Good! I went with a friend on a Tuesday night and was seated right away. The environment is pretty relaxed.. dim lighting.. hipster music. Kind of feels like every other restaurant in Chicago which is NOT a bad thing. We started off with the fried garlic chicken. That was good and pretty good serving size for the price. There were probably 5 wings and we only had enough room to eat 1-2 each. Anyway, I was on the hunt for lots of flavor so I chose the ramen umami (miso addition). It hit the spot.. but wasn't like OMG AMAZING (tsujita annex in la, my heart is still with you). It reminds me of Wasabi ramen.. but with more broth.. and less toppings. Maybe I would've preferred the ramen classic because the miso flavoring definitely overshadowed the tonkotsu broth (which is my favorite). It was still really enjoyable. I ended up eating only half and taking the rest home. read more

In regards to a recent review that claims this restaurant is expensive, I disagree. On the one hand, if you go by the logic that Oiistar serves ramen, which is known for being the cheap meal of choice for college students nationwide, then yes, it is much more expensive than those ramen noodle packets you can pick up at the store. But this restaurant doesn't serve your typical ramen noodle packet (thank goodness because that would be a stupid concept); Oiistar serves delicious ramen noodles made in-house and cooked in a savory broth with meat, vegetables, egg, spices, etc. Also, yes, it would be expensive if you bought FOUR bowls of soup for only TWO people, as the previous reviewer says he did, but that is rather ridiculous. Each bowl of ramen is HUGE! On the two occasions that I've gone to Oiistar, I've been very hungry but haven't been able to finish my bowl. My boyfriend is a big guy, and he can just barely finish the bowl. It's a giant portion, so there's no need to order more than one bowl of ramen per person. For two people, you can go here and get one or two drinks, an order of buns, and two orders of soup for around $50, which I'd say is a good value for a trendy Chicago restaurant with high-quality food. Speaking of the food at Oiistar, the ramen is excellent. After my first visit, I started craving the ramen and wanting to go back for more (which I ended up doing last night)! I've tried both the Tikkamen and the Chadolmen "modern" ramen. The Tikkamen included chicken, masala, and bean sprouts and was reminiscent of Indian cuisine. The Chadolmen was perfectly spicy (i.e., it had a definite "kick" but wasn't so spicy that I couldn't handle it). The Chadolmen contained a tasty mix of the following: beef brisket, kimchee, spicy miso, garlic, bean sprouts, cilantro, and egg. And of course all of the soups include generous portions of the house-made ramen noodles. Both soups had an addictive quality; once you start to get full, you still don't want to stop eating it! Oh, and when the soup comes out, all of the ingredients are partitioned to their own side of the bowl. I recommend mixing them all together! As for the buns, I've tried three of them and think they are good but not great. That might just be because I've eaten amazing buns in New York and not much seems to compare. Each time I've gone to Oiistar, I've been so excited to try the buns, but they've failed to live up to my expectations. For one, the buns are tricky to eat. I feel like you should be able to pick them up and eat them like a taco, but instead, I always end up eating them with a knife and fork, which seems strange. Also, I think that when you order these buns, it would be nice if they'd give you more than one per order. They're tricky to share. I will say, though, that if you want to try the buns, the best one I've tasted so far was the pork belly bun. In regards to drinks, they offer house-made sangria. My friend ordered it and let me take a sip. It comes in a cool mason jar glass and was quite good. I plan to order it for myself next time I go! As for ambiance, the restaurant has a "hip" feel and is fairly small. Both times I've gone, I've been seated at the bar area where you can watch the chefs cooking your ramen and buns. My main complaint as far as the seating is that the seats at the bar are tall wooden chairs that aren't very comfortable. The service is fine. Nothing to really rave about, though. One plus is that on both occasions that I've gone to Oiistar, the chef, Sunny Yim, has been there. I like that. Sometimes, you go to a restaurant, and the head chef isn't even there. Last time we went, he thanked us for visiting before we left. I thought that was a nice gesture, and it's always cool to meet the head chef! read more

Oiistar - Sangria - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

After dining at the most overrated ramen establishment in Chicago down the street from Oiistar (Furious Spoon), I realized I had never given due props where props are due! It's a true shame that Oiistar isn't on critics' radars like other ramen joints (ahem, Furious Spoon), because it deserves to be. Oiistar has been doing quality ramen since before ramen was trendy. Perhaps this is why they aren't included in that trendy Furious Spoon/High Five bubble. They should be. Despite coming into Oiistar during peak hours every time our group goes in, our ramen is always served piping hot; fresh out of the kitchen. The signature and spicy ramens are both among my favorite in Chicago and feature some of the freshest ingredients I've tasted in ramen. They also do other Japanese fare surprisingly well, including a wide array of tasty bao tacos and awesome fried chicken/wings. Great beer on tap, too. The ladies enjoyed their sangria. Servers are attentive and polite and do their best to move your meal along. When deciding between the trendy place and the tried and true classic, always go with the latter - that being Oiistar. read more

Fantastic. Could not have been more satisfied. The Oiimen ramen, the pork belly and the duck buns (duck is better!) and the Sambal chicken. All excellent. read more

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Went on a Tuesday night and was seated right away at the bar, which was fun since it's reminiscent of the ramen places in Japan where seating often is bar style. Ordered the duck bun and the oiimen. Duck bun - 2 in a order. i had bigger expectations for this but ultimately it was just okay. If you get it, don't expect a Peking duck style bun, which is actually fine since this is a fusion style restaurant. But the duck meat was pretty plainly done, overall it was fine as in meat consistency was fine, flavoring was okay, just didn't hit it out of the park for me. The bun that it came on was deliciously steamed though. Big ups on that. They were out of pork belly when I went so I'd like to go back and try that. Oiimen - noodles are the skinnier straight type (hoso-men style) they were cooked to a perfect consistency, so that they were chewy and had a good bounciness in your mouth. The soup was a pork base I'd guess, flavored well, not too salty, and matched the noodles well. Pork meat was also tender and juicy, it did match the noodles well and was not too salty which can sometimes be a problem. Our server was Patrick, who was friendly and helpful. We ordered the oiimen with extra noodles for 2 ppl to share, but when the noodles first came, it was clumped together as in not cooked well. When we let our server know, he immediately brought our bowl back to the chef and let us know how sorry the chef was and that a new bowl will be prepared. The 2nd bowl came out well and was a satisfying bowl of ramen. Big ups to the server and the chef for the quick save. Would definitely like to come back and try some of the other dishes! read more

One cannot go wrong with any of the various Ramens on the menu. I've been to other Ramen restaurants but Oiistars is far by the best. Hands down. read more

Came here again and tried some different things off the menu because I was dining with a vegetarian, still excellent. One of the best noodle spots in the city, thought I'd update for future visitors wondering what to order. Portobello Mushroom Buns Thick cut mushrooms topped with micro wasabi and a balsamic reduction... I was pleasantly surprised that mushrooms were a good replacement for a protein and really enjoyed these. Still prefer the pork belly, however, but definitely try these if you're not a a meat eater. Portobello Mushroom Avocado Fries Never seen tempura battered mushroom and avocados like this before, most Japanese places tempura sweet potatoes and cheaper veggies. Not bad at all, but should probably just call this vegetable tempura rather than fries. I thought I was getting fries with toppings! Sauteed Tiger Shrimp Probably the only thing I've tried so far that I didn't love. 4 pieces of tiger shrimp that weren't huge and came out lukewarm. The diced Okra and pesto had a good kick, but not worth $8. Probably skip this. We didn't get it, but the standout app here is still the Grilled Spicy Pork Ribs. So incredibly good. RAMEN Veggiemen We both don't like really spicy food, so we got this not spicy. Chef Sunny was happy to accommodate. Which is why Natalie G's review confuses me. If you hate spicy food so much, why don't you order these NON SPICY rather than not being able to eat any of your food and then blaming the restaurant?? Anyways, I had a few bites and noticed the broth was a bit sweeter than my Oiimen. Lot of veggies - Mixed Greens, Tofu, Peppers, Mushroom, and Avocado. As someone who doesn't love veggies, I could have eaten a entire bowl of this. Oiimen Delicious as usual, I ate my whole bowl before she was done with half of hers. I would definite recommend substituting Pork Belly instead of Pork Loin for a more tender, yet fatty, protein to go with the salty broth. Really great as usual and not overly spicy. There's still a few things to be worked out here. The waiter was new and Chef Sunny was training a new cook. He was looking over his shoulder the whole time and would make him recook dishes that he didn't think were up to par. I thought this was great that he was maintaining his level of standards. Happy Noodle Month all, go try this place out! read more

I've been to Oiister 3 times within a week for their ramen. After living out in the bay area for 1.5 years, finding good ramen in chicago is tough. There's a place in bucktown called "Wasabi" and their ramen is definitely solid. However, I thought it was a little bit pricey for what it is. Oiistar's ramen is on point. The broth is flavorful and not salty like many places. Definitely give it a shot read more

Ramen was delicious!!! Very friendly service, location looks clean and very modern, open kitchen so you can see the cooks in action and awesome music (90's). We had the following: -Chicken Bun - AWESOME and a must try -Pork belly bun - It was OK -Shredded Pork bun - Not bad -Fried Garlic chicken - GREAT -Oiistar Salad - very refreshing and another must try -Oiistar - THE BOMB! Very good spicy broth with mouth melting pork.... VERY Delicious! I will read more

Pros: The portion size is generous, especially compared to many other ramen places in Chicago. It's on the more expensive side at $14 a bowl to start, but you can be fairly confident that you're walking out of here full, which I can't say about some other ramen joints. The soft-boiled egg has a perfect consistency, and the pieces of pork belly are large, though I would prefer instead of providing it two very thick chunks, they could cut it into 4-5 thinner slices, just to make it easier to eat with the ramen. The in-house noodles are plentiful and have just the right amount of chew. Ambience is simple but sleek and clean, and the service is attentive. Cons: Tonkotsu broth for the Oiimen was savory but not too flavorful otherwise, and may have even been a tad salty(not super noticeable until the end when I was running out of ramen). Also a small complaint, but the single large ramen spoon became a bit difficult to maneuver, and I could see how some people would prefer more manageable spoons. Lack of traditional ramen seasonings at the table(no togarashi makes me a sad panda). Adding srirachi and hoisin to a bowl of ramen just seems wrong to me. Apparently their buns are good, and they have a bunch of fusion ramen flavors which seem interesting as well, so I do wish I'd have gone with friends to try out some different broths. Otherwise, while the price is inline with some of the more expensive spots in chicago, the quantity is definitely a step above, while the flavor(at least for the Oiimen) is average. 3.5 stars read more

The mere thought of a good bowl of Ramen gets me drooling like Pavlov's Dogs...ding! I just love that something as simple as broth, noodles, and pork can conjure up so much delicious memories. I heard some rumblings that there was a spot in Wicker Park that offered up some delightful ramen. Oiistar was the name of said place, and Peter hads to try it. I have to say that I came in with high expectations, and I was not disappointed whatsoever. I ordered the pork belly buns on the strong recommendation of our server. Let's just say I gave him a hi five after I was done eating those bad boys. I went for the Oiimen ramen, and I have to say that the broth and the pork are both exceptional. This place is easily one of top three ramen spots in Chicago for me. So I will just get to the point. You like ramen, get your pork belly buns down to Oiistar. read more

Trudged over here on a cold and snowy Thursday night to get some ramen and have a bidness meeting. I had been meaning to try this place for awhile as it looks intriguing with the weird old cartoons playing off a projector on the wall. And the large glass container of what i found out was house made sangria. I walked in to loud ass top 40 rap music being blasted, and while this is obviously a "cool" restaurant, with "cool" employees who shout something indiscriminately asian at you when you walk in for that authentic feel, it is quickly shattered because Nelly is playing on the speakers. So this is a biz meeting, right? And there was one other person in the place when I walked in. So i asked politely, can you please turn down the music a little? She kind of regressed and was like "I will see what I can do, the music has to be at a certain level." What? Cmon bro, there's nobody else in there, the employees outnumber the patrons 2-6, just ask the boss, but no, she just gave me a passive aggressive non answer and turned the music down a few decibels, not even really noticeable. Normally this kind of thing would give me reason to spank them with a 2 star review, but the food, man the food. Its good. Fried Avocado & Shrooms - This was tasty, a new take on traditional tempura, with a wonderful dipping sauce and some other hot sauce. I loved this, the presentation is cool also in a little deep fried dipping basket. Veggimen Ramen - OK, so I have been to Japan and had the ramen off the street so I kind of new what to expect, a big bowl of hot soup with tons of noodles, and this was for sure that. I really enjoyed slurping this stuff really loudly in my biz partners face as he yelled at me about how he created his biz from nothing, because of what he did. Acutally it was probably a good thing the music was up loud at the end because this dude was on painkillers from breaking his ribs and yelling like a hippo tied to a windmill. The ramen was devine, lots of good veggies and noodles, and a wonderful bright red hot sauce to bang your colon against. Wanted to try the desserts, but they all ate already, so it was table of 4 with 2 dishes. I will be back. They are open pretty late. read more

So the food here is a 3 but the service bumped it up to a 4. We ordered the pollo bun akin with the tikkamen and the modern ramen. First the pollo was good, after we added the siracha and the hoisen sauce that was on the table. With the combo of both those sauces, the pollo was spectacular. The tikkamen and the modern were both good, but noting like amazing. But we got both the broths veggie since we don't eat pork. If you're looking for a great non pork broth, go to urbanbelly for their ramen with beef broth. The service was outstanding. It seemed like everyone was there looking out or each other and helping refill waters or clearing plates. The staff was polite and welcoming, a great plus to this restaurant. read more

3.5 Pretty decent ramen, but slightly overpriced at $14 a bowl. A good addition to the ramen scene though. Pros: ramen! It's hard to find good ramen in Chicagoland! It's actually pretty decent. Menu looks interesting. Has a cool vibe. Lots of wood everywhere. Very Avec inspired. Cons: service was poor on a not busy Sunday night. The broth was not very hot, temperature wise. $14 a ramen. Come on, you are not Ippudo NY The ramen didn't fill me up read more

Excellent service & great food all around. Of the 7 appetizers ordered (for my small party of 3), I loved the pork shoulder and goki buns, their spin on bruschetta (pickled shrimp instead of tomatoes -- trust me, delicious), and their buxelle. Now the entree. We shared the Oiimen ramen and I have to say this is probably the best ramen I've had in Chicago. The noodles were nice and thin and cooked to perfection! I was eyeing the Tikkamen ramen on the menu which has bean sprouts, curry, and nori...must try this on my next visit. We capped it all off the the poached pear dessert and the bao donuts. The donuts arrive in a paper bag filled with cinnamon sugar and you shake it yourself to mix all the goodness. This. Was. Amazing. My boyfriend nearly licked the plate clean. With 7 appetizers, 1 entree, 2 desserts, a glass of wine and a coke, everything (including tip) came under $100 which is extremely impressive for the quality. I will definitely be returning to this gem. read more

If there's one thing I always come back for, it's the ramen at Oiistar, specifically the soup base. Oiistar has the heartiest, stockiest, most substantial soup base out of every ramen I have eaten here in Chicago. It is best described as a bear-hug for your tongue. It is not the delicate semi-cordial "hi long time no see" side-hug. No, it's the "dude come the F here because we just rocked that presentation so hard our boss' boss' boss is flabergasted" group hug. The other components to the ramen are delicious too. Noodles have just the right amount of bite and the pork is tender and flavorful (though not as melt-in-your-mouth as the pork at Wasabi). In other words, the ramen here at Oiistar is a bromance for your palate. read more

Awesome spot! I was in the mood for ramen and my boyfriend wasn't, so we settled on a spot where we could both be happy. We came about 8:30 on a Friday night. The wait was about 45 minutes, so we just went down the street and had a few drinks. We shared all of our dishes, so we ordered a ton of food for only two people. We got the spicy wings, shrimp tempura bun, tempura avocado and mushrooms, and the umami ramen. All were amazing!! Then we finished off the meal with the doughnuts for dessert! There wasn't a bad part of our meal. I got wine and my boyfriend had a Sapporo, as well, and the bill came out to around $50-55. Not bad at all!! We'll be back! read more

Oiistar - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Based solely on the food Oiistar would be getting a 3-star rating from me, however they have phenomenal service so I'm bumping them up to a 4-star dealie. Came here on a Friday at 630ish with a larger group (of 8). They had told my friend who had called to make a reservation that they were fully booked for that Friday night, but that if we got there earlier (before 7), we shouldn't have a wait. Ten minutes before the first of us started arriving, one of the girls called ahead to let the restaurant know we were all en route. I got there first, and saw that half of the communal table in the back had been 'reserved' for us (cute little VIP signs). Off to a good start. I was promptly greeted and brought my drink order (good selection of affordable beers and wines). While the rest of us trickled in, servers came and took drink orders promptly and professionally. One of my friend's even got the server to charge her iPhone in the back while we were eating (going above and beyond - thanks guy!). I got the Oiimen (traditional ramen) and an order of the duck buns. Both were good, however neither knocked me out of the park. Probably because I am biased towards the Spicy Miso Ramen at Wasabi, but what can ya do. At the end the server was AMAZING and let everyone charge their own items on separate cards. Eigh separate checks. Huge props to him - he was the best. read more

My new found quest for great ramen brought me to Oiistar...When I say new found quest I mean NEW! High-Five Ramen (H5) was the only ramen shop i have ever been to, while that was good the broth was too strong for me (salty?). The first thing I noticed was that it had a creamier appearance than H5 ( I had the classic Oiimen Ramen). When I started my slurp I knew right away I was going to like this. Slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp!, dude tried to come over to ask how is everything, "what...slurp" go away your f'n up my slurp...My head was buried in this bowl, thats some good shit...I remember at H5 i couldnt do that with the broth so I was on my phone, staring at the girl behind the counter's ass, who was coming and going everything but my ramen. Not the way it should be!!! I was digging my slurp and fearing I was becoming a slurpster! Do I dress the part? Act the part? Is this a new responsibility im taking on, I just dont know...Im going back into the bowl!!!The noodles were good, they seemed more wirery than H5. The only thing that wasnt as good was the pork belly, it was good but not H5 good. But its still the broth that does it for me, making this the best ramen ive ever had. In addition to the ramen I had a Goki Bun. WTF was that, some bbq pork on a bun with cream on it. Blech! Wasnt feeling that at all. But I came for the ramen just hoping it wasnt going to be so damn salty and I left a slurpster, thats a good thing. The atmosphere was modern and I had no complaints with the service. Overall Im sure there are many that do not have Oiistar at the top of their list for ramen. However this place just makes a really good bowl of ramen. Considering its on that popular stretch of Milwaukee in Wicker Park, which lacks ramen shops this place should be a heavenly refuge from Chiberia. read more

Oiistar - Oiimen Ramen - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Duck Beast Bun 5/5 Pollo Bun 4/5 (I think the mayo is too much and may be unnecessary) I get the Oiistar special with the spicy broth and substituted it for the chicken rather than the pork and ground pork. There is not charge for the substitution. I do not eat pork and therefore they had no problem substituting the dish for me. Also they do not have a chicken ramen dish, they do however have a vegetarian bowl. I did however keep the pork broth. The chicken pieces were cut into small pieces and fried to perfection. The broth was the right level of spicy as I love spicy food but did not feel the need to add more hot sauce to it. Both the buns and the ramen came out really quick. Frankly, Oiistar is one of my favorite ramen spots in the city. Be careful because spot gets CRRRROWWWDED! Total for the Pollo Bun, and two bowls of Ramen was $37 including tax read more

Oiistar didn't really give it an authentic ramen vibe to me, and it was a little empty here during the day. Oiimen - Not the best ramen I've had, but I thought it was decent. The noodles were in nice, delicious texture, but there were too much oil in the broth. Good amount of veggies. This is an Asian-fusion restaurant, so you won't have the legit thing. Buns - Pollo bun was just okay, nothing surprising. I recommend the Tonkatsu bun, much savory with pickled vegetables. read more

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Oiistar, I wanted to give it 4.5 stars, but I guess that's not possible so I'll put down a 5 star review here. Service: 4 stars, pretty good service, but once it gets busy service dips a little. Understandable. Atmosphere/decor: 4.5 stars, I like the way this place is set up, great for small groups of friends relaxing over dinner. Food: 4.5 stars, the two house special drinks are great! the mojito was refreshing, and the sangria... well, it was good sangria! I don't know about you but I always like eating the fruit in the sangria, haha. A slight disappointment was only having one bun per order. Thought we would get two, bummer. Tried the Chadolmen (modern) and Oiimen (classic), and both were good and in generous portions. I'm not much of a ramen connoisseur but if I leave full and satisfied, that's a good sign! Conclusion: I already know that I'll be back, their food is very satisfying on a cold Chicago winter! read more

Oiistar is my favorite ramen place in Chicago. It's a bit on the pricey side, but the product is good. Tonkotsu broth is fantastic, and the noodles are wonderful! These are straight egg noodles, with the perfect toothiness and alkalinity. On top of fantastic ramen, the cocktails here are super good! I had a mojito that tasted like summer in liquid form. I can't wait to come back to try more items! read more

Oiistar - Kimchi chow fried rice dish - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Order any buns, togarashi mussels, chicken wings, and all ramens for a delicious meal! read more

Oiistar - Togarashi Mussels are a must order as whole meal or appetizer to share. So delicious! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Hot asian buns. Better than wow bao. Did have the pork shoulder (6yr) *blah* bland not so cray about the texture of jelly but the Duck Breast bun was so tasty. It had a nice balance of crunch and full flavor. We also had had mussels soaked in this yummy broth. Can't go wrong with seafood. I'll definitely bring my game face appetite for the ramen, though I can't imagine ramen being so crazy original. Anyway, came here for lunch around 1pm & surprisingly not dead. I liked their super casual choice in mixing up kind of alternative rock with r&b baby making music. Better if they played snoog dog. If i'm back in the Wicker P, i'll definitely recommend this spot as a asian food spot. BEST PART! Someone yells "GAM SAM NI DAH!" Korean for "Thank you" Wham bam thank you m'am. read more

I think this is a hidden gem in Wicker Park. It's great for cold nights when all you want is comfort food. The soft buns are really great. Fluffy and flavorful with a little bit of kick. I've ordered the veggie ramen which is good, but the Oiimen ramen is my favorite. They bring out a huge bowl of noodles, amazing broth and veggies/egg/meat etc. I always end up taking some home. This is a tiny spot, but great for a low key night when you want comfort food that won't make you feel super gross afterward. read more

A haiku: Eat real good ramen And listen to the soundtrack From Dangerous Minds read more

Food was pretty good, but the service (which everyone rants about) was not that great. Don't get me wrong-- our server Mario was friendly, but he also only checked up on us twice over the course of our meal. More importantly, one of the chefs behind the bar ( the one who makes the salads and creme brulees) is a dick. We asked him for a knife and he refused to give one to us, saying that "you should really just ask your server". Secondly, he eavesdropped into our conversation and had an attitude while responding to a comment that wasn't even directed to him. Really dude? Just make my damn food and shut up. Overall, food was on point and relatively large portioned, but I'm not goin back b/c of him. Wish I caught his name. read more

So we came in for dinner tonight - it was a pretty good experience. First of all, call ahead. It's a small place, not a ton of tables and at 6:30 on a Saturday night, there were plenty of people waiting. So make a reservation if you want to get in without having a wait. We were seated in a timely fashion and our drink orders were taken quickly. The service was above average, in my opinion. Our server was, if we remember correctly, named Mario, and he did a really nice job. He was absolutely on top of beverage refills and being there to get orders taken without being in our faces. Good sense of humor, too. The only issue that we had was that of the 5 of us, everyone but me ordered the Oiimen. Apparently when there are several orders of the same thing at a table, they all get glopped together and served in a batch. My veg ramen came out before everyone else's, so that is something that could use some work because I was half way done before their food came out. I could have waited for them but I don't know that it would have been good if it was not hot. In terms of the actual food, we thought the duck and pork buns were pretty good. We also tried the garlic fried chicken and that had a really good flavor and a nice coating on it. I rather liked the Veggiemen. The broth is supposed to be spicy but I found it to be on the mild side. I added the spicy paste and that came pretty close to melting my face off - this is a good thing but add it at the onset so it has something to stick to besides broth. It's a bit much for the broth by itself. The noodles, themselves, are tasty - not sure I could tell that they came from a special noodle machine but they were good. The Oiimen seemed to be a hit at our table, as well. Noting that we came in with a person from Japan who had just moved to the US and two people who have lived in Japan. It's not your average Japanese ramen and this is something to keep in mind. It's definitely a fusion of several different cuisines. Otherwise, we did notice that the beer pours were 12 ounces for $5ish - maybe a little pricey. The portions overall for the price seemed acceptable. The noise level is a bit high and the timing needed a little work. It's worth a visit and I am pretty sure we will go back to try some other items. read more

Oishii oishii! I haven't been to many ramen-japanese joints in Chicago area (only some sushi-japanese restaurants) and so I was definitely excited to visit Oiistar, and indeed I was impressed! First of all, parking is a little annoying since you're limited to street parking in the residential area, and on Milwaukee if you're lucky, but come on, you're in Wicker Park...you should be used to this. I was with three other people, and we ordered 4 buns (pork belly, 6-hour slowroasted pork shoulder, fried cod, and duck) The duck was rather sweet, however the cilantro (I believe) definitely made up for the sweetness. I was looking forward to the pork shoulder, but was rather disappointed...It had a weird aftertaste/some spice that I didn't like... The cod and the pork belly was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. juicy, fresh, hot, yumyum! NOW FOR THE RAMEN. I love japanese ramen. I mean it. Maybe it was the fact that I was also very hungover at the time, and ramen is always the best cure to a hangover, but the oiimen ramen was delicious! It's easy to make japanese ramen too greasy or too salty, but the oiimen was just right - the pork inside was perfectly cooked, and the perfect soft boiled egg that just naturally infused itself with the broth AHHHH. No, but really, best hangover food ever. Not as good as Ippudo in NYC, but ive yet to taste ramen that could battle ippudo's... Too bad I was so hungover - the sangria looked amazing - must try next time! read more

Arriving to Chicago on the heels of a bizarre September Polar Vortex, ramen sounded like the perfect lunch. Oiistar did not disappoint. The space is nice in a minimalist/austere sort of way. Hip to death. Service is fine -- nothing over the top. We got some hot sake ASAP to begin the warm-up process and then got the food going. To start, I had the Tempura Cod Bun which was really delicious -- basically the asian version of a fish taco. There was a lot of sauce and it was a bit of a mess, but it was super tasty. The "Spicy Veggimen" was really good. It's always nice to have a vegetarian option at a ramen joint and this was definitely one of the better ones out there. Lots of fresh veggies and a handful of greens. An apt proving ground for my lacking chopsticks skills. Overall it was a very good experience. Highly recommended. read more

I'm afraid to yelp about this hidden gem. I don't know why it doesn't have more stars. I've been here twice now and have had good experiences both times. Food is always amazing, and the service on Friday was just OK. We had the hostess though serving us, I'll downgrade them if she forgets to put in an appetizer order again. I've had some great sangria, and we love trying the little bao rolls before our main courses. The ramen options have always been delicious and distinctively flavorful. Our favorites: Tikkamen & the signature one. On my last visit I had a spicy cold noodle dish that was also delicious. I can't wait to see what happens as the menu changes. It seems like a good place for groups, casual dates, and also families. It's on my "easy nearby" list as it's SOOO good! And for now, you don't need a reservation :) read more

Great new addition to the neighborhood. Went for a few happy hour drinks/early dinner on a Friday. We were one of the only groups when we arrived around 6pm, but the place was filling up by the time we left. We shared the duck buns and fried chicken, which were both delicious. Our group also had the muscle ramen, the pork loin ramen, and the pork belly ramen. All were great, but my favorite was the musclemen. Wild definitely recommend and go back for more. read more

This is not traditional ramen and I hate to say it but this is my favorite ramen in Chicago. The consistency and quality is just too hard to beat and their classic pork broth tastes like it's been simmering since the beginning of time!! Tasty tasty stuff! read more

Had an excellent first experience here and will definitely be back. I had the umami ramen. The serving size is huge! The broth makes the ramen for me and their broth was the best I've had in a while. read more

Oiistar - Umami Ramen - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Amazing ramen!! Became a favorite place of mine after my first time there. The portion size was huge, honestly enough for two people to share. The service was very friendly and quick. Casual, fun place. We ordered the Musclemen ramen and a duck bun. The duck bun was pretty good, cooked well. The ramen, however, was truly delicious. The flavor and the spiciness were just perfect in ratio. Nothing was too overpowering. The seafood soaked in a lot of the flavor from the broth. It was a great ramen dish for us, since we don't eat pork. This is a great place to go for a heaping serving of hot ramen on a cold day. Definitely plan on coming again! read more

Back for the fifth or six time, they have added a new ramen to the menu called the Chadolmen. Made with with beef instead of pork belly this new one trumps everything else. I should also state since I didn't in my original review that the servers are very friendly too! Go and enjoy! read more

Good ramen but not my favorite in Chicago. Good service. I didn't like the chairs/ no backs. read more

Oiistar - Yum. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I ordered the oiimen classic with extra broth - takeout. It rocked my world. I think I wept with joy. Im coming down with a head cold and the hot spicy deliciousness suspended my waterlogged brain in pools of tender perfection. Thank you, oiistar. You r the only thing that I did today and it was a job well done. read more

First and foremost, the portions are obscene. Like truly just outrageously big. Cheesecake Factory big. So when you're looking at the menu and the prices, remember that you are looking at easily 4 servings of food for the entrees and 2-3 for the ramen bowls. Even our $9 fried chicken small plate was nearly half a bird! Sheesh, it's a lot of food. So then the question becomes, is it any good? YES! I really really enjoyed what we got. The beef bun (goki) was probably my least favorite, not that it wasn't good flavor, I just thought the meat was kind of chewy - a major pet peeve of mine. Then the fried chicken came out, and we ate WAY too much of it, especially once we saw the size of our entrees. My husband had the zzajangman, which is sort of like jap chae, with gummy (in a good way) noodles, meat and a thick sauce, plus lots of spinach. I got the "modern" ramen, which was really yummy. Perfectly cooked noodles that soak up the broth, which is thick and creamy and fatty. Yum. We got the vast majority packed up for home, and they even separate the noodles back out of the ramen broth so they don't get soggy in the fridge. Very nice touch. I'll definitely be back, although I might just focus on tackling one dish next time instead of 4! read more