Menya Hanabi - The Original Nagoya Mazesoba

Finally was able to try the Irvine location after their opening; I have been loving Mazesoba since trying the Arcadia location a couple of years ago.As expected, the wait was extremely long, especially because of the limited dining space, so I highly recommend checking in via Yelp before even reaching the plaza. The line moved relatively quickly though, and their service was efficient. Once the order was placed, the food came out soon after. We got a limited edition Mentaiko Cream Mazesoba, which was deliciously creamy and slightly salty from the fish eggs, a Chasu Mazesoba, which was like the standard but with thick, fatty pieces of pork, and a Curry Mazesoba, which was fragrant and rich. I recommend eating half the bowl as-is and then adding vinegar after for a change in flavor, and remember to make the most of your sauce by adding the extra scoop of rice at the end!

Terrible management and complete lack of common sense.The waiter "accidentally" poured an entire bowl of soup onto my wife's brand-new cashmere coat, completely ruined since it's not washable. The soup also got on my jacket and into our appetizer. We understand that accidents happen.However, they never offered to remake my appetizer (even though I told the waitress it was soaked, she did took away that one piece, leaving the rest, which were partially soaked). Never follow-up to check if we needed anything. Of course they didn't offer any discount.Absolutely awful experience. It honestly felt like they were just trying to pretend nothing happened.

Excited to have another mazesoba spot that is very close to what you get in Japan! Think of it as brothless ramen and it is a denser, heavier meal. I've had The Original Nagoya Mazesoba & Deluxe Nagoya Mazesoba a few times and both dishes are delicious. I recommend adding the vinegar and spice that's sitting on the table. It is a smaller space so the Yelp waitlist check-in system is very helpful. Servers are very friendly and attentive, and the menu is extensive. One thing that makes it more American-like is how long it takes for the food to come out. The last three times I've gone, it takes about half an hour for the food to come out. If you order appetizers, it drags it out even more. Located in a strip mall with lots of parking.

We tried this spot for the first time and ordered the Deluxe Mazemen and it got us SO FULL! They have generous portions so come starving. Compared to other mazemen spots, this mazemen had a milder fishiness (less bonito stock flavor/powder) which I actually preferred because it didn't overpower the rest of the flavoring from the other toppings! Every ingredient in the bowl was fresh and the attention to detail was impressive because both the poached egg and the marinated soft boiled egg were cooked to perfection. We also tried the Hanabi Karaage instead of the regular karaage because it came with minced pork meat which added more flavor to the appetizer. Each bite was super crunchy, tender, and piping hot balanced with the kewpie mayo as its sauce. which was a standout on its own! Service was really fast and accommodating even during the weekend during lunch rush. There's a lot of seating indoors but none outdoors, so I recommend checking into the yelp waitlist if you're within 5 miles to avoid waiting. This spot is definitely worth trying if you're looking for bold and unique flavors and thick noodles! The bowls come with high quality ingredients as toppings to create a very hearty and flavorful bowl.

We have already established that our favorite ramen spot in Irvine is HiroNori. However! It hasn't stopped us from exploring new ramen spots around, especially closer to our neighborhood. And that's when Menya caught our eye - from a yelp search of course. It turns out that the ramen in Menya is not the typical brothy ramen in other restaurants. It's more of the saucy type, and quite my cup of tea. We tried kimista and curry cheese Nagoya, and both were special excellent! You're given a free scoop of rice at the end to eat with the leftover sauce, although we didn't have as much sauce left with the kimista as we did with the curry cheese. Ordering was done through the mobile system. It was generally easy, though our late addition of chicken nanban was almost forgotten and took a reminder and a long time before coming out. In retrospect I probably preferred the karaage as the sauce made it somewhat soggy. All in all, definitely worth coming back next time and trying different items!

I've been wanting to try Menya Hanabi ever since they opened in Arcadia, but it was too far. When they opened in Irvine, I heard there were long waits so I postponed my visit until a day when I could get there when they opened. I came about 10 minutes after opening and by 11:47am, every table was taken and people were waiting!This is another restaurant where you order via QR code. I ordered their Deluxe Nagoya Mazesoba - brothless ramen with chashu, spicy minced pork, nori, ajitama, chives, fish powder, garlic and poached egg. It was a good size portion, with nice thick chewy noodles. I ordered mine spicy, but it had just a slight amount of heat (I am a spice wimp, so it's really not spicy at all). I loved mixing everything together, adding splashes of vinegar and best of all, the scoop of rice at the end to soak up every last bit! For those who don't eat meat (like my husband), they have some vegan options like their curry vegan mazesoba with tofu, green onions, spring mix and onion in a curried soy milk. Next time, I will order their Original Nagoya Mazesoba because the deluxe was more food than I needed (though I ate it all).If you're thinking about a visit, definitely join their Yelp waitlist before arriving or get here when they open or visit during an off hour. Parking can be a little difficult during peak hours.

This place is a pretty solid place to go to, but I definitely think that mogu mogu and mazera top this place by far. The karaage chicken's batter was not my preferred since when it cooled down it had a bit more of a rubbery chew to the outside. The amount of food you get for the deluxe though is fucking value. There's so many noodles and add ons to it that it just fill you up immediately. The flavor is definitely a lot more creamier than mogu mogu, resembling more of a carbonara texture to it. They also give complimentary rice at the end to basically make a rice bowl with the left overs .The service was great as they were very attentive, and in terms of seating, they had a bunch so we got sat down immediately when we walked it. It's also got that nice modern look to it from the inside and extremely well lit.

This place has been on my list for soooo long, but it's just deep enough into Irvine that I haven't had a chance to try... until now. We came around 5:30pm and actually beat the dinner rush; within 15-20 minutes, the entire restaurant was full. I GET THE HYPE, Y'ALL. I ordered the Deluxe Nagoya Mazesoba, and it was so delicious and filling. I love that the noodles are similar to carbonara, thicker and full of flavor. Everything complemented each other once mixed, and I enjoyed the little scoop of rice to finish off the bowl. I must must must come back and try everything!

The food here is always amazing!I came here just a little bit earlier than the rush and was able to get seated quite quickly. However, once 6 to 7 came about I saw a line quickly forming.I've been to this chain before, the first time I was at in this chain was at their first location in arcadia. The food there was absolutely amazing and I ordered basically the same thing I had when I was at their first location and was not disappointed. Even though at this location most of the orders was done through your cell phone via a QR code on the table when there were problems placing orders there were servers that would be able to assist. however sometimes they were busy and do not see when an individual needed assistance.What they provide is a small tiny bowl of rice to suck up the excess sauce from the delicious noodles you have. however I usually like a lot more rice and I wanted to place a side order of rice. however it was hard to flag down a server. however I didn't have to wait too long because somebody quickly came by to assist me.I've tried their combination as well as their seasonal item which had their Mochi noodles and both were just spectacular. I do not feel like you could go wrong with any items here. however I have never added the broth to my noodles which is an option.Finally, this place is relatively small there was not very many seating.Overall I cannot get enough of the food from this location but it makes any decent dent in my pocket because I want to eat everything. I will definitely be coming back here!

Super friendly staff - i would come back just for the people here. Every single person working here were so nice and friendly - not in an over-kill way too. There was a bit of wait but the food and people definitely made it worth it. Very clean table and utensils. I liked that I can just order and pay on my phone. So convenient!