As much as I wanted to hate on this place, I really liked it! Came here around 6:30pm on a Saturday right before the crowd. What we ordered: - Fried Garlic Chicken: Came with five good size pieces. The skin was deliciously flaky and I liked that the sauce was sweet, but not crazy sweet. Sprinkle of sesame seeds and almonds slivers sealed the deal. It also came with two pieces that seemed like big chunks of chicken breast. I prefer the wings better (less dry and more flavorful). Overall, very good. - Oiimen + pork belly: I knew from words of friends not to expect authentic Japanese ramen before ordering the ramens and I agree to approach the ramen with that attitude. The broth, although milky, is not like the super white rich thick Japanese tonkotsu broth. Instead, I found it less salty and more pork-boney taste similar to the Korean soup Sol lang tang. The noodles were great! They had a bite to it. Not soggy or overly hard. I really enjoyed the super soft boiled egg. The egg yolk was amazingly runny. I recommend dipping your ramen in the egg yolk. The pork belly was good, but not the best I've had. Good portion. Overall, I really liked the oiimen and would definitely order it again. - Oiisangria: Came in a mason jar on a stick (that's the best way I can describe the glass itself, hahha). I loved this! It was garnished with a big slice of fresh orange. Delicious and easy to drink especially for girls. The interior feels very open but intimate. There are communal tables and also private tables. We got to sit by the kitchen bar and watch the chefs do their thing which was really fun cause we got to see what the other dishes that we didn't order looked like. Our waiter was very nice. He gave us a great rundown of the menu and recommended his personal favs. Gave us other people's opinion on the dishes and was very attentive, quick, and not overly pushy. Overall, I would definitely come back to this place. Next item I would love to try is the avocado fries! read more

I really liked the food at Oiistar, but unfortunately I got sick from eating the food today. Not sure there is ever an excuse for that happening, so I am forced to warn others & leave 1 star. read more

TLDR: Amazing food and I loved our server. Solid atmosphere and serviceable drinks We'll be back. We've been wanting to try Oiistar for awhile, and we finally went for it on a busy Friday night (we waited across the street with a beer at Emporium for about 40 minutes until the hostess called us). The hostess is very nice, though communication was a little off the three times we interacted with her. The place has a fun, lively ambiance and can get pretty loud. It has that minimalist wood sauna look going on. The sangria was served in mason jar wine glasses for a surprising turn to the kitsch; everything else is modern. About the sangria, as well: Oiistar needs a cocktail list, please. I know, ramen goes with beer (and they have a fine beer list), but every other hipster restaurant manages a bitter whiskey drink and a refreshing gin or two. Not a big deal. We had a bottle of riesling, and that did just fine. The food is amazing. Between the three of us, we got the tonkatsu bao, goki bao, and mushroom bao. The bao is great (flat bao topped with ingredients, instead of filled bao). The goki bao and mushroom bao were the faves. Tonkatsu is tonkatsu, it was good but the goki and mushroom were great. They all balanced sweet-savory-spicy-acidic-soft-crunchy. Vegetarians: there is a lot of meat on the menu, but the veggie options are well considered and way more delicious than most of the token items you find at most non-vegetarian places. My wife said it's one of the best vegetarian meals she's had a non-vegetarian specific restaurant. We also got the Oiistar salad, which our server cautioned was more of a dressed cucumber than a green salad. No fear. It is a delicious vegetable. The Japanese cucumber was sauced with typical sesame-citrus and then seasoned with much less typical coarse black pepper, fresh dill, and grated hard Italian cheese (romano? parmesan?). Amazing. Oh yes, and a pause for our server. She was awesome. Friendly, helpful, real, non-intrusive, and seemed genuinely nice. According to our check, her name is Monica. And a pause for our check: it was about $100 for three people (after tax, before tip) for 3 bao, 3 ramen, 1 salad, 1 tea, and 1 bottle of wine. Super reasonable. Back to the food. There are so many good ramen options, but I decided to go with the Classic Oiimen ramen. My sister got the Modern ramen (I forget how it's listed on the menu), and my wife got the vegetarian ramen. They were all wonderful, but again, the vegetarian option was the surprise of the bunch. Zingy light broth, wonderful tofu (seriously, so many Americans have never had *good* tofu...), and, again, a great mix of textures and flavors. The classic ramen had a pork broth like milk, scallions, tree ear mushrooms, pork loin, and a soft boiled egg to make the broth yet more creamy. I liked the modern ramen best-- slightly lighter than the classic ramen, with a nice bit of spiciness (hot sauce on the table helps too). Noodles are fresh made, thank God. Portions are large, but I drained my bowl like a hero. The other two had to take half their bowls to-go. read more

The food is good here but the service sucks really bad. I keep putting up with it because i like the food but after my last visit and waiting 20 mins just to get my check only to have me actually get up and walk over to a waitress to ask her for one....i think i'm done here. The place wasn't even packed and one of the waitresses was on her phone. read more

I came here with my boyfriend when I was sick as a dog and my tastebuds were nonexistent to me at the time cause I had a bad cold. During summer? Just my luck, anyway, I was SICK and I can 100% tell you this is the best ramen place I have ever tried. Nothing compared to Furious Spoon's Rudd staff & salt water they sell over there (sorry Furious Spoon it's true :( ! ) Broth is to die for, noodles are delicious, etc. Will be forever going here. read more

I have been here twice and both times I was extremely satisfied with the ramen, very flavorful! My favorite Restaurant to get ramen at in Chicago. read more

I loved this place! I got the tonkatsu ramen and it was really good! The flavors were spot on but just a tiny bit too salty for me. It's served steaming hot which is how ramen should be served! The pork is tender and the broth is delish! This is definitely one of the better ramen shops I've had in the city. read more

I really wanted to like this place, as I'm a huge ramen fan. My party of 4 was seated and had our drink order taken. I just asked for water, as I wanted to really taste the food. The water was clam water. Not actual clam juice, but the water, or glasses, or something was tainted by clams/shellfish/old rags? One other person at my table had the same clam water problem. It was disgusting and I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth. The server was very apologetic (and later comped a dessert). Regardless, I was there to eat, so I forgave. We had the garlic fried chicken and portobello mushroom buns. The portobello mushrooms had that muddy liquid coming out of the buns - no sauce. Was not tasty, dry, and wish I didn't order that. The garlic chicken was best described by a friend as, "tastes like what you get from panda express...but worse." When the ramen came, I could've looked past it all if it was good. But it failed. We collectively had one veggie ramen, one pozolramen (take on Mexican style ramen) and the oii ramen (traditional tonkatsu ramen). Upgraded the pork loin to pork belly, since good pork belly is a MUST for great ramen...but they sliced it paper thin. Why? Maybe b/c it was dried out, or to give the illusion that they were giving you more than 0.01oz of pork belly. The oii ramen broth was extremely salty and one dimensional. No deep rich flavor, except for msg. But then I tasted the pozolramen and went into sodium coma for 30 seconds. It tasted like someone poured a bunch of salt and msg in a bowl, then added some water. My friend couldn't drink the broth and just ate the noodles. Then the server (who was nice, the one thing that made this review a 1.5 instead of complete 1), brought the dessert. Meh, a small espresso cup of stuff for one guest. We asked that the check be split (2 couples) for the several drinks one couple ordered. The checks brought were split up, and split up incorrectly. One of the drinks was charged incorrectly for a more expensive drink. The incorrect split showed each item on both checks with an odd split between the two ($3.42 and $4.58 for an $8 bun) and even showed an alcohol charge for the couple not drinking. After calculator action, the non-drinkers were charged $6 too much that should've been charged to the drinkers, but didn't matter as we're all good friends. An improvement in your POS system would be good Oiistar. Overall, I really really really really wanted to like this place, but couldn't. Food quality poor, service not great, and I really hope I don't get sick from the two gulps of clam/dirty rag water. Do yourself a favor and go to Wasabi instead. read more

It's all about the buns at Oiistar. We meant to go there for the ramen, but the buns stole the show. It's a fusion restaurant, so it's something to keep in mind if you're seeking something totally traditional. As mentioned, the buns pack a punch- with combos ranging from BBQ, to cod, fried shrimp, pork belly and more. You can make an entire dinner out of these! My personal favorite was the Goki, although I really think the entire bun menu offers a ton of options for all tastes. I'm no ramen expert, but I found the ramen to be A-ok, average. The portions are huge so I don't think they're overpriced considering two people can easily split a bowl. I ordered the classic. The broth was rich and flavorful, but the noodles didn't do it for me. They were more like angel hair pasta. We also ordered a big plate to share- it was a smorgasbord of flavors. And j found it was overboard on the fusion. From the noodles with blackbean sauce and cotija cheese with pork, chicken, spinach and peanuts, it was just to much. Those plates don't really add much to the menu. There's ready so much going on that I'd recommend not serving them at all. They simply don't make sense to me. I'd return here for the buns, hands down. read more

Love this place! I brought my mom when she was in town and she thought it was delicious. Don't stray away from the pork belly, it is totally worth it. Great spot for a meal in Wicker Park. read more

Such incredibly rude staff. First off sat us at a freezing cold table right in front of the door (it was 13 degrees out) with new people coming in and basically standing on top off us. We asked to move and they said they would let us know if something opens up. Then they seated three parties that came in after us. Like I get that you're busy and my money doesn't matter but don't be jerks. Especially with so much better ramen in the neighborhood anyway. Kinton here we come! Or furious spoon, or kizuki. Skip this one. read more

Why is this one of the best restaurants in Chicago?....because they love Momofuko and pay tribute to it and maintain their own style as well. I like a place that has a menu that you can fold in half and put it in your back pocket. It means that they are mean and lean with their offerings and flavors. Oiistar is both....Mean and Lean. Alex waited on us and was casually attentive, love the vibe right off the bat. We ripped through the menu and did not find a single bummer. We started off with the Sambal fried Chicken, 3 words...sweet, crispy, garlic. It was killer. We did 3 buns, Saltimbocca, Goki and a Fried Cod....awesome and so perfectly done. We then stuffed more food into our gullet and became even fuller and happier. The Tikka...the Veggi....the Kimchi....all were amazing. I am glad Oiistar is in my hood and I plan on going there frequently.....Thanks Oiistar! read more

DAMNIT OIISTAR I LOVE YOUR FOOD SO MUCH BUT I HATE YOU I HATE YOU SO MUCH. That caps-lock ridden sentence sums up how I feel about oiistar. Love the flavors, I think they get the food very, very right. The oiisalad is a surprisingly pleasant crunchy-salty-sweet mix of cucumbers etc. with peppery arugula and savory parmesan. Also loved the sauteed haricot vert (funny story later about that), definitely recommend it (likely all the share dishes are great). I also adore the ramens. I love the savory richness of the oiimen (standard ramen) while he preferred the kimchi-spice of the spicy one we had. Not as impressed with the summer cold ramen dish, but I'd love to try all of them! First time we went: loved the food, got violently ill for the next day. He was fine, so it was likely one single piece of cucumber that hit me. Second time we went: as I was sitting down, I asked the waiter if they could be quick as we were in a rush to go to a show at 7 (it was 6 at the time). He said ramen is fast, so we ordered three bowls of ramen, and some green beans (he corrected me to "haricot vert" which made me laugh. Yes I would like a single green bean, please.) When we came in, the restaurant was pretty empty. By 6:30 it was hopping, and many people had received their food before us. We were hangry, very hangry. I said as much to my companions, and he overheard me and "apologized" saying there had been a "mixup" and that he knew we were in a rush. Did you really know that? I suspected you didn't as I watched you pause from slowly wrapping up the ramen we couldn't scarf down within five minutes to chat with another server. Thanks for obviously not really being sorry. I'm still angry. I wouldn't be if I hadn't said specifically when we sat down that we were in a rush (it's ok, mix ups happen) but geez. I want to eat the food at oiistar so bad but I don't want to deal with it at all. I think it's going to be takeout from here on out. read more

My favorite ramen place. Better then Wasabi, fantastic broth, good appetizers. This is a regular stop. My favorite is the Bellyman, ramen with a lovely slice of pork belly. The appetizers are fantastic though for some reason they discontinued the fried chicke which was a favorite. This will continue to be a once a month stop for me. read more

I went here solely for the ramen and I don't care much about service or ambiance, so look elsewhere if you want a more holistic review. The ramen was excellent, though one step short of spectacular. I had the Oiimen, which comes with pork loin, soft boiled egg, wood ear and green onion. The noodles are what really made the dish; they were toothsome and far more memorable than the mushy ones too often found in middling bowls of ramen. I thought the tonkatsu-style broth was nearly equally as good. It was rich and satisfying without being overly fatty. The pork loin was tender and had just the right amount of fat. My main complaint is that I thought the price point was just a touch too high. Portion size is a bit larger than it needs to be as well. It would be nice to see both brought down a little. The spice paste, while nice in theory because ramen is better with a kick, pretty much just sinks to the bottom of the bowl only to sneak back up on you when you're slurping the last bit of broth. Be vigilant at stirring or sneak in some Sriracha. I would've like to see the egg cooked less, so that it could be stirred into the broth more. I'll definitely be back to eat my way through all of the ramen offerings. read more

Very testy!!! Umami is the best. The meat is so tender and fresh. The place has a bohemian look as many places in wicker park

LOVED this restaurant. I went the first time before we saw a play at The Den down the street. We had 5 of their buns and one large ramen noodle dish that we split between three people. pork belly and soft boiled eggs are popular in many of the ramens. Atmosphere was great - food fantastic. Will definitely go again. read more

Delicious but expensive. That's the short and sweet review. We saw this one on Chicago's Best and my wife wanted to go. We are big soup fans and we thought let's try their Ramen. So we started by ordering the Buns. We got the 6 Hour Pork Shoulder for $3.75 for one bun stuffed with pork shoulder, sauerkraut, napa pickle, cojita cheese and crisp onion. It was really good and flavorful. Next we got the Pork Belly Bun for $3.95 for one bun stuffed with pork, micro wasabi, cucumber and oiistar signature sauce. another really flavorful and delicious bun. Finally we tried the Duck Breast Bun for $4.50 for one bun that was stuffed with Duck, micro wasabi and golden raisin jalapeno chutney. This one was just average, it was light on the flavor. We also got an order of the Bruschetta for $10 dollars. The order came with, pickled baby shrimp, fennel, balsamic vinegar and kalamata olive. Again it was another strong item from the menu. It was very flavorful and went fast in our group. For our main items, we ordered the Ramen soup. I tried the Chadolmen for $13.90 for one huge bowl. And we also got three orders of the Oilmen for $41.70 for all three huge bowls. The Oilmen was, pork belly, egg, scallion, tree-ear mushroom, spicy oil and garlic. We all truly enjoyed our ramen, even though it was very expensive. We did get drinks at $2.50 each. For a total bill of roughly $92 dollars. The service was average, friendly but not overly friendly. And there were times we could not find our waiter Ross. So I think overall we enjoyed our meal and were glad we tried it but we are not planning on rushing back anytime soon. Just remember if you go make sure you bring plenty of money, as it is expensive for Ramen. read more

Favorite ramen place in Chicago. Ordered two of the buns. WOW! One goki and one with brisket and mashed potatoes! Amazing!!! For ramen I had the classic (no spice) and my husband had the chadowmen (medium spice)! HUGE PORTIONS! If you order buns one ramen is plenty for two ppl to share! ramen broth was so flavorful! My Husband loves spice and he said the chadowmen is fairly spicy. This place is a must try! They Don't take reservations so plan to go early or wait!!! read more

Beyond the pulsing music and hip branding this place has some pretty good ramen and buns. At the recommendation of our server I got the goki bun (beef) and really enjoyed it. It was a sizable portion and packed with interesting flavors. The ramen runs about $14 but the portions are large. Two people could easily split a ramen and some buns and be satisfied. I tried a modern take with beef and spicy miso and loved it. I wish I had tried this place earlier in the winter because the ramen is a perfect cure for the chill. read more

To preface this review, I need to admit that I'm still not buying into the trend of hakata-style noodles. They're just not for me. I admire Oiistar's homemade noodles, but I'm just not a fan of the noodles. (The noodles themselves taste amazing, but with ramen, I want the curly egg noodles that I so often crave when I think about ramen.) Also, another full disclosure: My companion (cousin) and I are regulars at another well-known ramen joint off Milwaukee... so our opinions were a little biased by nature, but we tried our best. Whoever described Oiistar as Changsian in nature was correct: buns and ramen. Very Momofuku-y. In any case, Oiistar actually has really good ramen. Is it the best in Chicago? Nah. And whoever gave it that title obviously hasn't had authentic ramen-- but Oiistar is more of an exercise and practice in pushing ramen to different forms. It is fusion cuisine, and you shouldn't come here if you want to want authentic ramen. My cousin and I both had the oiimen here-- and opted for the spicy garlic oil on the side, since we weren't sure how spicy it would be. Color us shocked that when we both added a liberal amount of the spicy garlic in our soups, it wasn't as spicy as advertised. It actually colored and flavored the broth into a harmonious blend of richness and umami flavor. However, my cousin felt that the ramen was too salty for her taste. Also, for poached eggs-- I wish they could also have them flavored. The best thing about ramen is the aji tamago (or soft boiled eggs seasoned in sake, soy sauce, sugar and mirin I think? I'm not sure.) And the eggs here suffered from the lack of seasoning and disrupted the flavors of the oiimen. The buns here are pretty good. I had a tonkatsu bun, while my companion had the shrimp tempura bun. She enjoyed hers so much that she got a second. We split a pork belly bun and were underwhelmed. It was good, but we've both had better. I'd recommend the tonkatsu bun though- lots of bang for your buck. Over all, Oiistar is good-- just a little pricy for what you're getting. It's worth a try and I'd come back for some of that nontraditional ramen. read more

yum! definitely something different than what I'd normally get at restaurants but the portions were big, the food came out hot, and the flavors were awesome. hopefully will go back soon! read more

We dinned here after reading the good reviews on Yelp and in the Tribune. My thought is that it is a little overrated, but this probably more like 3.5 stars with the food. However, given that we ate our meal like we were seated in an igloo, I knocked it down to 3 stars. The food was solid. We ordered the pork belly and goki buns to share. I preferred the goki because there was more dimension and flavor. The sriarcha gave it a nice amount of heat. Also tried the tuna carpaccio. The tuna was good but was overpowered by the oil. The quail egg helps balance the dish to a perfect bite, but there is not enough for the whole dish. I thought the pork belly was a little too simply and bland. I ordered the Modern Ramen (medium spicy) - I really liked the broth and thought t had good flavor. My biggest complaint is the atmosphere and lack of heat in the place. We were seated by the window. I understand that Chicago winters are cold, but it was so cold I had to keep my coat on. I give them A for effort for trying with the space heater, but it was not enough. The guests at the communal bar seating near the window similarly had their coats on. At first, I thought this was limited to the window area. However, when leaving, I noticed that guests in the main seating area also had their coats on. One woman sitting in the middle of the restaurant looked like she was shivering. For the $100 tab (w/ drinks and tip) and with many other options in the city, I find this unacceptable and it ultimately affected the rating. The place seriously needs to look into new windows/better heating. I can say that we won't be back in the cold weather and by the time it warms up, we might be on to something "hotter." read more

This is probably one of the creamiest broths ive had in Chi so far - delish! I am more of a broth snob than I am noodles...so I likes! The fried chicken is delish and so is the pork bun! The apps and sides are so good that I get stuffed before my ramen comes out...next time I need to fully dedicate myself to my bowl of ramen or just share...something I'm not the greatest at doing when it comes to food ;) I can't really recall the type of ramen I had (prob the most popular one) as the sides stood out more to me. This is the hubs fav so will def be back and focus more on the main dish! read more

Very good service and the food was amazing from the appetizers to the ramen. I will definitely be coming back!

Absolutely fantastic food. I've gone here a number of times and tried just about everything on the menu. Every bun we've gotten for apps were outstanding and the ramen is unbelievable. My favorite ramen is the musslemen but you can't go wrong with any of the dishes. The only bad thing about Oiistar is the service which is unbelievably slow and all around awful. read more

First off, the background music was a best of mid-90's hip hop mix probably still playing off of a maxwell tape. Real music....no Lil Twist bragging about smoking with the Beibs, no one shouting 2 Chainz in the background, and no rapper who used to play a wheel chair bound tween on Canadian TV. Real music - 2pac (Dear Mama was playing when I walked in. Arguably his second greatest song ever behind "I get around"), Biggie, Nas, Chronic-era Dr. Dre....the type of music where if you said the wrong thing (right thing?) you'd end up catching a bullet. Ok enough reminiscing about "the days when music was good" (I am officially f'ing old). The place could serve undercooked pink slime and I would still give it 3 stars on the music alone. Thank goodness they don't. The food was perfect for a cold winter day. The menu is somewhat limited (although there are a decent selection of appetizers), but I prefer to think of it as streamlined and includes just the necessities. The duck buns were excellent. David Chang and his Momofuko empire always get credit for bringing Asian buns to the mainstream, I've had them and the ones were as good (if not better...). The other appetizer we got was the Tuna Carpaccio which was very good, although the portion size was a little on the small side. I would opt to try some of their other apps before ordering this one again. The main focus of this place is obviously the soups which were excellent. The broth for the Musclemen was awesome, probably my favorite. The oiimen was also really good and was more of the traditional Ramen, a little too much pepper but other than that it hit the spot. Tons of noodles, ample amount of meat. Really everything I was looking for in a good bowl of soup. Really cool soup spoons too, elongated so they won't get buried when they slip into the broth. I would skip their spicy signature pace ($1.50 extra), it was relatively bland and didn't pack too much of a punch. I thought the soups all stood very well without them. read more

This is my go-to ramen place. Lots of variety, most of which are non-traditional, but super-tasty (and huge). They also make some nice Chinese buns. Always a few craft beers on tap. read more

This was our first time oii star and had a great experience. Even though the place was pact the service staff made sure we were taken care of. We sat at the bar infront of the kitchen and got to talk with the chef who was amazing. The sangrias were deff the best ive had in a while. this will be our new spot read more

I've eaten here a couple of times now. The tikka marsala ramen is amazing. And I LOVE the buns. The second time we visited, an order for our friend's food wasn't placed and she ended up having to take to go, but I think it was the server's fault and not the kitchen. Otherwise, the service is good and the food GREAT. The sangria is also really delicious. read more

Like! Really cool place and delicious food! I would give them 4.5 stars (: The buns are phenomenal! I've had the oiimen ramen and the musclemen and they were both amazing! read more

walked down on milwaukee ave, with my wife and saw the oiistar restaurant open we got in and was very impressed by the greeting staff.the food was outstanding! i had the duck buns d-lishios, my wife a huge bowl with ramen noodle and she killed me on the way back home how good it was. The atmosphere very friendly, chefs super, and not pricey !best sangria in town and awesome display. we will come back this weekend! its a must. read more

My friends stumbled in here kinda buzzed (not really an atmosphere when your in this state), BUT this was the highlight of our night the next day. We, of course, over ordered. 2 people can definitely share one bowl of ramen. That way, you can even share an appetizer. The broth was extermely tasty and the noodles were perfectly made, not too soggy, but just perfect. I like my ramen spicy, but not too overpowering and I felt that I didn't need to add any additional seasoning or sauce to it. It had the perfect balance. We ordered the wings, which I don't recommend. There was a weird cut on the chicken and it was just too bready. I will definitely a bun next time. HIGHLY recommend this place for great ramen and a nice, chill atmosphere. read more

Best ramen in Chicago. Period. My go to spot from now on. I've been there twice and both times it was a blast. My wife complains one can feel too dry after Umami ramen and I agree, but that's the price you pay. Again, the place is the best among Ramen San, Furious Spoon, Kazuki and Ramen Five. read more

My husband and I came here for dinner after massages at the Pain Stop down the street. We came around 5:30 on a Saturday and we had the whole place to ourselves. We started with 4 baos: duck, 6 hour pork shoulder, goki, and the fried shrimp. I really enjoyed the bao, especially the pork shoulder and the fried shrimp. Then we each ordered the oiimen. We had high expectations when they brought out our ramen, but sadly the ramen did not blow our minds. The broth was not as rich and porky as the broth at Santouko (in Mitsuwa). Also the onsen egg was kinda blah, not as rich as usual. Also the slices of pork were a little too lean. The noodles were decent and still had good bite, but still we found the ramen to be just average. However, this ramen is definitely better than the ramen at the Slurping Turtle. We still haven't tried the ramen at Wasabi, so we will have to try that because our friends have been raving about it. However, so far, our favorite ramen that is driving distance from Chicago is the ramen at Santouko. Service was very friendly and we liked the layout of the restaurant. We would like to come back and try some of the other dishes, besides the ramen. read more

yummmmmmy. I always get the oiiman classic and it is delicious. It's huge. I like to eat half and take the second half home and eat it heated up in the microwave the next day. So good. read more

This place is amazing. I love the spicy chicken wings and the classic ramen. It is my favorite place for ramen in the city. They also have good craft beer and reasonably priced bottles of wine. The service is good as well. Be very careful if you order the suicide paste though. It is so spicy that you might get burned. Literally. ;) read more

It's the best in Chicago (maybe even the US). I've been to the others here, been to Ivan and Momo in NYC, Ken Ken, Izakaya, etc. The noodles are homemade, the broth is flavorful, the sangria (yes sangria) is spectacular. The umami ramen is my favorite along with the duck bun. Great service, great prices. Definitely recommend. read more

Very tasty ramen! Coming from someone who's made multiple trips to Japan, this place has very flavorful broth and the fork-tender pork was like nothing I've ever tasted. Only giving four stars because the duck breast bun while good, was a little too wet and fell apart on me. read more

Well done sirs! Tried various buns, the fried chicken, the ribs, various ramen/noodle dishes and the donuts. Service was prompt and friendly. The weakest dish was the zzajanjmung (sp? The black bean noodle dish) - didn't understand the interpretation and would rather have the original at Great Seas. Overall, a very fine meal. read more