Maruko Japanese Noodle House

I live around the corner from this place and i think it’s a great spot for a quick, cheap casual bite. i wouldn’t put up there with the holy trinity of badass ramens around town (kintaro, marutama, santouka), but the spicy miso is delicious. this is the kind of place where you could come in out the rain, not have to fuss with a lineup, read a book and enjoy a hot bowl.
It bears mentioning that ever since ramen sanpachi closed, benkei ramen and maruko are the only places with a spicy ramen that hits the spot for me. Marutama’s ramen is spicy and excellent and renowned and good quality and i’m super into their ramen, but it’s not the same dirty, saucy, thick red bowl you get at these three spots (benkei, sanpachi and maruko).

Had a pleasant experience here for lunch on a weekday afternoon. Courteous server, and efficient. Got the spicy miso ramen (I order this every time regardless of restaurant) and it was expected; spicy, salty and umami broth consumed to the last drop. Delightfully chewy noodles and crisp vegetable toppings. I had my bowl of noodles in front of me within 10 minutes of stepping foot into the establishment — which I suspect in this case is a bad thing.
Maruko seems to have all the basics covered. But there was one thing that grossed me out; the soft boiled egg. Ramen eggs typically have bouncy, rubbery whites and vibrant yellow/​orange runny yolks. What I got was mushy whites (think mashed potatoes) and solid, pale yellowish gray yolk. I’m thinking the egg was premade and then frozen, which would explain how my dish came to me disturbingly quickly.
Egg aside, I would definitely come back again.

It’s absolutely a great place! I love the food there, and the fact that I usually do not have to queue.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would.
The food here was absolutely disgusting, and I only ate it because I was realy hungry and did not want to walk in the rain anymore to go and find food.
Thought I’d come in for some ramen, you know, to warm up a bit and get cozy.
Unfortunately, my ramen came to my table like the weather outside: cold.
Well…
The broth itself was hot, but the hard boiled egg had been frozen, and the pork as well had been frozen too! Quite disgusting.
So, if you are ever in the mood to eat frozen cooked pork or frozen hard boiled egg with 130% of you daily value of sodium, this is the place for you.
Tip for the owners/​chef: If you do choose to freeze your food for storage purposes (I understand why you would do that) take your time to defrost it and warm it up a bit. I don’t need my ramen to come out three minutes after I make my order, let me wait another five for the food to warm up!

Super courteous server. Great price for a giant bowl of soup!
I ordered the Ramen Maruko with mayu, the blackened garlic & sesame oil, as well as the cold bamboo shoots.
I thought my ramen was fantastic. With half of a boiled egg and couple of strips of thinly sliced pork, the broth had a great flavor. The bamboo shoots were a nice side with a hint of shoyu, I think, or something to give it a slightly salty flavor.
My friend had ordered edamame and a cucumber salad with her ramen. The cucumber was tossed in a great vinegar-​based dressing.
On top of the food, again, our server was so nice. There are a bunch of noodle/​ramen places in this area. I would certainly come here again on my next trip to the city.

I suspect Maruko is not Japanese-​owned. The service was woefully disorganized and the layout seems very inefficient. All the tables are crowded up front, with a long bar with stools running down the side, and it seems there is room to put two-​tops along there as well.
But anyway, the staff seem to have trouble keeping track of the customers they do have. It took forever for the server to acknowledge the growing line at the door, and when she did try to seat me at the bar, she tried to give me a stool whose occupant had simply gone to the bathroom. It was very embarrassing for all concerned. I suspect she was new, and other reviews seem to indicate there’s a high turnover of staff here. The stool I did get was right next to the spot for cutlery and dishcloths; luckily the kind gent next to me made enough room so I wouldn’t have to sit right next to the server station, although I suppose if I hadn’t been able to grab my own menu right there, I would have waited quite a while for one to float by.
I got the Shoyu Ramen, and though it came alarmingly quick (I questioned whether it was actually my order or someone else’s), it was very good. Loads of noodles, and I can’t remember the last time that I actually ate so much of my ramen broth after the other stuff was gone. It was very rich and salty, and the noodles were thick and chewy.
Despite the initial service bumpfs, the whole time I was there it was packed with a line out the door. I left full and satisfied, although I did get some disconcerting tummy rumbling on the way home. I probably wouldn’t come here again, as the service AND ramen are simply better elsewhere in this competitive Japanese noodle district.

I’m not a ramen fanatic but there are definitely times when a ramen craving comes along.
Equipped with a Groupon, I decided on this Raincouver day to try a bowl of ramen at Maruko. It was a late afternoon weekend and the place was ½ full, we were seated at the bar. I always appreciate storage for my coat and bag, which was a fabric box underneath the bar top table.
I ordered the Shio (salt) ramen with extra kimchi and soy boiled egg. The ramen was thinner and not as chewy from what I’m used to but it was still good. The broth was on the lighter side, which I enjoyed because didn’t have to drink a ton of water after like I would after a super salty soup. There was a good amount of soft, tasty bamboo and mushrooms. The highlight was the soy sauce boiled egg — it was so flavourful and the yolk was still perfectly soft and gooey! Yum yum yum! Best I ever had!
My boyfriend had the spicy ramen — he said it wasn’t that spicy but it was pleasant and there was chili oil on the table if needed. He had a side of BBQ Pork Onigiri, which was hot with the crispy seaweed, pretty good and he had the appetizer (soy boiled egg, pork, bamboo drizzled with hot chili oil) which was essentially the same stuff in his bowl of ramen.
We both enjoyed our meals, which arrived quite quickly and not piping hot, but that meant no-need-to-blow-the-noodles-let’s-eat-now temperature. Service was friendly and polite, rice tea was refilled and good boxes were given to take home our leftovers.
Overall, a cute, cozy place to enjoy a decently priced and tasting bowl of ramen.

Great tasting food, good prices!
1 star off: We were seated at the long table by the window sharing the table with another another family. Our orders were mixed up.
Amazing deal with the Group On. Even with out it, the combo’s are good value!

this place has great ramen for reasonable prices. I won’t say it’s the very best in the city, but it’s certainly quite good and the location could not be closer to my house.
very impressed with the spicy miso ramen. the menu is a bit confusing, it does come with pork. the pork is very nicely cooked, not tough or chewy, and the broth is fantastic. the ‘pork’ ramen, which contains more pork, is also great, but the broth isn’t as exciting or spicy.
we tried a couple of the sides — the pork onigiri and the grilled salmon. honestly, these were not our favorite. if i were you, i would stick to the ramen.
service is extremely fast, very efficient and polite. a great place for a casual quick bite to eat.
very reasonable prices. we bought a $ 30 groupon and couldn’t get through all of it, and left stuffed.

–5stars for this place!
My wife and I wanted to the same dish from this place It did not come hot it came warm
This is not real Japanese Ramen The top garnish for this Ramen came very cold and the used microwave to warm the rest, And the taste is really poor And extremely salty My wife is from Japan herself.
And says this place is a disgrace To be called Japanese Ramen And since this is far from being real Ramen. «Put in microwave to warm up» this place is poor quality and japanese value good quality and service. And the service was very poor.
You people should not even be in business making Ramen. Its
Really fake ramen place.
If you want real Ramen go to other running place. Never this one!

Looks like there are many ramen restaurants in Vancouver also.
I want to explore good ramen place!
Their ramen was so-​so.
It was toooooo salty for me even though I am used to Hokkaido style ramen with rich and salty flavor.

Some good ramen, for sure.

This place has ramen which is OK. I eat here once in a while for variety, but it’s not my main destination. The one standout item that they have in my opinion isn’t ramen at all, but actually the chashu rice bowl side dish — for some reason the chashu in the bowl seems better than the chashu in the ramen. If you’re going to get the ramen, I’d go for the spicy miso ramen, as their shio and shoyu are somehow too salty yet bland at the same time.

I was looking for ramen in the city, and this place was open. Its’ reasonably priced. The combo was a good deal at $ 10.90 for miso ramen and an almond jelly dessert. The combination is pretty good, but I was super full and couldn’t finish everything.
It’s cash or debit only, no credit cards.

Great ramen. Super friendly staff. Eat here. Do it.

Such a disappointing place! Ambience is lovely, but menu Is LIMITED! And no tea? It Japanese!
Also, if you’re a tourist like me, bring cash. Unless you have a chip card. Then you’re safe.
Good was average to say the least.

I was with a group of friends and we were all craving for ramen one night (around 8:30/9ish), so we decided to head down to the Robson/​Denman area. But Motomachi Shokudo on Denman was closed and we didn’t want to go to the other ones around the block as one of us didn’t eat pork. We were determined to find a ramen shop that served non-​pork-​based soup. We decided to give Maruko a try and was pleasantly surprised at how good the ramen tasted.
Excellent noodle texture (there were LOTS of ramen in what seemed like a small bowl at first), soup flavours were rich and tasty. I ordered an extra ajitsuke tamago on the side and it was made to perfection with flavoured golden yolk.
It’s too bad they don’t serve gyozas (couldn’t see it on the menu?). I can foresee it being really busy during lunch/​dinner times since it tasted really authentic and the restaurant is not as far as Santouka or Kintaro. I’ve tried many ramen shops in Vancouver and this is definitely one to try if they continue to do what they’re doing now.

I have been waiting for this Ramen place to open. I found the staff very friendly and service was excellent. The décor inside was traditional japanese ramen shop for sure. I always try the «spicy» Ramen on the menu, it gives me a good comparison. It’s not Kintaro but they have Santouka beat when it comes to taste, portion size and i imagine they don’t make you wait until everyone from your party is there before they will let you sit like Santouka…

In Vancouver, we are blessed with so many good Ramen restaurants. On or near Robson St. alone, there are more than 7 good Ramen restaurants. Any of these restaurants, transplanted to any other city in North America, would be considered an excellent Ramen place. But in Vancouver, the competition is fierce.
What separates an exceptional Ramen place from a merely good one is very difficult to quantify and describe. Everyone have different preferences. Why does one place draw a line-​up while another doesn’t? I believe there must be something special about that bowl of noodle that makes the diner fall in love with it, some x-​factor that makes the experience of eating that bowl of noodle a memorable, almost religious one. I did not have that kind of experience at Maruko.
I walked into the restaurant and ordered the Pork Ramen, the day after grand opening. Everything is good. The décor and atmosphere are very nice. The service was good. The bowl of noodle was nicely presented. The Pork Ramen used pork shoulder, which differ from pork belly or that some other places use. It’s leaner than pork belly, but still has a bit of fat on it. It’s cooked very tender, perhaps a tad under seasoned. The noodle was the best part of the dish. It’s about the right thickness, smooth and cooked just right. The soup is weakest part of the experience for me. Tasted good, but lacks the punch or character of the other places that draws a line-​up. Although it’s supposed to be pork based, the pork flavor does not shout at me. It lacks a strong character or identity that help makes me crave this bowl of Ramen next time. Vancouver is a completive place for Ramen, and my palate has been spoiled. Maruko is a good place, but lacks the character for it to be a sand-​out.

Probably a tad generous, wish there was a 3.5 here.
4 for the décor, & anything that’s new lol. 2 centre communal tables with an oak tree-​shaped but varnished of course, so still pretty glossy, 10 per, with these cute wooden circular stools but with red cushion padding, though mind you, kinda thin haha.
Ramen’s prob. as good as the other ones, maybe the edge still goes to Santouka.
Ordered the Maruko Shoyu Ramen, brewed for over 10hrs, a blend of 3 different soya sauces — next time i’ll have to try just a 1-​flavour one like miso or shio to compare.
Bonus that it comes with half of a boiled egg; bowl-​size wise, it’s a tad smaller than say Ramen Sanpachi but it’s to be expected in DT.
nice, friendly authentic service, they yell at you too when you leave, like an izakaya place lol.