I've thought long and hard about what to say in this review and I thought it best to keep it simple. EAT HERE NOW. If you want ramen, this is your new favorite spot. I've tried other spots including the disappointing nishi place downtown and all I could think about while slurping on those oily noodles was why I didn't go to Matsuharu instead. We talk about going back to this place almost every day but the hours are a little odd. If they were open earlier, I'd be there everyday. Also, don't let the photos fool you. The ramen bowls may look simple but the broth is rich in flavor and they don't skimp on the noodles. CASH ONLY!
This place rocks. It's not going to look trendy like the other local Japanese restaurants. This place also currently doesn't serve sushi. It's all kitchen food which is what I go here for anyway. Cash only currently. And a fairly long wait that I suspect is a result of making everything fresh. Probably not the best place if you're starving, have unruly children that just want chicken fingers, or have a large group. The wait is the only reason I didn't give it a perfect score. Do not be turned off by its outside appearance.
Bottom line: Great authentic food, cash only, decent wait for food. But if you have time and can wait about 30 minutes to eat, go here. Eat. It's totally worth it. Seriously. Do it.
Me and a couple of friends came to this restaurant because we wanted to try it out. The inside is definitely cozy and welcoming. The waitress/hostess was very kind and patient. The "sorta" long wait was worth it when the food came out because the portions are big so you're definitely getting your money's worth.
Real deal Holyfield Japanese. Like eating at a persons living room. Very family oriented. Neighborhood could be better but the food makes up for it.
Salmon Teriyaki. Was delicious fresh salmon great white rice, and cabbage was perfectly seasoned.
Praise the sun!. OMG LMFAO hands down far and away the best Japanese food in town. It's real it's authentic it's everything you could possibly ask for, forget about it why aren't you there now? The lady who owns the place is very sweet and her food can't be matched. If these guys ever decided to set up franchise they'd run everyone else out of town. Be greatful for their infinite mercy in just being the best restaurant in the northeast.
Good variety of noodles and broths are tasty with just the right amount of fat and flavor. Broth sticks to noodles so you must slurp your noodles to get full experience. Gyoza was delicious too. We came here for ramen cuz I spent my day viewing David Chang documentaries and its all about RAMEN!!Didn't try sushi but ramen is good and properly made. Best ramen in El Paso!!
Almost didn't go in because it looks ghetto as hell but turned out to be really good and very pleasant in the inside. The gyoza was excellent.
Great food, best Japanese food in el paso
Loved this place! The food was authentic! can't wait to visit again!
The only authentic Japanese restaurant in El Paso. Enjoying Japanese T.V. With meal. As good as U can get 8000 miles from Japan
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Unreal Taste!!. I have wanted to go here for a while and I finally had the chance to go. The location is almost impossible to find and it's well hidden. It's not in a very friendly neighborhood since the restaurant has graffiti on one of the walls (who would do something like this?). Anyways, I was the only one there when it barely opened. This restaurant opens only for dinner at 5:30 every day except monday (closed). I had to wait an hour since I forgot this. When I went in, I was warmly greeted by the waitress and I sat down. The waitress was nice and never let my tea run dry (amazing tea by the way). The restaurant has a nice decor plus it's the first restaurant I have seen that has Japanese shows playing on TV and karaoke on the side. I ordered the nabeyaki udon and the korokke. The udon was incredible. I didn't know udon could taste this wonderful. All of the different items in the bowl made the udon taste unbelievable. Plus it looked like a work of art. The korokke was delicious as well. I didn't have the chance to try the sushi since they ran out. Overall this restaurant is a true gem. It would be great if they moved to a better location but I doubt that'll happen. Despite the location, I don't mind driving all to way to the Northeast to go to my new favorite Japanese restaurant. I can't wait to go back again!
Like eating in their home. Definitely authentic. So happy I found this place.
Great food loved the sushi service needs work
Some good Sushi. Not the cheapest of places, but not the most expensive either.... but definitely good sushi... no overload of cream cheese and everything tempura fried like some joints.. good authentic tasting sushi...
Fresh sushi!. Loved this hole in the wall. The owner is Japanese and so was our waitress. Our food was Japanese! lol. This place was awesome. Nigiri was fresh! Thank god. This place was very cozy and very reasonably priced!
Good stuff. The place looks kinda shady on the outside - don't let that scare you away! The food is great. The nigiri and sashimi are superb - very fresh, great texture, high quality fish! There were about 25 japanese-speaking people eating there. I think that speaks volumes about the food - authentic.
Wow!!! Sushi/nigri was AWESOME- very fresh. Food was excellent defintly very authentic.
I am so glad I found this place. I knew right away that this place was going to be great the instant we sat down!! This place is somewhat hidden and looks a little shady but it was so worth it!! Everyone at the restaurant was speaking Japanese, so that to me is a very good sign; we were the only English speaking patrons! This place is truly authentic, forget those awful Mexican and Korean owned sushi places, this is the real deal!! As an appetizer we had some pork gyoza which was delicious and as for the main courses we tried the yakisoba, and the Katsu curry which was phenomenal!! I love sushi but I didn't even bother with that since what we ordered was so good!! I will definitely be returning!!
Note: They are extremely slow (evenings on the weekend) when they are slammed but the wait is well worth it.
Authentic. Ok, so i haven't been to japan but my friend and his wife that are from japan took me here and the food was great!! I had a dish with squid and i couldn't place my fork down. that's right, i used a fork instead of some chopsticks but that's only because the food was too delicious. i didn't want to struggle dropping food I'm not a pro with chop sticks yet. The service was great. A little difficulties not knowing japanese, but i def would bring someone else to try this place.
I have been wanting to eat at this place for a long time. The place did not disappoint. The customer service gets a 10/10. There were only two people running the dining room, the register and the expediting. From seating us to getting us our drinks about 5 min passed. I had a lot of questions for our server and he explained everything I needed to know with patience. He made suggestions which were very good. He constantly checked on us without being pushy. The food was AMAZING, we were there only an hour before closing too. The place is small and not in any way fancy, but that kind of made part of the dive asthetic. This will be my go-to Japanese spot as long as it's open. I have nothing bad to say about the place. HIGHLY recommend.
Food: 1000/10. I ordered the shio ramen (spicy) and it was delicious!!! The best ramen i’ve had in a while. the broth was so flavorful and had the right spices in there. The staff was so sweet and accommodating! They were amazing to us the whole time I was eating.
I used to live walking distance from this place. Grew up walking bay it for as long as I can remember. Never been there. I finally stepped inside and it is now one of my new favorite restaurants. The Ramen soup is what they are know for and I had the black garlic i don't even remember I enjoyed it fully and a appetizer sorry. But I can promise nothing on the menu will disappoint small place several tables and a sushi bar. Can't wait to sit there. Everyone has there own likes and dislikes. I love it.
Me and my kiddo got the black garlic oil Ramen and it was amazing. The atmosphere is cozy and the wait wasn't too bad. I'm glad we got there before it got super busy. We'll be back for sure since it's so close to our apartment.
Loved this authentic ramen place! The best food is the little local hole in the wall places such as this one. Our server, Karla, was the sweetest and helped give us recommendations that were delicious! We will be coming here often.
Low key the best hidden gem in the heart of Northeast. Super authentic and not your average dining experience. Worth the wait and every minute. Super good and always the best cure. My favorite go-to is the spicy ramen and the black garlic and oil. So rich, tasty, and yummy, you can thank me later!
Worth the wait!!! Get there early as there are only two people working. One in the kitchen, and one servicing the tables, door, and takeout- wowza! It is no longer cash only, but it might be nice to bring cash because you can just leave your payment and tip on the table and not have to wait to cash out. Onigiri is delicious, fried chicken app was to die for, spicy miso was the best ramen I've ever had, and the chicken katsu curry plate was just what a cold day ordered. They don't have alcohol, but they will let you BYOB. No regrets here!!
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My family decided to break our tradition of Pizza night for Japanese food because we were all craving it bad. We decided to go on an adventure and try someplace new and we picked Matsuharu and honestly it was a great experience. It's located in a small shopping center and the decorations inside were cute. The seating was mixed matched but there was enough I believe. They had a TV on with some Studio Ghibli movies going on which was great. I will say they didn't have any beer or alcohol BUT they do offer BYOB they said so something to remember for next time. We had edamame as a appetizer and it was good. A few were not as fresh as the rest but overall we ate it all. My youngest was super excited that they had onigiri and he asked for a plum one. He wasn't the biggest fan but he is excited to go back and try the other 2 flavors they have, bonito flakes and salmon. My youngest ordered tempura udon, my oldest Miso ramen, my husband got the Katsu and I got the Nabeyaki udon. The food was great at their Katsu was so on point! I forgot to take pictures of our order this time around because we were so hungry! Over all we really loved the flavors and it will definitely be one of our go to when we are craving some ramen, or Katsu.
Now the reason they lost a star, our bill came out to about est$70 for just drinks and the food. They are on the pricier end but maybe that's what they need to mark up their plates for this area but I don't necessarily agree that it was worth that price. The service was super chaotic and I really felt for our server. She was the only waitress in the restaurant and all the tables ended up full. We went multiple times without a refill for our waters just because she was busy with all the other tables. She was really nice and did the best she could but it did leave us creeping close to hangry by the time we got out food. We still tipped her well because she really was taking care of the front of house almost on her own.
I mean, overall we will go back but it would probably be as a treat instead of a weekly or every other week thing.
This was the third time we had tried to eat here, and the first that they were open! The menu was full as was I when finished. The food was very flavorful and we will be coming back. The major negative was the temperature. Eating hot soup in a hot restaurant doesn't work for me.
I honestly can't get enough of this place. The katsu curry is absolutely worth the wait and the five starts.
I will warn y'all, the wait can get long. I think there is only one cook. From the time we sat down to the time we got our food 1.5 hours had passed.
The appetizers all got to our table at random times and so did our drinks. And yet, the food is so worth it I can't give it anything below 5 stars.
Best Japanese food I have tasted. The staff treats you like family. We have been there alone and we have been there when it is packed. The food is always fabulous. Have not tried something here I don't enjoy to the last bite. They no longer serve sushi but their Ramen is excellent. Only down fall is their hours vary a lot and only accept cash. Well worth it when it is open!!!
update: finally remembered to take a picture. love it here! I requested extra egg in the ramen!
Thank you too the wonderful staff for treating us to delicious dinner. Thanks to the chefs who never disappoint, and to Karla for her wonderful service. I absolutely love this restaurant everytime I'm here. She made it better with her smile and upbeat attitude. Thank you all, we loved it so much!
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Unassuming little hole in the wall in the middle of a somewhat more run down part of town. Needless to say, don't let the outside deter you from coming in. I've learned that this place has been around for over 3 decades and the lady who owns the place is the actual cook. It gets busy for dinner so come before the dinner rush. Sometimes it will take awhile for the food to come, but thankfully they have a TV set showing some anime to keep you occupied if you don't prefer being on your phone.
The flavor of the food is better than most places I've been to in El Paso, but, coming from San Francisco and Las Vegas, it is pretty average compared to those two places' standards. I enjoyed the korroke, shoyu ramen and chicken katsu. I was not a fan of the takoyaki (lacked flavor and the oil seemed old) nor the udon (it was a bit too salty).
Service however, was quite nice, the employees there are hospitable and polite. Interior is in need of some TLC, as the place looks a bit run down and very outdated. We come here because there aren't very many decent and authentic Japanese food in the area. Wish they still served sushi.
The best Japanese food place in town, hands down. We've been going to Matsuharu since we moved to El Paso, and have yet to find any place that comes close to the taste and quality of food. Not once have we been disappointed! The staff is always so nice, and the food always tastes fresh and delicious. I personally recommend the Takoyaki (fried octopus balls), the ebi fry curry (fried shrimp with curry) or their tonkatsu ramen. However, I would keep in mind, since this place is small and popular, there will likely be a wait time. We often arrive with a line out the door. But the food is so worth it, we don't mind the long drive or waiting for a table. Just something to keep in mind if you're low on time.
christopher delgadillo
+5
Great food and service. The tonkotsu ramen had red ginger which caught me off gaurd but I really enjoyed it. I did not catch the servers name but he was fast, kind and attentive. Location and building itself could use the TLC but thats how you know they got good food. The wife was in Korea and said the layout and design was really close despite it being Japanese. I liked it regardless. Would definitely recomend and will be visiting in the future.
The rice balls 🍙 were absolutely incredible! I ordered my favorite flavor “bonito“ otherwise known as “okaka (おかか).“ Plus the hostess was very sweet and the atmosphere was romantic as they had light lanterns. I hope to go on a first date here soon ! Thanks for being open
This little hole on the was is amazing. The onigiri is sooooo good! I recommend coming here!!!Miso Spicy Ramen AMAZING!!!! PORK CURRY AMAZING!!!
This is one of my favorite restaurants in El Paso. The quality of the food is so authentic and every bowl of ramen feels like it’s made with love! Definitely a feel good ramen restaurant! If you love ramen this is the best place hands down! They now accept cash and credit cards and come with a good amount of time! Matsuharu please keep doing what you are doing!!!!
I can't deny how good their Ramen is. Friendly staff. Just be patient they do get busy but the food is worth it.
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