Review Love Me So - Johannesburg

Delicious cocktails (recommend the snake racer) and good service. Ramen was a little bit disappointing, as pork was bland and overcooked. Will give it a second chance though, as the menu has interesting variety and they do half-price cocktails on Saturday afternoon. Lovely setting and parking a bit easier than other places in Melville. Within walking distance of underground parking at 27 Boxes.

This place is awesome! Very attentive staff, good food, vibey place. Enjoyed everything. The slow cooked pork neck gyoza is a must try.

Located on a quiet Joburg Street, this place is a nice cozy addition to the nightlife here. The wait staff were attentive and friendly, made delicious suggestions from the menu and kept us entertained with their humour too. The drinks where great. Each one having a strong unique taste that was balanced just right. The food tasted amazing. The pork dishes where my favourite. The pork had nice and crunchy bits to it that just made them devine. The vibe only picked up after dark when we went but even when the place was emptier it was nice to be in the little shop. Would definitely recommend this place. It tasted like a little piece of Japan in South Africa

Stopped to have a light meal and came across Love Me So! Delicious food. One can dine inside and outside. Nice find!

Had such a great lunch there the other day. It’s been a while since we were that side of town, but that made it well worth the trip. The ramen was soooo good! 😄

Wonderful place, scrumptious food, unique, delicious cocktails, friendly service and amazing ambience are just some of the reasons why this is one of my favorite places. It was an amazing experience and I will definitely be returning.

Customer service and Caleb the manager of Love Me So are synonymous the go hand in hand, Caleb was soo customer centric and fully clued up on he's menu hes recommendations literally smacked if you know what I mean we had a small child with us and he made us feel so comfortable he was great at handling both yound and old Caleb and Love Me So enhanced out Sunday afternoon what a delightful experience I recommend Love Me So ask for Caleb you wont be disappointed.

Loved everything about our dinner visit. We had cocktails and the death by chocolate dessert cocktail I ordered was strong and just as yummy. We ordered the Korean BBQ experience and were thoroughly satisfied with the portion sizes and marinade on the meat. Everything was delicious and we had so much food between two people that we had leftovers to take away. Will definitely be returning to try out other things on their menu.

Unique experience in the heart of Melville, it's a gem of a find, the food experience is a great intro into fusion Asian , friendly staff with a just big enough menu that everything is done pretty well and worth a try. If you live around the area or keen to try some Asian fusion it's definitely between here and the various Momo's in Johannesburg.

We loved our dinner at Love Me So. The food was good, the cocktails delicious, the atmosphere great and the service excellent. Especially enjoyed the black sesame ice cream.

Had such an incredible dining experience the today. The atmosphere is lovely. This is such a trendy and vibey place. The food choices and variety are so different from the places that we would commonly go to eat. Every dish was yummy and tasty and enjoyed every bite. The staff are also really great, friendly and cool too.

Absolutely loved the food at Love Me So, different from what I'm used to but only in the best ways! Tasty AF! Host/owner is on the ball too. Thank you so much for the great service, amazing atmosphere and divine food guys!!!

Excellent service, friendly staff and lovely food at affordable prices. Take a friend and enjoy the food

Almost ate the food before thinking of sharing a pic or two. Pork Ramen Noodles, (forget the name on menu), was v.good. Tuna dish though did'nt do it for my wife and the chicken dish was'nt raved about either. The selection of 4 different starters to share between the four of us though, went down very well.

I loved the experience. The ramen noodles were delicious. Our waiter Caleb was awesome! This is my new favourite place.

Stunning flavours, and great 'tapas' style dishes as well as well-portioned mains. Really great Asian food, with possibly the best Ramen around.

Friendly, professional staff create a welcoming, warm atmosphere. Unbelievably tasty food that is prepared quickly and with attention to detail. Great place for a romantic evening out.

Absolutely love the food and the vibe here. Ramen is good and the dessert suitably decadent. While the new baos are delicious just be warned you only get one and it's on the small side. So suggest you order it with something else.

The food was average at best. The ramen broths were not good.<br/><br/>There was loadshedding so we understand things might take a little longer. The problem is we ordered food to fetch, to which they stated it would take 25 minutes. We got there in 25 minutes and they told us it would be a few minutes. We had to wait an additional hour for our food. The guy at the front then told us they were "packing" our food, but we only received it 20 minutes later. The annoying thing was that they kept saying things like it'll be ready in 5 minutes which was clearly a lie. Just tell us it's gonna take this long and stop making empty promises. Also surely if someone orders to pick up, they want to pick it up at the time they said it would be ready and not chill at the restaurant for an hour waiting for the food?<br/><br/>Like I said we understand there's loadshedding but we've had it for a long time now. Make your business adapt to it instead of giving us excuses such as only having one stove.

One of the best food experiences we have had in a while! Cannot wait to go back and sink my teeth into their amazing bao buns.

Ramen Amen nooooo Ramen never again for me!!! Bad service & unfriendly staff & at one point we were the only table there...: to top it off i wanted my leftover food as takeaway for a little later & the waitress didn’t bring it, doesn’t apologies either or offers a replacement or discount. So for a birthday dinner that costs quite a bit and you walk out still hungry is just the worst exp! <br/>I never want to see that place again!!! Hate me so thanks for ruining my birthday as well!!

1st Sunday of the month is brilliant!

Vibey restaurant in Melville. First Sunday’s are great here.

Beautiful restaurant with an amazing atmosphere. The service was really good and the cocktails are amazing. Maybe I'm new to ramen but I wasn't blown away, it was pricey and took a very long time to arrive but maybe it just wasn't for me. I'm sure it would be a fun experience for many people, other than that I am happy with what I recieved at love me so.

I’ve been wanting to eat here for a long time and I regret not going sooner because the food was amazing, the service was great too. My new favourite spot

It was my friends last night in South Africa and we just wanted to go out for drinks. I’ve been wanting to go to Love Me So for a while so it was at the top of our list. We just ordered drinks that night. Between the four of us, we all enjoyed our drinks. I ordered the Japanese slipper (very potent). The service was really great. We met the manager who was very sweet and funny. The day we went there was a wine tasting event like thing going on. We were told that it happens often on the last Tuesday of the month. It is definitely something that I would like to try next month. Amazing drinks, amazing service and great for groups

This has to be one of my favourite dinner places. The food was good before, but since they revamped the ramen menu the food is downright amazing. Service is nice and quick, but also just the right amount of relaxed that you don't feel swarmed, which fits perfectly into the aesthetic of the restaurant as a whole. They have a bit of an industrial look going for them and it's just such a cool, relaxed place to sit and chow.<br/><br/>The Izakaya menu is loaded with great choices and I'd go for the wings and the korokke everytime. If you're a small table consider the edamame, it's good for a nibble. If you're going for some of the Izakaya foods, I'd also consult the cocktail menu. My go-to is the Japanese Slipper, or the Hidden Dragon. <br/><br/>Tonkotsu ramen will forever and always be a favourite of mine and they do it great justice here, go for it if you have or haven't had ramen, it's just a good bowl. I have found the pork protein topping to vary in tenderness, but it isn't a deal breaker as long as the broth and noodles are up to standard. The Toridashi ramen is also a good choice if you're looking for something on the lighter side.<br/><br/>The panna cotta or the black sesame ice cream are a must if you're having dessert. Either or really, but you have to get at least one. <br/><br/>As a heads up, it can get crowded on the weekends which, for me at least, matches the mood pretty well, but better to say so than not.<br/><br/>I think it's absolutely worth the try if you haven't had much of this type of food, and if you have I'd still recommend it, they really do a good job.

The search for a decent ramen in Jozi continues...<br/><br/>This restaurant was rather disappointing on all fronts. I had been looking forward to having the ramen all week, only to be ever so let down when I eventually had it. We tried two different ramens, both of which were equally flavourless and cold. They refer to the egg as a "ramen egg" on the menu and I still have absolutely no idea why. The eggs were cold (as cold as if they had just been taken out of a fridge) and I really doubt that they were marinated with anything. The one bowl that we had (unfortunately can't remember which one it was), was the only dish that was ok.<br/><br/>The restaurant also has a somewhat depressing ambience, which may have been due to the fact that it was completely empty when we got there on a Thursday evening. It did fill up a little more over the course of our dinner, but it still remained pretty quiet.<br/><br/>The service was fine. The food arrived pretty quickly, but I suspect that may be because they have everything premade and stored in the fridge, which is probably also why the food is not hot. The dishes are also overpriced considering the fact that they were all below average.

The miso tofu ramen was delicious as were the love me so bowls! The venue is trendy and pleasant, and the staff are friendly and helpful. <br/>Only surprise came at the end with the black sesame ice cream which is quite an acquired taste- I would not recommend it. Otherwise I would definitely go back and do it again 👌🏼

Went a couple of weeks back when I was craving ramen, and after following their Instagram and seeing their amazing food I decided to try it out for myself. Boy was I not disappointed!! My friend and I shared the Beef Tataki which the sauce was so flavoursome we could have with anything!! I would happily have it with toast! Foodies please judge me! For mains I had the Shio Chicken, and was so good I could have licked the bowl. My friend built her own ramen and hers too was great!! We swapped and shared so we can get the best of both. We both had the Hidden Dragon cocktail and was so moreish but alas driving so had to be sensible. The overall experience was great and the owner came over to make sure we were all good. I will say this now.... BEST RAMEN IN JOBURG!!! Try it!!

Another hidden gem. Had the most amazing fresh and delicious supper. We shared the tempura squid, salmon tataki, chicken wings and dak chicken bulgogi. Missing in the pics is the chicken ramen. Everything was so tasty and piping hot. Staff are super friendly and helpful. Definitely worth a visit. Yum yum!!

What a stunning location and amazing interior! Very friendly service. Great people. I noticed them handing out blankets as it was a chilly night even put on a heater. But unfortunately the food wasn’t the greatest we have had. Pancakes was lovely a little dry. Squid was a little undercooked but still ok. Now the ramen.. great presentation but lacked flavor. The egg was a normal boiled egg. Try doing the traditional ramen egg (soy soaked egg) noodles was a good firm but just didn’t have that ramen flavor. If the broth improved as well as the meats it would be fantastic.

If you know anything about Korean food don’t come here. Nice decor and ambience but the food was below average. Our prawn gyoza was over cooked and hard. Definitely felt like it was pre-frozen. The beef tataki lacked any of the familiar Korean flavors. The pork<br/>pancakes were mediocre because the actual pork was dry. Still haven’t found a good Korean restaurant in SA.

Oh man this place is great - we got all of the starter-type things - the aubergine is really sticky and delicious, the favorite though was the pork pancakes - it’s their alternative to Peking duck and pancakes. Highly recommend!

Spectacular restaurant. The cocktails are fantastic, the food is amazing, the service is impeccable and for such affordable prices. The overall vibe is just the best.

Epic #ramen spot, with a great vibe (young people mostly) and very good service. Go before 19:00 on weeknights to catch their cocktail specials. When in Melville, try it out!

This place truly is a hidden gem. Super friendly service, amazing food and great cocktails makes it a true triple threat. Will definitely be going back there again<br/>

So freaken great! We had a table of five for a bookclub/surprise bridal party. The team at Love Me So treated us so well but I get the feeling that that's not out of the norm with all customers. The food was PERFECTLY seasoned and done. The beef and pork BBQ is definitely worth many return visits, as were the Gyoza.

My friend and I are ramen lovers and we where excited to try the ramen at love me so. Unfortunately we where very disappointed. <br/><br/>Let me just say the service was good and we got offered complimentary drinks because we were sitting outside in the cold. <br/><br/>We ordered the pork signature ramen. It looked very nice but the broth was very think and rich -basically gravy. Not at all what a ramen broth should be. Because of this the rest of the meal was very unbalanced and left us feeling quite nauseous. <br/>The noodles were completely overcooked and just completely overpriced for what we got. <br/><br/>Maybe taking a trip to Japan won’t be the worst idea for these ramen wannabes. Sorry guys. <br/><br/><br/><br/>

Popped into Love Me So last week Friday and I was highly impressed. I had the shio chicken ramen and it was delicious! I loved the cocktails too (saketini is lethal 😂) overall dope spot 👌🏽

Love Me So, and oh, does it love you so. Greeted with big warm smiles, food made with care and love, one really does leave this restaurant with a taste of home, warmth and satisfaction. If it’s not the scrumptious Asian cuisine that keeps me going back, it’s the excellent service or unique and flavoursome cocktails. In this case, it’s all 3. Highly recommended.

Just love it - have been back so many times. We always bring our international guests here the staff decor and food is world class. Eating here feels like an adventure of the senses. Look out for their 1/2 price cocktails too - a must if u in Melville or if want to shake up your dining experience from the norm :)

Such excellent, friendly service! Delicious food. Half price cocktails from 5-7pm during the week. Super vibe. We all enjoyed our evening. I’ll be back.

We had an excellent lunch today. The coffee was great. Then we started with the pork gyozas. Delicious and so full of flavour. Next came the ramen. It's one of the nicest we have had. So much flavour in the broth. We ended with the Japanese cheesecake. I think I couldve ate a few portions of this. It was heavenly. The service was excellent and we really had a great time. We will be back for sure.

Absolutely fantastic, flavourful food. A great restaurant for vegans, vegetarians and carnivores alike.<br/>Despite there being a power outage in the area, the restaurant had a generator going.<br/>The manager ran through the menu with us and then gave us recommendations, based on our preferences - which was really helpful.<br/>I had the Miso Tofu Ramen, which was absolutely delicious and my non-vegan boyfriend was envious of how tasty it was. He had the Salmon Poke Bowl, which he said was very good.<br/>For dessert my boyfriend ordered the Black Sesame Ice Cream, but the manager did come to apologise as their fridges had gone off in the night with the power cut, and he didn't want to serve ice cream that had melted and then refrozen. He offered it to us for free, during our next visit, which was really sweet.<br/>Instead my boyfriend had the Japanese Cotton Cheese Cake (apparently also very good) & I had the Macha Tea Panna Cotta. As a vegan it's hard to find a restaurant that serves vegan desserts, so this was a treat as the panna cotta is vegan. It is really scrumptious and definitely something I will go back for.<br/>On a whole, Love Me So is a great restaurant that serves exceptional food and I'll definitely be going back.

My new favourite hang out. Warm, friendly faces greet you at the entrance. The menu is extensive without causing confusion. The friendly staff will help you navigate your way through the choices and are quite keen on making recommendations. The food is well presented, tasty and fresh. Don’t be fooled by the laid back ambience, you will be pleasantly surprised by the professionalism. A must visit..!!

I have been dying to try Love Me So after great reviews and a lot of hype. I was definitely not disappointed!<br/><br/>I treated myself to the Miso tofu ramen with aged beef sirloin and a selection of toppings. The broth was packed with flavour with a generous helping of ramen and beef. Definitely a must for first timers!<br/><br/>To top it off, I had the matcha tea panna cotta. I love panna cotta because it’s super light and you don’t feel guilty about indulging in a little something sweet. This was amazing! Complimented with coconut and macadamia crumb was the perfect touch. Not too big and not too small, yum!<br/><br/>I will definitely come back again to try something new from their wide selection of dishes...or just have the ramen because it was that good.

My husband and I had an early dinner at Love Me So before a show at the theatre. We arrived during happy hour which was a great surprise. Half price cocktails! The cocktails were delicious! We shared the crispy calamari starter, which was good. Not the best I've ever had but good. I had the pork belly ramen and my husband had the crispy shredded pork ramen. The meat was really nicely done but the broth could have been more flavourful. The service and the vibe were great and the staff super friendly, but given that they specialise in Ramen, they should improve on its flavour.

Was expecting so much, but left with mixed feelings.<br/><br/>First up, the virgin cocktails are delicious - I will probably return just for the pina colada. Starters we tried the chicken wings, the sweet potato pancakes and the gyoza (potstickers). The pancakes were incredible - I would order double - the pot stickers were decent, but the wings were just not cricket. Perhaps I'm missing the notes, but it tasted a little bland, a little weird, a little "I don't know what this flavour is, is it supposed to taste like this?"<br/><br/>Anyhoo, that "flavor" carried through into the ramen and the Love me so noodles. Perhaps it's just not something for me. <br/><br/>The service was actually really really good with the manager making sure we were looked after when we arrived early, and through some blustering cold weather. Our waiter was a cool dude and the bartenders deserve a round of applause for excellent cocktails and hard graft.

I'd been hankering after a good ramen bowl for a while so I was thrilled when I finally got to try this spot.<br/><br/>First off I have to say the service was excellent. Friendly, attentive and accommodating. <br/><br/>We sat outside along the pavement area but inside decor wise is appealing as well. Dark, industrial feel with interesting murals.<br/><br/>When I booked for 12.30 I was informed of happy hour starting at 1pm on a Sunday (score). But honestly, these were some of the best cocktails I've ever tried.<br/><br/>We all opted for the ramen and tried different meats and broths. Each one of us thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Extremely well excuted flavour wise and presentation wise. Portion size is ideal as well.<br/><br/>Overall, I loved love me so and would definitely go back again.

We arrived at 1. We got drinks menus. Its happy hour. <br/>I have the best virgin bloody mary i jave ever had. <br/>But I'm starving. When we finally order its half past 1, i order ramen. Side of kimchi. Surprise. <br/>Its an hour later when our food arrives. <br/><br/>An hour.<br/>I'm dying of hunger.<br/>The ramen broth is thick like gravy. And theres not a lot of it. Also its cold. Oh and my side of kimchi is in my broth not on the side. <br/>The noodles turn to mush in my mouth. The shredded pork is like wood. <br/>I eat. But instantly i get the runs. <br/>If i wasn't starving I'd have left it, and i don't often leave food. <br/><br/>I don't understand the hype.<br/>The ramen here is rubbish. <br/><br/>Great cocktails though.  So if you want cocktails its great, but if you want ramen, even maggi is better. <br/><br/>How do they even score 2.5 with slow service, cold food, mushy noodles and meh pork? Well...good cocktails. <br/><br/><br/>

Absolutely loved the food, the starters and mains had great variety, so very enjoyable! Such interesting desserts! Great Cocktails too!! Great place for a meal

As a lover of all things japa and a good time, Love me so exceeded all my expectations. The atmosphere is beautiful, with exceptional staff. - my waiter was very attentive and always had a big smile. ( what a gem ). The food was a flavour journey - its hard to come by these flavours in town and this hit the nail on the head. The ramen bowl was filled with amazing veggies and fresh flavours. The tuna izakaya was defiantly my favorite and the tempura squid. Highly recommended! Thank you love me so. you will be seeing a lot more of me!

Fantastic service and great food! I had a Ramen bowl with the most delicious slow cooked pork belly. The tempura squid with wasabi mayo was also great! Would highly recommend.

The bibimbap isn’t bibimbap and the Korean BBQ is just a table braai. But the meat was good, so was the ambience. <br/>Just a shame that they claim to be doing a style of food that they don’t seem to really know anything about. <br/>Bibimbap literally translates from Korean into “mixed rice”. What was served, came on a flat plate. Hard to mix. And it lacked any of the usual flavours, which are what make it a great dish. <br/>The drinks were good. Could perhaps add some Korean or Japanese drinks. <br/>It’s a fun place if you’re looking for something different. The staff are friendly and the decor is cool. It’s just not what’s advertised.

Ambience is great and they play decent music. The Korean bbq was a fun option, but lacked certain flavours normally associated with these dishes. The service could come up a notch or two to round off the experience. <br/>Would go back to try the Ramen.

A fantastic dining experience. <br/>Food, cocktails and service are out of this world. <br/>My first time trying delicious black sesame icecream, nom nom. 👌❤️<br/>Highly recommended. Ramen! Amen!

What a wonderfully delicious dinner!!!!!<br/>The food was phenomenal, the drinks were delicious and the service was impeccable.<br/>Despite being off to a rocky start Love Me So have definitely redeemed themselves.<br/><br/>Highly recommended.

date night tomorrow and the booking was seen less and very professional thanks Joe! Looking so forward to the experience tomorrow night! Review to follow.

What a delightful find! The service was exceptional, the manager explained the menu, showing his enthusiasm for the place. Our waitress was super friendly with the perfect amount of attentiveness. Really lovely Asian inspired/fusion dishes. The Korean pork bbq was scrumptious. The desserts are amazing and the cocktails were YUMMY!

I just moved back to South Africa after living in London for a couple months. Despite returning to very warm weather we were craving ramen and I am very grateful we found Love Me So. The atmosphere was fantastic and the staff were professional. The ramen was delicious! The menu was easy to follow and well priced. I will return in the summer and of course in the winter! <br/><br/>

Didn't try the Ramen due to this damn heat, but the Japanese "Tapas" are off the hook. Half price cocktails to boot. Waiters are top class. Highly recommended.

On Wednesday evening, I was desperately looking for a snazzy place to eat at for a special evening. Throwing caution to the wind, and wanting to surprise my significant other, I drove all the way to Norwood to try out Momo &O. Upon arrival, I realised very quickly that it was closed. Bleh. Now with a very hungry man in the passenger seat, and limited time to find something delicious, I called up LoveMeSo. With 10minutes to spare before I reached Melville, Joe from LoveMeSo made sure that I had a table for two 😁 absolutely delicious cocktails, I recommend the amazing pina colada! Ramen that will blow your mind. And best of all- fantastic service from both Andile and Joe. Joe made sure to always check in with us, remembering my name every time and just being plain charming. Thank you, LoveMeSo, for restoring my faith in Jozi restaurants. We had such a lovely time at your establishment, and cannot wait to be back again to try more deliciousness!

Had dinner at Love Me So recently and everyone was quite delighted about how the evening went. <br/>When we arrived, they did not have place for us but they were very accommodating in making sure we will were seen to while we waited. The drinks list is great - so many cocktails and a quaint wine list. The service was excellent - attentive and friendly. <br/><br/>As a lover of Ramen, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed what they served up. The broth was full of flavour and the bowl was well furnished with the ingredients I chose. My only fault would be that they serve you half an egg rather than the whole egg. My sister ordered a noodle dish and found it was slightly bland. From the small plates we had the chicken wings and pancakes - well received. The edamame beans were good but not the best ones around. <br/><br/>We were all too full for dessert but will definitely make sure to try some on our visit again. If you love Ramen, I’d suggest you give Love Me So a try.

I have to say this is the best Ramen I have had in SA and that the staff is very friendly, service was fast and the Ramen is mind blowing! I will definitely visit again and might even become a regular! Thanks to Joe and the team! Well done this is my favorite restaurant now!

What an AMAZING experience. From the delicious food, the Korean BBQ was such a fantastic addition to our dinner, the RAMEN, WOW, the cocktails are spot on. The bill was also really low for all the drinks and food we ate. I would highly recommend this place to anyone.

If I could give a 10 star rating I would. <br/><br/>Food is absolutely delicious! I have never tried Ramen before and having it here for my first time. I’m definitely a fan! <br/><br/>The small plates are also out of this world. 😍

Such a cool restaurant with a diverse menu. Loved the ramen the most!! Desserts were also amazing as were the very interesting cocktails. A must try new Melville restaurant