Mirin Cafe

This place is pretty cool! Not a huge selection on rolls but they have the most popular rolls available. Best part is you can call your order in and pickup through the drive through. Price is great.

I’m always passing by this place and decided to try it today. Took the family and ordered a couple of entrees. Everything was pretty good except the chicken was boiled in the yakisoba and the fried rice. Never had it like that and my wife was disappointed. I think it would taste better if chicken was grilled.

Been here three times in the past three weeks. When it comes to Japanese cuisine there is NO better bang for your buck. The prices here are extremely reasonable considering the quality of food.
Their baked sushi is BOMB I always get it as my appetizer. followed by their special «Mirin Ramen». Delicious. It’s ramen so it’s pretty hard to mess up. But their broth and added ingredients make it excellent.
One of the best things about this place is they DO NOT use MSG. So you don’t have to worry about feeling real bloaty and getting cotton mouth and extreme thirst.
If you’re in the mood for good Asian grub and aren’t willing to spend a pretty penny check this place out!

To preface, I am Japanese and grew up with Tokyo style ramen on the reg…
Took the mirin special and «tonkotsu» ramen (both with pork belly) to go. I was turned off by the misspelling and mispronunciation of tonkAtsu, and was weary at first.
Unilocal check in got us free veggie egg rolls which fulfilled the fast food greasiness we were craving. The ramen broth was pretty good, and the egg was perfectly soft, and definitely would return for cheap ramen to go.

Just moved up to North County with my family last week and I was in search of a good ramen spot near my new place.
Well, Mirin Café didn’t disappoint.
Now I’ll be frank, Mirin is not the best ramen I’ve ever had in SD, but it is the most comforting. This place isn’t like the ramen spots you’ll find on Convoy – there’s no after hour crowd or lines of people outside hoping to grab a seat. In fact, my experience was rather quaint and simple. It was just about good food& good service on a rainy Friday evening in the the middle of Escondido. And sometimes that’s all you want, and I liked that.

Ramen culture in San Diego has the peculiar distinction of being almost universally good, so I hold any restaurant with the word ‘Tonkatsu’ in their menu to a higher standard. Ignoring Japanese places that offer it as an after-​thought, dedicated Ramen eateries are much rarer than you think in this county.
Mirin, despite being far north in Escondido from mainstream San Diego, is an excellent option to scratch that itch that only Ramen can do, in its own warm and magical way. Converted from what looks like an old burger joint, the ‘café’ moniker is odd given the old venue’s pedigree.
What matters though, is the taste, and Mirin has in spades whether its their specialized ramen or any of their other Japanese selections.
Their house special ‘Mirin Ramen’ is glorious. Corn is a weird choice but pairs surprisingly well with their homemade miso flavor. The mix of meats, spice, and green onion flavors is perfect and really warms my soul after a few spoonfuls of broth. And for only $ 7.45! You can’t beat that especially given how much ramen comes in one serving. I almost feel bad paying these prices after dining at certain unnamed downtown San Diego sushi joints.
This is the kind of place where you’re excited to hear the specials. I once came in for lunch and got an excellent Chicken Katsu for less than $ 5. They also do non-​standard ramen as specials like a Veggie Ramen with Tofu. I don’t normally order side dishes unless I’m otherwise famished, but their tempura is a nice treat with a homemade touch that lets you know they didn’t just microwave it.
They also offer plenty of other Japanese cuisine like Udon and rice bowls, but I come here specifically for the Ramen and would regret ordering anything else.

We were wary about the 4.5 stars since this place isn’t located in an Asian area. But it was late and we were tired & hungry. And the fact that there was a drive-​thru made us skeptical. On the plus side, waiter was very friendly.
Caterpillar roll (¹⁄₅): we were disappointed since they used imitation crab instead of unagi
Tempura Udon (²⁄₅): the soup was okay, the tempura was hot
Seafood Ramen (¹⁄₅): the broth lacked flavor, tastes like chicken broth. It’s not like regular spicy ramen

Decided to finally check this place out after seeing the good reviews. We were pleasantly surprised! The food was good, and seemed well priced for what was offered. I really liked how the noodles were cooked. We’ll definitely be back to try more dishes!

First of all Robert our waiter was amazing! He knows the menu and food very well and all of his suggestions were spot on! We literally ordered almost one of everything and it was all amazing! You must try this place! Seriously great prices.
They have Japanese sodas, traditional food and wonderful service. They have a drive through as well but only for phone order pick ups which is awesome!!! Especially if you have a sleeping baby in the car but a crazy craving for ramen. Delish!

Surprisingly good!
My friend brought my wife and I here and I have been back 4 – 5 time since, The food here is very good, the service is always friendly and the prices are very fair. They are very prompt with your food, definitely a little gem here in Escondido

Don’t judge a book by its cover. The first time I came here, I brought a friend who was highly skeptical but I insisted we try it out.
Food was great, service was wonderful. Thankful for a ramen place 1. Semi in my area and 2. That offer vegetarian options when I want ramen (don’t eat beef/​pork so usually can’t do any places broth with chicken).
Their normal broth is chicken, pork and seafood mixed together so I just do veg ramen with chicken instead of tofu but it was good with tofu too!
Drive thru is weird and will confuse you, as it did me, because there isn’t an actual drive thru menu. They suggest ordering ahead and picking up at the window or if they aren’t busy, will take your order at the window.

This place is definitely a hole in the wall, and like most, this place is amazing. I just dont know how I havent heard of this place untill now. Theyve been there for 2 years according to them.
No such thing as décor really. Just 4 walls and scratched up old window panes. You know what im totally fine with that. This is the kind of place that you dont care how it looks like, because the food and service is great. It makes for a good date night or just a random stop.
The food is great. The 2 free eggrolls came out pipin hot. the spicy garlic edamame was also great. They do have Tonkatsu, even though it is not on the menu, and they do a fantastic job. It seems as tho they change it up a bit. The color isnt the same as in others. However it is great.
Great place cant wait to come back.

This place is good if you want to eat in japanese. Its pretty ghetto but its good. I love their ramen and their Teryaki bowl.
Check in offer and you get free egg rolls. Limit one check in offer per table. They used to do free crunchy roll but changed it to egg rolls, i dont know why. Their sriracha bottles are always filled, thats always nice.
Did i mention its ghetto? I feel like im gonna get shot when i go there late at night. The parking lot in the back is creepy, it looks like if murderes have happened there. Never park in the wayyyy back. NEVER! Unless you love the thug life, like myself. I parked there once. The things that happened back there are not to be spoken of
But try this place out. Its cozy, tasty, friendly, and all i want in a restaurant thats Japanese.
THUG LIFE BABY BABY! (tupac voice)

Got a crunchy roll to start– super yummy! The Mirin special with pork belly was delicious. We also ordered some really tasty egg rolls.
Overall, food was great along with the service! Prices were also really reasonable. Will definitely come here again the next time I want a good bowl of ramen.

This place has really yummy food! I was skeptical going in but there’s really no better place to get ramen around here. The rest of the food is pretty good too but you could really get it anywhere. They give you free spring rolls when you check in too :) the sushi is totally edible and affordable so don’t worry about getting stuck with a yucky fish bomb if you’re in the mood for fresh fish. It usually smells weird like bleach and cheap cleaning products and its located in an old building that used to be Mexican drive through, but I’ll take that over a lot of things.
My favorite dish is the spicy mirin special ramen. The bowl is quite large so maybe don’t get too many appetizers unless you want leftovers.

11÷9÷2015
The Mirin Café is a simple Ramen House.
I give this place between 3 ½ and 4 Stars.
It’s a small fast food Ramen House in Poway. Nothing fancy but easy and clean.
The owners were very nice and friendly and helpful.
The menu was not overly large but just the basics.
The fried appetizers were tasty as was the sauce to dip them in.
Jan and I tried The Mirin Ramen house special.
A little under seasoned but an easy fix with a dash of salt, pepper, chili oil, and A tad of hot sauce. The egg was cooked just right but you might want to add an extra or two as we did. The BBQ pork was very good. Soft, tender, and very flavorful. The noodles were just stock store bought noodles and not fresh home made as most Ramen House Do.
All in All Not Bad for a fast Ramen fix at a reasonable price.
Worth a Try.
Enjoy

Wow… So happy I was referred to Mirin. The outside of the place will definitely fool you. The location was clearly an old fast food place so it feels very dumpy outside. Once you make your into the restaurant though you can tell that the family who owns the place is really trying to make it a comfortable place. Although the décor leaves something to be desired, the key for me is that the place is clean and the employees are friendly.
It was late in the afternoon so we were the only customers in the restaurant. We were greeted by an employee who showed us to a table. I was surprised that it’s waiter service but again, like I said you can tell they are trying to elevate the experience. I ordered a soda and honestly since it was a local mom and pop place I was expecting to be gouged with refill charges so I was pleasantly surprised when the employee refilled my drink regularly.
We ordered the teriyaki tofu steak, garlic edamame and some veggie tempura. I could hear them sautéing the edamame with garlic as we waited. It smelled delicious! All of our items came very quickly. I can tell what all the other reviews are talking about. The food was great! We didn’t try the ramen this trip so I’m looking forward to ordering it next time. This is truly a gem hidden inside a dumpy area.

Mirin Café is a nice little Japanese restaurant in East Escondido, which definitely beats going to Convoy for some good asian food!!! I highly recommend this place if you’re craving asian food, and are on a budget! The service is fine and the seating area is small. On my recent trip here last weekend I tried the the snowball roll, deep fried california roll, yakisoba noodles, and the teriyaki chicken/​beef bowl. Also take advantage and do your first Unilocal check-​in to redeem your two free eggrolls. The ingredients taste fresh and the quality is great :)
–good pricing
–nice workers
–tasty sushi and teriyaki bowls
–convenient north county location

I was looking for some soup besides all the phở in Escondido and not having to drive all the way to Convoy for ramen. Unilocal mentioned that this place served ramen and after reading the reviews I came here to give a try.
Atmosphere: café style Japanese restaurant. small area with 2 cable tv’s and about 10 tables. i think this was the old church’s chicken that closed down (but correct me if im wrong)
Food:
–mixed tempura: you get 2 pieces of shrimp and 7 veggies (great value) most places i know only gives 4 – 5 pieces. you get 9 here.
–shio & shoyo ramen: as for the ramen. good sized portion. they shio broth tasted better. noodles tasted like the premium ramen packets you can get a mitsuwa japanese store. decent ramen for the price.
service: friendly. good.
overall: great value and portions. if you’re looking for ramen without having to drive all the way to Convoy from Esco this is the place to get your quick craving fix but do not expect Convoy quality. Will come back to try other items.

This little noodle house is conveniently located in NE Esco and routinely gets my business not only due to its location to home, but the downright, friendliness of the staff! Greeting me by name they are genuinely pleasant and love to chit chat– I feel like I’m seeing my hair stylist. Theres a drivethough, but with people so nice, you may as well go inside.
Food-​wise theres enough of a selection to please everyone without making the menu cumbersome. Prep is fast and expedient, and packaging always survives my spirited drive home. I frequently find myself in Kearny Mesa and I can’t rate the ramen here as high as that in Japantown there, but I’m happy with it.
So four stars for umami and cleanliness.