In a visit to a highly-rated chain, I’m reminded how every detail of the ramen experience matters.

The bowl was placed in front of me, and I knew. Could I really tell just by looking? I sent a quick photo (with no comments) to fellow Clubber David, and even he knew: this ramen wasn’t going to be special. And so began my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest. I was at Ramen Danbo in Seattle which had the most highly-rated Yelp reviews in its category.

The clues started with my gyoza appetizer. Sitting at the counter, I noticed the chef preparing an order and haphazardly dropping them on a plate. I hope this order isn’t mine! Well, it was. Entirely absent was the Japanese attention to elegant plating. 

I took my first bite and was pleased the gyoza tasted far better than the presentation. The wrapper was light and slightly chewy with a nice charred base; the pork filling was very good. 

Then my ramen arrived. I’d ordered the Classic tonkotsu. Something seemed flat. The visual distinctiveness of the individual toppings I appreciate in great ramen wasn’t there. The chashu seemed submerged in the broth, not gently resting on top. It was a pretty boring looking bowl. 

Ramen Danbo says it serves “Fukuoka-style tonkotsu ramen” and this bowl looked much like the classic tonkotsu from the famed Ichiran, also from Fukuoka. So Danbo’s ramen holds to form, at least in the basic preparation. While Ichiran serves a good bowl of ramen (see my Tokyo review), my expectations were sky high and I left there disappointed. That same pattern was to repeat in Seattle.

Danbo’s broth was fine, but a bit salty and with little depth. The noodles were nice, served firm. The chashu was OK but a bit soggy. The egg was perfectly cooked. I’d call it a just barely OK bowl of ramen, but with a little more attention it could have been much better. 

Service was perfunctory and spotty. Decor was modern and spartan. Chairs were wood and basic. Menu was via QR code. The cleanliness at the counter wasn’t at the highest levels. I had the overall feeling that things were being missed and standards ignored. Bathroom was just OK. Of course, the physical space of a ramen restaurant can often be lackluster. But if the ramen is great, those considerations seem to disappear. At Danbo Seattle, many of these elements just reinforced my experience of the bowl. 

I arrived at 5pm on a Saturday and managed a seat at the counter. The place was packed with a line outside by 5:45, so this place is popular and well-regarded. With lines out the door, is it easier to slack off and lose track of your standards? Danbo’s ramen photos from Yelp and Google appeared far more delicious than what was served to me. Perhaps I came on a bad day? Might it have been the post-pandemic staffing problems many restaurants are experiencing? 

I’m not saying a plain appearing dish always indicates a lesser experience, and you may disagree that the photo above looks “plain.” The tonkotsu at Ippudo in Osaka and New York had a pretty simple appearance but the flavors had complexity and the ingredients were at a much higher level. What I ultimately concluded was that a certain lack of care and finesse was apparent at Ramen Danbo. 

Ramen Danbo has over 20 locations in Japan and outlets in Vancouver and New York in addition to Seattle. Since these observations are based on only one visit, I’ll give Danbo another try, but with a different set of expectations.

Luckily this was not my only ramen adventure in the Pacific Northwest. I was about to be surprised by a small shop where the care and attention to detail shined. Stay tuned for Part 2.

https://ramendanbo.com

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food:                                  2.25 stars

Service:                               2.75 stars 

Atmosphere/Comfort:       2.75 stars

RATINGS LEGEND:  

1 star:   weak

2 stars:  just ok 

3 stars:  good      

4 stars:  very good      

5 stars:  superb or special

This visit had me wondering if Ippudo US is wavering into mediocrity.

Ippudo now has over 125 restaurants worldwide. I’ve eaten at its New York west side spot (wonderful), at Osaka Umeda (great – see my review) and now twice at its Berkeley location. I’ve always been satisfied with its Hakata style tonkotsu ramen – always good to very good.

My Osaka review suggested that at Ippudo, “tonkotsu simplicity shines.” That has been its claim to fame. For any restaurant chain, achieving consistency with your signature dish can be challenging. Ippudo has succeeded in this regard, but my recent bowl at Berkeley had me wonder otherwise. 

Ippudo Berkeley has a full menu with six styles of ramen plus seasonal tsukemen, and a full complement of appetizers, sakes, desserts and beer. I ordered the Akamaru Modern, which claims to have a bolder tonkotsu, with an egg as the only extra. Untypically, I didn’t order the gyoza.

The bowl looked wonderful, as expected. I noticed the floating garlic oil, and managed to spoon around it to taste the “bolder” tonkotsu broth alone. While delicious – the standard Ippudo tonkotsu I’ve known – I can’t say it was bolder. Was the addition of garlic oil the bold part? 

I don’t expect Ippudo to have the thickest broth, and this bowl was no surprise. Which takes me to the noodles. They were fine; slightly chewy, but didn’t have a flavor profile of their own. For me, the difference between good and great ramen often comes down to the quality or distinctiveness of the noodles. I’d have to describe their flavor as neutral.  

The next misstep was the pork chashu. It was thinly sliced, but with my first bite I noticed the interior was slightly dry. Good flavor, but it’s rare to find a thin chashu slice in broth that’s dry. All the other elements were fresh and of high quality, combining for a well-balanced set of ingredients. 

At Ippudo Osaka, the presence of multiple fresh condiments was a big part of my experience. Here in Berkeley, there were none to be found. I thought this was a by-product of the pandemic, but a look at older Yelp photos shows no on-table condiments. My waitress said several (soy sauce, sesame seeds and chili) were available if requested. 

Seating against the wall is nicely padded, though the standard chairs are bare-bones metal with flat seats. They didn’t look comfortable, and a far cry from the well-padded chairs at both New York and Osaka. The menu is available on QR code scan, but you order though the waitperson. 

I liked the detail of getting a separate small plate upon which to rest my spoon. Service was excellent and attentive. My waitress conveyed caring and helpfulness even through her mask.

The restaurant was spotless with multiple pandemic clean-ups throughout my time there. The unisex bathroom was also spotless. I arrived at 6:00pm on a weekday and the place was nearly empty. By the time I left at 6:45, it was about one-third full. 

I don’t want to be hard on Ippudo, as I’ve had several great experiences. As such, I’ve come to expect more. But the dry chashu, lack of broth boldness and nondescript noodles had me wonder if their search for consistency has them stuck in a groove – particularly in settling for what’s popular with American palates. I should note that this location is a few blocks from UC Berkeley, so it caters to a college audience. I won’t generalize that this audience is less, or more, discriminating.

I will return to Ippudo, but with a more critical eye, and also pay attention to the location. My expectations have shifted.

Ippudo US website: https://ippudo-us.com

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food:                                  3.00 stars 
Service:                              4.00 stars 
Atmosphere/Comfort:     3.75 stars

Powerful flavors abound in this elegant restaurant’s specialty: burnt miso ramen.

A first impression upon entering Gogyo is a mild blast of heat and flame coming from your left, as the chefs concoct the restaurant’s main attraction: burnt miso ramen. Using wok-like pans and open flames in the traditional Asian manner, they scorch the broth at very high heat with lard until it turns into a dark brown or black color.

My friend Kyla heard about this technique and commandeered several of us from our Ten Thousand Waves tour group. She knew the restaurant was popular so she made reservations. The way this place does reservations is pretty cool: you advance pay an extra 400¥ (less than $4) to hold the reservation, but when seated you get a special appetizer for the effort. I had the spicy chicken wings, which were good.

Kyoto Gogyo (there are five locations throughout Japan) is located a few minutes walk from the famous Nishiki Market. It’s a modern, beautifully designed restaurant with several large rooms, an outdoor section, a small rock garden and very comfortable seats. You can sit at the counter, though it might be a bit warm.

The bowl was set in front of me, and I’d never seen a broth quite like this. Inky black with many tiny dots of burnt miso flakes floating around. The first visual impression is that it will taste too oily, but that wasn’t the case for me (though some Google reviewers disagree). The broth is thin and liquidy, not thick at all, but very rich in flavor. The burnt miso has a charred, barbecue-like taste that packs a punch. Bold, but not excessive, in that the richness has a unique personality that speaks to a level of refinement. The chefs know what they’re doing.

The noodles were thicker than the usual ramen noodles and had a nice depth to them. This broth would have overwhelmed a lesser noodle, but these stood up to the rich flavors. Extra noodles are free. The chasu was very good.

Gogyo was a culinary highlight of this particular Japan trip and I count it among the best ramen experiences I’ve had. It may be too rich for some, and I certainly wouldn’t have this as my everyday ramen. It’s special. If you’re in Kyoto, I highly recommend it.

Gogyo website: https://www.ramendining-gogyo.com/news (in Japanese) 

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food:                               4.5 stars

Service:                           4.0 stars

Atmosphere/Comfort:     5.0 stars

A rare transcendent ramen experience at this tiny Michelin-starred restaurant.

So much has been written about Tsuta, the world’s first Michelin star ramen spot. It has been widely heralded in many credible media and on multiple TV programs. Its popularity has led to the inevitable opening of international locations (San Francisco review coming shortly). Could it possibly live up to the hype?

Tsuta was on my agenda on my 2018 Japan trip, but I hadn’t scheduled it. One sunny Tokyo day I found myself in the Sugamo neighborhood where Tsuta is located. I arrived late afternoon, luckily the right time of day to avoid a long line. I waited 40 minutes and was in.

Tsuta is a 9-seat, counter-only ramen spot. It has a modern interior with a high level of comfort, including padded stools with lower back support. I sat at the counter with high expectations, and immediately I was struck by a few things I’d never seen before at a ramen place. There was a placecard on the counter listing all ingredients and their geographic sources.

The other notable element was the silence. No one was talking. It wasn’t a formal atmosphere, but more a casual reverence for the meal we were about to consume. This only added to my sense of anticipation. There were no condiments on the counter; interesting, in that many of the better ramen places I’ve visited in Japan have multiple condiments available.

I ordered the ajitama char siu shoyu soba with kamo wonton as a side dish. When the bowl was placed before me, I knew I was in for something special. My first taste of the broth confirmed it. It had a complexity of umami that lingered on the palette. I’m not the biggest fan of truffles, but the black truffle oil added to the uniqueness of the umami flavors.

The noodles were delicious; perfectly firm. I knew why the restaurant tagline is “Japanese Soba Noodles” – they had the rich flavor one expects from unadorned soba. The noodles are from multiple grain types and custom-made in a small room in the restaurant. The chashu was very thin, more like carpaccio. It arrived in the bowl pink, with the final cooking phase handled by the broth. It was very tasty with just the right amount of fat and char. Egg: perfect. Vegetables: perfect. The kamo wonton, which I dunked in the broth before eating, were simply luscious.

Tsuta is clearly playing at a rarified level of ramen excellence, with chef owner Yuki Onishi living up to his “ambitious desire to create truly original flavours,” as noted in its website. Up until this day, I had two ramen experiences I considered transcendent, in that it changed my perception of what ramen could be. Tsuta was my third such experience. I left feeling elevated. I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling the Sugamo neighborhood with a grin, knowing that this experience would be one of my most memorable in Japan.

Tsuta website: http://tsuta.com

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food: 5.00 stars

Service: 4.5 stars

Atmosphere/Comfort: 4.5 stars

Expectations were high. Maybe too high for this really good ramen chain from Japan.

I was excited about my first visit to the new Ramen Nagi US location in Palo Alto. The Yelp reviews are stellar, and this company has a great reputation in Japan. So expectations were high.

I arrived 25 minutes before its noon opening on a sunny Saturday, and there were at least 20 people in line before me. Within minutes there were 15 people behind me. A staffer handed out their menu/preference sheet and explained how it all worked.

At noon exactly, the doors opened. Very efficient and friendly staff. The restaurant is modern with comfortable seating – all with padded backs! Many ramen shops have hard, backless seating, so this was a welcome touch.

I sat at the counter and was immediately impressed by the variety of condiments. Six of them: very hot pepper mixed with greens, sweet bean sprouts, vinegar, a sesame seed grinder, and two pepper shakers with different degrees of heat. Also on the counter was a tissue dispenser, a common replacement for napkins in some Japan shops, and a self-service carafe of water. 

I started with the (pork) gyoza, as usual. They were excellent, all six of them presented in a light, crusty shell top (I was hungry and forgot to take a photo).

I ordered the Original King, their basic signature tonkotsu ramen, and ordered pork belly instead of chashu. The broth was very good, flavorful though not particularly complex. The noodles were fresh and firm, as ordered, though didn’t have much personality or distinct flavor. The pork belly was tasty and moist, though a bit dry in a few places. I was looking for a layer of fat in the pork belly, though there was none. No egg included in main bowl.

I found myself experimenting with the condiments to spike the flavors. (Are condiments to ramen, like mustard/ketchup are to burgers? For some reason, I’ve started my ramen journey thinking the bowl – as served – should stand alone. More on condiments in a future post.)

I enjoyed this ramen. It was really good. And it wasn’t special. I say this with some reservation. Because my expectations were so high, I was expecting special. Plus, in looking at some of the other bowls coming out of the kitchen – they looked quite elaborate (black squid ink and others) – I think I will give Nagi another try with my Ramen Clubbers before drawing a final conclusion. So consider this review #1. For now, Nagi is certainly recommended.

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food:      3.75 stars

Service: 4 stars

Atmosphere/Comfort: 4.25 stars

Ramen Nagi USA website: https://ramennagiusa.com