately we will not be coming back. I can only assume the rest of the staff is extremely pleasant and wonderful, hence the high praise from others. But I have yet to meet someone as bitter and rude as our waitress. I didn't catch her name but she is recognizable by her tattoos and sour attitude towards her customers.

We came as a party of 5, all coworkers from a local employer. We were celebrating our recent engagement and were excited to finally go to Gaijin. That excited QUICKLY turned into a massive disappointment and terrible night. When we go out to dinner I will happily spend any amount of money on cocktails/appetizers and anything the staff recommends. We usually cook at home so when we go out we do our best to support local, tip well and splurge on delicious Sonoma County food.

This server we had was hands down the rudest woman we have ever had help us; and I almost hesitate to use the word help. We were nothing but polite and easy going. Ordering three of the same cocktails and one Mr. Fox but even that seemed to annoy this woman. We brushed it off as maybe she just had a bad day but her egregious attitude persisted throughout the night. Our table was geniunely as to how above and beyond this waitress went at being rude. At one point I politely ask if they do anything for couples looking to celebrate. Maybe a special bottle of sparkling they could recommend or a unique dessert. All we got was a rude "We can put a candle in something if you buy a dessert." I wish I could have the audio and body language of this waitress to show in a way other than text because it was such a cold response.

On top of that we were trying to enjoy sake and since we've only had sake twice in our lives we made the mistake of bothering our waitress for a suggestion. Luckily one of my coworkers who was with us knew about sake so she explained to us what to pair best. At least one person at the table was helpful. The only "suggestions" our waitress kept offering was upsells and trying to make as much money as she could from us. At this point I was about to get up and say something to a manager, but I didn't want to ruin a night that was already going sour.

Normally I never leave bad reviews. This pains me to be so critical but it was to the point where this woman was rude to our entire table and we were nothing but nice to her. We paid a $323 tab on one card so as to make it as simple as we could for her. Whatever her assumptions were of us or how she perceived us has made a lasting impression. We have made it a point at work to share our story about this unapologetically rude waitress. We are in our mid twenties and we were all dressed nice, were cordial and respectful yet for some reason this waitress went out of her way to be as cold and disrespectful as humanely possible.

I genuinely wish this establishment well and I know it will do amazing. The food was 10/10 but my goodness this woman. Whatever her name is, please know that the way you treat people is deplorable and downright upsetting. A place as elegant as Ramen Gaijin deserves better than this woman. Between our table we have over 10+ years of customer service and hands down have yet to meet anyone worse than...

As a 20 year resident of Tokyo with 2,000 bowls of ramen slurped, I have to say I was not expecting a whole lot but I was pleased to find this to be a more than passable ramen.

I ordered the Shoyu ramen with scallion topping and Sapporo noodles. (Rye noodles were the default but let’s be real that just makes it a soba. I found it ridiculous that I had to pay to switch the noodles)

Soup: seafood and animal stock, probably chicken and pork. Good dashi and tare combination, making this a rich but not overwhelming soup that was very repeatable. 8/10

Noodle: the Sapporo noodle was fine. I would have preferred chijire style noodles with slightly higher water content but it had a decent chew and most importantly they didn’t overcook the noodles. 6/10

Toppings: the pork belly was the best part. Well cooked, tender, and it was a generous portion. Well done! I’d go easier on the soy and add a touch more sugar and mirin to give it a better salt to sweet ratio but it was fantastic. The egg was executed well, but nothing mind blowing. The kikurage mushrooms, while not traditional, worked. Leek could be slightly thicker cut as it lacked the presence to stand up to the chashu. Can’t believe they charge two dollars for a tablespoon of scallion. It was needed to add more punch to the anemic leek topping, but come one guys, two bucks for this is ridiculous - just throw it in the noodles and stop nickel and diming. Chashu:9/10 Rest of the toppings: 4/10

Service: nonexistent. Waited five minutes just to find a waiter so that I can pay. Do they actually expect a tip? I received my noodles over the counter from the friendly kitchen staff. I left a small tip but this further deteriorated the value factor.

While there was certainly room for improvement, this was good ramen for the US and probably the best I’ve had so far. 30 dollars for a bowl of noodles plus a tip is crazy though. For 20 I’d come on the regular but the value is sadly not there to warrant more than a couple of visits a year.

Thanks for the delicious bowl and hope you guys take this constructively.

How about lunch specials, guys? That’d go a long way toward making a regular customer out of me. Some cold noodles (hiyashi tantanmen, anyone?) would be awesome in the...

This was incredibly disappointing/enraging, especially after reading reviews and seeing that it was a Michelin Bib. We (my wife and I) were there on a Saturday night at 7pm. We were promptly seated after checking in for our reservation and had a pretty incompetent waitress.

1. With my diabetes, I had to ask about carbs and if they would make any substitutions. Nope, wouldn't budge, and she didn't even apologize or offer suggestions; it was just a dry "no substitutions." I didn't want to cause a stink (after all, I knew it was ramen which is just full carbs). I opted for their short ribs (sans rice) and kara-age chicken. To prepare for the fried chicken, I injected insulin, expecting to eat in a normal amount of time. An hour goes by and still nothing, not even an explanation or apology. This is when timing is everything, because without carbs, the insulin will hit and cause my blood sugar to drop. Luckily, I always carry candy on me, but it should never resort to that. Eventually the food came, and my short ribs were four tiny pieces of beef on a plate. I understand that I omitted the rice, but at least make it look appetizing. The chicken and ramen (with one slice of pork) were decent enough in terms of flavor, but it wasn't worth the time and price.

2. If that wasn't enough, we ordered a large carafe of hot sake, and halfway through, we poured out an ant into my cup. When it was brought to the hostess's attention, her response was "oh, we've had an ant problem." So you're telling me they KNOW there's a problem and don't even check their cups/carafes or apologize! This was all levels of bad bad bad.

3. HERE'S THE BEST/WORST PART. They decided to add EXTRA tip for themselves! You better believe that I am disputing this with my credit card. WOW. Will never repeat nor recommend. Shame on Michelin for this Bib...