TDLLO Ramen & Sushi — Restaurant in Wake Forest

Hey everyone, just wanted to share my thoughts on TDLLO Ramen & Sushi, where we ate recently. The place is really nice inside – beautiful decor and everything on the tables is set up just right.

So, when we sat down, they gave us the menus. There was a main one and a lunch menu. It was a bit confusing though, because it was 4 o'clock and they told us lunch service ended at 3. Not sure why they still had the lunch menus out – kinda wasted our time looking through it.

Now, the main menu was great. It's big, with clear pictures and descriptions of everything. Super easy to choose what you want.

We ordered a couple of ramens and takoyaki. The ramens were awesome – I had the chicken katsu one. But, the takoyaki wasn't our cup of tea. We love Japanese food and usually like takoyaki, but these ones were too basic, not much filling, and sadly, no octopus. They looked good on the plate, though.

About the service – it was quick, which is good because the place wasn’t busy. But the vibe from the waiter was kind of off. They weren’t rude or anything, just not very warm or welcoming. As someone who runs a business, I think it's super important for the staff to be friendly and make customers feel good. Waiters should create a welcoming and positive atmosphere as they are the face of the business.

As for the restaurant, we plan to visit it again to sit at the bar, try some cocktails, and other dishes for sure. However, I want to draw the attention of the management and owners of the restaurant to the staff, specifically their energy. As I mentioned before, the waiters represent the restaurant, and some details need to be improved. For instance, having the lunch menu at 4 pm, when lunch is served until 3 pm, is unnecessary and confusing. Or, when we finished our food, we asked for the bowls "to go". However, our empty plates were not taken away. Later, when we asked for the bill, it was brought to us, but again, the empty plates were not taken away. So, we sat at the table with empty plates for the last 10 minutes, which is not critical. But, if we pay attention to details, it could have...

I’ll start with the food. Nothing tasted good maybe the shrimp shumai at best due to not being made in house.

The chicken tempura roll the worse I’ve ever had. It was a chicken tender literally wrapped in the so called sushi rice and seaweed that instantly fell apart. It wasn’t even fried in the panko as it usually is in other more legit sushi restaurants. I won’t even waste my time on the other food.

The waitress was nice but disrespected me in a way I have never experienced in my life. I went to eat with my 5 year old son just him and I. Boy do toddlers love to use the bathroom at the most inconvenient times. I had my huge work bag with me which contained my work computer, I would never dare to leave that behind especially without anyone to watch it. The bathroom is on the opposite end of the where the front door is all the way towards the back. Also the restaurant is not very big so it’s easy to keep track of folks. My son and I got up I grabbed my bag for obvious reasons passing our waitress going clearly into the bathroom. As my son is using the bathroom by the sink on my work cellphone answering emails and messages.

I notice a woman enter but I did look up from my phone to see who it was. The woman didn’t use the bathroom just began washing her hands. No big deal I said to myself some people like to wash their hands before they use the bathroom. When the woman was drying her hands she begins talking to me and she said would you like a box ? I’m like huh ? It was our waitress. She really followed me into the bathroom to ask me about my table if I wanted a check to see what if I was leaving ? I have never been treated so disgusting like I was here. She could have waited for me leave the bathroom to ask this. I planned to never return due to the food but this lack of unprofessionalism took the thought of let me go back and try something else right out the window. Please people they are better more legit sushi places...

So I’m giving this restaurant 3 stars only because it’s new and obviously trying to get things going, otherwise it definitely would have been a 1 or 2 star rating. My family’s regular sushi spot is closed on Mondays, so we decided to give this place a try. First the restaurant itself is very small, only counted 13 tables, the sushi bar also had seating as well as seating at the regular bar, which was not open yet. They will eventually have a full bar but for now there is NO alcohol of any kind, they said it will be 3 months before they get their license…so heads up there! They also do not have a “tea machine” yet so no hot tea. They were also out of Diet Pepsi, so tap water it was! Our server was young and kind but not very informed of the menu, again new establishment, so that’s understandable. We were brought the wrong sushi 2 different times but they did make it right and sent out the correct one. I ordered the hibachi chicken and fried rice, it was good, nothing special. The chicken did not have much flavor and was room temperature when it was served, I’m used to piping hot hibachi at our regular spot. The rest of my family ordered sushi and said it was awful, 2 one piece rolls, that my son could not even finish and he’s a teen who loves sushi. The tuna in the spicy tuna rolls had zero flavor. Overall the meal was lackluster at best in taste. It was also very pricey, the four of us plus a 20% tip (was not the servers fault) came to almost $150, and this was without alcohol and soft drinks, keep in mind my hibachi was $16 only. Cherry on top is my husband and one son have been in the bathroom since we got home an hour ago, let’s just say I’m thankful I don’t eat sushi myself! My opinion is to skip this establishment until it’s more established! I’m sure it will do well with its location, lots of high schoolers who don’t know quality sushi will keep them and their trendy sounding rolls...