Otsuka Ramen — Restaurant in Tampa

We ordered 3 bowels of ramen from this location and I ordered a custom ramen bowel. We did Uber eats pick up and as soon as I started to eat it when I got home, I noticed something floating around. I thought it was a seasoning chunk but upon further investigation, it was a small bug (photos attached). We have ordered from here before and we didn't have any issues, which is why we ordered again. When I called the restaurant to let them know this happened, I did inform them we would dispute it through Uber eats but I wanted to inform them this happened in case of malpractice in their work place, they hung up the phone on me.

I was not looking to complain as we could get our money back from Uber but at least inform the restaurant this happened. Considering they hung up on me says enough. I did not try to reach out again.

(Edit: forgot to mention) This incident upset the rest of my party who were eating with me and they decided to not continue to eat theirs just in case.

(Update: 6/13/2024) After reviewing the restaurants response, I went into a search for whose phone number they called. My number, nor my boyfriend’s number who made the order on Uber eats end in those numbers. Neither of us got any type of voicemail (of course since the number is wrong). Also the phone did not disconnect, I heard the person hang up the phone. I work with phones all day, i know what a phone sounds like when they hang up. All the person said on the phone was “I’m sorry” and hung up.

I appreciate the response from the restaurant and their angle of trying to help fix the situation and have provided me information to contact them. I am no longer interested in trying to dine the future with them so I don’t see a point in reaching out. The atmosphere was really nice though, I liked the anime...

After trying countless ramen places throughout Tampa Bay, I've finally found the ramen place of my dreams!!

5 stars for service, cleanliness, and the food. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive, knowledgeable about the menu and offered great suggestions when asked. I especially appreciated when my boyfriend ordered some extra meat on the side, and she asked if it was ok if 2 of the different meats were in the same dish touching. It may seem insignificant, but to me it tells me she is conscience of people's possible food allergies, and I really appreciated that!

Appetizers ordered were the takoyaki and fried shrimp shumai. For the shumai, it was love at first bite. I've always ordered it as steamed in the past, and I wished I had known about the fried version sooner. Holy cow, my taste buds floated to cloud 9. The takoyaki was also amazing, not too soggy or undercooked, with the right amount of crunch. The flavors of the sauce and mayo was smooth and savory. Excellent on both!

My bf ordered the Spicy Miso (number 20 on the menu) and I gave the Wagyu ramen a try. Full bodied, tasteful, savory broth paired amazing with the beef and added chashu. I firmly believe the broth is what makes or breaks a ramen dish, and this one is bussin! Not your watered down Americanized broth!

Don't pass this little place up, the plaza may be quiet but this place is making moves. Plenty of parking and the place is Very clean. Plus you can watch anime while you eat. You get your money's worth as the bowl is pretty decent size. I can't wait to go back and try more on the menu; this is my new frequent...

Ok let me start off with service was great atmosphere was OK granted it was noon on a Saturday. Now onto the food Gyoza appetizer was absolutely spot on. So I was excited to taste the Ramen and I must be honest I was very very underwhelmed. Now I lived in Japan for 6+ years visited many different prefectures all across Japan that have their own variation of ramen, such as the tonkotsu ramen of Kyushu and the miso ramen of Hokkaido. One thing that is very prominent is the broth everything else just adds to the flavor palette. I'm not sure why the dishes here have cilantro in them?!?! It's not a popular herb in Japan and hasn't been favored by the Japanese because of its pungent flavor. Usually the only greens you see on a Ramen is nori ( dried seaweed) and scallions. The beef is thin but gave off the steak-ums vibe. The noodles personally were just like a package ramen you get from the grocery store. The Japanese take pride in everything they serve and unfortunately while it looked good the flavors were just not there for me personally and $130+ tip bill seems a little steep for a family of 4. Considering Ramen in Japan will run you about 800 - 1000 yen ($5 - $7) and tipping is seen as a insult to the chefs. Im going to give the Valrico location a fair shot and see if it's any better as that's the one my wife told me about. The Tampa location was just closer to us at the time. Fingers crossed that the next review for the Valrico location will be much...