My first time at GONZO, and I absolutely loved it! The food was delicious, the service was…read moreexcellent, and the atmosphere was wonderful. Everything about my experience was enjoyable, and I had such a great time. I'll definitely be returning, and I highly recommend GONZO to anyone looking for a great place to eat. Can't wait to go back!

Gonzo is our goto favorite place each year when we visit Carlsbad. We love the retro 80s and 90s…read moreJapanese posters of multiple ads, anime posters like Captajn Tsubasa or Conan's future world. Their menu us straight forward and simple, you go up order what you want and get a number and wait for food to show up. We always order back garlic tonkotsu ramen. Flavor profile is great deep thick pork bone broth with black garlic oil infused in. Their small fried snack items like chicken karage is good, tasty, on point. They do also sell all kind of snacks with the restaurant as well as having a separate place for the claw machines for prices!! The restaurant itself is not big, lots of 2 and 4 tops with one big booth in the corner for larger group of guests. This is our must go places annually and love that their broth is not as greasy as other we had tried in Goleta or Las Vegas ramen shop. A definite 5 star place

I was expecting more Americanized experience because this is a ramen place located in well to do…read morewhite neighborhood. To my surprise, ramen was quite authentically Japanese. It was like what I would experience when I am in Japan. I tried the nagoya and my wife got black tonkotsu. I was extremely happy with how both tasted. Sushi was unsurprising. It was exactly what I expected. But the people sitting beside me got ceviche and that looked delicious. I guess I will try that next time. Full disclosure. I think I rated the one in downtown wrong. I tried their thin broth ramen many years ago and I was not convinced. But if one in carlsbad is this good, maybe I just ordered wrong when I went to the one in downtown.

I really enjoyed this Ramen spot. The spicy garlic edamame was delicious. I got the vegan ramen and…read morethe broth was good as well as the ingredients. A little feedback on this ramen is it's described as having broccolini and it came with regular broccoli, not a huge deal but they should fix the description. My freind has the black garlic ramen and the broth was really tasty as well. They serve Saki in a cool glass that keeps it chilled. The interior was well designed and clean! They have a big bar top with chairs as well as table seating and an outdoor patio. The staff were friendly and helpful.

We came in for a late dinner while in the area. I've had it bookmarked for a while so it was…read moreserendipitous that we happened to be in Vista for a birthday party just around the corner. The restaurant is small, cozy, welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. It isn't well suited for larger parties as most tables are tables for 2 unless tables are pushed together. They do have patio seating and heaters outside, but it didn't appeal to me being so close to the street/loud traffic. Gabriel checked us in, seated us, took our order, served our food and waited on us for majority of our visit, I would give him 10 stars just on his impeccable service. The food though? The food was AMAZING!! Everything we ordered was the best we have ever had anywhere. The buns were very kawaii (and we ordered ever single one to try). The fillings were savory, but we also loved their seasonal panda bun with ube filling while the kids preferred the nutella bunny. Best chicken karaage we've had by far, the coating almost tasted like it was rolled in kinako powder. The ramen broth was "chef's kiss" with so much flavors, the crab rangoon were jumbo and the filling was delicious, but the chicken katsu was also the best we have had anywhere (including Hawaii). The breading was just top tier crunchy while the chicken was thick and juicy. There isn't one bad thing I could say about this place, from the service to the food, I would make the drive out here again. Super duper, highly recommend, don't sleep on this little place, you'll regret it!

Okay, I found out Harumama Ramen + Sushi was in my neighborhood so I had to check it out. I wanted…read moreto see if it's the same as another one I've been to about 20 minutes away. Since I'm a lover of information, I looked up "Harumama". It's a combination of two words: the Korean word haru, which means "day," and "mama". Together, it translates to "mom's daily food". The name reflects the restaurant's mission to serve dishes prepared with the same love, care, and attention that a mother gives to her family's everyday meals. How lovely is that?! Anyhow, I was able to find street parking and walked into a clean dining space with a nice atmosphere. It wasn't too busy. Again, the staff was very attentive and provided stellar service. My food came out pretty fast. I loooved how my Drunken Noodles had the right amount of chicken and peanuts. Overall, another fun flavorful time. I'm still a Harumama fan. I can't wait to try more dishes. I highly recommend this location to the Yelp Community!!

This place left me disappointed. I came here because I thought I would give it a shot. I was…read morethoroughly disappointed with their ramen. Their chicken karaage was okay, and everything else was ok. Their garlic ramen lacked the depth of flavor and was just oily. I ordered the garlic ramen expecting great flavors of garlic. Instead it was fried garlic and added to the soup. But the garlic was burnt and it made the soup taste bitter. The service was fast and friendly. The server continued to check on us. The decor was cool, utilizing their brand for tshirts and cute drawings within the restaurant. I honestly wouldn't come back here as the food wasn't good

Conflicted between 4 star and 5 star. Here is why…read more Fried chicken amazing. Fried jalapeno poppers, high satisfactory. Fried rice good. Noodles high satisfactory. Chashu, amazing. Only problem was the ramen soup. My wife tried the chashu miso Tonkotsu. I tried the tsukemen. First of all, the salt content of the soup was not properly adjusted. Like I don't think it was intentional because some people prefers low sodium. It was way out of the range low. Second, the soup felt watery. Like when I eat tsukemen, I need the soup to get better entangled with the noodles and it fell off thy noodles. And my wife's soup felt a bit flat. I still settle for 5 stars cuz everything else except the soup was awesome. But soup just fell short for me.

I'm really surprised I haven't reviewed this place. I love this place. I use to come here a lot…read morebecause The ramen is so good. I usually just eat here alone. Sometimes I have a second person to enjoy the delicious ramen! Service is always good. I usually sit at the table closest to the bathrooms. It's just comfy there, lol. Need to come back soon to enjoy this yummy place again!

Nothing particularly special about this place - was a little surprised because my family really…read moreliked the Escondido location. The gyudon beef bowl was pretty dry and had so much more rice compared to meat. Similar for the portion of the katsu curry, and the sauce wasn't amazing. The appetizers were probably the best thing. Thai tea was okay. Prices were not too high at least.

Tasty food, excellent service, Thank you Kenneth for recommendations and great customer service!read more

Our food was so delightful. And we loved everything. My…read morefeiend had the flying pig and I had drunken noodles which were delish. Our waitress was so helpful and patiently described the menu items for us We loved little character based buns We'll definitely be back!

I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of the yelpers on here. I got to take the team out for a great…read morelunch here today. It was absolutely amazing. For $25 you get a starter (think edamame, marinated cucumbers, dumplings, etc.), a choice of Chicken, Pork or Beef, and a soft drink. It also includes all the dipping sauces, broth, rice and vegetables. Everyone loved that you could customize it to their own liking and it was just a fun experience cooking together with everyone. Definitely will come back and it was an awesome value at only $25 a person.

I want to start by saying that I very much enjoyed eating at Tabu Shabu. It's very fair to state…read morethat my three star experience is mostly my own doing more so than the restaurant itself. Our server was fantastic, the setup clean, and the menu was fairly easy to navigate. Where it fell apart for me all came after that. This is not my style of cooking. So many places I've been to, where you cook your own food on a grill or hot plate at your table, you're mainly dealing with thin cuts of meat, salt and pepper, and possibly a dipping sauce. This makes the cooking simple, a quick sear, a light crust on the beef or pork, and the finished product is basic and delicious. Shabu, though ... it's boiled meat. That's not to say that Tabu Shabu isn't good, but unless you're really adept at making soups, it's easy to be completely out of your element. And I can safely say I was a bit over my head at this restaurant. You start with your broth, where I am ashamed to admit that instead of opting for the Tonkostu with its deep and rich fatty flavor, I chose the basic umami of the White Miso. Because of that, I spent most of my meal mistakenly chasing flavors I would normally find in a Ramen Shop. They give you a plate of chopped herbs to add and some basic instructions ... I like garlic, so I added the whole thing, radish sound alright, so add in the whole ball, what was the last thing I put in? They give you a few squeeze bottles of oils with paper labels ... this one makes it more sour, this one makes it more spicy, this one has sesame, and I'm too timid to add enough of any to truly add to the flavor of the broth, so it just keeps that basic umami flavor without being as salty as it should be. Then you have a plate of vegetables to steep in your creation. Cabbage, broccoli, spinach, bok choy, tofu ... all of it serves as a way of soaking up that broth you've made. Other options, like the carrots, mushrooms, and squash, become sweet and tender after taking their turns in the pot. And they're nice as they offer a different flavor other than that umami. And then there's the meat. A wide variety of options ranging from salmon, to chicken, to pork, all the way down to multiple versions of beef. But, all of the meats we ordered seem to differ only in texture after spending some time in that broth. Some fell apart on the tongue, some still had a nice chew, but all shared that umami from the pot, with an aftertaste of beefy flavor before swallowing. After a few initial pieces, I found myself thankful for the dipping sauces to distract me from how boring I had made my broth to be. You also get a choice of rice, which I don't think you really need. You get a choice of noodles, which they give you a good amount where it doesn't fill you up with carbs. And anything left over is readily bagged up to eat at home after the flavors mix together and mature. In the end, it's a very filling and fairly healthy meal. I think it's difficult to not compare this to eating a bowl of Pho or Ramen. All the ingredients are there, just instead of eating it with a spoon, you pull out the individual bits with some chop sticks and pretend you're not eating boiled beef and spinach. If I were a better cook, or had another ten visits worth of practice, Tabu Shabu could easily be 4-5 stars. As it is, though, I think I would rather just go to GONZO and get another chef's creation to be sure of the flavors I want. Regardless, I want to come back here and try again one day. The variety of options and the wait staff alone are enough for me to learn more and expand my Shabu options, as well as recommend this place to others.

Such a friendly experience! We came in after a rainy morning soccer game, looking for somewhere…read morewarm and cozy near Cal State San Marcos. We had three bowls of ramen, gyoza, edamame, and a chicken teriyaki bowl for my son. He likes his food very plain--no sauce, onions, or extras--so his order was a little different from ours. His meal came out separately, a little late, and the owner was genuinely bothered that everything hadn't arrived together. She kept apologizing. We kept telling her it was totally fine, but she really cared about making sure we were taken care of. The restaurant is small and cozy; the food was good, the service was very friendly, and the restroom was clean. We'd definitely come back if we're in the area again. Recommend!

Ramen Mik in San Marcos brings tasty and fresh Japanese Sapporo style ramen to the San Marcos area…read more With this being my first visit I always love to ask the server their most popular dishes that customers love. For small bites she said the Pork Gyoza is the most popular appetizer so I had to try it. The pan fried edges made for a wonderful texture as well as the pork filling. Definitely a great way to start the meal. For the my main entree she recommend I try the BST signature ramen that features a Sio Tonkotsu Base with Black Umami Garlic Oil. For a first timer at Ramen Mik this was an excellent choice with its rich, creamy broth surrounded by fresh garlic, stir fried vegetables, green onion and ginger. The noodles were fresh and had an excellent bite to them. It was a very tasty bowl of ramen and I recommend trying the BST. Overall great first time experience at Ramen Mik as service was great, plenty of seating and parking making it very accessible. Can't wait to come back and try their other dishes such as Japanese curry, beef bowls and tonkatsu.

it's saturday night. we don't have a reservation. they tell us the wait is over an hour. what do we…read moredo? we wait. and thank jebus we did, because this ended up being one of the best meals i've had in a while. we started with the prawn. we each got one, and given that they're $10 a skewer, our bill started off STRONG. the prawns were perfectly roasted with hints of mezcal and prickly pear. the candied habanero or whatever garnish of death was on there totally kicked my ass in terms of spice. in true Asian fashion, we ripped the heads off and sucked all the goodness out of them too. no shame. you don't waste the good stuff. then the cornbread showed up. the group collectively agreed we'd pass on this one next time. for me, the goat cheese threw me off, but that's entirely on me because i hate goat cheese and still knowingly ordered something with goat cheese. i played myself. there was absolutely nothing wrong with the dish, but compared to everything else we ate, there wasn't anything particularly standout about it either. but then. the fucking broccoli showed up. it is literally charred broccoli with chermoula, lime, and peanut. that's it. BROCCOLI. and after taking one bite, i learned that broccoli could, in fact, be life changing. suddenly i was a new woman. a woman who wanted nothing more than to sit there and stuff her face with massive amounts of broccoli. unfortunately, i couldn't because we still had dishes to taste. and so i moved on to the pork belly. when people describe something as "melting in your mouth," they are specifically referring to Campfire's pork belly. because that's exactly what it did. just melted all up in my mouth and lit my taste buds on fire. normally, i find pork belly prepared this way a little heavy and can only stomach a few bites, but i could have eaten the entire dish. but of course i didn't, because i'm a lady. and the octopus was about to show up. and show up it DID. i don't like celery, and this dish had plenty of it, but because it was shaved super thin, it was actually super palatable. the octopus was incredibly tender, and there were little bits of chorizo throughout that gave it the perfect balance. also, love me a good chimichurri sauce. and finally, last but truly not least, the chicken. a whole ass half bird, charred to perfection with roasted red pepper, kumquat, and fennel. apparently i like fennel now??? i didn't even know i liked fennel like that, but here we are. if i hadn't already been stuffed to the absolute brim, i could have destroyed this entire dish. the chicken was juicy and tender, and paired with the fennel, you're almost like just having a healthy dish??? LOL. although we went in with every intention of ending the night with s'mores, our bodies simply said no. there was no more room at the inn. see what i did there :P so instead, we left and went on a very long walk to digest all the delicious goodness that was Campfire. i cannot wait to go back. mostly for the broccoli, which is a sentence i never thought i'd write in my life. and this time, i will absolutely be making a reservation.

This is a late review, but the ambiance is dark, romantic, and perfect for date night. We came here…read moreto celebrate our anniversary and were really excited for the experience. We checked in 10 minutes early for our reservation, and the wait leading up to being seated was a little frustrating. We were just trying to grab drinks while we waited, but there were no seats available and no one really acknowledged us. A lot of people were dining at the counter, but we were just trying to order cocktails, so that part felt a little awkward. The drinks we ended up eventually ordering were Flamekeeper and the Kentucky Crest, which were both phenomenal! Once we were finally seated, the service was great. The cornbread was good but leaned pretty heavy on the blood orange. The broccoli is an absolute MUST order. It was crispy but airy, smoky, and honestly one of the best veggie dishes we've had. The pork chop was a tad dry, but everything else was lovely. The cavatelli reminded me more of a pasta salad than a warm pasta dish. Ending with the s'mores was such a fun concept and made for a cute, interactive finale. The heartfelt card signed by staff congratulating our anniversary was so sweet! The complimentary glass of champagne was also a kind gesture, although it came toward the end of dinner, so the timing felt a bit off. Overall, a really beautiful spot with standout cocktails and some great dishes. A few hiccups here and there, but still a memorable anniversary dinner.