*** Update – This location of Teri Cafe is closed, it is now Katsu Cafe
….For my rotation, if not for food shortcomings. Located in a strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Teri Cafe serves up Ramen, Yakisoba, and other standard Japanese fare like Teriyaki(of course!!!).
The decor of Teri Cafe goes for a "surfer – Hawaiian" flavor; with surfboards mounted on the walls, surf videos playing on the two plasma televisions with "Jahwaiian" (Reggae flavored music from Hawaii) music playing in the background, there's a definite tropical influence in the decor. The menu is quite extensive with over 50 items, from Teriyaki and Udon, to Soba.
But what drew me here were the locally made noodles, sold from the Teri Cafes Owners other business, a company called Nihon Seimen. Sounds pretty close to saimin, huh? So I decided to order the Chicken Teriyaki and Yakisoba ($5.70):
The dish consisted of a good portion of noodles, stir fried vegetables, and a small piece of chopped grilled chicken with "teriyaki sauce" on it. The noodles were as advertised, thin, slightly chewy, with a nice pull to it. The problem starts with everything else. The noodles were way over-dressed, making the noodles, cabbage, carrots, et al, very, very, sweet and salty. So salty that I finished my bottle of water with my meal, drank another in the car, and had two glasses when I arrived home. Some of the sauce's personality should have been saved for the chicken, though nicely grilled was basically tasteless, and the teriyaki sauce was the smokey/mild type, that lacked any sweetness or saltiness, in a word; bland.
But those noodles were great! So I thought I'd give Teri Cafe another shot; and this time I ordered the Banzai Ramen ($5.45):
This was a bowl of noodles with "Tonkotsu" style broth – basically deeply and fiercely boiled pork bones, but in this case I'm pretty sure it was made from a "base". Topped with stir fried vegetables and chicken, some Kamabuko (fish cake), and bean sprouts. The noodles again delivered, and if anything was even better suited for Ramen than the Yakisoba. Everything else again was a bit of a let-down. The broth was just plain salty, and not the rich, almost creamy Tonkotsu broth. The stir fry was bland and also some of it was burned; you can see the black specks in the soup. So again I was left with basically mixed feeling regarding this dish.
There's alot to like about Teri Cafe, the facility is clean, well-lit, and I kind of enjoy the atmosphere. The prices are good, and the service is excellent; even though you just place your order, pay, and the food is delivered to your table; there are little things that makes Teri Cafe a bit different. If you purchase fountain drinks, the "Girls" refill them for you for free; they also check on every table at least once during the meal. And of course I think the noodles are very good, even though it's not Saimin noodles, so good that I'm thinking of just purchasing the noodles. Unfortunately, the rest of the food does not live up to the quality of the noodles.
Teri Cafe
7305B Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Mon-Sat 1030am-9pm
Closed Sunday