I can't believe I have never written a Yelp review for Marugame Monzo before! This is literally…read morewhat I get everytime I visited LA. My friend and I always said we need to try new restaurants but fail every time because we always ended up craving Marugame Monzo. They literally have the best cream udon in my opinion! They got the ratio RIGHHTTTT!! It's creamy but not crazy creamy that all you taste is heavy cream. I can taste the flavor from the protein!! The hand crafted udon noodles always cooked to perfection with the perfect texture. The noodles soaked up the sauce up so well!! I have tried different cream udon dishes here - the famous sea urchin cream udon, the carbonara udon, the mentai cream udon, the butter squid udon, etc... My fav would definitely be the mentai cream udon, as you get lots of yummy seafood (shrimps and scallops) in the sauce. The butter squid cream udon is also really good as well!! I like to pair my cream udon with a side of chicken karage!! I really like the batter that they use for the chicken! It's crunchy and airy and very well seasoned!! Service has always been amazing! You get seated fairly quickly and the staff are super attentive! They always check up on you to see how you are doing. The restaurant is small and they make the best of the space they have. I like the glass window/bar area where you can see the chef make the udon noodles!!

Ordered the miso carbonara udon & ikura don…read more The udon was great: creamy and flavorful, but definitely felt more like the carbonara part of the fusion. I regret the ikura don though. It took a while to come out, and it was too bland. I wish it was more like a poke bowl.

Visited Hangari on Saturday evening to try their renown Kalguksu with some friends. I've known that…read morespecific parking lot/strip mall to be a nightmare parking wise, so I bit the bullet and used the on-site valet. There is sometimes street parking but the availability is rough, it's tough to park, and even one of the meters we ended up at just didn't work. They only charge a $5 cash service charge though, which isn't bad. We were lucky to be seated right away, even in a packed restaurant. The restaurant has a surprisingly modern design, and is comfortable for as small as it is. We were quickly served their signature kimchis and barley rice. The kimchi, particularly the yeolmu (young summer radish) kimchi, has a unique flavor profile well suited to their food. We ordered 2 bowls of their plain kalgooksu, 1 bibim milmyun, and 1 tteokbokki. The food came out fairly quickly. The kalgooksu was as expected the star of the show. The anchovy broth brings a savory complexity that seems impossible for a soup made from just dried fish and a few other ingredients. It even has a rich, almost thick, quality to it that is surprising for a fish broth. Their noodles, the titular kalgooksu, have the signature irregularity and chew of knife cut noodles. I appreciate the vegetables that always come in kalgooksu, like potato, pumpkin, and zucchini, which offer an earthy heartiness to the light soup. My only complaint is that the potato is in huge irregular chunks, and is barely cooked, though I feel like I have had this issue with many of the kalgooksu bowls I've had over the years. The bibim milmyun was solid. I think that I prefer the texture and flavor of naengmyeon buckwheat noodles, but the milmyun, which are made with mostly wheat flour, still provide a satisfying chew. The sauce tasted bright and fresh, especially with a splash of added vinegar. It also came with a small side portion of spicy pork and some rice paper to wrap. The tteokbokki was the one let down of the meal. To be fair, I wasn't expecting much out of tteokbokki at all restaurant like this whose specialty is essentially the opposite. I ordered the tteokbokki as a "safe pick" for a picky eater in the group. It turned out to be a bit mediocre in our opinion, and that friend ended up enjoying their kalgooksu anyways. If you're looking to try this dish, it's definitely one of if not the best I've had in Southern California, so I'd totally recommend it. I'll also warn to steer clear of the Garden Grove restaurant of the same name and specialty. I think it's a disappointing mimicry of this place.

Heard great things about this restaurant so I was very excited to try it while I was in town. Came…read moreon Sunday night at 7pm, and was very pleasantly surprised they had plenty of open tables to seat our party of 3 immediately. What we ordered: - Clam Kalguksu (5/5): this was sooo good! The noodle texture and broth favor was amazing. I would definitely order this again if I come back! - Large Bossam (4.5/5): I absolutely love bossam and this was exactly what I expect when I order bossam. Only reason it's not 5/5 is it's not really any different from bossam elsewhere. Overall, this place is definitely worth the hype and I will be come back when I'm in the ktown area again!

I love yuzu shoyu ramen. It's hard to find a place that serves yuzu flavored ramen, so I was…read moreexcited to see that Afuri is known for it. I had it in Japan before and it was delicious! They offer Yuzu Shio (salt broth) and Yuzu Shoyu (soy sauce broth) Ramen. I went with Yuzu Shio ($19.50). The yuzu gives it a refreshing/bright taste that really cuts through the fatty broth and pork. Yuzu Limeade ($7) and although I liked the drink because it had a strong yuzu and lime taste, I wouldn't recommend getting it with a yuzu flavored ramen because it takes away the yuzu flavor in the ramen. Service was friendly and attentive. The space is open and bright. We paid for parking just to the side of the restaurant so that we didn't have to deal with street parking.

This is from an older visit. Have tried Afuri in Japan and it's pretty good there so wanted to try…read morehere as well. 1. Yuzu ship ramen: nice light flavor. Like the chasu but wish there were more pieces. Menma kinda bland though. The noodles could be more Q. 2. Kakuni Buta man: is okay 3. Spicy crispy pork gyoza: good crisp 4. Kaarage: interesting sauce 5. Yuzu limeade: no need to get it again. Glad to here there is another location closer to me. would come back again.

They're known for their knife-cut noodles, but every item on the menu is authentic and delicious…read more The real star of the show, though, is the kimchi. It has an intensely bold garlic flavor, easily the strongest garlic-forward kimchi I've ever had. As soon as you sit down, they bring out a generous dish to the table. Throughout your meal, servers come around with trays piled high with more and ask if you'd like a refill. The answer should always be yes. Honestly, it almost doesn't matter what you order, just pick something and enjoy the endless kimchi. You can't take any to go, so savor it while you're there. Pace the rest of your meal and take your time, making each bite of kimchi last.

If you're looking for something cozy yummy comfort food like we were, this hit the spot! The…read moreportions are generous, my friend and I split the #1 and the dumplings, and had leftovers. The kimchi banchan have a nice kick of spice without it being overpowering. Parking can be tough, but free at meters after 6p.

I love making a stop when I visit LA…read more Stopped by a weekday lunch and it was so easy to park. The restaurant is clean and cozy and service was nice. Quick in and out lunch. Ordered the tonkatsu and tsukemen. Both delicious and the broth and flavor is rich and delicious. Next time I would probably order extra pork on the side.

4 stars just because we came for the happy hour . They were…read morefriendly and I loved the specials for some drinks and quick snacks with my gf. Ambiance is new modern & clean , it's a small place so don't expect too much seating . Next time I'd try the regular menu to be able to give the full experience and rate 5 stars. I tried the spicy tuna and it's was 10/10 great flavor. Overall nice & look forward to trying more on the menu next time .

I'm really torn because the food was really good, but the service was seriously lacking. There were…read moresix of us, and all of us felt how rude they were. We ended up being sat next to the grill, I have a shellfish allergy so we asked to sit in their outdoor seating area (which had plenty of tables open) instead just so my allergies don't get triggered by all the vapors. As we walked to our outdoor table, my husband and friend heard three workers talking crap about me and complaining that I shouldn't even be eating there because everything had shellfish. Let's be honest it's not that hard to accommodate, plus we're giving you our business so what's the problem? Rude all the way through table service, then when we were all finished, we had barely just paid and we were finishing our drinks when the same three workers rushed into our table to clear everything out and pushed us out of our table. We're all a pretty chill group of people but every single one of us left saying what the actual f*ck was their problem?

First time visit. I feel like this place always has a wait. Fortunately for us I don't feel like we…read morewaited very long. The service was amazing. It's a well oiled machine. Seating is available inside and out. The restaurant inside is small. Open kitchen. Very cool to see the process. Hands down I highly recommend ordering the Handmade gyoza . They were juicy and flavorful. For ramen I went with the Daikokuya Ramen combination with chashu pork rice bowl. The ramen broth was rich in flavor. I added spicy oil. The noodles were perfectly cooked. The chashu pork was delicious. I would definitely come back and order everything again.

Love the vibe here great ambiance with dog friendly seating inside…read more Service is great fast and welcoming The food was good yummy flavors my favorite was the popcorn chicken Over all 5 stars we will be back

I understand that it's a busy Sunday evening, but there is no one at the counter to take the order…read morefrom a long line of customers, but there's sufficient time to redirect traffic because the line was getting so long that was blocking the entrance.. It's very poor workflow, not to mention negligent customer service. The management should really take notice before business goes under.

Delicious and great service. Got the Saozi noodle and Hokkaido milk tea! Spacious restaurant and…read morevery clean!

My mom and I had lunch special shrimp noodle soup and kung pao chicken. The shrimp noodle soup was…read moresuper bland, basically water. Kung pao chicken was made of chicken breast pieces sauteed with cucumber and peanuts. Weird taste and texture. The dining area seemed dirty and had no AC. Maybe the pork dishes taste better but I didn't really enjoy what I ordered.

The pasta here was SO good--honestly addicting. There are so many different options, there's…read moresomething for everyone. No regrets at all coming here, and you definitely won't regret it either! The portions are pretty big, so come hungry or be ready to take some home. Definitely coming back again

Can only be seated if everyone in your party is there…read more Salad bomb island dressing I would ask for extra Bread was normal with poppy seed Crab cheese app pretty good with the bread 8/10 Salmon pasta 9/10 really good light taste, doesn't feel heavy Mentai was okay 7/10 I'm not familiar with the taste, but it was very mild Uni pretty light also 8/10 worth a try regardless Good service just flag them down, they are always moving and on their feet. Be patient with them Food comes pretty quick in like 10 mins Fairly loud but a nice family sit down restaurant Big portions would recommend sharing

Very unique and fun food with classic Japanese taste! The warm plates on the tables are fun…read more Service was attentive and fast.

It's located in the heart of Little Tokyo in LA. There is…read moreample of paid public parking around the area. Let ms start with "this is my first tome trying an okinomiyaki" and i have been curious prior to trying on. I ordered the Chinchikurin okinomiyaki and my gosh, i dont know how I visited Japan 2x and this is the first time eating it. The Chinchikurin was hella good!!! Like order one and try it!! I ate the whole thing by myself . My hubbs was there just for props so I wont feel too embarrassed eating it all by myself. I also ordered their takoyaki original. And I ate that alone aswell. I just love this. and will definitely be coming back. Service was quick, they were available and always checking if you are ok. i appreciate the hot grill keeping food warm. Warm food is a must. Ambiance was giving Japan vibe where you sit down with friends and enjoy okinomiyaki with friends. Enough space between tables where you dont have to be elbowing the person next table. Overall. I enjoy the food, the service and the places.