Ramen Tatsu-ya

Reviews 3

RO

Roxy Katz

this was okay, but definitely too expensive considering what you get. we came at lunch today and it was a very short wait. the staff was very fast and attentive during the ordering process, but that is all the attention you get, so make sure you get everything you need the first go. the seating was not comfortable or convenient- we were seated in the "community table", and it was much too tall (Im very short and it becomes uncomfortable when my feet dangle- my feet were numb by the end of my meal), and there was no place to put my purse other than the floor (gross!). the bar seating had purse hooks, so Im curious why they didnt place them here too- I would have been more comfortable standing. as for the food itself, we ordered the edamame to share and a bowl of the regular lunch ramen each. the edamame was alright but lacked flavor- it didnt seem as fresh as it could have been. the ramen itself was quite disappointing, I feel very upset to have paid over ten dollars for a bowl of disappointing soup (base price was $9.50 but I got add ons). I got mine without the pork and instead wanted Brussels sprouts, but I was charged for the Brussels sprouts on top of the bowl price even though I didnt choose the meat- if the quality had been better, I wouldnt have minded so much, but the ingredients were not very fresh and lacked a lot of flavor. the egg was okay, and the Brussels sprouts were amazing, but everything else was incredibly lackluster. the biggest sin was SOGGY NOODLES!!! to me this is ramen 101, you have to get the noodles right, and I was sorely disappointed. further insult to injury, the portion of noodles was so small that the ratio of broth completely overwhelmed it- and there is no easy way to get more noodles if you dont order them at the start...but then again, why do I want more soggy noodles? at $9.50 a bowl for lunch, the ingredients should be great, and this was so underwhelming I cant see myself making another trip to this restaurant or recommending it. finally, the music was very loud and all over the place- one moment theyre playing tycho, the next its foreigner, and then some strange pseudo techno thing. if the music is going to be so loud I need to shout across the table to speak, it should at least have a theme. be aware, you pay before you get your food, so keep this in mind if youre the sort of person who likes to order additional items throughout the meal. also, if you like to have waitstaff pay attention to you throughout your meal, this is not the place for that sort of experience (which is not to say I have a complaint against the staff, I thought they were very good, but I generally like to have the option to order more food or get a drink refill and I was irked that this place didnt offer that experience- especially when I consider that for two of us we paid over $35 for lunch after tip) overall, this was a very disappointing experience- if you have actually had good ramen, dont bother going here. this place seems to cater to folks who value a "hip" atmosphere over quality ingredients and food made with care.

TA

Tammy Lai

I came to Ramen Tatsu-ya with a hopeful heart and a empty stomach and came back out with disappointment. I am but a simple person, it isnt even that hard to displease me when it comes to food, ESPECIALLY when I skipped breakfast and lunch but this particular bowl left me unsatisfied and gyped. Im just gonna say it, Its super hyped. I saw two clips on youtube of people saying how amazing Ramen Tatsu-ya, including a whole Munchies segment. I waited till my boyfriend came to visit from Houston so we could share this awesome experience together and we both left feeling meh. Like others have complained, the place was hard to find. I wasnt even aware that Ramen Tatsuya was in the same location as the nostalgic Din Ho, Sunflower and Pho Hoang that my parents always took me to as a child. (three great resturants and freakin Ramen Tatsuya is the one with all the hype) There are no signs indicating that this restaurant exists other than a little black banner hanging, but no biggie. Parking is pretty limited so be prepared to walk, whatever. There was a line, we waited for 15 minutes, thats totally fine because sometimes there are just not enough seats. Staff was friendly and the food came in promptly after ordering. What really urked me was the ramen itself. The broth was strikingly salty; originally it didnt bother me at first because Im a little beast with chips and savory foods, but the more I ate the ramen, the more it attacked my tongue and not in the good way. Ramen needs to have DECENT broth, with balance of flavor, this broth just tasted like they added two packets of instant ramen powder into my bowl and added water. The flavors were too concentrated and theres no excuse for that kind of quality. The proportion of meat was very lacking, I got the saddest little sliver of pork to go along with my noodles and salt broth. The egg was decent, but I definitely couldve gone without the extra egg. I dont know why, but I expected the egg to be worth the extra dollar. For those who curious what it tastes like, its very similar to the chinese tea eggs or the vietnamese Thit Kho eggs. I didnt expect this review to turn into an essay but Im just confused as to why this restaurant is so highly raved. I at least expected the ramen to be mediocre and they couldnt even do that. My tongue still tingles from the sodium of that salt broth.

DE

Dennis Cao

While many have rated Tatsu-ya as the best ramen shop in all of Austin and some in the entire country, Im not so easily swayed by these acclaims nor their food. Ive frequented this shop many times due to my wife absolutely loving it, but I always take any chance I get from coming back. Dont get me wrong, their food is good. Both of their miso and tonkotsu broths are very tasty, but much too thick for my liking (their weekend lunch chicken broth is much more to my liking). All of their toppings as well as their chasu bowls are very good in quality. My main issue with this place is with their noodles. Their normal "ramen" noodles are more like noodles found in Pho than they are in any traditional ramen Ive ever had. Thats not to say that their horrible, just that the experience just doesnt match with my expectations for a good ramen. The most mind boggling thing about this whole noodle situation is that they do have a noodle that I do like in their Tsukumen dish, albeit theyre more udon style than ramen and its dipping sauce is far too salty to eat in entirety but thats another topic. Now I would love it if they allowed me to swap out those noodles, but for some reason they refuse to but give me the option to "order extra tsukumen style noodles on the side and make the swap myself"... Ill just let that sit with you for a while. They would very much prefer you to order extra noodles (which is fine with me), but then still serve the ramen as is and make you swap out the noodles you would prefer. Why they would do this astounds me. Its not as if either of the noodles are cooked in the broth, its not as if it would be any extra work for them to make the substitution. For me it feels like a bad service where they believe the customer is wrong, despite a customer having different tastes with your food. I get a restaurant has its right to serve their food the way they like it and want the customer to eat it in the manner they would prefer, but that all goes out the window if Im paying extra to eat it MY way. Due to that service policy, as well as the fact that I believe there are better tasting ramen in the city that is less about thickness and salt, Tatsu-ya will only get 3 stars max with me.