There is a zillion places in town to get Pho or Udon, but nowhere within an hour that does Japanese ramen. So I was extremely happy this place opened so I can get my ramen craving.
Does it hold up to the top end Ramen places such as shen-sen-gumi or Santouka? No. . .to be honest not even close. But it still hits the spot.
There is some criticisms. I ordered both the seafood ramen and spicy ramen on separate occasions.
The seafood ramen was a miss. They advertised real crab, but it just had a teeny feeler leg of crab with barely any meat in it and the rest was imitation crab. The rest of the seafood didn't seem fresh or was overcooked. This is weird to me because I assume this is the same Jake that does Hana Sushi, which is one of the best sushi places in town with very high quality seafood. So strange the same quality level wouldn't be here on the seafood ramen. Based on just this dish, I wouldn't return.
But the good news is, they have a wide variety of other preparations. The spicy ramen was very good. Broth was flavorful, although perhaps lacking the complexity one might find in more established famous ramen joints. Nnoodles were cooked properly, and toppings/noodle poritions were generous. Overall enjoyable and hit the spot.
I also ordered potato shrimp and what arrived was a severe disappointment. It looked really cool, but was overly greasy and actually cold in the middle. Almost as though cooked at the wrong temperature in the oil. I informed the waitress who took care of it in a very nice way. Not only did she return several minutes later with a new batch of the potato shrimp which was cooked excellently and was delicious, it was given on the house for the mistake without me asking for that. So yes they made an error, but they corrected it well.
Regarding other people's complaints about price, I find that very strange. You can eat here for very cheap compared to the majority of restaurants. It might be a buck or two more than other ramen joints in Los Angeles, but the portion is generous. And take into mind you're saving a crap ton of money by not needing to spend gas to drive an hour each way to get ramen elsewhere. This is right in town! 10-20 bucks per person is really not an expensive meal, especially for something unique as this. Perhaps people are thrown in that it is ramen, which seems simple. But this is nothing at all like the crappy processed freeze dried ramen Whitey McHonky might think is real ramen. This is a real meal that will leave you satisfied!
One complaint I do have is that the menu could be more varied. Perhaps offer protein on stick options seen in Izakaya joints or perhaps some basic sushi from next door or maybe some curry dishes, takoyaki, japanese pancake, and things like that. Ramen is great, but would be nice to have more variety on the menu and a few more interesting things that can't be found elsewhere near Temecula.
Also, the atmosphere is nice, but kind of cold and sterile. Hard to pinpoint it, but it feels a little awkward and cafeteria like. I kinda feel the need to eat there and get out, rather than somewhere I might want to hang out and have a drink. Also, the name is sort of cheesy. I almost wish they had called it Jake's Ramen and dropped the rockin' part.
So there you have it. To be honest, I might give this 3 stars if it was located in Los Angeles or Orange County, but I am being more generous here because it is in Temecula, which has previously been the least rameny place that ever ramened. I just hope they read the criticisms on yelp and slowly improve over time. It's a new place, but if this is the same people as Hana sushi, they do have skills and experience. So I fully expect them to keep tweaking, innovating, and improving over time. In the end, I'm happy this place exists and I will keep on returning. read more