Kyuramen x TBAAR - Garden City — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

Our visit to Kyuramen for their much-hyped ramen was met with mixed feelings. While the restaurant had a cozy interior and convenient parking, the overall dining experience left much to be desired.

Location & Parking: Kyuramen x TBAAR is located at 988 Franklin Ave, Garden City, NY 11530, with a parking lot accessible via 9th or 10th street. It's wheelchair accessible.

Interior: Upon entering the restaurant (from the parking lot), you'll find a bubble tea take-out area before walking down the hallway to reach the dining area. The interior has a warm oak color, and seating options include booths, tables, bird cages, and a bar. Servers are dressed in black, and the atmosphere is cozy and comfortable.

Table Setting & Menu: We ordered the #1 Tonkotsu Ramen, which was listed as "Tokyo Tonkotsu Shouyu" on the menu. The server didn't seem very familiar with the dishes and had trouble understanding our orders. My partner ordered the "Sapporo Miso Ramen", but there was no option for customizing the noodles. I was disappointed that they didn't have the chicken Kara-age I was hoping for, and settled for the Ika Geso Kara-age (Fried Squid). The chopsticks were square-shaped and long, typical of the Chinese restaurant.

Serving: The ramen arrived before the appetizer, which was unexpected. The server also held the bowl with one hand, with his thumb touching the inside of my bowl. Not very sanitary or professional.

Taste: The Tonkotsu Ramen with black garlic (which cost an extra dollar) lacked the deep flavor I was hoping for, and the pork slice was below average. The Sapporo Miso Ramen was decent but nothing special, and the soup was cooler than expected. The Ika Geso Kara-age was fishy and oil not well-drained. The absence of any dipping sauce was also disappointing.

Overall Thoughts: While the ramen came out quickly, the overall dining experience was underwhelming. Kyuramen is definitely not for ramen enthusiasts, and the prices (around $50 for two bowls of ramen and an appetizer) are steep for the quality of food served. While this is the only Kyuramen franchise I've been to, if you're looking for a casual dining experience, then Kyuramen may be worth checking out. However, if you've visited some of the nicer spots in Manhattan, you may find this restaurant to be disappointing.

While Kyuramen has its charms, the ramen experience left much to be desired. If you're looking for high-quality ramen, there are other options in the area...

Disappointing experience- Disappointing Menu changes with no offer for accommodation Bare minimum service that demonstrated a lack of communication between staff only made situation worse.

Originally tried the Huntington location of this restaurant and LOVED it. Favorite menu item was the teriyaki beef rice burger. A few months ago tried the Garden City location and found it comparable. The burger wasn't as good here, but the chicken appetizer was crispier. There's also a shrill high frequency sound coming from the air conditioning, but it was worth trying to disregard.

Came back this week and was completely disappointed. Our main reasons for coming here were the teriyaki rice burger and the sweet potato fries. As soon as we noticed the teriyaki burger wasn't on the menu we were very disappointed. We asked the server if they still had it she said no dismissing it very quickly when we were clearly disappointed. Then we asked if you could still do the sweet potato fries with the rice burger as we ordered a different rice burger like the previous deal and she said no you can't but you can pay for a side of them. I understand menu changes are out of server's control, but she seemed to show very little sympathy to our disappointment.

To make matters worse we got one meal (ramen) 2 minutes after ordering before any appetizers and before the other meal came out. Most people want to eat together, so this is frustrating. Most people also want to eat appetizers before meals. There was no apology for this or attempt to correct.

Wondering if this location changed management and is now cutting corners. Removed a great menu item I'm assuming because the menu doesn't have many other beef items so what it wasn't worth ordering? And the waitstaff while one girl seemed very hardworking and pleasant, the other woman seemed like she just wanted to take the order and be done with the table. Overall meals coming out at staggered times, one entree before appetizers, the other after, something is wrong with this whole picture. Hopefully ownership looks into these things before business...

This place is aesthetically pleasing, that’s all. I can see people coming here to take pics but they’re definitely not coming back for the food or the customer service. I work in the area so I usually come for Tbarr, I’ve read it in a few reviews & I totally agree the girl they have back there hates her job. 🤣 She does not do well with customers & has an attitude EVERY time. (Like every other employee tbf) Their rewards are a joke.. basically a waste of paper. Like I said I’m in the area, order frequently & I’ve never gotten a reward bc it literally expires after less than a month. You need to be there daily to see any perks & at $7 for a smoothie.. they could definitely sweeten the deal. The only reason I kept coming back was bc I love their coconut smoothie but I will not be returning. They have their Apple Pay set up so that it will automatically tip this girl, like her demeanor even warrants a tip. She barely says hello, doesn’t smile. She was training someone yesterday & I felt so bad for the girl. From the other bad reviews of this place I see they take no accountability & give bullshit apologies with little to no resolution. I saw another review that hit the nail on the head. This place definitely gives “HURRY UP & BUY” - iykyk. 😭🤭 Yes, I’ve come for the ramen too & like every other TRUTHFUL review.. it is underwhelming, bland & not worth it. There are WAY better ramen spots in Nassau, again it’s just a nice looking place. You FEEL like you’re about to get a nice meal but it’s just not good. 😅 Very much an IG flex bc it all looks so pretty but the meals are giving Wish quality. (What I ordered/what I got) I’m surprised this place is still open now that I’m realizing how crappy of a business this is. They all need customer service training & the cooks need a refresher class or something bc it’s just not it. & for the girl in the back, blink twice if you need help. 🤣 Life is too short to be that bitter, are we safe?...