I absolutely love this place! The food is delicious and the portions are really generous, so you definitely get your money's worth. The decor is such a fun experience too, it genuinely felt like stepping into Japan with all the anime figurines displayed around (and the fact that you can buy them makes it even cooler). The prices are very reasonable, and what really stood out to me was the owner. He was so kind and attentive, checking in on customers and making sure everyone was enjoying their meal. That kind of hospitality really makes a difference. Highly recommend if you're looking for great food and a unique atmosphere! read more

Went here for Sunday lunch with some friends and enjoyed it. I had the chicken katsu curry and like the sauce that comes on the side with it (I forgot to take a pic but it's a dark sauce). The curry sauce was hearty, surprisingly had chicken in it and could use some more curry flavor and salt but overall still good. My friends really liked their dishes too. Service was nice, we stayed for 2-3 hours and was not rushed even when it got a little busy. I thought it was fun that the space was decorated with anime. Plenty of parking but it is a little confusing if you follow Google Maps, it'll bring you to a different parking lot and you'll have to walk down stairs or a walking ramp to Matsumoto but we did enjoy the short walk. read more

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Parking: located at Waverly place but plenty of parking located in front of the cinebistro which is located right next to it. Food: Got the Seaweed salad and chicken curry with rice. Seaweed salad was seaweed on a bed of lettuce. It was a unique flavor that was the first time trying. The chicken curry was absolutely delicious and flavorful and the chicken was super tender. It also included rice and you also add any protein with it. Service: when you first walk in you order your food at the front and then you can seat yourself anywhere throughout the restaurant. They were super nice and incredibly helpful. Ambiance: Included booths, tables and stools to be seated at. Had a collection of anime figurines all throughout. read more

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Enjoyed dining here for my sister's birthday! She tried it before and wanted to bring us all here and the owner/manager was very kind to us and very honest on which items were the best to order. We appreciated the honesty. There is no servers but food runners but they were still really helpful and attentive and helped us get a larger table together for us to be comfortable. We tried a big variety of dishes and enjoyed it all. My only two feedback is that the meat in the ramen was a little bland but that might be the intention because you eat it with the broth and toppings and the gyoza had some of the slurry left over making it a little slimy instead of all crispy. I loved all the anime figurines everywhere and they were fun to look at and cool you can actually buy it. Overall, we enjoyed our time here. read more

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A chill atmosphere and the server was friendly and personable. We had the vegan ramen and the chicken ramen. Happy to say that both hit the spot. This was highly recommended and was glad we made the journey over. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Vegan soy Broth Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Back for a second visit, and I'm officially calling it: this is the most authentic ramen in the Triangle. The homemade noodles are a game-changer, but the broth is the real star--rich, consistent, and 'drink-every-last-drop' good. It's clearly crafted with care. Don't skip the spicy tabletop seasoning; it pairs perfectly. Between the incredible food and the authentic Japanese decor, the vibes here are unmatched. read more

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Overall: Matsumoto punches above it's weight class in terms of quality for its ramen. Highly recommend you come and try. Food: The ramen here was great. Rich flavors and high quality ingredients result in a very deep flavor you look for in a warm bowl for ramen. The quality to price ratio is great here, I think it packs the punch of a premium ramen, but at a lower price point. The curry was also fantastic, very thick curry and the tonkatsu pairs super well with it offering great variety in texture. The calamari I thought was pretty normal, nothing crazy here, thought it was a bit over priced for what was offered. Service: The service is fast, you order at the front desk and then pick your own seat. Food comes out quickly, even during standard lunch and dinner hours on both weekend and weekdays. Ambiance: The inside has plenty of seating and a fun entrance. As soon as you walk in the store you are greeted with a wide variety of drinks and small figures that you can purchase. read more

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I raced out when I heard there was a new ramen spot. Craft is fast, casual dining. You pick up your drink and order at a counter. Quick and easy. Server brings food quickly. I was there in the afternoon so can't speak to dinner. The pork is super tender but sliced a little thin for me. Bouncy noodles and a spicy broth. Wish the spice came on the side since I couldn't taste the broth alone. I'd probably eat there again. My only complaint is paying the tip before I had any service. There's no service aside from bringing the food so that's 3 stars. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Takoyaki balls. Delish bbq sauce - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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While there were some positives, I'm not sure I would return. Before going, I checked out the menu online and the Beef Ramen sounded great. "Slow-simmered beef broth paired with tender brisket, fresh in-house noodles, bean sprouts, scallions, and cilantro." The positives: The noodles were fresh and tasty and the highlight of the dish. The portion was large, which met my expectations, given the pricing. The not-so positives: While many other reviewers posted about the rich broth, I found mine to be somewhat flavorless other than the cilantro, which was plentiful. The dish contained no bean sprouts or scallions, both of which I love, so that was very disappointing. The brisket slices had a lot of fat on them, which I had to pull off because I don't enjoy chewing a mouthful of fat. Lastly, when you (or at least when I and the other diners I viewed) eat Ramen, you lean forward to be somewhat over the bowl. The table at which I was seated was wooden and so worn and frayed on the front edge that it was not a smooth service. My shirt kept getting caught on it, pulling threads out of it. Made me wish I had worn a t-shirt instead of a nicer blouse. So, nothing egregiously bad, but nothing to rave about either. read more

This is a newer ramen spot in the area. You order and pay at the front kiosk, they give you a number, and you pretty much seat yourself. The ramen was delicious - the broth was rich and full of flavor. The atmosphere is very relaxed, with lots of anime figurines displayed throughout. read more

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This new ramen joint is worth a visit! The food was delicious. I had the spicy vegan ramen and my son had the spicy tonkatsu ramen. Both were yummy and the portions were large. Service was friendly. You order at the counter and they bring the food out. This confused me at first, as I was asked to tip at checkout but didn't realize they'd be serving us. Normally if you order at the counter, it's self-service, which for me = no/minimal tip. Thankfully I had cash to tip them once I realized they would be serving the food & drinks. Ambiance is just ok. They could stand to repaint and fix the place up a bit. Maybe that will come in time. But they had a little market area and Japanese figurines displayed in cases, which my son liked. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Spicy vegan ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Yowza, best ramen I've had in NC, hands down. They keep it simple here and easy to order, base is either pork, chicken or vegan broth, spicy or regular, plus curry. The vegan broth was rich and lovely, the miso ramen full bodied. Other typical sides like karaage, gyoza and onigiri available. Freaking delicious. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Tonkatsu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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I had a good time eating here after attending the lantern festival nearby. Our waiter Tim was so kind and got all the food out quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately the kitchen staff messed up one of our ramen orders and when it came back, it was obvious the kitchen just scooped out the wrong ingredients rather than remaking the dish. Besides that, the food was good and the environment was cute. I ordered the shrimp curry rice and although it was good, there was way too much rice and not enough shrimp. Next time I'll definitely try the ramen instead. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Best karaage in the triangle! I love that it comes with Japanese pickled veggies and perfectly cooked rice. So good and so satisfying every time! They are also nice and very fast! We only get takeout, but it looks like a nice place to sit down and eat. read more

Incredible new ramen spot in Cary. I would say their ramen is comparable to Noodle Blvd - high quality, large quantity, and priced well. Service was fast and the decor was super cool! We got the spicy tonkotsu ramen and the tonkatsu curry. Both were delicious and filling. Can't wait to come back again! read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Tonkatsu curry - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Excellent balance of a rich yet clean tasting tonkatsu broth, perfectly al dente handmade ramen noodles. Gyoza wrappers are thin and almost translucent even though it wasn't handmade here but the fillings is best with a light and refreshingly delicious gingery essence. We couldn't resist but ordered the cast iron fried rice and teriyaki Brussels sprouts to go. I wished we had just ordered to eat in because the cast iron fried rice would have been served in cast iron skillet with crispy rice on bottom and a runny egg instead of just beaten eggs on top. It has minced pork and chicken as the meat in the rice. The fried rice was nicely seasoned with a very light peppery flavor. The teriyaki Brussels sprouts was just yummy Fast service. Order from counter, take order number to table and order will be delivered to your table. Indoors/outdoors seatings available. Great for bringing your doggy read more

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You really have to try the restaurant & not just go by reviews of other people. We checked them out on a Friday night & decided to get something to go as you have to wait for tables to open up after you order by the counter. It took a while to get our to go order. Upon getting home, we tasted the chicken karaage. Some parts of the chicken were burnt & hard to chew and it seemed like it was just reheated and not fresh. Pork Tonkatsu ramen was okay. We've had better ramen somewhere else. For us, the price of what we ordered is not worth it. Not sure if this was the same ownership as the Tasu restaurant that closed because their website is still somewhat connected to Tasu. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Chicken Karaage - not good & overpriced - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Best Ramen in Cary! They make noodle from scratch, very fresh and the broth is so rich and delicious! read more

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Great place, with kind staff. I loved the teriyaki Brussels sprouts as well. There's figurines lined throughout the restaurant, and plenty of seating. The noodles are hand pulled in house. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Tonkatsu spicy ramen, teriyaki brussel sprouts - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Ramen: 5 stars -- the ramen is freshly made in-house and has a great chewiness. Meat: 5 stars -- both the chicken and pork were tender Soup: 3 stars -- the broth was rich, concentrated kind of rich, but it's way too oily and had a bitter note. Overall I would give it 3.5 stars. It was packed tonight. We also ordered a chicken karate and calamari. The chicken karage came with 4 pieces of chicken tender sized chicken. Not the typical popcorn chicken bite size one would expect. The batter was a bit thick. The calamari has a nice chew with thinner batter, but the batter got soggy and not crispy. We waited about 45 mins for our ramens. The owner chef came to apologize and told us they had some sort of problem in the kitchen tonight, so the wait was much longer than usual. It might not be their best night tonight, but we will definitely come back to give the ramen a second chance because of the fresh ingredients. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Black garlic chicken ramen (front) and black garlic tonkatsu ramen (back) - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

The Chicken Ramen here is delicious, the broth is super rich in flavor. The Beef Katsu has amazing curry and the veggies in it were soft and flavorful. Great service, great vibes, and super courteous staff! read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Chicken Ramen, Matcha Roll Cake, Lil Green Guy - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

The food at this place is delicious! The broth is perfect and the noodles are made in house. The service was great. The restaurant was empty so we had it all to ourselves. The owner was so sweet and gave us free dessert. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Wonderful authentic Japanese ramen. We have been loving this place lately. It's really hard to find authentic Japanese food owned by Japanese chef around triangle area. We tried their ramen, curry and onigri, fried chicken and octopus. It's the real deal. After being in Japanese so many times and miss the real Japanese food, we finally found our place here in Cary read more

This is a new place that opened in fall of 2025 in New Waverly place and it is fantastic! You should definitely try it (much better than the old restaurant that was here). They make their noodles fresh everyday and you can really tell. The ingredients are excellent and we are going back tonight. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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This review is specifically for the black garlic chicken ramen which is the only food I ordered. The broth tasted more like a beef broth and was too salty and overpowered all the other ingredients in the bowl. I may go back and try the chicken curry ramen but I am hesitant read more

Food was soooo yummy and the owners and chef are the sweetest! The gyozas are very delish read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

There are many ramen places in Cary but none are as good as Matsumoto Craft Ramen. I had the Pan-Fried Gyoza and House Ramen. It was delicious. read more

Meh honestly I was expecting so much more. Heard about it through a local food influencer in NC and I just was really disappointed. The video that was shot by the food influencer made the place looks spectacular but when you got there, it was very average looking. Apparently the noodles are homemade? Didn't taste that way and the food quality was questionable. Just didn't taste good. I know this place has a lot of five star reviews, but I just don't get it... and I'm comparing the Ramen to New York and Los Angeles Ramen that I've had in the past. read more

Got the opportunity to have a food tasting, ramen making demo, and gyoza eating lesson for RDU Asian Eats group's meetup. The new menu here is something that sets them apart from other Japanese restaurants around here. Everything is so authentic and tasted so good. Highly recommend everyone to come try. read more

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Comfortable seating space. The ramen was delicious and spicy and the broth was perfect. read more

Matsumoto Craft Ramen - Seating are - Ramen Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Food was top notch, service was amazing. This is a place I'd bring others and I'd add to normal rotation. I will be back soon!

Boom! Amazing ramen place. Very good. The food was amazing. Owner was wonderful. Atmosphere was fun.

Just ordered takeout on a cold rainy day and we were very happy with the experience. The appetizers and ramen were excellent and the hostess/manager was so pleasant. Highly recommended. read more

This is a brand new restaurant as of September 22, 2025 in the old Tasu space-now a craft ramen place with a Japanese chef. I have been to the previous restaurant before and thought it to be just fine. This new ramen restaurant is leaps and bounds better and is the best ramen I have had in the Triangle. It might be the best I've had outside of Asia, even after living in Boston and Philly for a few years. The flavors and textures are delicious and authentic, quite unlike the oftentimes one-dimensional salt-bomb you get at a lot of Asian fusion restaurants. The noodles are absolutely incredible. They are freshly made in-house, and this highly elevates the ramen. Ramen is my husband's least favorite form of noodle soup, but he cleaned the bowl to every last noodle and drop of broth and declared that we must be back soon. We shared an app of chicken karaage, my husband had the chicken ramen, and I got the tonkotsu ramen. Everything was fantastic, even the chicken. I was previously a hater of chicken-focused ramens as they are usually lesser in flavor and richness, but I tried some of his and to my surprise, it was just as tasty and flavorful as mine, and the chicken melted in the mouth. The space is the same as the old Tasu, but now with cute Japanese-themed decor. The service was very friendly, and we got our food quickly despite this being only day 5 of their service. Note that right now (not sure if they plan on changing this), you order at the counter and water is self-service. We immediately told our family to check out this place, and now you know to do so too! Enjoy! read more

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My husband and I came here and were so glad we did. We moved here from CA and unfortunately have had a lot of negative food experiences both Shriner service and food quality wise. We weee so excited to finally find Ramen that met past our expectations. The chef is from Japan and he really is the best. We got to meet him and the manager and they were the sweetest people. Would so recommend to anyone! read more

This is a nice addition to the local Ramen scene. You walk up to the counter to order, grabbing a bottled or canned beverage on your way up. The staff delivers your food to your table. Staff were kind, attentive, and knowledgeable, helping my Dinner companion to order something that accommodated several different food allergies. The chicken curry Ramen was delicious. My only complaint is that the whole place smelled weird, kind of like a bathroom with a backed up pipe. Nonetheless, I would go back just for the Ramen! read more

The Ramen here is absolutely amazing and so is the service! If you love Ramen you better not waste anytime getting here to try it out! Best Ramen around 100%. read more

Nice place, the Waverly Center adds a nice ambiance. We ate dinner late midweek and were nearly the last diners. Had Tonkatsu. Really good and well priced. read more

Homemade ramen noodles, you can taste the difference on the first bite! The owners are amazing and the service was outstanding.

I love the food the ambiance is amazing cool anime everywhere the hist is funny . Everyone is very nice and funny definitely coming back