Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya — Restaurant in Tacoma

I haven't been to Kizuki in like 7 or so years and that was one of their Seattle locations, so I was really excited to hear that one in Tacoma opened up! My boyfriend and I decided to stop by as he is a huge Attack on Titan fan and they recently started a collab with Kizuki! As we spotted their location inside the mall, we saw cool Attack on Titan decals and were greeted warmly by one of the employees who then guided us to our table. I love that the tables already have menus on top of them and we started looking at what we wanted to eat and drink. My boyfriend got the chashu ramen combo with the lychee lemonade, I got the spicy ramen combo with the passionfruit lemonade, and we got the chicken karaage izakaya combo. My boyfriend also got the T-shirt which was really cool and apparently they are going to be raising the price starting today so glad we went the day prior!

The space was gorgeous and I love how cozy the ambiance was. It was brightly lit and they were play different decades of Japanese pop which was nice. I love that there is a cute storage of napkins and forks at the table that holds the sauces or seasoning as well as paper straws. The employees were great about checking in on customers throughout their dining but not too much or too little. It was the perfect spot to be at during the chilly autumn weather. The Attack on Titan collab artwork and decals were placed in such organized and perfect spots throughout the restaurant windows and there were two standees at the entrance.

Now for drinks and food, we got our drinks first and they were just given to us in regular cups. When we asked our waiter about the special cups that the drinks were supposed to come in, our waiter politely told us that he would get us the cups to take home which was thoughtful as it would be pain to take them when they had lemonade in them. I enjoyed my passionfruit lemonade but felt my boyfriend's lychee lemonade tasted a little off. Then, we got our chicken karaage and it was delicious! We really loved the sauce and I really like the meat inside as it was tender. Then we got our ramen and those bowls may look small but they are deceptively huge with their toppings, noodles, and broth! I wanted to try my boyfriend's broth and get more broth but I underestimated how much of my food that I had, so I didn't get a chance to try it out.. I also am very happy and impressed with their spicy level as I ordered hot and they delivered so be wary for those who cannot handle spicy. I did add more chili oil and togarashi though because I'm a sucker for spiciness. I felt the pork broth was too salty and wished they had a less sodium option available but it seems that's only their shoyu ramen broth. The chashu was also salty but I did like it as it was huge and tender. I usually drink all my broth in all the other ramen spots I go to and I would have loved to do the same at Kizuki but it was just too salty for me.

We really appreciate the service here as everyone was friendly and helpful during our time here, even when they were an hour away from closing. We look forward to coming back and trying out...

I admit, I waited far too long to try this place! Went out to walk around the mall with my lady and baby, we decided to go here on a whim when none of the food court options looked appetizing and were more than pleasantly surprised! We couldn't decide on one thing so we got an assortment. I got the spicy ramen in regular with a yuzu soda, my lady got the spicy chicken tan tan with a coke, an order of chicken karaage, and a Japanese bun with pork belly. First of all the food came out quick and fresh starting with the pork bun. The bun was exquisitely soft, the cucumbers and green onion perfectly offset the richness of the pork belly and the three accompanying sauces each added something different(kewpie mayo, hoisin and spicy mustard). A moment later came out the karaage which was piping hot and beautifully crisp with the flavors of the marinade coming through, but dipping it in the spicy sauce (in my oppinion) is where it really shined! Before we knew it our ramen hit the table and the smell of it alone was enough to make me melt. It was simply delightful for both of us! Every item in both of the bowls was prepared to perfection and I could not have been more satisfied. Unfortunately they were out of classic ramune(which I am a ho for lol) it is nobody's fault as I know shipping is wonky right now, but that yuzu soda was on point and is highly recommended. One last thing I can't rave about enough was the service! I worked in the industry for 17 years so I notice the little things and he was just great. Made room for our stroller before I even thought to ask, was attentive but not hovering, willing to explain things without exasperation, flowed seamlessly from table to table and then some! I am kicking myself for not remembering our servers name but if the owner/manager sees this we were there 3/3/22 at about 3:20ish. That guy...

I have not eaten Kizuki in some years, last time was in Southcenter. I remembered it was amazing. My memory brought me back when I noticed one nearby here in Tacoma, but my latest experience will most likely keep me from returning again.

We arrived and were seated right away, off to a good start! For mains we got the only vegetarian option, and a chicken one.

The vegetarian option comes with mushrooms but I was told while ordering they were out. We got there at like 430? It wasn't even dinner rush and they're out of main ingredients? They were going to substitute tofu but... it ended up being sad, bland medium/soft tofu with absolutely nothing done to it. Like literally just a block of raw tofu put into the bowl sliced into massive squares. The broth base was bland, lacked salt and I couldn't find any hint of that rich, delicious miso flavor that should've been unmistakable. There was also a sizeable dollop of spicy chili sauce, enough to make the entire dish spicy and the menu doesn't mention anything about it at all. It's a cheap ruse to disguise bland vegetarian food with overt spiciness to pretend it has flavor. I only ended up eating half. It was nothing like I remember and not something I can recommend at all. And since that's my only option... I guess that's a wrap for Kizuki.

The chicken option my partner got had a piece of dark meat chicken he said tasted boiled, no seasoning, and had a huge piece of fat on it.

The servers and staff were all nice but we were left completely unattended, no one checked on us, a woman bussed a nearby table and set their dirty dishes on our table to take only some of ours away.

I'm going to assume this just wasn't their night, no hard feelings but... for almost $60, we won't be back....