A small restaurant, and the most authentic flavor of Japanese food in the ithaca area. Pork was tender, great amount of veggies. It was odd to have carrots as I don't recall having any during my time in Japan, but they have a light flavor so it wasn't bad. The shoyu egg was perfect. There's really no other option for ramen on the area except a cheaper place in college town. read more

Maru Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Great Ramen, and friendly service. They have a wide choice of non-Ramen options that will be sure to appeal to anyone in the group. The staff is friendly and welcoming. Overall great food and a great experience. read more

I have tried so many ramen places, but this was one of the worst. We ordered tonkotsu ramen, shiitake mushroom ramen, and the miso ramen. The ramen noodles were okay, but we had several issues with the soup, pork, egg, and shiitake mushrooms. For the soup, it was extremely salty and did not have any flavor (pork bone, miso, etc.). The pork was average, oily, and a little chewy. When I think of pork in ramen, I think of a soft and tender texture, which I didn't find here. For the egg, it can be compared to a home-cooked one instead of an authentic ramen egg. An authentic ramen egg is known to be perfectly marinated and creamy to perfection. However, the egg that we got had no flavor and the yolk crumbled apart (in other words, it wasn't a soft-boiled egg). Lastly, for the shiitake mushrooms, it had an odd and unpleasant sour taste, which didn't match the ramen and soup base. I wonder what kind of weird marination they used. I was excited to come here because of the good reviews, but was disappointed. I won't be coming here a second time. read more

Maru Ramen - Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

We got take out and it was really good. Def want to try a few more dishes. The staff was super helpful and helped bring our order to the car. Thank you! read more

This place was incredible! We ordered food for pickup for three people and it was all ready super quickly, with everything included. Here's what we got: Maru-Katsu: this was my favorite thing. The pork was so juicy and flavorful. It was cooked to perfection. I loved everything else, and we were doing family style, but I almost wish I had just gotten a full order of this for myself. I highly recommend this. It's really just the meat so if you want more veggies get something else, but man, it is good. Tantanmen Ramen: spicy and delicious Bulgogi bibimbap: soooo good. The meat was delicious but my favorite part were the veggies and the egg. I asked for some extra hot sauce on the side so I got it nice and spicy. I would totally get this again. Tonkotsu Ramen: it was good, but not the best thing we got. Pork Buns: the pork belly was amazing, the lettuce gave it a nice crunch, and the bun was perfect. Super tasty Overall delicious and I'll definitely come back again. read more

Food was good, I ordered tan tan ramen. Pricing was a little higher but the portion was decent. We also ordered the pork buns which were a bit small for $10. The plate came with two buns and they were very simple- lettuce, pork, hoisin. I would recommend the ramen. My boyfriend got the bibimbap and the portion was huge. read more

Maru Ramen - Curry Tantan Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Tried this place yesterday. Beef bulgogi was so darn good. Came with a salad with the best gingery dressing of my life. My kids stole and ate the purple rice on me so I can't talk about that but if my kids ate it, it had to be more than acceptable. The chicken buns are so good. I didn't go nuts for the pork buns and wish we got 2 orders of chicken. My kids ate 2 orders of steamed beef dumplings. They loved them. I wish I lived close to this place. Staff are efficient and quick. The food comes to you in a flash. I would love to go back. read more

My husband, I, and a couple of friends visited this place since it mentioned on Yelp dine in the open. We tried calling the site before but couldn't get through the number. When we saw it, the owner said we were not allowed to eat in and wanted to try out the ramen. It was raining outside and we live 4 hours away from Ithaca. I feel the owner was not very accommodating. We ordered vegetable steam dumplings, the taste was good but a little cold. The vegetarian sushi roll was good. Shiitake mushroom buns and kimchi buns were ok. read more

For upstate New York, the ramen is pretty good but compared to other places I've been I wouldn't recommend. The tonkotsu broth wasn't particularly rich or flavorful but it hits the spot when I feel particularly strong cravings and have no where else to go. note: I visited in February. read more

Maru Ramen - Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

The menu here is simple but every dish I've tried is absolutely delicious and for an affordable price too. The customer service goes above and beyond. The tantanmen and shrimp tempura roll are my favorites :) read more

Visiting out of town. Had the kimchi bai bun, veg miso ramen made spicy and a side of kimchi. The kimchi was some of the best I've had! Tart, hot fermentation with crisp. The mushrooms in the ramen were marinated before the soup and delicious. My only issue was the crowding that occurred after I sat down and no masks because slurping. read more

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For Upstate Ramen and Korean food this place is top notch. Very vibrant and cozy inside with friendly service. Highy recommend getting the Spicy Chicken Ramen or the Beef Bulgogi make sure you ask for it spicy! read more

Maru Ramen - Beef BulGoGi and Spicy Chicken ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

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Very average ramen spot. I had higher expectations for my experience due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews. If you're not very familiar with ramen, it may be perceived to be good. If you're used to Japanese ramen restaurants from NYC, the expectations should be lowered. The broths do not have the depth one might expect unfortunately. I ordered the Hangover ramen and was very disappointed when I took my first sip of the broth. It tasted like WATER, with a light layer of "spicy" oil on top, and I was expecting a rich pork broth as the menu noted. After flagging this with a server, I was informed that I needed to mix my broth up and that there was more pork flavoring at the bottom of my bowl.... I've NEVER had to mix my ramen broth before?!? Was very confused but luckily after mixing it up, the ramen did not taste like just water anymore. The pork chashu was also pretty lean, doesn't melt in your mouth. Overall, it was fine after that but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a great ramen spot. If you're craving ramen and this is your only option, then yeah it's fine. My boyfriend got the Tonkotsu ramen and I tried the broth which I thought was better. It still lacked the richness that he loves from ramen. He also mentioned that the flavors in the bowl were also Korean-esque which confused him because we thought this was supposed to be Japanese ramen. Anyways, PRO TIP: if your ramen broth tastes like water, mix it up first! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ read more

Maru Ramen - Hangover Ramen - it's okay tasting. Would pass on this next time - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Great food that is not super expensive, customer service is phenomenal, our food was ready within 5 minutes of ordering. The woman who runs the place is extremely kind and very knowledgeable on their food. 10/10 experience and food! read more

This place is great! The food is delicious, I order the Tonkotsu Ramen and I'm absolutely addicted to it. The service is also great, super friendly and clean! Must stop by if in Ithica! read more

Maru Ramen - Tonkotsu Ramen, absolutely delicious! - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

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Tonkatsu Ramen is so delicious and savory. I couldn't help but finish the whole bowl.

Pros: Service was Fast and Friendly Buns were soft and fresh. Cons: broth lacked flavor, prices seemed a bit high for what you get here. read more

If you're looking for great Japanese ramen, don't come here with high expectations. It was just okay. Not bad but not something I would come back for. I would rate lower based on the ramen, but thankfully we also ordered the Maru- Katsu, which was really good! Huge portions and very tasty, this was more worth the walk over. It makes me wonder if perhaps other options on the menu might be better. Might think about coming for some other choices, but won't be back for ramen. Otherwise, the restaurant is open for dine- in, taking precautions, even setting up plastic barriers and masks-on. read more

Maru Ramen - Maru-Katsu (Tonkatsu) and Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

I absolutely love coming to Maru for a good ramen bowl. I always get the spicy chicken tori, my fiancé usually gets the spicy seafood bowl. Our server, Velvet, never disappoints in her kindness and excellent service. She is truly a gem! read more

I really wanted to love this place. I am in town for a few weeks and was pumped to get up to Ithaca for some ramen. There was only two of us and were seated right away, the staff was super nice. We put our order in pretty quickly because it looked like they were slammed. The seaweed salad and sake came out right away and good so it was off to a great start. After about 10 minutes we finished off our sake and seaweed salad and sat there chatting. Next thing you know an hour has passed by and no other food has come out, no one has been by to ask us if we want another drink, more water or apologize for the food taking forever. It was in total about an hour and a half until our ramen came out, I had to remind her about the pork buns we ordered as an appetizer so those were rushed out but tasted like they had sat under a heat lamp for the last hour (they also had the thinnest slice of pork belly I had ever seen and was mostly filled with lettuce). The seafood ramen was good with a very spicy broth. The Bulgogi ramen was mediocre at best with almost no broth in it and not much flavor. I fully understand they might be understaffed which is the reason I did not send anything back or complain. You would think they would at least apologize for the wait or have asked us if we wanted anything while we sat there waiting but it was like the waitresses forgot about us. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and another chance but until then I have had significantly better ramen. read more

I really wish I lived in Ithaca or had this place where I live-- our takeout from Maru Ramen blew our minds! We ordered the Tantanmen ramen, the Miso ramen, and Maru-Katsu dish. First off, I was impressed with how well it was all packaged for delivery: soup broths were separate from the noodles, meat, and veg so that you add the broth yourself to the fresh ingredients. Tasted just how it would fresh from the kitchen at the restaurant. Ok, so the FLAVORS here...broths were so rich, savory & flavorful, perfect level of heat, lots of noodles and delicious unique flavors in the soup ingredients. The pork katsu is a show stopper! It's so thin, crispy and topped with the best sauce. We were surprised by how well the cabbage slaw with sesame dressing paired with the pork and rice. We are addicted to this dish and might have to come back to town just for this!! read more

Maru Ramen - Maru-Katsu (Tonkatsu), Miso Ramen, Tantanmen Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Finally got to try this place. I love it. The food was quickly prepared, hot and delicious! Big selection decent prices and friendly service. Will be back again for sure:) read more

Maru Ramen - Tonkotsu Ramen ( pork belly, ramen noodles, cabbage, sprouts, seaweed, green onion, carrots, in a pork broth) with a Japanese soda - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

[This review was made in 09/2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic] Glad to see some good ramen in the Ithaca area! My partner and I were craving ramen on our trip to Cornell and it looked like Maru Ramen was the go-to place, so we figured why not! While Maru did not have indoor dining available (at the time) they were available for takeout and we ate it in the car -- and moving forward will not eat ramen in my car ahhhh That's besides the point. As for the food we ordered their Miso Ramen and Pork Katsu. I would have to say that I was obsessed with their Miso Ramen. Even though it was takeout, it was still fresh. The broth was silky smooth and delicious and the ramen noodles themselves cooker perfectly. I would have preferred their ramen takout containers to be deeper and easier to eat from, but that was nothing compared to the rich flavor of the ramen, charshiu, veggies, and broth combined. While I was immersed in the taste of the Miso Ramen, I was less than impressed with the Pork Katsu -- and usually katsus are some of my go-to's for Japanese restaurants! Maru's Pork Katsu fell short because it was overcooked/burnt. I couldn't help but notice the slight bitter taste in the Pork Katsu, unfortunately. If I'm back in the area, I'd try something other than their Pork Katsu, because I'm optimistic that it is not representative of their menu! read more

Service is excellent and friendly. Food is lacking in authenticity and execution. Go here if you are hungry, or go here for Korean food. This is not a Japanese ramen place. It is a Korean place that tries to serve Japanese ramen which would be fine if they executed it well, but they didn't. Couple of reasons why it's not a authentic Japanese ramen place. 1) they don't have white pepper. 2) they serve the chashu with gochujan and call it miso. 3) the hot oil is not regular but sesame based common in China or Korea. 4) their dumplings are beef and steamed (if you know Ramen, that's not a thing). That's all fine if the food was decent. The problem comes when the noodles are of cheap variety more commonly used in supermarket soups. Soup is diluted and lacks complete luster. Worst of all, the $2 shrimp tempera I ordered came out cold and soggy. There was no crisp at all and it tasted like it sat out for hours. The batter was again, not of tempera batter. Very disappointed and really sad to give such a review because the waiter was so nice. read more

Maru Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Future customers- Check your pickup order! Ordered Tonkatsu ramen pickup had no meat. Called them, not even an apology or nothing. "OK". Great service guys. Taste is good. Just make sure your stuff is all there. read more

Great place with amazing food, service, and atmosphere. Our food came five minutes after we ordered and it tasted even better than we expected. Definitely recommend and will come many times in the future! read more

Was excited to try out this new pink ramen shop. We had tonkotsu and tantan noodles and both of them are unacceptably bad. It is very disappointing, the quality of the ramen is worse than any instant ramen from tofu supermarket. Very diluted soup, typical cheap ramen soup base with sesame. Very bad noodles quality. Not chewy at all, and they are stuck together as a bulk. There is a piece of chashu, thanks. Will never come back again. read more

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Food was excellent, and so was the service. It's a small place, simply furnished but comfortable. I like the vibe! Will definitely come back. read more

FINALLY, a legit ramen restaurant in Upstate NY! They serve mostly chicken-based ramen, although they did have tonkatsu and seafood broth ramen on the menu. I thought it was even better than Toto Ramen in NYC and just as good as ramen shops in Tokyo and the Bay Area (!!!). We ordered the following: - Tan Tan ramen, extra hot (a creamy, rich chicken based broth with a slight kick that came with al dente wavy noodles, red pickled ginger, a slice of smokey chashu, seaweed, scallions, bean sprouts and a PERFECT soft boiled egg that melts in the mouth) - Chicken ramen (same as the tan tan ramen, but non-spicy and instead of a slice of chashu it came with shredded chicken breast) The server was very sweet and food came out fast. We can't wait to return and try the tonkatsu ramen! read more

Maru Ramen - Tan tan ramen, extra hot. - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

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Came on a chilly Saturday night. Service was fast. Food was delicious. I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen while my boyfriend had the Tantanmen ramen. We also got the Hirata pork buns and they were a delight. A great place to go for a dinner date. Would definitely go back. read more

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Wow. So, we had seaweed salad, octopus salad, chicken buns, bibimbop, and ramen. It was super busy, people were standing and waiting for tables. This was about 8:30 pm, so a wait at that time tells you that this place is great. Service was swift, and seriously, we did not wait long for our food. Had to ask for more water, but our server was in the weeds with tables. Food was fantastic. The bibimbop was the only thing that didn't knock our socks off - it was very good though. The ramen though? Oh, yeah, it's great. There's a reason this place is packed. read more

A bit of a letdown. We hadn't had ramen since moving out of DC. We were truly spoiled to have Toki Underground and Daikaya within a few blocks. Since moving Upstate, my dining partner and I had a hankering for ramen. A trip through Central NY brought us to Maru. As a whole, we both felt the ramen broth was fairly bland. I got the Hangover, she got the Vegetable Miso. The Hangover was labeled as "Spicy" -- it was fairly mild. The Vegetable Miso lacked depth of flavor. Other reviews said the ramen was salty -- to us, it was devoid of flavor. Additionally, the pork in both the steamed buns and my ramen didn't have the fat I would expect from pork belly -- it tasted a bit more like pork tenderloin. I will say, the texture of the steamed bun was great -- fluffy, soft, lacked the tightness that a lot of dried out buns do. I hate to put a negative review on during COVID-19 -- it might have been an off night, and other reviewers appear more than pleased. I add this review only to say that if you're used to ramen from DC or NYC, this might not fit the bill. read more

We got in late on Friday and were in search for dinner. It was across the street from where we were meeting friends and looked relatively swift compared to other nearby options. That should have been a sign.... Hubs wanted a bun to share, so we asked the waiter about his favorite. Recommending chicken, we went with that minus mayo, which I don't eat. We both got ramen---tonkatsu and shiitake. Things come out pretty fast. The bao became an order for two people. They're massive. I didn't care for them as it was mainly shredded chicken with teriyaki sauce. Boo. Not worth $9. Ramen comes. The shiitake ramen is filled with mushrooms, I pass some along to hubs to enjoy. The broth is flavorful, but a bit salty closer to the bottom of the bowl. A common flaw with some ramen shops. The soft boil egg sat in soy sauce, something unexpected. The tonkatsu was not good at all. It was very bland. No pork flavor at all. It had been seriously water downed. Service was nice and friendly. Aside from the shiitake ramen, nothing was remotely worthwhile. read more

We drive to Ithaca from Binghamton often to go here, the ramen is delicious! My favorite, though, is the shrimp tempura rolls with purple rice. It is absolutely amazing. read more

This restaurant was awesome! The service was incredible. The food is delicious. Overall, I would highly recommend Maru.

We were moving in our daughter into Cornell and wanted ramen. We ordered the hangover ramen and hangover pho. I'm comparing this ramen place to others in CA and Chicago area. The ramen noodles were good but not as good as the places in chicago. The broth was pretty good but needed a touch more flavor/ salt. The pho noodles were the wider type but was very bland. I would give it 3.5 stars. It's fairly good for a college town. If you're craving ramen it's a decent place to stop by. read more

Love coming here. Great food snd service. My husband got the ramen bowl with pork, our daughter got the vegetable miso ramen with added tofu and I got the teriyaki chicken bibimbop. Always fresh and very flavorful. read more

Maru Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Three ramen options for vegetarians (you can ask for no egg). Plus a vegetarian bi bim bop. Server was super friendly and food came out quickly. The restaurant has a quiet, sparse feel to it though there were many people. You can sit in the windows which is nice. The only downside -- and this is weirdly a big one for me -- the dishes & utensils were all melamine/plastic. I don't like the feel or the taste of a plastic tea cup or plastic chopsticks or soup spoons. It's really off-putting. Especially when you're trying to enjoy something savory and hot... just doesn't go well with plastic. I suppose the idea is that it matches the plastic chairs... but still. I will return, because the food & service is good, but hope they'll switch to stainless steel or wood & ceramic. read more

Maru Ramen - Vegetarian ramen w/mushrooms - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Food was good and fresh food came quickly best dumplings I have ever had price was very fair highly recommended

I've been to Maru Ramen twice now, once when it first opened and again today. Overall, I was quite underwhelmed both times. I gave it a second try because I thought they would be improved after a couple years of being in business. I ordered pork buns and the octopus salad to start, the followed with the spicy seafood ramen and my mother got the tonkotsu ramen. The pork buns were highly recommended on yelp, but the pork was cut extremely thin, and the sauce was just store bought hoisin sauce. Definitely not worth the $9 for two of them. Next, the octopus salad was decent, but definitely not as fresh as I thought it'd be. Still, not a bad appetizer. My spicy seafood ramen was quite good, and definitely spicy. There were good flavors in the broth, and they did not skimp out on the seafood. There were mussels, shrimp, and what I believe were fish cakes. If you can't handle a lot of spice, do not order this. The noodles were very delicious, and had a perfect chew and taste. The tonkotsu ramen was pretty good. The broth was very weak compared to what I'm used to eating at Konjiki Ramen in Toronto, but I know I shouldnt expect Michelin star flavor here. The noodles again were great, and the pork was good. The service was great, and the food arrived in a very timely manner. I don't know if I would return anytime soon but it was by no means a bad experience. read more

Maru Ramen - Pork Buns - Ramen Near Me - Ithaca, New York

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