Maru Ichi Japanese Noodle House
| Address: | 368 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-564-9931 |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
KY
Kyle Huang
Ramen is a both simple and subtle. Noodles, broth, meat, maybe some vegetables. Pretty easy, right? But when you get to know it a little better, it becomes pretty obvious that Maru Ichi is just not very good. I get why people like it - lets be honest, it doesnt suck - its least a satisfying meal on a cold day. But I wouldnt place it very high about a good pack of instant noodles. Ramen has two key components: noodles and soup. Screw one up even a little, and youve got a loser on your hands. Maru Ichi seems to have missed the mark on both. They may make their own noodles, but that doesnt mean theyre any good at it (they arent). Their soup broth doesnt taste bad per se, but it suffers from a total lack of character. In Japan, even the quickest, cheapest, easiest, train-station ramen stand, where you do nothing but walk up, slurp down your noodles (while standing), and leave, wouldnt be as plain as Maru Ichi. With the mini ramen bubble were experiencing in the bay area right now, Im genuinely shocked that people keep coming back here. Shalala is a few blocks away, and blows this Maru Ichi out of the water. Even Ryowa is better. Continuing to patronize Maru Ichi brings the standard of Ramen in the bay area down. Please stop.
A
A Private User
maybe they are not among the best ramen shops but for the price and consider all other factors (describe below) I will give them a five star. First the noodle and soup itself are so good, especially for who likes thicker taste of ramen soup. I tried their white tuna don and pot stickers as well, they are just...amazing. The restaurant also has unlimited kimchi on each table, and dry garlic slice as well. Next, I like their service. Though the restaurant is always so crowded, staffs always seat people fast and serve food fast. The best thing is even if they are so busy they do things carefully and always being patient when taking orders. For example, I never need to wait for water (for too long), and I think I always got my order within 10 mins. My husband is from Tokyo and he missed Japan after eating in this restaurant. Why? because their ramen reminds him his favorite ramen shop in Tokyo!
RO
romeo kim
In A Nutshell: -If you are hanging out on Castro Street (Mountain View) and need a ramen fix, you should come eat at Maru Ichi. -Ive ate at this place a number of times over the past 8 years. -The restaurant can get very crowded at times and you might have to wait due to the small proximity of seating available. -Its worth the wait however, as you can see by all the photos of the delicious ramen. -You get a decent sized bowl, filled w/ fresh ramen noodles, great tasting broth and a healthy portion of protein. -You can also add as much complimentary house kimchi and toasted garlic to your tastebuds liking. Overall, this is a great ramen spot, one of the original ramen spots in the South Bay before the ramen-boom exploded around the Bay Area 10 years ago.
AN
Andy Lai
Having lived in both the Bay Area and LA for multiple years, I like to think that I have decent (or high) standards for ramen. Maru Ichi produces a barely passable bowl of ramen that (in my opinion) is disappointing in the texture of the noodles (overcooked, not al dente), broth (very bland), and meat (very few, very thin strips of pork). The only saving grace to this restaurant is that their eggs are decent (although a little overcooked to be soft-boiled, and a little undercooked to be hard-boiled) and their abundance of "extras" on every table (chili oil, fried garlic slices, chili flakes, soy sauce, etc.) Maru Ichi isnt the best ramen shop in downtown Mountain View (go to Ryowa). If youre looking for a top-notch bowl of ramen, go to Orenchi.
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Kristin C.
My friends rave about this place because of the QUANTITY, not QUALITY of the food. If you are looking for a ramen joint to get the most "bang for your buck" then by all means look no further. However, if you are a ramen snob or if you are craving high quality, tasty ramen I suggest you avoid Maru Ichi. Maybe Ive become spoiled by Orenchi or Santouka and visits to Tokyo but each time I have been to Maru Ichi I have been completely disappointed in the ramen, especially the broth--very oily and bland? The bentos and other food is really just okay... Id rather pay a couple more dollars for a tasty bowl of ramen. I really dread when any of my friends or family want to eat here.
ED
Edward Wu
This place is cash only. I feel like the ramen around Castro are all relatively the same in quality. Comparing Maru Ichi to Shalala or Ramen House Ryowa, Id have to go with Shalala the broth is flavored better and the noodles are chewier. Maru Ichi is cheaper though so if you want cheaper ramen, come here. Some of my friends really like the egg at Maru Ichi since its a quail egg and it also has more seating so the lines are shorter. The ramen here has shoyu broth or miso broth. Both are a bit too salty for palette, but everyone else seems to love it. I think adding corn makes the ramen taste better so spending the extra $1 is worth it.
CA
Calvin Truong
I have been here so many times for the years, its just so good for the price. While other ramen shops have been popping up recently Maru Ichi will always have me coming back. They dont do anything special, but they do everything really well. They make their ramen right in the shop so your know its fresh and the food is great. While some other ramen places get really crowded I never felt it was worth the wait. Maru Ichi might have a small wait, but the price is really where they pull ahead. The biggest combo they have is about$11/$12 but Ive seen some other places charge $10 for a single bowl so Maru Ichi is the clear choice for me.
AN
Andrés Mata
Unlike other ramen soups, this one doesnt have like 4-5 different strong flavors going on at the same time. However, this ramen soup is very good and the amount of noodles that they put in it is A LOT (over 9000!!). I got the Miso Ramen Soup combo with 3 California Rolls and 3 potstickers (the sushi was okay and the potstickers were pretty good) They dont accept cards, is CASH ONLY and nowadays, that could be an inconvenience imo. I gave it 4 stars because, even though is cash only (that, to me is about 3 stars), the amount of food is high and its very cheap compared to other restaurants in the area
HA
Haruko Ishikawa
I was expecting a heavy greasy Ramen when I ordered Kuro Ramen, but the soup was lighter than I expected and Noodle was soggy and I did not enjoy this as a Ramen. 麺がふやけていました。スープも見かけによらず薄いです。日本の濃いラーメンに慣れている人には物足りないです。店員さんは日本人ではありませんでした。
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Seraphina Lam
We ordered at 10:56, our food was here at 11:10ish. Good service too. Our server knows the menu very well. She was able to answer our questions quickly. We ordered a kuro ramen and a combo. The kuro ramen that comes with the combo was as big as the standalone one. It was so much food I had to box it up. I like the soup and the don. The rice was seasoned? It tasted like it has a bit of sushi vinegar in it and the rice was chewy too. I am guessing short grain rice? The soup was flavourful but not too overwhelming. It wasnt too salty for me. I like the combo but I will share it with someone next time.
