Crane Ramen

Reviews 7

SA

Savannah Tanner

I really wanted to try Crane Ramen out for quite a while. I had heard really great things about it and was pretty excited. Noodle bowls are pretty much my favorite thing to eat hands down. My boyfriend and I went in and sat down. It was pretty packed for Gainesville on a Tuesday night over summer break and certainly smelled good. We ordered an appetizer of the Veggie Gyoza, a Shio bowl (described by our server as his VERY favorite item on the menu) and a Shoyu bowl. The gyoza was came out and was ok. Presentation was beautiful, fairly tasty but nothing special honestly. Tasted about like the frozen gyoza one can buy at any number of asian markets. When our bowls arrive I first tasted the Shio bowl and was instantly very disappointed. It really had no flavor at all. The broth was just a little salty, faintly smoky with a tinge seafood aftertaste. Praying the Shoyu bowl would prove better I tried it. Unfortunately, it was just as lack laster, proving only to look a bit better due to the presence of some hot sauce in its presentation. Unfortunately, I cannot say I would ever want to go back to Crane Ramen. Im giving it 2 Stars instead of 1 because they did have nice presentation and pleasant staff. We were unable to eat more than about 2 spoonfuls each of either bowl and agreed it would be best to return them to the kitchen, pay for our appetizer and tip our server and leave.

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AM

Amanda Aguinaga

I have been to this location 5 times since my first visit a few months ago, and it is very good. I always start with the Kara Age Chicken its so amazing, lightly fried with minimal breading and the sauce and lime is delicious! I love the Shio, its my favorite I do not eat pork and always have it removed. The only reason that this review does not have 5 stars is because on my second visit they would not remove the pork and replace with extra crab as they had on the first visit that was literally a few days before and that experience was not a very nice trip. The staff was very apologetic about the change, but it did leave me feeling unsatisfied with that visit. On my last visit there I had such an amazing server (I wish I remembered his name, he had a beard) I was wanting a beverage and he suggested a remarkable drink that was explained very nicely. I have had the Paitan, and was not impressed with it as the Shio, I did feel that it needed some salt but all in all it was satisfying. The location is small but it feels intimate, I havent sat at the bar yet but on my next visit I want too. As long as the staff, and food continue doing what they do this will be a restaurant I visit at least once a month.

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JI

Jim Radtke

I was never able to try the food due to the poor communication skills and rudeness of the staff. I called ahead during the afternoon to ask whether a reservation was needed for a group of 3 at 6:30 pm on a Friday. We couldnt afford to wait for a table since we had tickets for an 8pm play. The person on the phone explained that there were no reservarions for groups smaller than 6, nor was there generally a wait at that time of the evening. They did not mention an option for call-ahead seating, and we did not explicitly ask since we had just been told there wouldnt be a wait for a group of our size at that time of the evening. Well, we showed up at 6:30, and Crane was doing call ahead seating and taking reservations. We were told the wait for a group of 3 was at least 30 minutes. We described the phone conversation wed had earlier that afternoon, the host was unapologetic and rude, stating "Well, you didnt talk to me." We consequently struggled to find another restaurant to eat at before the play because we relied on the bad information provided by the staff. Fun times at Crane Ramen.

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AN

Anna Dell

I thought the service was great, our waitress was very attentive and helpful. The wait staff are awesome, but the food is mediocre. I ordered vegetable gyoza for an appetizer, it was good but as I kept eating it I felt like it was missing something, a certain flavor to tie it together. It did have an interesting spicy taste to it. Perhaps we should have ordered the pork gyoza, it might be more flavorful. When I got my ramen, it looked aesthetically pleasing but the taste was bland. I ordered the paitan ramen, the only chiken broth based ramen on the menu. It was just missing something, it seemed to need more seasoning. Maybe I am just used to the cheap $0.50 Top Ramen that has so much salt and MSG in it that I dont know that real ramen is supposed to taste like it lacks seasoning. I felt like I paid way too much money for noodles in broth, but what was I expecting. The place has the image, but does not have flavorful ramen to back it up. Perhaps the other stocks are more flavorful, I am just not a fan of pork or miso.

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PI

Pickle Jack

Just moved here from out of state and was looking for a good ramen joint. Came across this place through Yelp and based on their reviews I was really excited to try this place. Had to wait 30 minutes which made me even more excited because that is generally a sign of good food. Boy, was I wrong. The appetizers were fine, nothing out of the ordinary, but the ramen was sorely disappointing. If food was based purely on presentation this place would have received 5 stars, but as for taste, one star was deserved. The broth, the most important part, was very bland and not rich in flavor as Japanese ramen usually are. Im praying there are better ramen joints in Gainesville because this place doesnt hold a candle compared to an authentic ramen restaurant. Seeing other reviews here also confirmed my own experience as being usual. I will not be going back.

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MA

Matt Cristobal

All the bad reviews I read, made me write this review, simply because they all have one thing in common< The people who wrote them probably eat McDonalds and regular 50 cent ramen at home. If you enjoy healthy, well prepared food, at a good Downtown restaurant price than Crane Ramen is the place for you. If you sit at the bar you can meet and see first hand how the chefs make the food first hand. Nothing is frozen and everything is made by top chefs. The Main Chef, has lived in numerous countries to apprentice master chefs in order to become one himself. He is representing Gainesville and Florida as a whole in a few weeks in New York City and a Ramen competition. Btw Friday is there special day; Clams, sometimes have a rice bowl. Happy hour is 4-7 everyday. Everything I have eaten at Crane has been spectacular.

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PR

Preston Talley

I heard my friends raving for months about a new ramen place coming to Gainesville, downtown area. We went there on a Tuesday night, had incredibly fast service. The part that sucked was the food. The appetizers we ordered were lackluster and expensive. The ramen choices were maybe 6 to choose from. When you looked at them more closely it was basically 2 choices. The dishes were expensive for ramen - I wasnt expecting a packet that cost $0.20. After I received my order, I ate a quarter of it because of its flavorless nature. I will never go back and am sad that they couldnt deliver on the experience real Japanese ramen bars can. Dislikes: Flavorless food, pricey for few ingredients, basically no customization, terrible downtown parking.

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