Kaliubon Ramen & Sushi (West Hartford) — Restaurant in West Hartford

This is my first time trying Kaliubon Ramen and I was very happy with their service. Everyone was very friendly and quick(our water cup never went empty). The restaurant was also very clean and had a hip vibe to it.

However, I was very unimpressed with the food. To preface my review I have had ramen from NYC, CA, and Japan. My friend got the Short Rib Ramen with an extra fried egg and I got the Tantan Mazemen. They got an extra star solely due to their excellent service. When our food came, my friend got an extra seasoned egg rather than a fried egg, but the waiter noticed without us telling him and delivered us an extra order of fried egg a little later.

The reason I was unhappy with the food is that it was very poorly done in multiple aspects. The Tantan Mazemen had noodles that were inconsistently cooked. Some noodles were al dente and some were mushy. The corn tasted like frozen corn which can be fine, but it tasted like they used old frozen corn that has become chewy and starchy in texture. The fried egg on top definitely tasted like it was part of a pre-fried batch that they set aside to be be used as ready to serve. This can be fine and I know other restaurants may sometimes do this too, but their egg had a thick layer on the bottom that tasted like it was breaded(may be mixed with something else they were frying). I know my egg was a ready to serve egg because when they brought out the extra fried egg we ordered it was fried much better. However, that egg had its own problem in that they used old oil(oil to fry other food). This gave the egg an awful after taste for both my friend and I... even after we left the restaurant. Another issue regarding the tantan mazemen was that the ground pork was over cooked, dry and had a rough texture. Finally, the noodles did not have enough sauce to coat each individual noodle giving it a nice noodle pull. It was clumpy and really dry. It stuck in our mouths and chewing was taxing. The best part of this dish was the cucumbers..... This dish made my mouth so sad that I was only able to take a few bites and had to have my friend finish it. Overall, this is not a dish I would recommend without significant improvement. One possible improvement that they can consider is trying to mix the noodles with either some rice vinegar or mirin giving it an extra punch and lighter flavor.

The short rib ramen was just ok. The noodles were more evenly cooked and the broth was fine(not too salty, but had some flavor). My problems with this dish was the chasu and the seasoned egg. The chasu was over cooked: this made it dry and gave it a rough texture. Not only did the seasoned eggs look sad it was over cooked and had a strange texture.

I cannot say if my review will be the same if I had tried their best dishes, but I am very hesitant...

We were a large party, so we understood order confusion during a lunch rush. Only one item was forgotten but our assignedwaitresswas quick once the missing appetizerwas mentioned, the waitress originally assigned to our table was sweet she stayed on top of waters and when she wasn't sure on a part of our order she did return to double check. Food was equally delicious. However, when we went to get ready to pay, the waitress that was not assigned to our table,but was helping our waitress bring items out had brought our checks back after we paid and accused us of saying comments like calling our server stupid and telling us we should be treating the servers with kindnessduring this troubling time, which we had been. We had 3-5 several different conversations going on any time we did speak among ourselves about our actual server it was how sweet and on top of things she was for our table. The waitress not assigned to our table was rude and cut us off when we tried to express that no one had said such things and claimed they all apparently overheard us saying such things when we hadn't. Nevertheless food was delicious definitely suggest the food...

I recently ordered takeout from Kaliubon Ramen & Sushi, and it completely exceeded my expectations. We tried six different ramens $18 each: Beef Ramen, Tonkotsu Ramen, Kaliubon Ramen, Miso Ramen, Wonton Ramen, and the unique Truffle Shoyu Ramen , plus a selection of sushi. Every single dish was packed with flavour, beautifully presented (even for takeout!), and tasted like it was made with care and high-quality ingredients. Each ramen had its own distinct broth and toppings, rich, comforting, and deeply satisfying. The Truffle Shoyu was incredibly aromatic, and the Wonton and Miso Ramen were standouts too! Kaliubon Ramen, spicy, rich and full of flavour is my favourite. The sushi was fresh and just as delicious as the ramen. You can really tell that the chefs here take pride in their work. On top of the amazing food, the service was fast, friendly, and professional. My order was perfectly packed and ready on time, and still hot and fresh when I got home. Kaliubon has officially become one of my favourite spots for ramen in the area. Whether you’re dining in or doing takeout, you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommend and can’t wait to...