Haiku Izakaya & Ramen — Restaurant in Woodbury

A good ramen spot. Good service and nice employees.

We were the first group to arrive here. As we sat down, we all ordered water to start out with for drinks. Another group entered 5 minutes later, they sat down and they got their water before us. It was a bit odd, but it felt 'off'. After that, it was a smooth service. It got pretty busy after 12pm, easily 4-5 tables were filled.

For context, we've had ramen at several locations, including a few ramen shops at Tokyo, Japan, California, Texas, and locally.

The quality of the ramen is okay. The noodles are expected, especially from a ramen shop like this. I ordered the Char Siu Ramen. The noodles were not soft but enough to chew and not have it melt away in your mouth. The broth was well done but not the slightly thick consistency that ramen broth is known for. The broth wasn't too salty but it had slight pork taste to it. The pork meat was well cooked as the meat feel off without much trouble.

Sushi quality isn't too bad here. Prices are worth thr price. Other places use too much rice, the sushi here was very well balanced with rice and other ingredients. The appetizers were well made and chicken kara-age was actually not too bad; wasn't too overwhelming with pepper and the starch.

Overall, the ramen was okay. The appetizers were good. Service can be hit and miss as they make take favor over others. The interior has okay vibes and will keep your eyes entertained for the smaller details. The music isn't too overwhelming. Seats are good and tables are quite clean. It's not a bad first try. I'd recommend it if you're...

Misleading food but great service and atmosphere.

First off, great service. Staff was nice and friendly. The restaurant itself was pretty cozy and chill vibes. But the food was not what I had hoped for. Their Karage was just too small of bites. For sure the Takoyaki was premade and frozen, not fresh off the Takoyaki griddle. The Yakitori skewers for sure wasn't from the grill, it did not have a char grill flavor. The ramen, this to me was the biggest disappointment. We had a party of 4 and we tried 4 different types of ramen offerings. Tonkotsu was very bland. There was no richness. Miso was also bland. Spicy Tonkotsu lacked heat and richness. Biggest disappointment was the Tsukemen. For the uncultured, its Dipping Ramen. Tsukemen is supposed to have thicker noodles and a rich, thick, hot broth. It did not have any of that. Noodles were just regular style noodles. The broth was the same broth they used for the Spicy Tonkatsu. What's the point of ordering Tsukemen if I can just order the Spicy Tonkotsu?

Basically, this ramen place is just a gimmick. There's no attempt to put effort in the dish. I can see this place being passable to the uncultured Japanese cuisine patrons. It's going to Olive Garden and saying what a great representation of...

Came in ordered the beef ramen. It was delicious but the ramen was definitely a bit chewy for my taste. Service wasn't above and beyond but it was good/to be expected. I got seated immediately and got my order within 3 minutes (I know I was dining alone but that's a little odd, nothing seemed wrong so no complaints but just a note). The experience was good. The price was a bit spendy, all I ordered was the 1 beef ramen as I said earlier and it cost $16.30, so definitely keep that in mind. I'll be back again and will adjust my review/rating on future experiences but that's partially because I live so close. A few warnings, keep in mind I'm not adding or removing stars because of this it's just a heads up for people who are similar to me. I'm a pretty big guy and the chairs were piercing my sides, which was less than comfortable but hey that's what I get for being unhealthy. The temperature was a bit chilly inside but I like it hot so it will be fine for most.

All in all if you like ramen and you don't mind the price point I'd say give it ago it...