Was here with friends for the chef special dinner. It was really very good. Served upstairs in the active but cozy bar/dining room. 5 dishes were served, my favorite was the first, fried shrimp with soba on a bun. The tomato salad was a miss for all of us. Fried chicken was great, crunchy outside, tender inside. Ginger pork was nicely done, lots of flavor with a little slaw on the side. Really liked the last course, chirashi, the tuna, avocado and cucumber were tasty and refreshing at the same time. We'll go back to try the regular menu sometime. We were seated after our reservation time, but after being seated, the service was perfect. read more

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My daughter and I had their Tonkatsu Ramen when I visited her in Durham, NC. It was amazing!

This ramen is legit! I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews here, but I think this place is spectacular. We ordered the shoyu and tonkotsu ramen, and both were fantastic. The tonkatsu ramen broth was a little on the salty side, but not by too much. It had a very deep and rich taste, and also had some incredibly high quality noodles. Personally, I liked the shoyu ramen more. It just had a more subtle broth and the ramen noodles were more QQ (chewy but in a good way).The topping choices on the ramen were really interesting, mustard greens on the tonkatsu and pulled pork in the shoyu, unexpected but definitely enjoyed. Since we went on a Thursday, they had a 3 skewer deal for $10. Out of the three, the bacon wrapped mochi was by far my favorite. It just was such a unique experience and different from anything that I've tasted before. read more

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There are few things more comforting than a hot bowl of ramen and a whiskey drink on a cold evening, and Dashi does both of these exceptionally well. They boast over 200 varieties of whiskey, bourbon, and scotch and create an awesome experience whether you are having your liquor neat or in a specialty cocktail. I personally love the $15 Old Fashioned (which is only $12). However, I've finally made it on a Whiskey Wednesday and my life has been dramatically altered. First, a little about Whiskey Wednesday: you can try an ounce of a featured bottle AT COST. We are talking super expensive and/or rare bottles for a fraction of what you'd pay anywhere else. I've never tried better whiskeys (nor could I afford to buy a bottle and risk not liking it...), so Wednesday will be my preferred Dashi day! Menu is small, but incredibly well-executed. Food is flavorful, fresh, and warms me to my soul. A good friend and I took to Dashi to celebrate his PhD defense and we still send each other pictures of our food that night because it was such a wonderful experience. Staff has always been awesome and really make Dashi the gem that Durham deserves. read more

Dashi - Miso Ramen (with chili butter) - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Specifically a review of the Omakase: Incredibly disappointed--or, better said, extremely underwhelmed. We are fans of Dashi's standard offerings and had heard about the highly regarded Omakases (this review is only 2 stars rather than 1 because we like their conventional dining experience). Made a reservation weeks out all to arrive and have to stand around waiting for close to 20 minutes. All that wait was for an uncomfortable seat at the bar. Ordinarily this would not be an issue were it not for the fact that the 5 course meal (which did not include dessert) took close to two hours on a Thursday night. One dish in particular (cilantro rice) took nearly half an hour to come out. During this time, we were incorrectly brought food that was not ours twice--as though they were mocking us. In a moment of desperation and hunger we half joked that we would keep it and were told that was not possible, which was especially unfortunate since it was our favorite dish of the night. Other little things: tons of bone in fish that should have been deboned and, with each dish, our small pairing of sake was poured 5-10 minutes before the food arrived and got warm by the time we could drink it with our dish. To put on my critic's hat: The food was generally not as good as our favorites from the standard menu--and certainly no dish felt special. Having dined at Dashi several times before, I feel qualified to say that this tasting simply felt like being served 5 small portions of something one would find on the menu in the ordinary course (again, sans dessert). Fine but uninspired, and doubtful whether it was worth the Chef's trip over from Japan. The expense of this uninspired menu contributed to a general sense of dread that intensified as the waiting dragged on with each and every dish: desperation mounting as we foolishly hoped that something would make the price tag we knew was coming worthwhile. Unfortunately, that something never came. And salt was only added to the proverbial wound when the bill came with a 20% mandatory "gratuity" (a real kick in the teeth to close out a meal during which the wait staff and bartenders repeatedly issued apologies). Want to say I will return for the Dashi with tasty ramen and great value on whisky that I know and love, but, as a loyal customer this omakase experience really left a sour taste in my mouth. read more

OMG! First time eating at this restaurant. Absolutely recommend if you are in the area. The ambiance was such a cool vibe. Had the Shio, winter salad and Bun of the day (shrimp tempura) it was so delicious I forgot to take pictures. Oh and I can't forget the desert. Gelato, Usu olive oil cake topped with sesameShout out to Darnell and the rest of the staff. Next time I am in NC, I will totally be back read more

Dashi is at best just ok, but the prices are scandalous for food that is just ok. The dining room is quite beautiful and I think that sort of tricks people into thinking the food is way better than it is. The ramen is both bland and a salt bomb. They give you the option of putting a pat of flavored butter in it for extra charge and that goes improve the broth by giving it some body which it otherwise lacks. In general they just drown everything in soy sauce rather than using an cooking technique. Their noodles are cheap. All the appetizers including the edamame are sooo extremely oily. It's a place where you can go to dinner, pay $100 per person, and leave both salt-bloated and still hungry. read more

One of the best bowls of ramen I've had other than in New York !!! Will definitely be going back soon!!! read more

Dashi - Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The Tonkotsu ramen was okay because of the broth but the pork and eggs were pretty good. I think this place is better suited for their small plate apps. read more

The cooks were very fast, not packed at all, service very fast. Ingredients are fresh, broth is soooooooooo good, ramen has the best flavors and different types. They also server different foods such as chicken and beef. Feels like being in Japan even though I've never even been to Japan. You can see cooks cooking food, dimly lit, music and club downstairs. read more

Dashi - Vegetarian Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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I had relatively high hopes considering this place had so many reservations but everything was overly salty or just not.. great. The environment was cute but the food was overpriced and disappointing. The ramen was basically a salt broth and the ribeye was very overpriced especially considering how a large portion of our meat was comprised of fat. The sando and the takoyaki hush puppies weren't bad but I wouldn't order it again. The karagge tasted pretty good but the portion was very small. The skewers were not bad! ‍But they're probably the only thing I would order again on the menu (the mushrooms were great and the pork belly was flavorful). read more

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I've been here twice now and I absolutely love this place. Both times I was seated upstairs and I love vibe and the atmosphere! Cocktails: All their speciality drinks have super cute names- which is a winner for me cause I am a sucker for marketing and naming. I got the intergalactic robot kitten and it was super refreshing. My boyfriend had the mama cat which he really liked (honestly wasn't my cup of tea but I'm glad he liked it). Food: I thought the food was bomb. I decided to try the pig liver cause it was on the weekly specials and it was 4$ so why not. Honestly not my favorite. I should have known livers wasn't going to be good, but hey sometimes you got to be adventurous . Ramen was good both times I ordered. But man, all the previously reviews were ruthless and harsher on the food than I would be. Yes the broth was a bit salty - but I feel like all ramen places have very flavorful salty broths ‍. I enjoyed it. Last note is that the wooden spoon is pointless. It's impossible to actually eat from it since it's so wide, so that is definitely for looks, not for functionality. read more

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Interesting but flavorful menu - had excellent ramen here and enjoyed the atmosphere. Service was great.

What a sad disappointment. Been here before, had decent meals and service. Tonight, however, was a different and stressful and disappointing and honestly, disrespectful experience. Arrived at the time of reservation and given a table, though the reservation site kept pinging that we had not arrived, so the hostess didn't do her job at checking us in. Had to go tell her this. Waited half an hour to get our order taken and an HOUR for our drink order, and then we were told that they were out of the Japanese whiskeys we requested from the menu, so we asked for two others. We said, just bring us two different ones from the same page of the menu (between $5-7 an ounce) but I was brought a $17 whiskey and my husband was not brought any - had to re-order because his was not available. I pointed out that I specifically asked for any other whiskey from that page of the many-paged and confusing menu, but was brought one three times the price. Bad communication between waitress and bartender/manager or sneaky upsell? Who knows. Then waited another inordinate amount of time for small plates and main of ramen. Meanwhile, the table next to us, who arrived much later than we did, was served their drinks and small plates and mains much faster (with correct orders, it seems). Finally, our ramen arrived and they brought me the wrong order. At that point I was too hungry and just ate it. The waitress tried to get the manager to comp the wrong whiskey but she refused (via the poor waitress - wouldn't come tell us herself). So we left with a bad taste in our mouth and will never be back. Dashi, FYI you just lost customers not just because of a busy, hectic night but because your management does not value customer service and repeat local diners. Do not count on us recommending you to friends. We were honestly shocked at this disrespectful treatment, which we've never experienced before in Durham. We usually walk home from our local downtown restaurants with a strong sense of community and a happy food memory, but this time it was just the opposite. Shame on you. read more

Ordered takeout from them, and it was a subpar experience. I may be an outlier, but I have an allergy to mushrooms. So, I scoured their site to order something without mushrooms. They listed mushrooms as ingredients on many of the products, but they did not on the Miso. Since I am also wanting the ramen to counter a cold, I ordered an additional chicken stock as this was my way of having something better than boring chicken soup. I knew better than to order vegetable stock since that often includes mushrooms (not a vegetable!)... However, when my partner picked it up, not only did the Miso have mushrooms but they gave me Vegetable Stock as well :( So, I couldn't eat any of it. I tried calling, and got busy 5 times in an hour. I assume they are popular, but in this case, it's a problem. I won't order from there again. My partner swears by the food, which is probably fine, but their online ordering is a hot mess. So disappointed. Please do better. read more

On the hunt for gluten free options is difficult, especially if you love asian food. Thankfully Dashi has gluten free menu items and our waitress was so attentive and knowledgeable about celiac diet .. I was impressed. She offered different alternatives to the soy sauce egg and I appreciated that. The tonkotsu ramen was good and very flavorful and creamy. The GF version was made with rice. The sashimi special was (for me) was garnished beautifully and had sea grapes that had an interesting and bright texture to it. The mochi donuts were great, i would've loved some sweetness to it but they really nailed the texture down. The space is darker and dimly lit but I loved the atmosphere. Great experience after a Hamilton show at DPAC. read more

Dashi - Mochi donut - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Tl;dr: Great location, awesome ambiance, lackluster ramen for me. Sorry. I like to think of myself as a ramen afficionado; even a noodle-soup afficionado so I write this with heavy fingers. I had high hopes when we walked into a full lower floor and had to wait to get upstairs to the bar. I got the tonkotsu and my gf got the miso ramen. We also got an appetizer of bacon wrapped mochi. The bacon wrapped mochi was great! You could taste the japanese coals they used to grill the skewer . The fat from the bacon helped to grease the mochi and help the blistering process for the outer skin of the mochi which gave it great texture mixed with the soft inside of the mochi. The tonkosu ramen and miso ramen were meh. The tonkotsu broth was milky and had good mouthfeel, however I think I needed a more stand-up tare to cut through the saltiness of the broth. My gf had the same issue with the miso broth, too salty to enjoy. She also did not enjoy the ground pork topping that they used because it added more saltiness to the already salty broth. The noodles for both were cooked well; I am a stickler for appropriately cooked noodles (esp ramen). Both came with a soy soft boiled egg which I enjoyed. Overall, the restaurant was great but the main act did disappoint us. We may not give this place another try, but who knows? The location was great and we are in that area quite often. read more

I had a horrible experience here. The menu was unclear regarding a special item and we asked about it. The manager came over with a condescending attitude and was unwilling to listen. She obviously did not care what the menu said and just cared about what she thought it should say (which it did not). She wasn't willing to remove the item from our bill and offered no solution. Ultimately she asked us to leave, which was wild. I've never experienced anything like it in my life. Dashi needs to work on their hiring because the people they have are not meant for public facing work. My experience echos the comments from a lot of the other reviews here on Yelp about bad service. I hope they figure it out because it would be great to have a decent ramen place here in Durham. About the food... The pork belly is overcooked and tough as leather but the broths are okay. read more

Went for the November Omakase experience and was deeply disappointed. First, we had reservations for 630pm but we had to wait 30 minutes because our table wasn't ready. They say us downstairs at a table for those thirty minutes where we received no service, no one even offered us a drink. We just got to watch other people eat. No one apologized for the wait either. The food itself was meh. We go to the Dashi Omakase events for good Japanese food and good pairings. This one was the Whiskey pairing. However, there was no pairing, it was just four whiskey's that you could "eat with any of the dishes". Not impressed to say the least. The food was mostly standard American type food - pork sliders, short rib with mashed sweet potatoes. The chicken was essentially Korean fried chicken. The chocolate chess pie was grainy. Nothing was particularly inspired. For $100 (plus a 20% required tip) it was super not worth it. We had a wonderful experience and a previous Omakase (the NC seafood based one), so I know they can do better. Very unhappy with the whole experience. read more

Upon walking in the place looks great. Lovely brick wall, anime wallpaper and a nice ambience. Menu wise they have some small plates, 7 or 8 different bowls of ramen, cocktails and Japanese beer on draught. We had kimchi, bluefin tuna, tonkotsu ramen, chicken wings, takoyaki, bun of the day, and a couple beers. To start the chicken wings we're superb. My partner rarely eats wings but she loved these. Ramen was good. We ordered the chili butter addition, but tbh it didn't add much spice. The bluefin tuna was over a crispy rice and was very good. The kimchi was phenomenal too. Draw back wise, the takoyaki were just straight up hush puppies with some squid. The receipt even said hush puppies. Maybe I read the menu wrong but I was expecting more of a traditional takoyaki. As with what some of the other reviews have mentioned, the food did seem awfully salty. It didn't offput the taste or anything but we just seemed to notice when we left. Altogether, we had a lovely date night with some very good food and it didn't break the bank. Will go back again and try some more dishes for sure. read more

Well the food just is OK but its our only Ramen joint so we need to try and support them. Other dishes were decent but its hard to justify coming back. We will, but big hopes its a game changer next time! read more

TLDR: don't come here if you want good ramen and mkokko is open. So we came here because we were craving ramen and mkokko is closed on Mondays. I ordered the shoyu ramen and my boyfriend for the shio ramen. The food took around 35 minutes which I think is not bad but longer than I expected. The broth of the shoyu ramen was very salty and I barely had any of it because it was too salty to ingest large amounts. It also tasted pretty flavorless except for the saltiness. My ramen came with catfish kamaboko, shredded pork, soft egg and wood ears. While I'm not sure what kamaboko is supposed to taste like, this one tasted like it was made with flour and some fish flavoring. The texture was very rough for something made out of catfish. The shredded pork was not well seasoned, dry and stringy. The soft egg tasted okay. And the wood ears tasted fine since there is no real way to adequately season wood ears as they do not absorb much broth naturally. I really wanted to like this place because they have a good selection of ramens while mkokko only has one type. But sadly, I won't be coming back. read more

Dashi - Shoyu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Food tasted fresh and yummy. Pork belly was was thicker than what I normally see in other places. Service was great and food came quick. Ambiance was good, very cozy. read more

Dashi - Tonkotsu Ramen. - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Dashi is known to most for their ramen. But if you haven't gone to the Izakaya upstairs, you have been missing out. The ambience is warm, with dim lighting, and just the right kind of music. Go on a Wednesday night - when they have whiskey specials. If you aren't into whiskey, they also make some awesome cocktails. If you get a chance to try their omakase or chef tasting menu, usually reserved for special occasions, don't miss out. read more

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Did the omakase, which included 5 courses. My main complaint was the portion size, which was more like 5 tapas instead of "courses". For $75/person we both left unsatisfied. The ingredients were a bit lackluster for a specialty service. Large bits of fat on steak medallions, and questionably authentic/real crab meat. The tables are a bit cramped together. Although we technically had out our table, we effectively shared a table with the couple sitting 1 foot to our left. The flavors were very hit or miss. Some were exceptional like the murasaki potatoes with hollandaise sauce, Chilean sea bass and the anticicho miso sauce. The staff was very pleasant and accommodating, A+ across the board. read more

The place is really cute! It is kind of narrow inside but it's downtown so that's understandable. Service is also great. The food itself though is alright... It definitely fills you up. Only thing is the broth can be pretty salty so I didn't finish. Also didn't like the greens. read more

Dashi - Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I've been here a few times, from when it first opened to just last week. Every time it's been okay, but I think Durham has better Asian food elsewhere. First the biggest pros: The restaurant has lovely decor, and on my latest visit, we were able to get seated quickly on a Friday evening. Service was prompt and friendly. I ordered the tantanmen, which is their take on spicy dan dan mian, a Szechuan Chinese classic. It was decent, with wavy noodles and ground pork in a lightly spicy soup. It was served with a soft boiled egg that was spot on. My husband got their classic tonkotsu ramen, which I tried a few bites of. It was underwhelming, with minimal flavor to the broth, which is supposed to be the star of the ramen show! And it just came with one piece of pork belly, which seems stingy given the $14.50 price tag. Would not recommend ordering that. We also got a couple of lamb buns. Those came out underseasoned and dry, definitely not worth the $10 for 2 price tag. All in all, I think Dashi doesn't represent a good tastiness:cost ratio, especially given the other Asian options in Durham. read more

Dashi - Tantanmen Ramen Dinner - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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The food is amazing. We did the $$$ monthly menu for June and ate in the upstairs dining area. The food was great but the music was godawful. It really detracted from the meal, like REALLY detracted from it. When you are enjoying a delicious tasty dish and are distracted by the background music that is not a good mix. I do not know if this is a normal for them. If so, we would not return. The meal was expensive with set menu and drink pairing with each dish. It could have been so much better. :( read more

Cool restaurant with great ambiance! The bacon mochi was fun and delicious! The ramen itself was just okay. I had the kimchi ramen and it was good, but not great. The tonkotsu ramen was kind of flavorless, I wouldn't get it again. read more

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This place is way toooooo salty. I don't think I will recommend it for eating. Food all likes nice, but when you have more, you have to drink a lot of water. The dessert is just ok... read more

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Really enjoyed the food at Dashi! The restaurant was very cozy and on theme for a Japanese experience. Our waitress Xenia was so sweet and helpful with the menu. I'm vegetarian so I had a lot of options. I will say some items were a little pricey, but worth the treat yo self moment! Customer service to me was what really stood out outside of the food. Everyone was really welcoming. I will definitely be back again for sure! read more

Dashi - KFC Plate Black Sesame Nori Popcorn Plate Spicy Fried Tofu Bun Plate Miso To Go Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Hmmmm, I got a few things to say. First, the appetizers were AMAZING. It was sooo good. The wings were a surprising flavor. It was savory and juicy and perfectly done. I have never had wings like that! And I love wings. Second, the buns, omg. They were so good. We got an order of both buns and wow, the meat broke apart with my gentle bite! So tender and crispy! They tasted so good too! The wings and buns were perfect appetizers. Thirdly, the drinks. Wowww they were so refreshingly and made so well. The bartender/waiter/resses were all so friendly and great. Now... what knocked two stars off this review were the ramen bowls we came here for. We are ramen fanatics, we have tried every ramen place in our home city of Houston, Cali, New York, D.C., Florida, and even Costa Rica. Everywhere! I also love making my own. That doesn't mean I had high expectations, nor did it mean it was going to be hard to make me happy. I know different places make their food differently, and that's no biggy. BUT the flavor of the ramen broth with the noodles let us both down. We have had countless bowls of all the traditional ramen, and something was off about this one. It didn't have enough savor, flavor, and we couldn't finish even though we were so hungry. We would definitely come back to try other foods and the drinks on the menu. Maybe give the ramen another try. read more

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I find it weird that they decided to add fried sweet potato chunks in the veggie ramen as both texture and flavor are off. Soup is a bit too salty. Otherwise generally a pretty good place, at least comparing to other ramen restaurants in Durham. read more

Dashi - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

(Was) consistent...our place to go for Ramen, and used to have a couple good salad options for vegetarians, altho they removed one of the better, replaced it with non-vegetarian and lost the attention of my two teens, so that's like half our visits lost. But for the non-vegetarians, a good choice with a contemporary vibe. read more

I've heard really polarizing opinions about Dashi, and after dining there, I totally get it. But I find myself on both sides of the aisle simultaneously, rather than coming down on one or the other. If you don't like salty food, you won't like the food here - even the 'fresh' appetizer, Japanese cucumber salad, tasted like it had a particularly garlicky version of Trader Joe's Everything Bagel seasoning dumped on top. So much for refreshing bites between broth sips. But for the ramen, it works - even though it's salty, it's at least an interesting sort, provided by pickled onions, mustard greens, and a well roasted pork chunk. Why are there pickled onions and mustard greens in a tonkotsu bowl? Not sure, but it's nice to branch out and try something new once in awhile. (And I love mustard greens.) The noodles for my tonkotsu broth were skinny and spaghetti-like, whereas the noodles for my companion's shoyu broth were thick and chewy. I liked his noodles better; he liked mine. It's a matter of personal taste, obviously. However, I thought his broth was only good for about three sips, and then it was like drinking soy sauce. And I was straight up offended by the 'NC catfish kamaboko', which had a very upsetting mealy texture. The yuzu olive oil cake was basically a muffin. read more

Dashing was my first experience with "real" ramen and I may never eat the packaged stuff again. I got the Tonkotsu Ramen and they weren't lying when they said it would make your lips slick and belly full. The first time I tried it was less than a week ago and I just picked up another order. This time I added an extra egg and extra pork belly. I had leftovers the first time but I needed more meat and another egg so I made sure I had it this time. It was even better the next day and reheated well. The staff is friendly, friendly, incredibly patient, and seem to take pleasure in answering questions about the food. I ordered takeout both times and my food was ready when promised. I plan to dine in next time so I can try some of the amazing drinks, but I've got to figure out how to eat ramen properly and what the spoon is for first lol! Give them a try....you will not disappointed. read more

Nice ambiance - like Japanese Izakaya. Found ramen broth to be very salty. The toppings of the ramen is not authentic but overall good experience. We sat at the bar upstairs. Good and fast service. We had sashimi and karaage for appetizer. Sashimi was fresh. Karaage was great. Wide selection of whiskey. read more

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Someone told me about this place, so i decided to give it a try, they told me it was really good... but I disagree there was something missing in the meal, I don't know what that was but the flavors were not there, it was something different but I think was missing something or my expectations were to high idk ‍... i will come back and try something different in the future. read more

Dashi - Tonkotsu Lunch - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Really cute ramen spot in a great location in downtown Durham. We sat downstairs and that atmosphere was really nice, I loved the open kitchen concept. The ramen was pretty good and the service was great. read more

The ambiance was warm and cozy. I most often don't comment on restroom cleanliness as it is average to below average in most places. But I was highly impressed by their cleanliness- goes on to show how much the place values hygiene! The server was super kind and helpful. They helped us with both the drinks and the main course. Overall, the food was good. The best grilled edamame I have ever had! However, their vegetarian ramen could have had more flavor. It was super salty and the veggies were not as flavorful. read more