Maru Ichi
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
120 reviews
Menlo Park, CA
"Perfect harmony + no incongruities + no wasted energies + attention to detail + understated decor + creative authenticity + attentive…" read more »
228 Reviews for Maru Ichi
I pretty much only come here if the line at Ryowa's too long. I order the Kuro ramen, which is pretty good. Better than the other ramen selections here. I like the fact that there are more tables here, and the noodles usually have a good texture.
The downside is that the Kuro will leave you craving for H2O for the next 4 hours. I think it might be the MSG in the broth or something. Everytime I've had it, I've had to guzzle down bottles of water afterwards.
Preeeetty good ramen, but still living in the shadow of Santa Ramen, the bay area ramen house that takes the cake... or in this case, the stewed pork...
The noodles were very fresh and had a different texture. I would have liked them to be a bit more chewy, but still good.
For $9, we got a huge bowl of ramen, 3 big pieces of California Roll and 3 gyoza. Lots of food for not too much money. If you don't like flavorful rich broth or large pieces of California Rolls or fried gyoza, you could save money by making some 25 cent ramen at home.
A 3.5 in my book. It would probably get a higher rating from me had I not already tasted the dangerous tastes of Santa.
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3.5 stars!
Went here for dinner the other night. Wait was not too bad for a saturday. Had the Kuro Ramen... It was better than average, but not outrageous. Service was fast, food is cheap, only cash though.
The broth could of been more tastier, but they did give a lot of noodles. Overall the place is good. I would go back if i am craving ramen and in the neighborhood!!
Famous for its black pork bone soup, Mari Ichi caters exceptionally well for those who dwell deep in heavy flavor, salty style ramen. This place is cash only and there is an ATM right at the back near the restroom entrance.
The ramen (noodle) of Maru Ichi is one of the best in bay area noodle house, as it is firm, thin, and retain every bit of flavor from the soup. I will rate this higher than Santa Ramen (no.1 raman house in bay area in my opinion) in noodle quality alone . The soup is a hit or miss for some people, personally I really like my food strong flavored and I have no MSG reaction afterward, so I really like it. The Chasu is as good as expected.
Make sure to order the black pork bone soup base (not soy bean), though not as rich in texture when compared to Santa Raman, it is unique enough to make Maru Ichi one of the top Raman house in south bay. What's better is that for $9 you not only get the scrumptious bowl of raman but also 3 pieces of quality California roll!!
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This is my 3rd time here although it had been years before this last time. I have tried Santa Ramen in San Mateo within the past month, and talk about richness. And im not talking about the decor'! The flavor of the broth was too much- for me that is.I personally didn't care for Santa Ramen as much as I like Maru Ichi. I didn't get a stomach ache afterwards, definitely didn't over spend on soupy noodles, and had a variety to choose from, unlike Santa Ramen. The noodles are made fresh here and the roasted garlc pork broth was damm taste! Tho it looks like a huge black oil spill in your soup, past that and taste it and you just might think the same!
Down fall : CASH ONLY!!!
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Mmm...this pace is good, but the last two times I've gone there, both me and my significant other had tummyaches/stomach issues after. This is even after asking for the broth to be less salty. Will be avoiding Maruichi. It's good, but not worth tummyaches.
Compare to all the other restaurants in castro this one didn't impress me at all... I've been there twice, trying 2 different types of ramen and my conclusion is that the ramens are oily and greasy as tables...
Place is pretty good, but not as good as Santa Ramen (San Mateo) or Ramen Halu (Santa Clara), but definitely nowhere near as expensive as either of those places either.
When factoring the tradeoff between quality/quantity and price, this place in my opinion is the best bang for your buck. I'm all about value here peoples. VALUE.
Tonkotsu ramen! Tonkotsu Ramen! You can see lard chunks floating in the water but the meat just melts in your mouth. It is sooooo good. I associate ramen with comfort food and I am always comforted when I come to Maru Ichi. I've gone here 3 days in a row before. Each time, I got Tonkotsu ramen. YES it's THAT good!
Maru Ichi is diggidy dope and wiggidy wack! I went in with low expectations due to the nearby Ryowa and the less than glowing reviews on yelp, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
Unfortunately their only spicy ramen is with miso so I got tonkatsu broth. I normally order extra chashu and because I could see the noodles were fresh I ordered extra noodles.
As I saw bowls being delivered I started to get worried. It didn't look very big or colorful, oh noes...
When mine came I was immediately not so happy with the extra chashu. They didn't heat it up so the fat was still congealed (white), yuck. For that matter, I don't think they heated anything they put in as the ramen was lukewarm at best with only the noodles having some heat.
Extra noodles were served on the side so that by the time you get to them they congeal into a lump. But you know what, they're damn good so it's worth waiting for them to heat up in your leftover broth. I'd recommend extra noodles and I'd skip extra chashu.
I like bamboo but I didn't get it. Aside from that there were a ton of mushrooms and that's pretty much it. I always give my egg to my wife.
The broth itself was pretty damn good and is the 2nd best tonkatsu I have had (2nd to Santa Ramen).
Potstickers were deep fried and sadly they didn't list that on the menu. So if you're trying to watch calories I'd skip them or give them to your wife or girlfriend. The California Roll that other people ordered looked like a decent substitute and you can tell yourself that you're getting Omega-3s from the avocado so it's all good.
My wife thought the potstickers here were the best she has had from any ramen place and she enjoyed eating mine.
Overall it sounds like I'm being negative, but I really kind of enjoyed it despite the shortcomings mentioned above. I'm currently having a ramen hangover, I think I need a nap.
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Ramen heaven on Earth? YAR! Okay maybe just the noodles. Being the ultimate newb that I am and self proclaimed food king as of the day before, I decided to munch at Maru Ichi for lunch after a night of drinking and subsequently ordered their combination B with Kuro Ramen plus an extra order of noodles. Result? Massive food coma and walking issues after stumbling out of Maru Ichi. Sigh, pwnt.
Fresh made noodles made by the sucker stuck in the front noodle room make for a very happy ramen eater. The noodles were real soft and when combined with the questionable black soup broth made of garlic, it makes for one tasty meal. The two sides that come with combination B, three gyoza and a three piece California roll were very average but help fill you up if for some reason the ramen alone wasn't enough. I ordered an extra order of noodles for $1 more, biggest mistake ever.
In comparison with their neighbor Ryowa, I have to say the broth is about the same, of course this depends on what you get but the noodles here and portion given are far better. Ryowa has the better sliced pork being that they are sliced very thin whereas Maru Ichi merely provides you with two slabs of meat with your bowl. If only they combined the two ramen shops... Either way, I'll be back for moar!
Things of note:
-Service is apathetic, don't expect much. Drink refills are prompt.
-Free all you can eat kimchi
-Sapporo Beer on tap, "$2 Lunch beer!" - Be advised: FOOD COMA DEATH MAY FOLLOW SHORTLY
-Three lunch combinations available, differ in price.
-Cash only
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Best Ramen I have ever had. The noodles are chewy and delicious and the broth is buttery and hot.
Be ready to wait on weekends around noon-ish, Asian for "noodle for breakfast time". Also cash only.
Best ramen in Mountain View! Be sure to bring cash, since they don't take credit card (there is an ATM in the back). Pluses include delicious kimchi to snack on while you wait for your large, housemade bowl of ramen noodles. That is all. GO GO GO
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Maru Ichi has the best ramen in the Bay Area. They handmake their ramen noodles (you can watch them make it in the front room, makes for an entertaining wait). Judging this relative to the handmade ramen at stands in Tokyo, Maru Ichi is 4/5 which is excellent for the US.
My favorite is the shoyu ramen - a good sized portion, delicate stewed pork that melts in your mouth, egg, bamboo shoots, green onion and two pieces of seaweed on top. The ramen soup is delicious as well, albeit quite oily. Getting the Combo ramen is good, but I don't suggest A or B since the potstickers are far too oily/crispy and the California roll is huge and rather hard to eat. The Combo C comes with a choice of tuna or eel donburi which is tasty! The tuna donburi alone is only $5 and generous in portion.
I suggest coming here off hours to avoid a wait. Also, cash only!
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"A winning combination on Castro"
Combo C:
Tonkotsu Ramen (fantabulously flavored white/cloudy pork broth with so-so notso-al-dente homemade noodles)
Negitoro (magnificent melt-in-your-mouth fatty tuna over rice)
So I actually didn't order it this way, but the next time I'm here, this is how I'll do it. Today, I had the Combo A with potstickers (3 small, decent gyozas) and white rice. My friend ordered the negitoro donburi, which was a pleasant surprise.
The food came out fast, the price is right--hey, I was happy.
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went here for some ramen after my accupuncture session last weekend. had the kuro ramen.
tastes just like the milpitas place. almost exactly the same. i guess since they are a chain... anyways, the main thing was one of the waitress was a hottie. i think she is japanese. i will definitely go there again next weekend after another accupuncture session, .. for the ramen as well...
this place never disappoints. guaranteed to have great ramen when we come here. i always get the miso ramen with extra chashu and extra egg. mmmmm..SLURP!! the fried chicken pieces is also yummy drizzled with fresh lemon juice.
we went there once for lunch and found that they seem to give larger portions at lunchtime. *shrug* different chef perhaps? either way...never disappointing...
I came here last week. I ordered Combo B with Miso Ramen. It comes with a ton of food. The Gyoza was good but completely deep fried. I like it when my gyoza is pan friend then steamed. The California rolls had a ton of imitation crab in it, which made it hard to put in my mouth. But it was okay. The ramen was OKAY. Nothing super special. I was hoping that I would love the noodles, but I didn't. They were more like pasta noodles then ramen noodles. Almost too round. My boyfriend had Combo C with the toro bowl. I thought that it would come with slices of toro on top. But it was more like a mash of toro on top of rice. eeehhh I guess it was okay. He also had the standard ramen. I forgot what it was called. It was tasty. But what is that black stuff? There was like black stuff in the soup. I couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't the Nori, it was like black oil. To me it looked like squid ink, but I don't think that was it. I don't know if it was because I pretty much ate everything we ordered or it was just the food but my tummy started to hurt after.
Anyways, if you feel like Ramen I would recommend Kahoo. I thought it was much better.
This is the best Tonkotsu ramne in the area! The homemade noodles are perfect for this style of ramen too. I think the Kuro ramen was good too, but needs a bit more of an eggy-style noodle to fit better. Either way, this place is great. The extra toppings are only $1 each, and the ramen itself isn't expensive either. Great soup. Not too sure why all of these places have kimchee on every table, but I guess if you're into that it's a tabehoudai. The sets are nice too; I remember watching a ton of oyajii eating a bowl of oumori and topping it off with some gyoza and rice. Obviously on the Atkins diet.
We did get the gyoza, and were a bit disappointed. I have never been to a ramen shop that fried their gyoza. I guess it is faster, but not recommended.
I would love to come here after an early night of binge drinking (just like we used to in Japan), as they are open until 10:00pm...
The noodles here are much better than Ryowa but so far I like the broth better at Ryowa. The california rolls that came with combo B were tasty and fresh. The gyoza were golden brown on all sides. The kuro ramen appeared to be very popular but I did not have the courage to try the "black ramen". The combo C with white tuna or toro was also popular. Not sure how everyone finished so much food. They get an extra star for Sapporo on tap.
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I effing love Maru Ichi. It helps that it's a minute from where I live, but so is Ryowa and this is where I always go. Takeout out only takes 5-10 mins and getting your food while dining in takes around the same amount of time. Quick, easy, delicious.
Oh, stick to just the main dishes. I'm not a huge fan of the side dishes that come with the combos. Tastes like they just microwaved the sides before serving.
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Definately one of the best ramen places I've been to in the Bay Area. I've only been there a couple of times for lunch. I tried their Kuro Ramen, and I have to admit that it was good.
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I had never had ramen before arriving in NorCal five years ago (well, except for the 10/$1 packaged "ramen" that kept me fed throughout undergrad), but now, it's become an obsession. My bf and I have combed the peninsula seeking out the ultimate ramen, but my favorite remains the Tonkotsu served here at Maruichi, the birthplace of my ramen education.
The noodles at most establishments are very good, and Maruichi is no exception. Their exhibitionist noodle maker next to the entrance is proof of the freshness of their product. But what I like best about Maruichi is their Tonkotsu soup, which of all the Tonkotsu's I've tried, is most to my liking. In keeping with pork-bone based soups served elsewhere, Maruichi's Tonkotsu has a milky texture and is enriched with the flavors of marrow. In addition to the noodles with a characteristic yellowish hue, their ramen comes with a few strands of wood ear fungus, half of a soft boiled egg, two slices of roasted pork, and a sprinkling of freshly chopped scallions. I enjoy my ramen with generous helpings of kimchi while seated at the counter. Maruichi is usually packed at lunch time, so there's lots of chatter and Japanese variety shows are also playing on mounted TV screens in the background; nevertheless, I usually overcome all of that din with VERY LOUD slurping.
So I cant really rate this place since i didn't eat when i went with AJ- who by the way hates me. He ordered noodles and some... raw fish on rice? i think, not sure. but anyways, he LOVES this place, apparently AJ goes almost every day, hence why i will never be able to eat there.
Decor was ok, you know, the usual asian "hole in the wall" type of place. Cash only.
and please dont forget your cash, AJ still owes me. (really AJ, if you ever read this, I dont need the money back).
Ryowa has a vegetarian ramen, why couldn't this place? I went there with some friends, and they had to make me a "special" ramen. It wasn't all vegetarian though, they said they had to use the meat broth when they brought it out. I actually tried to eat it, but it was so salty even with me draining the soup out of each bite. I was disappointed they didn't have a real vegetarian option. Too bad. I'm still kind of ashamed I ate the soup based on meat broth... yikes... The dried garlic on the side was a nice touch though.
Me likey. This place is the ramen place I frequent most often. There is lots of variety and the noodles are made in house. I usually go for the combo C with kuro ramen and a side of either unagi or negitoro don. There is plenty of seating and a sign up system when it's super busy. The broth is really flavorful and the noodles have a nice chew. The kimchi they have is usually on the more acidic side but still a good compliment to ramen. I would recommend this place for sure. Cash only.
If I had to rate the ramen places here in the Bay, I would rate Santa Ramen #1 and Maru ichi #1a, IMO.
The noodles are slightly more chewy than Santa Ramen (which I like) and that's how you know these babies are made on site. I give Santa's broth a slight edge. But both these places are good, and since I live in the south bay, Maru ichi is closer to me.
For me? It's gotta be the "combo meal C" where I get the Kuro ramen with either unagi or negitoro over rice. Neither the unagi or the negitoro is special, but it's a nice side dish to the star.
I usually don't touch the kimchi that's sitting at room temp near the condiments, but if I do, I usually let it 'cook' in the broth for awhile.
Service is adequate and friendly and the prices are pretty good.
I'm not asian but I do love noodles (probably because I'm Italian) so it was a treat to discover this little homemade noodle restaurant. You can't go there for the ambience because there really isn't any to speak of but their Tonkatsu (sp?) soup is really good. I love the broth flavor although it's a tad salty but the goodies inside are yum, including the slice of pork, half a hardboiled egg, chopped green onions, seaweed and of course the special noodles. I love their raman noodles, they're chewy and perfectly done. Definitely a great warmer-upper on one of those cold evenings...which around here is almost every night.
4 out of 5 stars because they're a bit pricey for ramen soup (and what comes with it) and the restaurant decor is quite old and run down looking...but it wouldn't be prudent if they remodeled only to raise the price again.
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my friend and i came down to mountain view yesterday, and i was in for a pleasant surprise ... not to mention, the weather was outstanding! driving through the 280/101 in a convertible on a lovely day...i'm surprised that i didn't get no sunburn... but you should've seen me, closing my eyes, and enjoying the sun on my back.. the perks of having halter tops. shiet, when's the last time i ever WORE a halter top in nor cal?
we attempted to eat at ryowa down the street but my friend insisted that tonkotsu ramen was the way to go, and ryowa didn't have it ... oh wells... but still ...
maru ichi is SOO good ... well, at least for me, it was. it definitely hit the spot... the ramen.. i have YET to try santa ramen in san mateo, but in the meantime, i was pleased. as the japanese would say it, "oishi oishi~"
maru ichi has plenty to choose from... you can order any of their 4 famous ramen noodles for $6.90: kuro, tonkotsu (pork & chicken), shoyu and miso. each ramen includes an egg, chashu (roast pork), seaweed, and green onions. everytime i order ramen, i always get the miso, but my friend suggested the tonkotsu.. NOT TONKATSU, the pork cutlet, but TONKOTSU.. mmmm... not too salty, but comforting... you can also order extra toppings for $1 more... they also have udon and soba...
for someone like me, i like to mix up my meals, so everytime i see a combo special, i get excited. there are 3 combo specials ranging from $8.25. my friend got the combo b for $8.95 which was ramen, 3 pieces of cali rolls, and 3 pieces of the potstickers. i was a bit bummed because i was hoping they would be japanese, gyoza style, but it was just fried... its okay, it was still good ...
they also serve beer.. $2, you can yourself a 10oz glass between 1130-230 or $4 for a 12oz glass, or even better, $12 for a pitcher. that one's for you oinky... they also have side orders which i found it to be extremely cheap.
where else can you get a side of 3 calirolls for $1.90 or 3 potstickers for $1.90? one thing i NEVER understood about japanese places is when in fact they CHARGE YOU for edamame... shame on you...
anyways, i got their negitoro (fatty tuna/green onions) donburi $4.90. you can also get it with unagi or white tuna... but nonetheless, it was quite tasty, the negitoro was fresh and super yummy, melted right in my mouth, but it was a tease because they put it in this bowl, but lil do you know, they just cover the top layer and its literally 90% rice, but given that it's $4.90, i cant realyl complain. i feel like i kinda got my sushi fix...
i have to give this place an extra .5 because maru ichi ALSO serves kimchi, but it was SALTY kimchi... but still, the fact they HAVE kimchi???? normally, i usually substitute my kimchi with ginger, and for some reason, i was more happy with my ginger. yes, i know i'm at a japanese place, but if only you knew that i eat kimchi with the weridest things ever, such as cereal, lasagna, cha siu baos, etc.. :)
TIP: minimum charge for $5/person and combo specials are 50c more after 5pm.
NOTE: for you low sodium soy sauce lovers, maru ichi doesn't have it.. doesn't that just suck arse?
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Ever driven an Infiniti G35??
It's labeled a "luxury" car. It's the yuppie asian young person car of choice(gag). It's not quite a mercedes, bmw, or even a lexus.
Just a tier below. Good..but not great. Decent, but not spectacular.
Cookie cutter.
Well..Maru Ichi is the Infiniti G35 of ramen places.
They have handmade noodles! Only a couple places in the bay area do that. Santa Ramen(San Mateo) and Katana-ya in San Fran.
Unfortunately, as does the Infiniti car share the same accoutrements as the other luxury cars...Infiniti still just doesn't have "IT".
Same for Maru.
The noodles at Maru-Ichi are definitely better texture and flavor
than places like Himawari(San Mateo), Ramen House(burlingame)
and Ryowa down the street in Mountain view..because those are all
store made.
But it still lacks the special quality that Santa and Katana-ya have.
The broth isn't as good, the flavors are not as strong, etc etc.
I would put this place as 4th 5th below Santa, Katana-ya, and Himawari..and barely nudge Ryowa..because of Maru's handmade noodles(Ryowa's chicken karaage is better).
The amenities are inherited from what was an old breakfast cafe.
The square round about table where people would eat in stools
and the diner booths surround it against the walls.
Across the way of the round about table were two asian yuppie guys
(and before anyone starts getting alarmed about my comments...know that I'm asian too..and it's just a satire commentary on my people! No harm done k?)
They pensively sat next to each other, trying to be as social as possible but were so awkward that it permeated to my side of the table. Even I felt jittery for them!!
They could ONLY talk about THREE THINGS!!
They alternated from deciding which BMW to buy..."Hmm..should I get the 5 series? Well..it does have more power etc" to talking about iphones "I really want to wait for the 8gig version.." to "Yeah..and John really has to get to B-SCHOOL...(that's asian yuppie slang for business school). "
Let's get real fellas. You're going to get an Infiniti G35..not a BMW..it' the SENSIBLE choice. You're going to eat at Maru Ichi and not Santa Ramen..because it's the SENSIBLE choice...it's nearby and you don't want to brave the 1 hr lines.
You're going to go to "B-School" because you feel you should cuz everyone else does it and thinks it LOOKS GOOD to everyone else.
Keep it real.
Did I digress again? Oops.
Let me conclude:
Maruichi - cookier cutter
Two yuppie guys sitting across from me - even more cookie cutter.
p.s. See you boys at REI as you tool up for your original Half Dome
trip, or your santized, docile and SENSIBLE river rafting run!!
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Now not to say this place is bad, but it's not the greatest either. I've been to the one in Milpitas once (I did give it a higher rating simply because of the novelty of the moment) and I've taken a couple of visiting friends to this one. Now, the fact that there's kim-chee on all the tables sort of leads me to suspect it's not entirely authentic, but I can't complain about the food. The combos are usually a pretty good deal, and the negitoro (it's pretty much mashed up raw tuna on rice) and the unagi-don (grilled eel with a special sauce over rice) are usually pretty good. The ramen is good, the noodles fresh, and the soup tastey (if a little on the salty side). The price is good, service and wait time kind of vary. Everything else on the menu is kind of eh, we got the fried chicken the second time and it took a while in addition to being simply mediocre. If you want a good bite and some good ramen, I'd say this place is a good place to go.
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Gotta say, not too impressed. The place looked shady. It's like I entered the restaurant from a dark alley or something, but I came in from Castro... The windows were dark, or maybe it was dark inside. The interior was weird. I didn't like the place.
I realized this was the same restaurant chain as the one in Milpitas, but that one had much more character (though not the greatest either... it's all just in comparison). So, I went for their specialty, the kuro ramen. "Kuro" means black - their black soup. I forget why. When you get your bowl of kuro ramen, you'll see that the soup base is actually a white broth. The black part of it sits on the top like a layer of oil. That doesn't make it sound so nice, does it? Well, I think I had better at the Milpitas branch, but that must have been years ago now.
I HATE it when they serve ramen lukewarm. Ramen halu in San Jose did the same thing to me (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). How disgusting is that? Maru Ichi should be replaced by something better so that I have MORE restaurants to pick from on good ol' Castro. I'm surprised they can survive the rent, given that there were maybe only 3 tables of people in there.
And I'm apparently not liking the Japanese food in this area... I hope my visit to Jin Sho (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) in Palo Alto next week will be a better one.
I would give 5 stars for its ramen. the tonkatsu soup is one of the best i've had in Bay Area by far. Not every ramen shop is willing to put much pig's bones and chicken to make such a rich soup base.
Their Chasiu was tender. The tonkatsu ramen also comes with two pieces of stewed pork belly (and i love them - but if you don't like fatty pork belly, you may not like it). And the rich soup base goes perfect with its homemade ramen noodles. it's worth to pay the extra $ to get its homemade ramen noodles. it was the right texture - it's soft but with a bite to it. :D
I ordered a Combo B (Ramen + Califiornia Roll + Gyoza) and my boyfriend order Combo C (Ramen + Bowl of rice with White tuna). We both love our ramen. i like the gyoza but it wouldn't something i expected because the gyoza was like deep-fried....
but my california roll turned out to be pretty bad. the rice was mushy and it just fell apart. i wouldn't order it again.
the bowl of rice with white tuna was ok (at least the fish wasn't smelly). but the quality is definitely not as good as its ramen.
the place is good for group and kids. but if you have a really big group (like 10+), you may have to split table (i saw a group of 10 people had to split at the end).
next time if i were there, i will only stick with its ramen. and i'll give a try to the black ramen because i only had it once before in Japan.
The two Maru Ichi locations are my favorite ramen places in the South Bay thus far. The noodles are not too soft nor undercooked. I'm not a huge fan of shoyu or miso broth, so I like ramen places with other broth options. Both their tonkatsu ramen and their kuro ramen hit the spot for me when it comes to their broth and noodles. Their portions are big, and their service is quick. My only complaint about their ramen Is that they are a little stingy on the toppings, and costs a little too much for it to be worth it to add more.
Maru Ichi is also very small and very popular, which usually means long waits. It is also a horrible place to bring a large group -- most of the tables fit no more than 4 people, and there are never enough consecutive seats at the bar. Also note: CASH ONLY!
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This is one of my favorite spot nearby that I often visit during lunch, especially when I'm in the mood for some hot noodle soup on a cold day. I liked their kuro and miso ramen the best. The nabeyaki wasn't so bad just that the MSG was WAAAAAAAYYY too much! I normally don't order the combo because I can barely finish the bowl of noodle.
It's not much of an ambiance but just more of a quick lunch bite. The price is good but I think most people will probably get turned away just the thought of paying $7 bucks for a bowl of ramen aka instant noodles. hahahaha Believe me, it's not instant noodles! They make their own noodles there FRESH so it's very good.
If you want to try japanese ramen, try this one instead of Ryowa. This place is soooooooooooo much better!
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Yummy homemade noodles are always a plus in my book! Unlike that Ryowa.. Ugh! Anyway, back to Maru... wonderfully chewy noodles in a flavorful broth. I always end up getting the Kuro ramen.
We're a menace to society considering that we probably eat through the vat of kimchi and use up all the hot chili oil. Pretty standard solid ramen!
Lines can get long during lunch so come early or show up late.
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Having tried Ryowa up the street and both ramen houses in San Mateo, Maru Ichi is my favorite ramen place EVFAR. They have this delicious kuro ramen, which is crushed black garlic, that they put in their broth. You can also get miso or tonkatsu or shoyu ramen or cold noodles if you like. Pair that up with Combo C, which is your ramen plus a bowl of sashimi over rice for under $10 and you got me as a customer every weekend, both days! It's like, you finish one bowl of goodness (your ramen) and then *hello* another bowl of goodness (sashismi over rice) awaits you!
They also have a chef that stands in a little room at the front of the restaurant handmaking your noodles, which is a good sign of a noodlehouse that prides itself on quality. So yes there is a reason why your noodles taste so fresh.
ROVED it ! Their ramen is Ichiban!
This place is tiny, so I could imagine on a busy day, I would have to wait a bit longer than I did with my friend on Saturday night.
The Ramen had a great consistency (chewy and plenty of noodles)and the broth was not overly salty. I wish they had some chicken soup variations, though I just didn't eat the pork that came inside mine. They also had a very tasty tuna (negitoro) over rice that came with the combo. The karaage (fried chicken pieces) were just okay, though I ate the whole thing. Sometimes, I crave fried chicken, what can I say?
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I confess, I haven't been to that many noodle shops in the area to say Maruichi rules them all. But, it beats out Ryowa (what is up with the corn in the soup and the counter I can't squeeze my legs won't fit under??)
I always get combo A, with some gyoza, steamed rice, and soup. I get Miso Ramen. It's a bummer they don't had shiitakes in their soup. Probably 5 out of the 100 times I've been, there's some love missing from the soup - the pork is a little creepy or the soup isn't as hot as it should be.
The service from the guys is great. There's this one lady thought that's always cranky. But if you try super hard, you can make her smile.
My kids totally dig this place. They love the tvs and go bonkers for the hard boiled eggs in their soup and soft serve that comes with the kid's meal.
The place isn't the cleanest. They only take cash which is super annoying. But service is fast and generally, the soup is good.
Update: I suspect that I got food poisoning here a few nights ago. Pretty classic symptoms. Bummer.
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Love their KURO RAMEN. It is just so good.....can't get enough of that silky broth and fresh noodles. Their kimchi is good too.
