Oh dashi- I want so badly for it to become THE place to go for ramen in the triangle, but it only gets worse and worse. First time back after a few years, figured maybe the owners would try authentic ramen in a major city to emulate, but no dice. Part of the bad experience was a particularly bad and inattentive server... never checked on us. It took over 45 minutes to receive that ramen after ordering on a not-crowded night. Irritating but it is hard to find good help these days I know. I'm ok with poor service if the food is good. But the ramen was just so bad. There was far too little broth for a bowl of ramen as you can see below. I have never seen anything like it. This was the regular tonkasu ramen not a pure noodle dish. Maybe that is ok, since the broth tasted so bland. Like inadequately salted water. The chili butter did not help. Noodles were cooked just fine. But too much noodles. Way too much toppings. Way. The soy eggs came very beat up looking (no I didn't do that to it). The pork was a big chunk of meat - not the usual roasted pork that should come in ramen. Was a ton of food, but ramen needs balance between broth, noodles, and toppings. It is shocking how bad the ramen was. We all ate about a quarter of it and gave up as we are all in disbelief. I can only guess that the owners are neglecting it and/or bad manager. Sad. I'm giving up on dashi. read more

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

If you have never tried ramen before, I advise you not to come here. There are other places around the area that will give you a better experience. I wanted to beat the dinner rush so I arrived at 5:00 p.m. The place filled up pretty quick. I greeted my waiter and she cut me off. I was just asking her how she was doing! Ok? I ordered the tonkotsu ramen. It seem to be the crowd favorite. It was $14.50 for the bowl of ramen. Alright, if the price pint is this high, it had to be good! The ramen came out within 10 minutes. It was a little tiny bowl with a piece of pork belly and some vegetables. I went in for the broth and it was tasteless. This was not a good start. I took a bite of the pork belly and it was kinda cold. Ok...this is not looking good. I did enjoy the noodles. 1 star for that and another for the effort to bring a ramen restaurant to Durham. I've had a better bowl of ramen at an airport, I'm not even joking or exaggerating. Overall, as a ramen lover; I was disappointed in my experience with the food and service. Mark my words, I will not be back even if this was the last ramen restaurant on the planet. Good try...NEXT! read more

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THIS IS THE BEST RAMEN IN NC. PERIOD. When it's closed I get depressed lol. The cocktails are unbelievable. The ramen is different and daring while also sticking to the traditional ways and flavors. They have a black garlic oil that has changed my life!!!! And chili butter... wowza! read more

Incredibly disappointed. Dashi has a very nice atmosphere. We were greeted and seated right away. However, I would not consider Dashi to be an authentic ramen establishment. The most important part of Ramen (or any other noodle soup dish such as Pho) is the broth. It has to be so good that you are drinking every last drop. Their broth tasted like water, soy sauce and liquid smoke and it was extremely salty. We could not eat it. I also have to mention that our bartender gave off a vibe that she did no like us. We didn't feel very welcomed. I lived in center city Philly and there were so many amazing mom and pop Ramen places (like Terakawa in China Town). Their broth was authentic and you could not get enough. read more

I arrived at Dashi with a friend at around 2 pm, while they closed at 2:30 pm. Since we knew we were going to be in a time crunch, we looked at the menu beforehand and ordered within a few minutes of being seated. My shio ramen and her kimchi ramen came within 20 minutes and was delicious. As with most ramen, it came out visually stunning. The portions are sizable and pretty heavy. A solid addition to the restaurants of Durham! It's not the best ramen you'll ever have, but it's definitely good. read more

Dashi - kimchi ramen (top) and Shio Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

To preface I am by no means a ramen expert, but I really enjoyed all of the food I tried here! The steamed bun of the day was a BBQ pork bun which was delicious with a really nice steamed bun. I got the tonkotsu ramen and loved it; the broth was delicious and I especially enjoyed the pickled onions mixed in. The housemade ginger ale was excellent, and strongly gingery. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. I'd definitely come back! read more

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

This review is for ramen portion only. I'm not sure how this restaurant got such high ratings. Moved into town a week ago and the wife and I were in the mood for some ramen. Picked this pace because it had pretty high reviews but was pretty disappointed. Maybe we went at a bad time but our ramen broth tasted like they took the broth, watered it down, and added some salt. The noodles were over cooked and seemed old. My bowl even had a clump of noodles stuck together, like what you would get if you cooked noodles, left it over night, and then tried to reheat it the day after. I would not recommend this place if you are looking for authentic ramen. I added a star because the piece of protein was decent. read more

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Normally, I would let my review stand, but the Dashi response was so false and untrue I'm compelled to respond. I never used foul language, I was never asked to leave. in fact you wanted to have the "executive chef" cook me another meal. the chef BTW agreed that the food was unacceptable. I refused because the attitude of the cook was so condescending I did not want to stay. Look at the number of 1-star ratings you have received in the last 6 months- that says it all! Maybe if you put your energy into training staff, food preparation and handling, you would not have so many negative comments. instead you choose to lie about the encounter in a way to dismiss a negative experience. shame on you. Dashi was the darling of Durham, unfortunately not anymore. read more

The atmosphere was nice but I was disappointed with the drink that I ordered (amoretto sour - too much sour mix and not enough amoretto) and the food just wasn't for me. read more

Dashi has two floors and there weren't seats for my friend and I downstairs, so we were advised to check upstairs. We managed to snag seats at the bar and ordered two bowls of ramen - Miso ($13.50) and Tonkatsu ($14.50). The place got pretty loud especially since it's half bar and half restaurant. I chatted with my friend for about an hour before our food finally arrived. I requested for no scallions and the waitress apologized the moment she brought my noodles. She said that the kitchen was taking too long and included scallions, and that she didn't want us to wait anymore. To compensate, my bowl of ramen was free. Honestly, most places don't even realize when they mess up, but this place compensated 100%. As for the taste of the food, I thought that the broth could be more rich. In addition to the ramen, they provide more sauces on the side for you to add to your bowls. read more

Dashi - Miso Ramen ($13.5) and Tonkatsu Ramen ($14.5) - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Food is not good. Ramen was lukewarm. Overpriced. Service was slow. I liked the environment and location. I will never go back unless I have to... highly disappointed... read more

The atmosphere and service at Dashi were both good. However the food wasn't great--not bad-- but nothing I would want to go back for unfortunately. We ordered the wings, miso and tonkotsu ramen. I did enjoy the wings however the ramen lacked flavor. read more

Dashi - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Extremely disappointing. I went in thinking this place was among the best ramen places in the triangle, based on the many recommendations it has. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen, and most of it was outright bad. The broth was extraordinarily salty, enough to far overpower the expected rich pork flavor. It was accompanied by an egg that while nicely soft-boiled, seems to have been marinated exclusively in soy sauce, because that's all you can taste from it. The greens and pickled red onions are odd choices instead of, say, kombu or mushrooms or bok choi, and don't add anything to the texture; the flavor was sort of irrelevant in the face of so much salt in the broth. I should say the pork belly, while also (as expected) kinda salty, was really excellent -- it had a wonderfully rich grilled fatty flavor and crispy texture. Maybe if you just get that over rice you'd have a nice time. As it was, I ate the pork and ended up throwing most of it out. I had some of my friend's "dry" ramen (Mazemen) and it was preferable just by virtue of not having broth, but it still didn't do anything particularly interesting... just chili oil on noodles and rapini, though the meatballs were pretty nice. Based on the meats, maybe the izakaya is good, but I'm not giving it a second chance on ramen. This isn't close to other Triangle restaurants (e.g., Noodle Boulevard), at least on this dish. read more

All of the dishes are BURNT and taste BITTER. Never try this if you are looking for real Japanese-style ramen. read more

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

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Was honestly really impressed with the new menu. I had only gone here once before in 2017. Back then, the ramen was pretty mediocre and not that memorable. but THIS time, man oh man. I came back from a friend's recommendation for their new menu for Triangle Restaurant week 2020, and it was like a brand new place. PROS: * for the prix fix, I got KFC (korean fried cauliflower), tonkotsu ramen, and the green tea pound cake with ice cream. * KFC was sooo good, crisp and spicy without being drowned in sauce. * tonkotsu was a little on the saltier side, but had a TON of food. lotsa noodles and a thick piece of pork belly. lots of veggies too. * tried a friend's broccoli salad + a popcorn ($8?) dish. really tasty/unique! * lots of seating * parking garage (free after 7p) across the street! CONS: * pound cake + ice cream combo was good, but not good enough to buy on its own for the a la carte price. * still kinda dont get the one restaurant two venues thing? Kinda confusing for my first time there since 2017. * prix fix price was $25, which is not the cheapest, and their normal menu looks on the pricier side too (or similar to M Kokko) * with so many asian bistros here, it's still hard to crave Dashi and decide to go. OVERALL: Dashi is way better than it has been. It still brands itself as bougie Asian food, and it's hard to compete with all the others (M restaurants, Juju, etc) read more

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I wanted to give this place a fair shake, but this is probably the worst ramen I've ever had. I eat a ton of Ramen across the US and actually really like M Kokko across the way from this restaurant. The other snacks (squid and Brussels) were decent, and the whiskey selection was impressive. The bartenders were friendly too. But that didn't make up for how bad my bowl of lukewarm flavorless broth, overcooked noodles, and dry pork was. They were also incessant about asking for "compliance" (in their words) around vaccination status. I have my card on my phone and id, showed it to the folks downstairs, and was then asked for it again upstairs, and it was just a pain given this county's high vaccination levels. read more

Atmosphere was really nice and waitress was good. The water that came out tasted like sewage. I know this sounds kind of strange but being used to well water it was very off putting... For such a nice ramen place I thought they'd be able to afford a water filter. Wish portions were a bit bigger for the price as well. Other than that fairly good experience. read more

Had to settle for this spot after seeing that the line for M Kokko was out the door. Started with some chicken karaage and I'm usually the first to say when a dish is not salty enough but Dashi's karaage was just far too salty to be enjoyed. It's paired with a dipping sauce that I think was just soy sauce. Yes, let me dip my fried block of salt into more salt. Perhaps a creamier sauce would've better complemented the chicken. Miso ramen was unbelievably salty as well and was almost difficult to enjoy. Granted, ramen is not a low-sodium meal but there is a limit and it was exceeded here. Service was subpar, waitress did not once ask how everything was. Better service would've at least made up for the less than average food but no such luck. Cute decor though. Tl;dr - bad service with salty food. Would not recommend nor return. read more

Dashi - Chicken karaage (or should I say chilies with a small side of chicken) - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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The entire experience of this restaurant was phenomenal. The ambiance, service, and food was absolutely worth the price. We got the tonkotsu and the shoyu, as well as 3 grilled skewers (eggplant, pork belly, and bacon mochi). The ramen toppings were unique but fit the broths well, and the grilled skewers were super savory and flavorful. One of the best dining experiences I've had in a while! read more

I have been here twice for 2019 and I can safely say that their food is not my cup of tea. I have tried the ramen twice and a couple of their small plates and the only thing I really enjoyed was the KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower). I wasn't a fan of the Shoyu or the Shoyu Tonkotsu, I have had better outside of North Carolina. The spicy miso chicken wings was a good portion size but I think my blood pressure was elevated after eating because they were way too salty. Also, be mindful that it is small so don't bring a huge party although each time I went, my party consisted of a group of 8 and 5 respectively. The Good: It is open late so it is an option if you are looking for Late Night dining place to hang out. The ambiance is small, dark and cozy, with its own character, which I appreciated. read more

Friday evening dinner during Omnicron. We were actually asked to see Vaccination status which was good. The service was great but the Ramen was not so good. I lived in Japan for two years and that was far from being good Ramen. The noodles were tough, the Chashu was TOUGH. Had no real flavor. My wife got the Vegan Ramen. I said "you know the broth is made from Pork Bones, right? Anyway, she said it wasn't very good either. read more

I love to support local businesses and I also want to be honest about my experience. I ordered takeout and arrived on time to pick it up. I got barely 1/2 a fill of broth for my ramen. the food was also all barely lukewarm/room temperature and some vegetables were undercooked (squash was hard). that being said, the flavor was amazing. I hope this restaurant is much better with their dining in experience. The egg was delicious read more

Flavors were so delicious. Before our entrees even came out I made reservations for next week's Filipino cuisine event. I am so pleased we found this place. The ambiance was exactly what we needed after a long day and I cannot wait to come back!! read more

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Dashi is an intimate and dimly lit restaurant. I came with a group of five on a Saturday night for an early-ish dinner and there was just a short wait. However, moments after my group was seated, a line was starting to form outside. I had the Tonkotsu ramen, which had pork belly and a soft-boiled egg. The noodles were average to good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Felt the same about the pork belly. The broth was supposed to be "milky" and "wholesome," but I didn't really get that in mine. I wouldn't necessarily recommend coming here just for the ramen, but the restaurant itself has a lovely atmosphere. Taste | 3.5 Atmosphere | 4 Presentation | 4 Service | 4 OVERALL | 3.5 read more

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A great date night place! Or if you're enjoying a meal solo, you can sit at the bar area and watch the chefs do their magic. I loved the interior vibes of this place from the exposed brick to the booths in the back. Me and my sister enjoyed the kimchi pork dumplings we shared as an appetizer. You can tell they make them in house. The only reason I'm taking a star off is because I've definitely had better ramen at many other places. The broth was not too flavorful and there was too much pork belly in it, which is probably better than too little. But still, it was not what I was expecting from this place. I would return to try their other dishes and not the ramen. Also the service was amazing!! read more

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Cute little spot with a nice cozy and clean ambiance. We were sat at a bar above the stairs which was more comfortable than expected, and were greeted with great service, especially for how busy it was. The staff was all very friendly and served us fairly promptly. The bar and drinks selection was expansive with great tasting drinks and fairly reasonable pricing. The food was good, but varied heavily on the individual dishes. The buns were good, but I also got pickles and found them to be just ok. Most of the ramen we all ordered was absolutely great, but a couple of the dishes were a bit salty but still good. The portions of the ramen were quite size able, but quite honestly all the other dishes were fairly small (for example the buns tasted great but there were only two small two-bite sized ones served on like a quarter plate) and would likely not be enough without ordering a selection, with which the prices would go up significantly. Would likely recommend and probably will return, but will also probably stick mostly to the ramen if I do. read more

I always give tip after eating at restaurant accordingly , first time in US at Dashi the tip was added to the bill , which I didn't like like it , considering it was a Japanese restaurant. The food was not nice, the servings were small for the price And the chicken was just boiled. read more

This soup was exactly what I needed on a cold, rainy day. It was warm and hearty and very filling. I would have preferred it without the mustard greens, but oh well. The wait time for the ramen was a little longer than I would have liked, but the servers were very nice and had a good attitude. The atmosphere of the location is also very intimate and cozy. read more

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

Went there for an omakase dinner last week. The food was ok, but what really ruined the night was a woman in a green dress hurrying the bar tender and servers to clean up so she could go home. It was extremely uncomfortable to be waiting for the third of five courses and have her frantically washing dishes, closing up shop around you, and joking about getting home. We ended up taking our last few courses to go because we felt so uncomfortable. One bad green apple ruined the experience. read more

Worst ramens i have ever tried in my life I dont know how can they were received 4.5 stars on google and Yelp. I and my wife ordered 2 ramens. It's tasted like SEA WATER. After we complained about that, they brought new bowl of ramen for us ... And it's tasted the same SH..T ! NEVER COME BACK read more

Not authentic. Not good. Foul tasting watery broth, poor ingredients. Disappointing, at best. $20 for bowl and tea. Wasted. read more

Honestly this place was terrible. My friend and I came from out of town for a comedy show, and we saw this place and it had okay ratings. We got fried tendon chips, tonkatsu ramen, and tantanmen. Tendon chips were $8 and it's just freshly fried pork rinds. It was hard to eat. I waited to put it in my soup later. The tonkatsu was like milk and water. It was so bland, the noodles were overcooked, and there was a ton of it. We couldn't eat it and we just ate the not-so-good piece of meat. The tantanmen had flavor but it wasn't that good. It had good noodles though. It was kind of bitter and beany but tolerable. The eggs were cooked well. The service was decent. I don't know what all these rave reviews about their tonkatsu ramen came from. Maybe they have different chefs? It's really not that good. I don't like to leave bad reviews but the restaurant needs to do something about it. read more

Dashi - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Some times I wonder why restaurants like this still survives in the area. Alright, maybe it's all because the service at M Kokko was so bad that it had drove diners to this place. So it was a rainy weekend evening, the time where my friends and I were unable to get a table at M Kokko, we decided to explore the town and look for other Japanese options nearby. And that eventually got us to Dashi. The interior conveys the feeling of a Japanese style izakaya. The menu was nice and neat and the waitress was spot on with remembering where people are seated. She also showed good knowledge of the menu and that I was under the impression that maybe, just maybe, we have found a hidden gem. Unfortunately, I was wrong and all wrong! These were the only reasons why Dashi hadn't got a 1-star rating from me. I went for the classic tonkotsu ramen, it's usually so basic and fundamental that a ramen restaurant can't screw up. Nope. The pork/chashu was seasoned awkwardly and it wasn't warm, the broth was plain, and the noodles were slightly overlooked and tasted off. There are only so many things you can miss with a bowl of ramen and Dashi basically had checked all of them. read more

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

Atmosphere: A little on the darker side, which is nice for dates and hanging with friends. The bar seating looked nice. Service: Service was friendly but inconsistent. It might have just been the busy Saturday dinner rush. One of the spoons at our table was dirty and we had to ask for another. Food: When we finally did get our food (tonkatsu ramen and shoyu ramen), the flavor was rather lackluster--in the middle of the meal we had to switch bowls because we were bored of our own ramen. The noodles were decent, but there were a few clumps that were not cooked all the way. The meat was the most redeeming quality of the meal as it was very tender and flavorful. Overall: Came here for a Saturday date night and was underwhelmed by the overall experience. The restaurant had a good atmosphere, but we probably wouldn't come again especially because of the price point. read more

Dashi - Tonkatsu Ramen (front) and Shoyu Ramen (back) - Ramen Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The photos looked very promising but oh the disappointment. We got the tonkatsu, wings, and dumplings. The flavor of the dumplings and wings were alright, but the wings were undercooked! That was annoying. I've read from a few yelpers that they use a lot of salt but I did not have that problem. It was salted enough, but the tonkatsu broth was ehh. It didn't seem like it's been cooking for 24 hrs... it was light and not rich at all. Also, the pickled mustard greens and pickled onions completely ruined the bowl of ramen - the pickle flavor overpowered the broth and it just tasted like pickled soup. Also they barely gave us any broth. Although the noodles could have soaked up the broth, they did not add enough in the beginning. I had to dig under the noodles to get to the broth. The only thing they did right was the ramen egg... read more

Food is excellent and staff is very kind. Great for both lunch and dinner. Always a treat to get to have a meal at Dashi. Rotating menu specials mean there is always something new to try. read more

Wow! What an amazing experience! We had the small plate dinner and loved everything about it. The food was unique and delicious. The drinks were absolutely incredible (although a little strong) and the ambiance was top tier. They require vaccinations which helped us feel at ease enjoying our food without as much fear. Favorites of the night were the the drinks, the KFC, the cucumber, and the dumplings. We all loved the seasonal drink "The Last Fun We'll Have This Year" read more

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Probably one of my favorite meals of all time. this is a great spot and I love either sitting in the restaurant or the bar upstairs. the drinks are a bit intimidating but good and the food is sensational. We got the miso chicken wings and dumplings to start and the wings are the best wings I've ever had! and for ramen I went with the shoyu. I want to go back here every night for the rest of my life. read more

We decided to come by to give it another shot since I heard there were recent changes. I've gotta say it's worth driving from Raleigh for now. Obviously I got the ramen and it was fantastic. Not even really sure how to describe it other than delicious. Also wanted to try a few other things so we got the tuna with crispy rice and the tobandjan wings. The white miso buttermilk situation for the wings really made them stand out. Talked to Jeff and he was great. I'm excited to see what else him and the team do here. I'll definitely be back soon to try more stuff. read more

The iziakaya is cozy though a little dim. We enjoyed the yakimono/yakitori. They were flavorful and not overcooked. We shared a bottle of cold unfiltered sake that the bartender recommended that was well worth it. Unfortunately, the ramen we had was not good. I had the "Tonkotsu". It was salty and sour and had no depth, so the dashi and the tare were bad. My companions had similar reactions to their different ramen. The noodles themselves were decent, but they should rethink ramen. If they had a few more offerings as an iziakaya and either started over with their ramen or just dropped them altogether they could make 5 stars. read more