Muku Japanese Noodle House

Very disappointed. Soup base was extremely fatty but not thick nor rich. Noodles was in good texture. Toppings are standard. The soup base pulled everything down. Worst ramen I’ve ever had…

Always like to go MUKU for ramen. Especially when the weather is getting colder. Reasonable price. Order ramen with bowl of rice only ask for no more than 20 bucks. Food is super tasty. Not too salty flavor for ramen with properly garlic inside super yummy (usually I don’t take any food garlic related.)

If I could give Muku 2.5 stars I would. The service was great but the food was only okay. The menu is very limited for non-​pork eaters (be warned). It didn’t seem worth the price, despite the friendly service. Also a note that they won’t split the bill which was annoying at the end of a not-​great meal.

I went today for mothers day, at around 530 pm. There were not many people so we received our soups in a record time of 4 minutes 55 seconds since the moment we ordered. I ordered the spicy miso, and the basic tonkotsu for my wife. The noodles taste like they are cheaply made, i could even say they are close to instant noodles quality. The tonkotsu, even though i know it is a pork base broth, had a very overpowering pork smell and taste. This is the first time that I could smell the pork even after I finished the ramen and get into my car, and i felt that lingering pork small/​flavor many hours after i got home. If you are looking for something cheap, but not the real deal as in Japan, then go to this place. I tried other ramen (shiki menya, Gagana Ramen, and one other ramen shop in Banff) and this was the worst so far. Only 2 stars for the speedy service.

Really good food, a bit cramped, and not that long of a wait. I got there around 1:30PM on a Saturday, and was seated in about 20 minutes. Which isn’t bad at all, considering it was lunch time and on a Saturday. Where as at Shiki Menya, you would normally wait about an hour or so.
I had the tonkatsu chashu + sukiyaki rice set, and takoyaki for appetizer. The takoyaki were a bit small, but other than that, excellent food all around. There was quite a lot of ramen, so it was difficult to finish after the appetizer– but I managed.
Beware, if you know you have a small appetite, do not order appetizer, or a set meal. You will most likely not be able to finish it.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would come here again on any day, given that I have starved myself all day to prepare myself for the meal.

I ordered the Tonkatsu with Char Siu and extra noodles (as usual). While the noodles were great (al dente) just like any other ramen places, I felt that the broth lacked flavour and was too salty. The char siu was thinly cut and had much more meat than fat, which I like. They also give you lots of it too. But I didn’t notice any flavour or seasoning in it, which is unfortunate.
I’d come back here to try other ramen and broth. I would’ve given a 2.5 stars if I could but out of the ramen places I’ve been to in Calgary thus far, I prefer Menyatai’s broth and Shiki Menya’s charbroiled char siu more.

Weather turned chilly after sunny hike this morning and knew exactly where to go for some delicious and healthy bowl of Tonkatsu Chasu ramen. I requested the extra Tamago (egg), nori and fried onions on top. Hot green tea was served immediately while waiting for awesomeness soup to be prepped and perfected. Place was predictably packed, but everyone was polite and the ramen was top notch. Worth the wait — and bring your cash and manners, please

Been there just once, with a friend who highly recommended the place, and the visit was very satisfactory.
Despite being incredibly crowded during the lunch time (well, that’s actually a good sign), order for three was served very quickly, and our soups were delicious. Huge portion, very well made.
Place itself is tiny and beaten, but not filthy — and it should be way more quiet and comfy outside of the rush hour.
Would definitely like to be back!

My husband & I are regulars at Muku, because it’s one of the best ramen places in Calgary that is not only open when you need it to be (why do so many close before 5pm??) and we can almost always get a seat. Service is friendly and fast, and bowls of ramen come out steaming hot and delicious. I always get the Miso ramen because that’s my jam, but I have sampled a few of the others when my husband has ordered it and never been disappointed. I feel like I should sample more of the menu to write a more thorough review, but I won’t. Sorry. I’ve been on a quest to find ramen in Calgary that tastes as good as that in Vancouver, and Muku is the only one that comes close so far.

Easily the best Ramen in the city!
Great portions.
Simple, perfect, ramen!
Broth in the home-​made traditional soups is great, but the home-​made unique «specialty» soups are AWESOME!
With Ramen — it’s all about the broth. The noodles and the toppings are one thing, but the broth is really what distinguishes one restaurant from another.
They have a great «set menu» option where you can add a mini salad and a small rice bowl for a few extra dollars. ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE HUNGRY! Seriously, the bowls of ramen are huge. It’s awesome that they have extra nori, ajitsuke tamago, veggies etc on the side that you can order as add ons in your bowl.
My wife and I always go here for ramen. We’ve tried other places, but this is the best we’ve had since coming back from Osaka over 5 years ago!

I got the original ramen and it was delicious! Only $ 9.50 for a bowl that comes with 2 piece of pork.

Had lunch with my boyfriend today. It’s usually really busy here but we got a table right away. It’s a small place and the tables are very close to each other. The ramen was good. The meso broth was yummy and the side rice with BBQ pork was delicious. Service was a bit slow.

On several occasions I have gone to Muku with friends only to find that they are sold out of an item. Usually rice or the soup, but have also encountered a shortage of beef. I personally find it unacceptable that an establishment could run out of items on such a regular basis. They will also close up to 2 hours early when they run out of something, so make sure you call ahead, or you may end up being incredibly disappointed.
Ramen itself is OK, service can be slow at times. If they were able to remedy their stock issues, it would be a more enjoyable place to eat.

First off, this place is crazy busy, so plan accordingly if you’d like to try it. I decided to get there before it opened, and I’m certainly glad I did, otherwise I might have been waiting in line forever!
Service is great in that the staff are wonderful and very friendly. However the wait times were unbelievable! My favourite ramen joints back home in Vancouver take no more than ten minutes maximum, so that’s the point of reference that I’ve always had. I was waiting here for 27 minutes for a plain shoyu ramen, and then my friend’s bowl arrived five minutes after. The whole time we were eating, the line-​up at the door had the exact same faces. I’m sure this place is making some good business since it always seemed lined up, but I think business could get even better for them if they just reduced their turnover time by speeding up how fast they get dishes out of the kitchen.
Sadly I don’t think this place is worth the wait – it looks like both people here on Unilocal and people that I’ve spoken to quite like this place, but personally I just didn’t like the ramen as I felt it lacked flavour. My standards for ramen are (I guess) a little high, it has been my favourite dish since I visited Tokyo. After that trip, I realized just how important the broth is, and it just didn’t quite cut it for me here, but it looks like everyone else seems to like it. 3-​Stars because it’s not bad by any means and the people are nice, but I might have felt very disappointed to eat bland ramen had I waited in that line for over forty minutes like everyone else – phew!

I’ve been slowly working my way through all of the ramen spots in Calgary and Muku Japanese Ramen was next on the hit list. It’s owned by the same people that run Globefish, which is conveniently located beside each other. The parking lot is tight but woah, Muku is buuuuuuuusy. We got there around 5:30pm on a Friday evening and there already was a crowd of people lined up.
There’s two lists to put your name down on — one for tables and one to sit at the ramen bar. Choose wisely, then breath in the aromatics (don’t worry, the wait is bearable). Their system would be infinitely better if they were grouping people based on table size. Seriously, I know first come first serve is usually the way to go but when you put two people on a four spot, that’s a waste of real estate, especially considering their capacity. Oh well.
The menu is purely ramen (the way it should be) and you can choose from three broths — tonkatsu, miso and shoyu. Each broth has a choice of regular, spicy and then add ons (extra meat, wontons, etc.).
— 2x Tonkatsu chashu wonton ($ 12.95) + set ($ 3.00) — my buddy and I ordered the same tonkatsu chashu wonton ramen — for an extra $ 2.00, you get five extra slices of chashu pork and two wontons. Muku’s tonkatsu broth had depth and was very flavourful. Both friends and I agreed that we could easily slurp up a bowl on it’s own, after all, this is their speciality broth. Made from pork bones and a soy-​based sauce, you’ll want to dive right in. Bathe in it even. The ramen came topped with fresh green onions, young corn and a slice of naruto (Japanese fish cake). The noodles had a nice chewy bite to it and stayed that way till the bitter end. I have to say, I enjoyed Muku’s tonkatsu much more than Menyatai’s but Menyatai wins hands down with their chashu. Both have their strengths but are winners in my book.
We also added the $ 3.00 set menu which gives you your choice of a small rice bowl (beef, chashu and unagi) and salad. I went with the unagi, which came with two pieces of tender, fatty eel pieces. One more would have been perfect. The salad was light and refreshing with a sweet salad dressing on top. It’s definitely worth adding onto your meal.
— Miso ramen ($ 9.95) — my friend went with the miso, which is made of chicken and fish broth and Muku’s original miso paste. I sampled a bit of the miso broth and I definitely was a bigger fan of the tonkatsu. It really depends on what you want though. The miso ramen came with chashu, fresh green onions, corn kernels, bean sporuts, bamboo shoots, carrots and nori.
I’m still baffled by how many good spots there are in Calgary to get your ramen fix in. Seriously, soooooo good. Ramen done right. Sit at the ramen bar and watch the one ramen maestro/​chef work his magic. It’s unreal, it’s literally one man doing everything in the kitchen.

Muku has awesome ramen and is definitely worth the wait when it’s a chilly day in Calgary (so everyday from Oct-​June)
They have miso, shoyu and tonkatsu ramen, all come in spicy and other additions if you wish. I usually get miso which I’m always happy with. Noodles are cooked well. The broth is never too greasy, and the pork is tasty with the perfect fat to meat ratio. If I remember correctly, their ramen doesn’t come with an egg, we added it extra but I need egg with my ramen!
We usually get our ramen in a combo with the side salad and small rice bowl with this tasty beef. It’s quite a bit of food for me, but the boys usually finish it up being super full.
It’s pretty tiny in there so expect to wait a while for a table.

Unilocal keeps telling me they love the tip and just the tip isn’t enough. So here is more. There’s a big sign at the door that clearly indicates no sushi. Ok Muku we got it.
Parking sucks since it’s a sharp turn into a small lot with limited spaces, but if you go on off hours it’s decent. Ramen portions are really big, and you can get a meal with a small tiny salad and a small rice as well. The tonkatsu ramen broth is hearty and milky. Add butter and it’s orgasmic. The noodles are consistently chewier than I would like but that’s a personal preference. In the winters, the windows don’t keep the cold out so bring a sweater. Overall a local and personal favorite. Hits the spot and a quick in and out to get your ramen fix.

Craving soup after running errands on a rainy weekend, my gf suggested we go for ramen. We arrived before noon so Muku wasn’t opened yet so we waited in parking lot (which is quite pot hole ridden — what goes on here?!)
It seemed like everyone else had the same idea for hot soup on a cold day — the lot started to fill up! We didn’t want to take our chances so we went to line up by the door. They promptly opened at noon and we were quickly seated. We each got a lunch box (½ order of spicy miso ramen with pork & rice) and sipped on tea as we watched people hustle about outside.
The ramen was great — the spiciness wasn’t too overpowering (but had a nice kick to it) and the pork’s saltiness complemented well with the rice.
For around $ 10/​each, you get to enjoy some delicious food and a wonderful lunch. Oh, and the milk candies you get with your bill are super yummy! :)

To skip my nostalgia, proceed to the ***
Until Muku, they only experience I’d had with ramen was the college experience. You know, the one where you and the roommates roll into the Superstore parking lot in 1988 Mazda and a cloud of smoke (from the car, of course). You pool your pennies together (remember pennies?) and if you’re lucky, you have enough for the giant bold yellow box of No Name ramen noodles. Hooray, nourishment for a month! There were two ways I knew how to cook these noodles — you could put them in a pot of water, get distracted with Mario Kart and come back to a mushy mess, or you could open the package and gnaw on the brick of them. To me, that was ramen. While I look back fondly on this experience, I’m also very happy to say that Muku Japanese Noodle House shattered it!
***Before you even get into the restaurant you will pass two signs exclaiming NO SUSHI! Judging by the signs, It seems like maybe a person or two has come in asking if they carry sushi. I don’t know if they do or not. I didn’t ask.
Get ready to be cozy with your neighbours and possibly wait in a line. I was there at 6:30 on a very cold Thursday and there was no line, but it was right full. They’ve got a waiting list at the front as I’m sure on any other less arctic day, you’ll have a wait.
The servers were so friendly and very quick. I went for the Kanban — the Miso Ramen their menu says they’re famous for, but with fatty pork (their words) and cabbage on top.
The servers were quick. The food? not so much. After ordering it took about half an hour for the soup to arrive. It didn’t seem like I was forgotten about as other people were waiting about this long. I guess that’s just how long noodles take here. Be prepared to not be quickly in and out.
As you may have gathered from the opening ramble, I’m no ramen expert. But I did get a tasty, hot and filling meal that had me diving in full face-​plant., slurping, and being an embarrassing mess. They had classic rock radio turned up and as it turns out, Eric Clapton makes for some top notch ramen munchin’ music. I loved every second of it.
Once your done with your eye opening ramen experience you can hone your driving skills trying to leave their tight parking lot. How did I get in there?
Muku is quirky, adorable and cool. I can’t wait to bring people here!

We’ve been here a few times and their ramen have always been excellent! The broth is very flavorful and the ramen is the right (slightly chewy, not soggy) consistency. The servers are very friendly, efficient, and helpful (especially if you are having trouble deciding what to order). This time we tried one of their appies, deep-​fried baby octopus ($ 6.95). Hmmmm… I felt that they could’ve given us a more generous portion (see photo) and some pieces of the octopus weren’t cooked through. Next time, I’ll order the calamari legs…
My hubby’s favorite is the miso ramen and mine is the Hakata style chasu and pork wonton ramen.