A modern Japanese ramen and sushi room under a sky of paper lanterns, the long sake wall behind the counter, the room blush-lit at golden hour.
MODERN JAPANESE,
under the lanterns.
MOONO is a modern Japanese ramen and sushi restaurant with a sake bar, tucked into the El Paseo plaza in Rancho Santa Margarita. The room is the signature: blush walls, a ceiling clustered with pale paper chochin, the long sake-bottle wall behind the blonde-wood bar, a deep-green leather banquette along the side. The MOONO wordmark stands on every table. On the round patio tables, in serif, it says love you to the MOONO and back.
The menu reads ramen-room straightforward: eight ramen across tonkotsu, miso, spicy miso, spicy pork, black garlic, chicken, beef, and vegan; ten sushi rolls anchored by the house MOONO and Hamachi rolls; a poke bowl that gets photographed at lunch; agedashi tofu and seaweed salad to start; mochi to finish.
THE WORD ON
EVERY TABLE.
You see it as soon as you sit down. The card stands tall on every table, two MOONOs stacked in bold black sans on cream. The same mark rides on every ramen bowl: ラーメン すし シーフード set small beneath the wordmark.
One mark on the menu card. The same mark inside the bowl. Outside on the patio, the wordmark wraps the rim of every round bistro table: love you to the MOONO and back. Three places, one identity, carried the way restaurants ought to.
SIX PLATES, ON
REPEAT.
The dishes most often re-ordered by name. The menu has more.
-
01HOUSE RAMEN
$18.99the anchorTonkotsu broth, pork chashu, soft egg, bok choy, bean sprout, green onion, mushroom. Served in the MOONO bowl on every table.
-
02SPICY PORK RAMEN
$19.99with the kickSecret chili paste, tonkotsu broth, torched chashu, ground pork, corn, mushroom, soft egg. The red bowl in the photos.
-
03BLACK GARLIC RAMEN
$18.99the depthBlack garlic tonkotsu, chashu, soft egg, scallion. Quiet, dark, the bowl that lingers.
-
04SALMON VOLCANO ROLL
$23.99the sushi photo every Google reviewer takesTempura shrimp, cucumber, crispy onion inside; seared salmon, spicy mayo, eel sauce, masago, microgreens on top. Plated on slate.
-
05POKE BOWL
$19.99the lunch compositionThree scoops of protein over rice and salad. Salmon, ikura, cucumber, seaweed salad, crab, crispy onion, sesame, white ginger. Secret sauce.
-
06MOONO ROLL
$26.99the house signatureTempura shrimp, cucumber, seared hamachi, serrano, red onion, chili, MOONO sauce. The roll the house puts its name on.
★ 4.6 on 488 Google reviews
Moono is a fantastic fast-casual Japanese spot. The ramen tastes very authentic, rich broth, perfectly cooked noodles, and generous toppings. The Volcano Salmon Roll was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented.
The spicy chicken ramen was absolutely amazing. Rich, flavorful, and perfectly spicy. The crispy tuna tartare was beautifully presented and tasted just as good as it looked. Great food, great flavors, and a place we would definitely come back to.
Our first time at Moono on a Saturday around 6pm and it was quite busy. We waited around 20 minutes for a table which was well worth the wait. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. We had salmon rice bowl and some sushi, all very good.
Place was fantastic for lunch service. Absolutely phenomenal service from Niko. The music is a bop. The atmosphere is all-encompassing, enticing, just can't beat it anywhere else.
EL PASEO, F2.
under the lanterns.
We're in the El Paseo plaza in Rancho Santa Margarita. Blush walls, low light, the sake-bottle wall against the back, the green banquette along the side, the patio out the front.
