WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – One of America’s best ramen places is set to arrive in downtown Walnut Creek.
Heads up, though: it will take a while. The future spot is still under heavy construction, and I don’t foresee an opening until later in the year.
The upcoming restaurant is Marufuku Ramen, heading for 1630 Cypress Street.
I was dreaming of delicious bowls of creamy Tonkatsu, with thin noodles, a perfectly cooked soft egg, and plenty of Japanese veggies.
Then I realized, I don’t just need to dream about it. So I packed up my family, drove into the city, and went to Marufuku’s OG spot in Japantown to try out their soups in our own little preview.
The first indicator that Marufuku is amazing is the wait time. When we arrived at the Japantown location, we were told the wait would be 60-80 minutes.
That’s a long time, especially with three little kids. But we duly put our names on the list and explore the neat bookstores and jewelry places in Japantown Center Mall until our table was finally ready.
Going inside, we were greeting by a classic interior with warm wood accents everywhere, and plenty of cozy tables.
It was also immediately clear that the long wait times weren’t due to slow service. Marufuku had tons of staff, and they were almost running between tables.
Immediately, the server came over both to take our order, and to give our kids a little basket of small toys to choose from.
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I’ve never seen a restaurant do this before, and it makes so much sense! The kids were enthralled, Maruku was out perhaps $0.10 for the plastic treasures, and everyone immediately forgot about the long wait to get in.
That attention to detail and service set the tone for the whole meal. The servers seemed genuinely thrilled that we had brought three little kids along, which certainly isn’t true of many spots I visit.
When we ordered kids meals, they came out in about 3 minutes, complete with little bowls of plain ramen, veggies, fried chicken, french fries and even a tiny mango dessert.
The kids got cute cutlery and animal themed bowls (nonbreakable!) for themselves.
That allowed us to focus on ordering our main entrees. I got Marufuku’s classic Hakata Tonkatsu ramen. It’s a big bowl of pork bone broth–incredibly creamy–served with slices of pork belly, thin noodles, a soft-boiled egg, ginger, and tons of veggies.
It was creamy and intensely flavored, yet still felt light enough that I could eat the whole bowl. The veggies brightened up the broth, and the melty egg was the perfect addition to the hot soup.
Like everything else at Marufuku, it arrived lighnting fast–about 5 minutes after I placed my order.
My wife got a chicken and rice bowl that was also excellent, with crispy little piece of fried chicken arranged atop rice and a bit of seaweed.
We also tried several of the appetizers and smaller dishes at Marufuku Ramen. The gyoza were delicious, although I admit that the kids grabbed them so fast, I was only able to nibble on the side of a single one!
We also got traditional buns, served with veggies, meat, and a light, fluffy and slightly sweet bao-style dough. Delicious!
Even though the wait was long, from the start to the finish, everything about the meal felt flawlessly executed.
They immediately addressed our kids’ needs, with toys and kids’ meals that were ready in a few minutes. Again, lots of restaurants forget that, and it can easily degrade the experience both for the kids and the parents.
Here, the kids were happy playing and eating, and we could truly enjoy the meal as a family, slurping down that delicious broth and munching on tasty bao buns.
The restaurant had a great energy–lots of movement without feeling overwhelming. The staff were fantastic and clearly very experienced.
We all walked away feeling that Marufuku is the best ramen place in the Bay Area–both in terms of the food and the overall experience of eating there.
Again, that bodes well for Walnut Creek’s future location, as well as the newly announced Marufuku in Dublin, California.
When those spots do arrive, I can’t wait to be able to enjoy comparably delicious soup–and hopefully the same level of attentive and professional service–close to home.
Maybe the wait will even be a bit shorter!
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