Bottom line: Comforting food. Time: Grabbing an early Thursday night dinner with my sisster Service: So-so - It wasn't even that busy to just get mediocre service. - Although our waitress warned me, she made it sound like the spicy ramen was going to be difficult to digest. Food: Yummy in my tummy - We each started out with their buns. My sister got the pork belly and I got the pork shoulder. Very much enjoyed the layers of texture. Every bite was different. - For entrees, we each got ramen, of course! The bowl of ramen was huge! I tell you the noodles were endless. My sister went traditional and got the oiimen which she completely devoured. I guess it's save to say she enjoyed it. As for me, I went for the spicy ramen, Chadolmen, which apparently was very spicy according to the waitress. Let me tell you, if you like spicy, GET IT! Warms your tummy right up and isn't even that overpowering. The spice, the tangiest from the kimchi, and the meat, all complimented each other very well. It is actually my second time here and it won't be my last. Good comforting food and with the winter coming, why not stop in and get a huge bowl of goodness to warm you right up! Service could be better, but it really depends on the day you come in. read more

A big fan of the Ramens here but not too much of the service - not that it is the worse, but could certainly be improved. In all the different Ramen that I have tried here, I love the soup base they have. Oiimen is my most fav.! I've a special love for Spicy Veggimen and Tikkamen too. Besides the Ramens, the chicken wings and the buns are good too. And a special shout to their good beer collection. Will continue going back :) read more

Pretty good Asian fusion restaurant in Wicker Park. The portions are pretty big! Most dishes are spicy. The decor inside is nice - there's dim lighting. Service is great! Milwaukee gets pretty busy but you should be able find a spot close by. This place isn't my fav but I would say it's worth a try! read more

So three stars means A-OK. I guess my true rating is a 3.5. Food was good, service was good. I had the Oiiramen w/ pork loin, my friend had the muscle ramen. We also split the portabello avocado fries, which they should probably call tempura, but they were good too. The atmosphere is pleasing, but it was a little cold from the draft. We waited a really long time for a our ramen, it was surprisingly packed on a Thursday evening. We were starving, but waiting 45 minutes for ramen is a bit long. I will go back to try the buns, some other dishes and the drinks. I thought it was a little on the over priced side. 2 ramens, 1 app and tip was $50 for 2 people. Its nice to have a ramen spot in the neighborhood, with a bar too. If our order didn't take so long and we weren't about to eat our own hands, I would probably give it a 4. read more

Things you should consume here: -Sangria -MUSHROOM AND AVOCADO "FRIES." So effin' good. Don't ask me about any of the other things there. The above is all that matters to me. Cool little spot. read more

This is the best ramen shop around. I literally think their Spicy Umami is the best bowl of anything I have ever eaten. The mussel ramen is amazing as well. The appetizers I can take or leave, but I drive an hour to Oiistar and then an hour to get back home just for the ramen. If you have a large group that will order various items, there might be other places to go. If everyone is happy to try a bowl of noodles, then there is no substitute for this place! read more

Sweet lord this place is the best. I think the pork in the ramen tends to be kind of dry, but it all comes together perfectly. read more

Oiistar - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A small group of us tried Oiistar for the first time on a late lunch run. First, the ambiance is terrific-- modern and warm with great seating options. We sat at the communal table. Notable food was classic ramen (great broth), shrimp baos, haricot vert, and oh the wings-- the Korean savory sauce drunken variety that requires utensils. Good service too and the staff seemed happy to serve us minutes before closing at 3. read more

The soup is very rich but a little heavy for my taste. Their porkbelly and duck breast is quITE fatty, took me a while to walk it off. Moderm decor and good ambient though. read more

Great food and drinks. We had the ramen garlic shoyu, steamed buns with pork belly and cod, raw tuna with balsamic reduction sauce, delicous togarashi mussels. This place is hip and delicious. read more

Not bad. I like their different take on traditional ramen. I also like that the wait is never too long. My husband and I like to go here because they let you chose the type of noodles with your ramen. I prefer the wavy thicker noodles and my husband likes the thinner ones, so it works out perfectly. I also like the hot paste that you can get on the side. The buns they serve are pretty tasty as well, and we usually get a couple of those to go with our ramen. Overall, a good local spot for when you are having a ramen craving and in the area. read more

Nice place, friendly service and great food. Tried the Oii salad and tuna tartare appetizers. The salad is excellent and is a huge portion - the dressing is tangy and the cheese and almonds compliment it nicely. The tuna is pepper crusted and perfectly cooked. Artichoke was unnecessary addition but still really good overall. read more

I came here for the first time last week and it was pretty busy on a Sunday night. We got lucky and were seated right away. I ordered one pork belly bao and for ramen, I got the Oiimen. Loved both! My only wish is that I should've ordered another bao because it was super melt-in-your mouth tasty as far as pork belly goes. Although it's a lil pricey in my opinion, it's still worth the try though! My bill was about $20 -24 ish for those two items and a soft drink but I did leave full. I loved the broth and thought the noodles were just the right thickness. Both important factors that ramen places need to succeed but don't always do. Our server was also super friendly, had good suggestions and full of energy which we loved. Will be back hopefully sooner than later! read more

Oiistar - Pork belly bao and oiimen - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Yelp needs half stars because 4 feels a bit low Came in on May 1st, it was rainy and cold, perfect weather for some hot soup. Well maybe a few other things too. Started off with the 6hr pork shoulder bun, the bun was nice and soft and it was overflowing with pork, onion, etc. The fried garlic chicken came highly recommended so we split the sambal style, what a hit. It came hot from the fryer, nice and crispy with the proper amount of sauce to dip it in. By this time we were worrying about being able to finish our soup. The oiimen arrived soon after, and since I'm a lover of all things hot I ordered a side of the suicide paste to add to it. I was a little apprehensive about spending $1.50 for a side of chili paste but it's highly concentrated and served two more uses after taking it home. :) It gave the soup the punch I needed, damn was it good. Did I 'need' to order the chicken? One may say no, but had I not then I wouldn't know to have more room next time. read more

I came here twice cuz my Roomie was craving for its zzajangmen. I have tried: 1) pork belly bun- so delicious! And juicy as well! 2) goki bun - I think this is my favorite bun of all buns that I tried in Chicago. The meat is tender and it's sweet. I like sweet. Lol! FYI: goki is beef. 3) ramen- forgot which ramen my Roomie ordered. It was salty for me and I was not impressed. Wasabi and furious spoon have better ramen (my opinion) 4) zzajangmen - it's like Korean black sauce noodles with lots of stuff on top (lettuce, eggs, chicken, pepper, etc). It's good but for some reason it's kinda salty and spicy. I drank so much water while eating this. 5) fried chicken - my favorite food of the meal. Meat is so MOIST and crunchy!!! and when u dip in the sauce (sambal and sweet- I have tried both sauces) it's compliment with the chicken. Love it!!!! I like sweet sauce better and my hubby likes sambal sauce. TIP: if you want to try both sauces, u can ask the waiter. Just make sure to say "put the sauces on the side" so that way you can dip your chicken in whichever sauce you want. :) Price: I see the cost of each item is around $12 max, $7 min. I took a pic of the recent menu, so check it out! I think the fried chicken (only 5 pieces) and buns are little overpriced. But that's how it is when you live in Chicago, right? :( Service: excellent! I had no problem with the service in both visits! Very fast too! Tip for first timers: try the buns and fried chicken and sangria!!! :) read more

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Best Buns PERIOD! both Prom Belly and Pork shoulder were amazing, couldn't tell you which one was better. Their Ramen is equally as delicious! Huge portions with great flavors. Their Pork belly is so tender and melts in your mouth. Definitely one of the best ramen places in Chicago. They don't disappoint here! read more

Oiistar - Pork Shoulder and Pork Belly Buns - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I was really looking forward to eating here. Ramen is one of my favorite meals and it was a cold rainy perfect weather for a big bowl! The set-up was a little strange, the service was a little off, and so was the food. It was...ok. Not good enough to come back for. There are a few other places in the area that I would like to try before giving this place another shot. Just not much flavor, not a great vibe, and lacking friendliness. read more

Wicker Park never fails for good eats. And this lover of ramen is usually not disappointed with a nice big hot bowl of slurp able ramen! Started out with the fried garlic chicken (sambal sauce, which is spicy). For those of you Koreans out there... It's basically ("yang nyam") chicken. Can't go wrong with that as an app! Beware it's quite spicy, which I love. But if you can't handle the heat, Don't say I didn't tell you so. So tried the classic Oiimen bowl. The pork belly was amaZeballs. So tender and juicy and perfectly soft and chewy. My favorite part was the broth: it's so thick and savory and just what you imagine pork broth ramen soup should taste like! Also tried the Chadolmen ramen. "Chadol" is the word for beef brisket in Korean. Wait, are we at a Korean place? I guess the owners are Korean so they're bringinga little Seoul fusion into a Japanese staple. Anyway back to the brisket ramen. It reminded me of "jjambbong", which is a spicy seafood noodle dish as Korean-Chinese restaurants. So refreshing and spicy but a little more substantial broth since it's a beef broth and not a seafood broth. They have cilantro in it too so it have am interesting kick to the overall flavor of the dish. If I had to choose between the two ramens that we tried tho...I'd have to go with the classic Oiimen bowl. There's just something about that thick, savory broth that is unparalleled. read more

Oiistar - Classic Oiimen ramen bowl - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Trendiness is the first word that comes to mind when hanging out here. BUT... whatever let's talk about the food. I liked the noodles themselves. They were really tasty in their own right and the Q-ness was there. The Zajianmien. I'm going to have to be a stickler and say that I prefer the traditional stuff. This was like something my mom would make when she'd go on one of her "experimenting" streaks. The pickled veges were good, but the parmesan cheese and slew of spinach was offputting for me. The Oiimen broth is not too salty, which is a good thing. I'd come back just for this. However, seriously, what's with the super loud music. The waiter could barely hear us and thought we ordered extra drinks. It was annoying but I was like what the heck and drank the stuff anyway. This is entirely not the waiter's fault at all, just the fault of the damned music. Nobody likes having to raise their voice to someone across the table for dinner. Oh right we had some Bao. I'm not paying for that stuff again. It was good, but c'mon. People should be catching up on how cheap that stuff is now. read more

This review is for the ramen only. I'm a bit biased when it comes to ramen, as I've had some of the best ramen (IMO) on the West Coast - from Santouka and Orenchi in Northern California to Daikokuya and Shin-Sen-Gumi in Southern California, to name a few. I always keep this in mind whenever I try to review or compare a new ramen place. I went here for lunch on a Tuesday. We walked in around 12:45 pm and there were 3 other tables of 2, so the place wasn't crowded at all (although when we left about an hour later, it was half full). My friends had been here before, so I was the only Oiistar newb in the group. I looked over the menu and decided to go w/ the Oiimen ramen. -Oiimen ramen: aside from the broth, I really wasn't too impressed w/ this. The broth is very clean and light, yet maintains a rich flavor. It's not too salty and was definitely the star of the dish. However, I was disappointed by everything else. The noodles were thin and stringy and lacked the chewiness that most of the other highly-touted ramen places have. Although I prefer thicker, chewy noodles (see Orenchi), I can appreciate thinner noodles, but I just wasn't a fan of these noodles at all. The Oiimen doesn't come with a lot of meat, so if you're a carnivore like I am, order extra. It comes w/ a scant amount of ground pork and only 2 pieces of small pork belly (I had to order an extra serving - 2 more pieces - of pork belly just to satisfy my meat requirements). However, I must say that the pork belly was delicious and had a great char to it. I love eggs with a runny yolk (again, see Orenchi), so I was ecstatic when my friends said that the eggs here had a runny yolk, too. However, the eggs here are already cut in half when they're brought out. This makes mixing the ramen together very cumbersome, because you run the risk of flipping an egg and losing all that yummy yolk-ness into the broth. My friends had the Chadolmen and the Tikkamen ramen. I tried their broths and they were very solid as well. If I come back, I'd probably order the Chadolmen ramen because the broth had a nice slight kick to it from the kimchi. Overall, I think Oiistar's ramen is just okay. Their broth is good, but everything else leaves much to be desired. read more

Oiistar - Oiimen ramen with an extra order of eggs (extra order of pork belly not shown) - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Very Crowded Ramen place with wooden high top tables. We came in for a birthday dinner and it was 7 of us on a Saturday night. The Ramen wasn't the best I have had--- we got the Chicken one and there was hardly any chicken. We also got some appetizers that were great. I would recommend taking a look at the menu before going and strongly suggest sharing. I wouldn't say this for all the Ramen restaurants I've visited, but the portions at Oiistar is huge but just not as delicious. Customer Service was good but I felt bad for our waitress. She seemed like she was working a long shift and too many tables to herself for a weekend night. read more

Offensively bad faux ramen. The "spicy veggiemen" ramen tasted like it was made by a raw vegan on a cooked-food binge. The actually-rice-noodle-soup came with mesclun mix on top, underneath this bland wilting mess was large chunks of raw tomato and sliced white mushrooms and avocado chunks that didn't mix well with the soup. They could have tried with wakame or kombu bamboo shoots. Instead of ramen they gave me vermicelli (thin rice noodles). The broth was clear, salty, and nothing special. For what it's worth, nothing was done to season or marinate any of the topping ingredients to justify paying the inflated price of ~$10 for this dish. I could have made this better just by seasoning with sesame oil and mirin cooking wine at home. The ambience seemed pretty hostile as the manager was playing Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sublime so loud that I had to yell at the three other friends sitting across from me. I used to serve ramen, so I guess I felt worse for the servers. Sighhhh read more

Came here for a light dinner. The environment is pretty minimalistic - simple wooden tables and wooden "chairs" that don't even have backs. I mean I didn't really expect anything fancy so it was alright, I just felt a little awkward having to sit on my coat instead of hanging it off the back of the chair. I had the Oiimen and my friend had the Chadolomen. Both had a very thick and flavorful but not too spicy broth, which I highly enjoy. The noodles were very fresh and the ingredients all blended together very well. My only complaint is that the soft boiled egg in my noodles were quite cold - is that just how it is? Since I have been to another ramen place that did that. read more

Been wanting to try this place for a while since it's one of the top ramen places in the city - was not disappointed. Came in early on a Friday evening and was seated immediately - barely missed the crowds. The place filled up soon after and was packed by the time we started eating. Service was really quick and the staff very friendly and helpful. We had the pork belly buns which were to die for. And the Oimen (their most popular ramen) was mind blowing - definitely one of the best ramens I've had read more

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

First time here over the weekend with a friend. We shared the Sambal Fried Garlic Chicken and a Ramen, but I don't remember which one. Both were DELISH and flavorful. The portions here were bigger than other comparable restaurants. I would definitely go back. read more

Oiistar - Sambal Fried Garlic Chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Good, clean and simple. This is exactly how ramen should be done. The flavorful broth should speak for the dish and it does just that at Oiistar. I would be back here in a heart beat on a cold night in Chicago. The tables are always full and the buzz is the great food and fun environment. The service is nice and although on a busy day can be a bit slow they are very accommodating to any questions or requests you may have. read more

New York, LA, or Chicago - Oiistar is my favorite ramen in the US. Musselmen is for sure garlicky but such a rounded, bright broth. I don't miss gluten with their rice noodles. Most importantly, there is not a hint of MSG in their 48 hour broth. read more

After reviewing Strings, I realize I never reviewed Oiistar! It was a long time through so I will put what I remember. Loved the ramen here! Had the spicy kimchi one and I love the runny egg in it. Such night and day compared to Strings. The concept is more fusion ramen so not really traditional ramen flavor profiles here. Did not like the: Pork belly buns: I didn't think this was anything special, same as white buns with meat you can get in chinatown. Certainly the meat type is not the same but taste wise it's pretty similar. Creme Brulee - This was TINY a size of a toy teacup for little tiny children, and the best part of it was the espresso balls. The creme brulee was made using vanilla flavoring and not real vanilla. However the waiter did forget about this (I waited 45 minutes?) and gave this to me for free since my take out order was done and I still didn't get the dessert. The service was good too for the most part. The take out packaging was also done very well and tasted just as good as eating it in the restaurant. The broth and ramen also still tasted super delicious the next morning (my other brother never showed up so we had an extra one left). Why strings couldn't you be more like this? Or at the very least consistent. At $14 dollars a bowl, the extra $2 dollar gets you much further at Oiistar. read more

The Ramen bowls at Oiistar put most others in Chicago to shame! Everything I've had here has been really, really great. The atmosphere and service were solid, as well. I felt like our servers were a little awkward/confused because several tried taking our order, but it wasn't the biggest deal in the world. The steamed buns were fantastic, as were the other appetizers we tried. I didn't love the veggie Ramen as much as I've loved others I've had in NYC, but it was still really good and probably the best I've had in Chicago. read more

The guabao is juicy and prolly the best I had in the states. Fried chicken is perfectly cooked but has too much vinegar in it. The muscleman ramen has really good soup base, it is not like your traditional ramen but it's pretty awesome. read more

Oiistar - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Definitely one of best spots to have ramen in Chicago. Sad that I just discovered this gem.... I ordered the Oiimen. The broth was flavorful, and the noodles perfectly cooked. I love gooey eggs, and they did a great job with that. The ramen also had something crunchy that was delicious. I think it was fried garlic or something that made the ramen extra tasty. Paid about $15 in total for one bowl of ramen. Pricey, but hey, good enough ramen for me to be willing to pay that. I ordered take out, and the service was great. I was approached by multiple waiters to ask if someone took my order already. They provided water while I waited at the bar since they told me that the ramen will take some time. I did notice that they give you generous portions when eating at the restaurant, and so I was disappointed when I opened up my takeout bag and realized that what I got appeared to be less than the big bowls served in the restaurant. I do appreciate the fact that they separated the broth and the noodles. Not many other restaurants think to do that. I'm definitely coming back. read more

My friend suggested this place so I thought it is worth to give it a try. We were greeted by one of the servers and told us to sit anywhere we want. We picked a table not too far from the door. Server asked is shortly after we sat down if were want something else to drink other than water... were just picked up the paper thin menu. I politely told her that we didn't get to look at the drink list. She smiled and asked is to take our time. We ordered three different buns: pork belly, duck and shrimp. The tempura shrimp bun was greasy and the shrimp was overfried and loaded with chopped green onions. Will not order again. The duck bun was okay, also very greasy. Will not order again. The best out of the three was the pork belly bun, good flavor and not greasy. Not really sure why they serve the buns flat. I was not prepare to eat the bun like flat bread. We both ordered the oii ramen. The broth was good with just enough flavor but it is not rich enough in my opinion. I do not particularly like the texture of the ramen, it is stiff and not chewy. My stomach actually hurt for couple hours after eating there... unsure if it is indigestion from the stiff ramen. The pork belly is dry and firm, doesn't taste slow cooked to me. Again, There's a ton of scallion or green onions with the ramen. I prefer other ramen places over oiistar and do not believe we will return again. read more

Went here last night with a ramen craving and some concerns about trying to get a table on Valentine's Day. Fortunately, we beat the crowd to the last table in the joint that was open without a wait. Ha! We weren't looking for romance, only ramen, but I will say that although the room is very handsome and attractively lit, it was ungodly noisy the entire time we were there. At least on a Saturday, it's not the place for an intimate dinner where you'd rather not shout at your companion. Seats were low and backless. Husband grumbled a bit about that, but was soon distracted by the food, which was terrific. We started with a couple of the buns apiece. They came so generously loaded with toppings that they were almost impossible to pick up. The two that I ordered were absolute salt/fat/sweet bombs of pure lusciousness. Eying the enormous bowls of ramen at the next table, I started to wonder if we had over-ordered by each getting our own bowl of soup to follow the buns. Spoiler alert, we totally did! Which didn't stop us from practically licking our bowls clean, because the ramen was that good. The broth was definitely the standout--so rich and silky and comforting. Afterward, the attentive and friendly waiter asked if we wanted dessert, but we begged for mercy. Too! Much! Food! We had drinks too, so the bill was around $70, which was fair for how unbelievably full we were. We will definitely return! read more

Their food is def the STAR of Oiistar!! We ordered: 1. fried chicken with chili sauce - the chicken was kinda dry but the chili sauce was amaziiingggg!! If you don't like spicy, I would recommend trying he sweet sauce instead. 2. pork belly bun - must try!! No words can describe the feeling of eating it! 3. tonkatsu ramen - the ramen was good, but wasn't as flavorful as other ramens I've tasted in the past. 4. zhazhanmun - MY FAVORITE!! It's a twist on a traditional Korean noodle!! Def. a must try!! Has both indoor & outdoor seating! Most tables are for 2, so come early so you don't have to wait :) read more

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The chicken small plate was pretty good. Tastes like Korean Ggangpongi but not as good. Too much on the sweater side and not spicy. The Ramen. It was alright. Noodles were thin and chewy, not as good of a snap. Broth was tasty but not as savory as I like. At least it wasn't super salty like 90% or the ramen that i've tried. Plus! Might be back to try some other dishes, maybe another ramen. Prices are kinda on the higher side too for what you get. read more

Went here for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I was craving Ramen and saw this reviewed on a TV show. It hit the spot. It was a trendy little restaurant with a few nice beers and wines. Service was just ok. It seemed like they were training a few new people, so I'm not holding it against them. Food came out very quickly (within 6 min of ordering). I had the classic ramen. Decent broth, tender pork, and perfectly runny eggs. I will revisit. Although I will still be in search of a comparison to the late night small back ally ramen joints I love to stumble upon while visiting Japan. read more

Oiistar lacked passion, comfort and taste - the things a good $14 bowl of ramen should have! The buns we ordered (duck and 6-hour pork) were underwhelming and not cohesive. It tasted like someone doused the meat with sesame or peanut oil right before serving. The ramen was not deep or flavorful... It tasted like it needed more time on the stove. We got the classic and the mexican (VERY spicy) ramen. In all fairness, the pork was cooked nicely. It just didn't satisfy like we wanted it to on a cold Saturday afternoon. Oh, and the service was bad enough to mention. Our hungover server was fairly nice to us, but seriously rude to the three Asian guys sitting next to us at the bar. When one of them pointed out that his ramen was incorrect, the waiter loudly repeated over and over "Trust me dude, you didn't order that. I promise, you ordered what you got". Wow, hows that for customer service? To make matters worse, my boyfriend was up half the night with stomach issues. After all that, we won't be returning to Oiistar. I think other reviewers are right when they say this is probably a more American version of ramen. Who wants that? read more

I love their veggie noodles so much, every appetizer I've ever tried is delicious, and sangria and mojitos rock! Oiistar is a great place to hang out on a summer day when the windows are wide open. read more

The Musclemen had more mussels than I could eat. The broth was so delicious & the noodles were the perfect texture. I gave 4 stars because the service wasn't great. If that improves I'd give it a 5. read more

Oiistar - The Musclemen had more mussels than I could eat. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I miss this place mucho- hoping to go again soon. I always go for the ramen with kimchi in it- I forget the name, I think it's called Modern ramen? Regardless- it's delicious. The noodles are so soft and perfect. I feel like most ramen places, you have to wait a few minutes before eating the noodles because they're a little harder? Regardless- it's amazing. Perfect ramen for a cold day ( which we get plenty of in Chicago ) read more