I like this place. My parents and I come here sometimes, maybe twice a month. I usually get: Combo C with Miso Ramen and Tilapia: My favorite part about the meal is actually the tilapia. Whatever sauce they put on that stuff tastes really great with rice and their complimentary kimchi, and the tilapia is always very tender. They used to call it eel, but now they call it tilapia. I’m not even quite sure they changed the fish. The miso ramen is not bad, the broth and egg are pretty good. Mostly, I enjoy eating the ramen and the tilapia, kimchee and rice as a meal, and I suppose that experience as a whole is worth coming back for. The price is fine, and the service is fine as well. I would recommend this place to a friend.
Vu H.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 East San Jose, San Jose, CA
Yes it is oily ramen broth but i love it, the tonkotsu broth is delicious, egg is nice too, the black ramen is oily but it is unique which has lovely smell
Miffy L.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Milpitas, CA
i really wonder why this place looks so different from the mountain view one (this place always seems empty) food is decent this place is usually half empty, service is just alright i think the menu is the same as the mt view one
Stephanie O.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 San Jose, CA
The food was good, not-so-much the service. It was mid-afternoon, and I was craving ramen. Being in the Ranch 99 plaza in Milpitas, also known as Milpitas Square, this ramen place stood out to me. Upon entering the restaurant, we put down our name on the clipboard by the door, despite the fact that there was no wait. I think putting down my name was just for courtesy. Upon being seated in the restaurant, we were greeted by an Asian women who was in her 60s. I suppose she’s the head waitress in the restaurant. She took my order — the Shoyu Ramen. There was also some confusion involved, when she couldn’t understand the order, probably because her English is limited. However, a Filipino waiter in the back saved the day. He understood my order perfectly. The ramen was great, and I would recommend coming here again. I think there’s also a «Maru Ichi» restaurant in Mountain View. Similar name, no affiliation.
Edna C.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Francisco, CA
Maru Ichi kuro ramen with garlic chips… mmmmm garlicky heaven. It’s pretty consistent with the popular Mountain View location, with the richly garlic broth, fresh noodles, and tender pork. Combos are not a bad deal either because it’s easily shared, granted you are not ravenously hungry. We added the pork curry rice bowl: it actually had some pork, and the curry was not bad(though tasted suspiciously similar to the box ones). 3 stars seems harsh for a decent ramen place among so many non-decent ramen places around the bay, but the service was a bit frustrating.(Am I going to be one of those angsty people who obsess over service? Nah, that’s against the laws of foodieism). It just annoyed me that they never offered us waters, and the servers were impossible to flag down later on because they were hanging out behind the wall to chat. Meh…/rant. Decent ramen, but it be nice if service could be a little more existent.
Peter N.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 San Jose, CA
I’ve been here twice. The first time I would have given it a 4 star rating based on the price to food ratio. I had a pretty good experience, and got only a small hint of «this shit is so salty» syndrome. The second time I came around was for the end of valentine’s day. A pretty decent experience this time around. We were immediately seated and I hit the restroom 5 minutes after sitting, and a little kid scared me by trying to open the door. My S/O and I ordered the vegetarian ramen and karaage. It was okay, I actually really enjoyed the way they fried the karaage. The ramen was a bit on the salty/sour side, but hey, it’s cheap ramen after a day of fun. Then disaster hits, and my stomach tells me something is wrong as we’re buying ice cream at target for our late night fun. We speed back to my apartment, and I had the worst case of the runs in my entire life. I used the restroom for about an hour before she saw my teary eyes as I told her it feels like my(explicit) ruptured. After about 2 more runs to the bathroom, I decided to drive her home. Then stayed in the bathroom for 4 more hours after coming home. Thanks Maruichi, you ruined my Valentine’s night.
Karen D.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 San Jose, CA
Terrible and tasteless. Also, if you want tempura shrimp on its own, they will give you one. If you want another, they make you wait for a separate order of ONE. When you ask if you can get 4 or 5 at once and just be charged for each one individually, the waiter will blink expressionless and then say, «no, we can’t do that.»
Yoshie K.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 San Francisco, CA
The ramen is okay here. This review is based on the service that was received. It was a Saturday night before closing. I completely understand that the servers would want to go home since it’s close to closing, however, the attentiveness was TERRIBLE. First of all, upon ordering our orders, the server didn’t even asked us if we wanted to drink anything. We had to ask multiple times for water. As the food arrives, they just placed the food on the table and did not ask if we needed anything else. Service is terrible. Servers did not know how to serve, they were in front of their phones the entire time. Thank you for the person who finally served us water, don’t even think that person was the server but whatever.
Jacquelyn T.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Francisco, CA
This place is awesome if you’re on a budget and craving ramen. There’s free/unlimited kimchi and the prices are great. The price reflects the quality of the food. While I’ve never thought«this is the best bowl of ramen ever,» you should know what you are signing up for when paying this little for ramen! Nonetheless, I still enjoy my food every time I come here. Add-ons/extra noodles and meat are cheap too. Despite the 3-star rating, I actually really like this place, but the food is just okay. Service is ok, but quick. Cash only. My boyfriend got food poisoning but I didn’t LOL(we shared the same food; you can find his 2-star review somewhere here lmao). I personally would come back though!
Nicholas W.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 San Jose, CA
Pros: — great portions — tender meat — flavorful sauces Cons: — oily broth This place is CASHONLY but it’s well worth it. I got the B Combo, which is ramen plus your choice of a donburi(in my case, the pork curry don). Food came out pretty quickly but piping hot. The Kuro Ramen was definitely on the oily side, but the flavors were there if slightly muted. The noodles tasted pretty good – a springy texture but a bit on the thin side. The slices of chasu were tender, not too fatty, but could have been braised a bit longer for more flavor. Tons of bean sprouts, which I enjoyed but others may not. The pork curry don was surprisingly good. The chunks of pork were very tender and melted in your mouth. The rice was puffy, soft, and absorbed all the rich curry flavors without a problem. The curry was rich with a slight kick. It was missing the usual carrots and potatoes and apple that I think would have added the needed sweetness to make it truly Japanese curry. Bottom Line: Combos are a steal – good food, great portions, cheap price.
Adrian C.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Seattle, WA
This review is based on my experiences in 2012. The ramen was decent. Their combinations are a good value.
Alan D.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 San Jose, CA
Giving it 5 stars now. The soy sauce broth is EXTREMELY good. I highly recommend it. I wanted to knock a star off because the ramen came out before the appetizer(fried chicken) but overall a very great experience. Maruichi has definitely stepped their game up.
Scott J.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 San Jose, CA
I ordered #1 ramen noodle on the menu. The one with all the black soup with garlic. Quality went straight down since I visited few months back. There is much more oil and less flavoring. Noodle is still the same but overall quality has gone down even with the satisfied customer service. I was charged $ 0.60 for each cup of hot tea!?? Goddamn!!! This is literally scam, it’s not even good tea and it’s more like hot water. Anyone who read this review, save yourself $ 0.60 each cup of hot tea and go for soda or free water.
Jennifer T.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Jose, CA
Came here with my family(4 people) at 5:30pm right when they opened again for dinner and it was a cinch getting a table. FOOD: We tried the kimchi that was in a small container(half filled) on the table and eventually killed it within 5 minutes. It wasn’t so spicy or anything so that was a hit for us. My sister and I split the Kuro Ramen combo which came with 4 pieces of gyoza and 3 pieces of CA rolls. It’s great if you split this with a friend because all of it is too much for one person IMO. My parents got the soba noodles and gave it a 6/10, but only because they’re comparing it to its source — Japan. Haven’t tried it personally but they said they’d come back for it. SERVICE: Servers were all attentive to their customers and weren’t designated to a specific table. They walked by to check up on us often so that was cool. OTHER: It started getting packed around 6pm and the plaza is pretty huge but parking is a pain. TLDR: Good food for good prices. Not the best, not the worst.
Diana W.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Jose, CA
I went to the mountain view location and it was not bad. That time, I got the non-black ramen. I decided to try the black ramen at the milpitas location and I thoroughly did not enjoy it. It tasted weirdly burnt and greasy … Also it is not appetizing. How has this become such a huge thing? I would not rate this to be a positive ramen experience.
Jovian L.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Davis, CA
Came here for lunch on a Saturday with my mom. Even though I’ve been in this food plaza dozen of times, this was my first time at Maruichi. It had a Japanese fast food ramen shop style to it. I especially liked that there was a section in the middle that was which made it super convenient and not awkward to eat there by yourself. We ordered the Tonkotsu and the Kuro Ramen. The Tonkotsu came with chasu, half an egg, and kakuni(pork belly), and mentaiko(cod roe paste). The Tonkotsu broth itself was good, not too heavy and not too salty. The mentaiko was salty and the egg was just mediocre. There was nothing special about this dish, maybe except for the kakuni, which was marinated very well and had an unique taste of its own. The Kuro Ramen, however, was not so good. The broth was very salty and the there was not much there to please; it just felt really empty.(But yay for free kimchi and dried garlic flakes!) Overall, the food wasn’t all that impressive, nothing special. However, I do give them props for serving the food fast, which is good if you’re just sneaking out from work for a quick lunch. But if you’re like me and appreciate good ramen, I would probably skip this place and try other ramen places.
Alyssa W.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Fremont, CA
Just started going here recentlyish! I come here when a friend wants to catch up and I wanna eat something light but they wanna eat ramen. Pros: So I haven’t actually tried the ramen myself, but my friends always get it and say it’s good! When I come, I always get their side dons, usually my go-to is the sake don. It usually has like 4 – 5 slices of salmon sashimi over sushi rice. It’s probably not really anything that special but for some reason I really love it! + Good prices; the sake don I get is around $ 5 – 6. + Unlimited kimchi + Good variety and options, many of my friends get their combos! + What I recommend: Sake don! I’ve also tried the curry don and it is good as well. Cons: — Limited seating — Service is never particularly good here Overall: Maruichi is a nice place to catch up with friends over a pretty delicious and cheap meal!
Ashley Y.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Cupertino, CA
Sigh this place was honestly more like a 3.5 stars but given that I had to either round up or down, I chose to round down because their noodles were kinda meh. I decided to go with their tonkotsu ramen. The broth is fantastic. Super rich and filled with flavor but not too oily either. I drank a lot of the soup first before digging into the noodles. And the noodles were… kind of a let down. They weren’t thin like the noodles you find in Hakata style ramen, but they weren’t like the thicker kind either. It was sort of a weird in-between. They were also a little too soft for me and it was almost like they were overcooked. So basically, I would only come here for the broth. The noodles were meh/ok. Prices are reasonable and service is fairly quick. But since this place is pretty far from where I live, I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon.
Samuel D.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Diego, CA
Came here with my cousins around 7pm just right before the dinner rush. Atmosphere: small ramen spot. sits about 40 people total. has a ramen bar right in the middle along with tables surrounding the area. i suggest coming early if you don’t want to wait outside to be seated; this place fills every seat quickly. Food: Combo B $ 11.25 –Tonkotsu Ramen –3 pcs cali roll –3 pcs pot stickers –salmon don quite a big combo and a great value. as far as quality the ramen noodles were on point and the broth was so-so. the pot stickers were nicely fried with a good amount of meat filling. i’m not a fan of cali rolls(they were egh). the salmon don was super fishy(not that buttery fresh cut of sashimi) the rice helped kinda mask it along with soy sauce and wasabi. Service: no complaints. pretty fast and attentive especially for such a busy place. Overall: I’ve have had better quality ramen broth but the noodles are in-house made from what i was told and the value of the combo’s will leave you satisfied and a great price. i like how they have fried garlic as a condiment on your table. I’d come back when i’m in town to visit and remember to bring cash. CASHONLY.
Saleen L.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 San Francisco Bay Area, CA
So disappointed. The first time I came here was 5 years ago and at that time it was good, not great but still good. Oh but how things change, I came here a month ago and although it had been a while I was hopeful. I get the usual, the house special Kuro ramen combo set. The noodles are housemade and was still as good. But the broth was sadly overly salty, so salty and yet no flavor. On top of that they forgot to give me my dumplings, until the end of my meal. Which I was hoping would be at least average, but turned out disgustingly soggy and oily. Besides that service was also a fail. It was pretty empty and most of the workers were in the back talking. Which is why I prob got my dumplings late. It wasn’t the worst ramen, but it’s no longer close to what it was when it was at its best. At this moment, def. not worth it anymore.