Overall, an okay experience. It has actually gotten a lot better compared to my previous visit. Wanted to try something different this time and got the hell ramen. OMGAH did it live up to its name. I heard that level three was unbearable so I had level two but even at level two, the spice level to me was too hard to handle and I'm the type of person who loves eating spicy. Aside from it being too spicy, it was pretty good and my boyfriend got the oden which was great as usual. We'll be back soon! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Hell ramen level 2 & oden - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This paragraph is irrelevant, please skip to paragraph 2 if you do not want to read fluffery.... I was very confused walking in; a brunette greeted me in Japanese. In my years of Chinatowning, I have never seen a non-Asian staff in Chinatown. I stared at her for a few seconds too long. Whoops, I just made it awkward. I probably looked more like a chump after asking if tea costs extra because I forgot for a moment that I was in Chinatown... Go back to paragraph one if you skipped it, you impatient, monkey. I was pleasantly surprised with a Yelp deal involving "oden" (Japanese amino acids on a stick) after I checked-in. ATTENTION YELP STAFF OR POOR, UNFORTUNATE YELP INTERN, PLEASE INTRODUCE MORE CHECK-IN YELP DEALS! Of course, I took advantage of the deal and got two types of Oden: tofu and squid. The thing came on a stick wading in a carry-out plastic container with broth alongside a tasty ying-yang dipping sauce. My friend accurately pointed out the oden tastes exactly how it looks. Not a bad thing, but there is no surprise. The sauce is TAF (tasty as frick) tho. The ramen.... I ordered a pork miso ramen. The bowl was big enough to bob apples in! I really enjoyed the ramen. I have always thought ramen was intrinsically salty up until meow. This big bowl wasn't over the top, so I did not even feel guilty drinking some of it towards the end. Eggs costs egggggxtra even though a bowl is already more expensive the the burbs, but hey, it's the city. TLDR: Great ramen with not too overly salty broth read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is one of the best place for ramen noodles. We love coming here, best ramen best service and very cute place. I highly recommend!! read more

The waiter was very rude. He is Caucasian and has glasses. I went in tonight (oct 21st) at 9:45pm. Every time I come and I have him as a waiter he is never polite. He always rude and combative. I honestly express that he is your worst waiter. Normally, everyone is polite, but he likes to argue/combative. I simply asked him one thing, and he made it a bigger deal than what it needed to be, and I over heard him talking bad about me as a customer. After this, he wrote my order wrong, and never came back to apologize. He also never addressed me throughout the entire evening. He brings your location down, and it's sad because I like this location. He is just very rude. After discussing with my friends, they too have mentioned several times they had problems with him in the past. He is the worst! read more

So I came to @stringsramen yesterday and I was served that amazing dish on the left. I came today and was served... that on the right. I haven't eaten pork in 15 years and I was served pork TWICE. Then they brought the dish out and it had the most awful taste to it. Not only that but the server gave me the worst attitude and telling me that I couldn't order THE EXACT SAME THING I ordered yesterday. No. Thank. You. Treated me differently the second I hit the door. I loved this place 24 hours ago and now I won't be back. Mistakes happen! That's not the problem! I feel like I was judged the second that I walked through the door. I feel like I was given an attitude by the male, slender, tall waiter. He was telling me what I didn't have the day before and that I couldn't have it today. It was the entire attitude of the situation. I'm not sure why I was treated so well the day before and like I was garbage today. What's really sad? I'm in line at McDonald's rather than eating at this place. But guess what? They were kind AND got my order right. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - yesterday I was served that amazing dish on the left. I came today and was served... that on the right. It was awful. - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Unexpectedly delicious! Comes with straight noodles unlike most ramen places, and I actually really enjoyed it. The broth is savory yet not too heavy. Long wait on weekends so come on a week night if you can. Tonkatsu is the way to go! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkatsu - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So i would first like to say that I've been to a decent amount of Ramen shops and this one is one of my most favorites by far. The noodles are made in house and always fresh. The price is fair i believe although i wouldnt purchase their drinks a little bit on the pricey side. I've gotten tons of friends to come check the place out and all of them are very happy with it. Last time i went i got a kurobuta miso with stage 2 spicyness Definitely go if youre in the mood for a different type of ramen noodle. It's filling but i suggest you order extra lean pork and extra noodles. Far drive but well worth it. I come from Warrenville so its not that bad of a drive. You can also continue to explore Chicago while youre at it after dinner is finished! read more

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For the longest time I lamented the lack of ramen in Chicago, especially when compared to other big metro areas in the US like New York and LA. Sure, there were a couple places out in the burbs, but the past couple years really started the upswing in ramen here. One of the places highly touted is Strings, which happened to open up not too far from me in Chinatown. They offer a variety of ramen broths, proteins, and extra toppings. I went with the tonkotsu, which had a completely different flavor profile from the shio I tasted. Tonkotsu is definitely the way to go if you want that rich, fatty broth. I also ordered kuro buta pork and a lava egg on the side. There was a good balance of meat and noodles in the dish and it was the perfect thing to order on a cold autumn day. They also offer oden, which are small little appetizers on sticks. Protip: checking in on Yelp or posting about Strings on social media can get you some free sticks to try out. I'm partial to fish balls myself. My only issue was with the service. We were here for weekday lunch and it was decently busy, but not packed. It took far too long for us to close out our bill and pay. Meanwhile, a table that arrived and finished after us managed to pay before we could, as our parking meter ticked down. Now I'm not so sure if it's the food or the haphazard service that causes the long lines on the weekends. Still, it's a great place for a bowl of ramen, even if it is a little out of place in Chinatown (though there's no real Japan town here). Definitely worth a visit. read more

This was our first time at String Ramen. I didn't check the review or the online menu so I was surprise fo find that it's a small restaurant. It reminded me of a restaurant I used to go in California. We got seated right away. It took me a few minutes to understand the menu. We ordered oden and seafood and kura buta. The seafood broth was heavier than the dashi. Both broths were very good. Service was fast. We will go back to check the hell ramen. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Oden - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I decided to swing by here after an exceptionally tiring day. Parking was easy to find in the lot. A kind couple even gifted me a few hours of free parking, so I thought the ramen gods were shining down upon me. I thought all of this was leading up to me thinking that Strings had mind blowing ramen. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. Let's start with the things that I like about Strings. The restaurant is quaint and perfect for getting in, eating ramen, and getting out. It has decent seating and I thought it was comfortable enough to dine in. The food came out quickly and the service was great. I had a nice pitcher of water to pour from and my seasonings were ready to go on the table. Now, for the not-so-good. I ordered the tonkatsu ramen with pork loin. I liked that I could choose between pork loin and pork belly. The ramen was pretty meh, though. The broth was pretty salty, the noodles were much too chewy, and there wasn't much flavor in the bowl besides salt. I did like my egg that I got with the ramen, but I had to pay extra for it and it usually comes standard with ramen I order at other restaurants. The bowl was almost half the size of what I can get at other restaurants for the same price. I demolished my bowl in less than 10 minutes. I was just very underwhelmed with this ramen. My pockets were also much too light after a lunch that included only one bowl of ramen. I spent almost 20 bucks on that alone. If I could, I would give Strings 4 stars for service and speed, and 2 stars for the food itself. I will make the trek to other restaurants if I want a nice, big, satisfying bowl of ramen. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - My tonkatsu ramen with pork loin. - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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As much as I love ramen, I debated on trying Strings due to the initial lukewarm reviews when they first opened. They have been getting more love of late and even ranked first place on Thrillist's best ramen in Chicago so I was swayed! However, reviews that say that the broth is too salty are spot on. Frankly, everything besides that was awesome, but drinking the broth is a huge part of the ramen experience for me. The housemade ramen noodles were cooked al dente and very enjoyable. The chunk of pork belly and thinly sliced duck was truly delectable! Then the downer: Both my tonkatsu and my boyfriend's miso broths were salt-maximized. With so much labor put into making it, I was sad to leave much of it behind. We quenched our thirst on the whole pitcher of water on our table afterwards. If you want to confirm for yourself, there was a 30 minute wait on a Friday night, but seats opened up after 8pm. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkatsu Ramen with pork belly and sick (bottom), Miso Ramen with pork belly (top) - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've heard mixed reviews about this place, and I wasn't sure what's to expect about the ramen here, so here is my first impression: Service: really great - the waiter explained the menu to us, and answered any questions we had. The food came out at a decent speed. Ambience: very modern looking, loved the minimalist decor. Food: this is where I had some issues. My tonkotsu was very oily, although I did order it with the pork belly. My mom's shoyu with pork loin looked a LOT less artery clogging, even with wasabi oil. But the broths all have very good flavor. I also didn't like the type of noodles they used. They were somewhat thin but extremely dense and filling (the kind that doesn't soak up flavor well. My fiancée also ordered the shrimp, scallop and snow crab miso ramen, but there was no snow crab in it. Once he called them out on it, they checked with the chef and found out that they ran out of snow crab so they took off a bit from the bill. In any case the broth was delicious. Definitely order the lava egg side - they are very flavorful and will make you actually want to overdose on egg yolk. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkotsu! - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This location is definitely a bit cramped when compared to the location in Lakeview. Came here with my brother and my boyfriend on a Saturday afternoon and it was pretty crowded, but our wait was only 15 minutes. My brother ordered the sashimi bowl with uni and scallop. My boyfriend and I shared the Tonkotsu ramen with Kuro Buta belly. I ordered this at the location in Lakeview and it was equally good here! There was, however, only one piece of meat, which was a tad disappointing. It was tasty and filling, nonetheless! The servers were nice and the ambiance of the restaurant was very friendly and relaxed. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Sashimi bowl - with uni, scallop, and ikura - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Atmosphere was nice but the ramen...not so much. I got the Hell Ramen and it wasn't that spicy. The Szechuan 麻辣 peppercorn flavor overwhelmed the ramen broth, which shouldn't happen even for spicy ramen. I don't plan on coming back but if I do, I'd try one of the non-spicy ramen varieties instead. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Hell Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I stopped in with a couple friends to check this place out. The place was busy but the staff was beyond friendly and informative. We tried the Ramen and it was sooo good! Go to a level 3 if you are use to eating spicy foods. We also tried a few of the desserts, my favorite was the gelato which is perfect after a spicy meal. Will be back for sure! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My last experience wasn't the greatest here. My pork belly ramen wasn't served hot, instead it was at room temperature and the noodles were way too al dente. My bf ordered ramen and added turkey, I wish our server would have mentioned that it was ground turkey because omg it looked scary. Literally looked like brains and smelled like dog food according to my bf. He still ate some of it but stopped because he couldn't. We had in mind it was going to be cuts of turkey, but again we should have specified how it would be. It's a hit or miss type of thing. read more

I rarely give out 5 stars - in fact, this is only my second one ever. Having gone to Strings twice now, I feel comfortable giving this spot a review. I first went here with a friend of mine. It was 4pm on a weekday and there were only two other groups inside. We were seated and given the menu quickly. The venue is a nice change from everything else around Chinatown. It was very clean and modern. I wish the put some kind of barrier between the seating area and the back room where they wash dishes. A curtain would work. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen and my friend ordered the shio ramen. I was absolutely in love with mine. It was more expensive than the shio, but the shio was almost double the size. It doesn't matter though since it was filling regardless. The broth was delicious and had a lot of depth. It was a tad bit salty, but just a tad. My friend said that the shoyu was ok, but she finished nearly the entire bowl so I'm guessing it was better than "ok". We then ordered tiramisu and matcha mochi. I didn't care for the tiramisu, but the mochi was good. With all that, our total was around $30. I came again the next week to try the shio ramen. That is one large bowl. I prefer the tonkotsu, but it was still pretty good. I'm usually not a fan of shredded meat in my ramen, but I didn't mind it here. All in all, a nice clean restaurant with good food. I can't say that it is true Japanese ramen because, well, I've never been to Japan. I know that it's delicious though. read more

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We came here because one of my friends wanted to try the hell ramen challenge, which has 5 levels of spicy ramen. If you finish the level 5 bowl (which is apparently so hot that it requires a waiver...) within 20 minutes, you get to keep the bowl and you get a $50 prize, but my friend chose the number 2 to be safe and avoid the notorious ghost peppers. It turned out to be delicious! Could've maybe tried level 3... I stuck with the simple Shoyu seaweed ramen, which had a delicious and light soy sauce based broth. The ramen noodles were one of the best I've had - they had a perfect bite to them. Side note: You can also just ask for a container of the 5 hell ramen sauces, if you just want to try them for funsies (but they're 95 cents each which is kinda funny considering they just give you a little dollop). The restaurant was a bit tight in space but had a nice ambience. Fast service. Overall would recommend!!! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Shoyu Seaweed - $9.95 - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I will give String Ramen Shop four stars on their Ramen noodles but stay away from their street food it taste like it was worth what we paid for $.0.95 per Oden that is what they call the street food I believe " Oden?" Any how my husband and I decided to walk in there to share a bowl of noodles because we finally wanted to try this ramen shop and review it. We have read and heard about different reviews that were great some not so great and now we were finally ready to give it a shot. We weren't expecting greatness just good honest tasty broth and yummy chewy noodles. We sat down at a table they are not child friendly only booster seats for toddlers. The place is small so I can see why they limit the child accommodations. My husband and I love tonkotsu ramen so that is wha we orderd the $12.95 version with just pork belly. We don't need duck or anything fancy, just the basic. We found to our surprised that that we really loved the broth, the noodles were good but not the best we've had, However, we know they make in house rather than ordering the noodles pre-made from Noodle factory in New York. I give props to them for making their own noodles which none of the places that I have been do does that. The broth was very tasty and the toppings were simple like wood - ear mushrooms and nice soft pork belly, We would love to go there again but next time we probably will have our own ramen noodle soup and not share it because it was that good. Good for you String Ramen Shop for being tasty and making your own noodles in house! read more

Hell Ramen. That is the name of my Ramen. IMO its the best Ramen in the city. Every ingredient is best in class. i added a soft boiled egg to my soup, and it was a soothing, refreshing addition. The Hell Ramen some Stock with crispy pork rinds on tip. They are crack. loaded with. The service can be hit or miss. Or maybe the employees just don't give a shit because it was Sunday. not worth docking them a star for. This restaurant is the reason for our last 2 visit Chinatown. It's also a great date spt. BYOB. Get wasted and ease the hangover all at the same time. read more

Better than I expected! It must have gotten better over time because I remember hearing some not-so-great things about Strings when it first opened. The restaurant itself is very cute with a nice casual ambience. The menu had a good selection and opted for the turkey shio ramen and the bf got the kuro buta tonkotsu ramen (with the option of pork belly or pork loin). The ramen came with straight noodles instead of the typical springy noodles, but it was al dente and worked well with the broth. And boy was the broth delicious! My shio broth was smooth and rich, yet very light. The tonkotsu broth was my favorite though - buttery and rich without being overly heavy or salty. Toppings were abundant (corn, nori, naruto, bamboo shoots, etc) but the flavor of the turkey threw off the flavor of my ramen just a little. The servings were plentiful, but bf commented that the amount of pork belly and duck in his ramen was slacking just a bit. He also had to order an egg on the side since his ramen did not normally come with it. There's a little diagram by the front door indicating the different types of ramen and the different bowls that they're served in, which I thought was pretty cool. I've never really seen that being implicated anywhere else. They also had some other items on the menu that I definitely wanna come back and try, including the uni and crab rice bowl. Prices are about what you'd expect. Service was friendly and they immediately bring out some glasses with a pitcher of water upon seating. The ramen didn't take long at all to come out and everything tasted hot and fresh. Strings has another location now too, but Chinatown is usually easier access for me. p.s. Free Japanese soda or 2 choices of oden with yelp check-in! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Top: Kuro buta tonkotsu ramen. Bottom: turkey shio ramen. - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I found Strings liking a picture of mine on Instagram. I creeped their profile because it was Chicago based. I fell in love and had to make the trip to taste it all for myself. Yesterday I found it. The place is very small but clean. I was recommended the Tonkotsu Ramen. AND IT WAS THE BEST RAMEN I EVER HAD. The noodles had flavor. The pork, ugh the pork would melt in your mouth. They didn't serve it at boiling point either. Make the trip! It's worth it! It's AMAZING. Definitely will be coming back. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Been so looking forward to this place and it didn't disappoint! Was greeted and quickly by the staff and the place was gorgeous. Loved the atmosphere and vibe. Waitress answered our newbie questions and offered suggestions. Behind in the kitchen was heavily tattoo chef with a ponytail. Strangely, his presence added an authentic feel to the place. As I approached the oden table, he told me of the types and pointed out which was fresh. Tried a few and no chewing was required. Ordered the tonkatsu kami kuro buta and another I don't remember. Presentation was beautiful and the taste didn't disappoint. As I kept eating it got to be too salty for my system can handle so got it to go. Awesome place. Great service. Comforting ramen. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We went there at about 7pm on a Friday night and it was packed. They don't take reservations, so be prepared to wait. (highly worth it though) Pros: -amazing broth (they actually had a REALLY good vegan broth option, which is hard to find!) -inexpensive..about $45 for 2 people -BYOB! -received free edamame for #hashtagging on twitter -"Hell broth" is a must try -extremely friendly service, attentive Cons: This isn't really a con, but since the place was 100% packed when we got there, instead of having to wait for a table, they sat us in the far back area which was secluded from the main dining area where there are just 2 tables. I felt like we were sitting in the carry-out area...hard to describe. Still, it was nice that we got seated so quickly, and the service was great despite not being in the main area. Definitely check this place out! I am a fan! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Great vegetarian ramen option!!! - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Strings is definitely high quality ramen but depending on what you order will decide how cost effective how much you pay will be. Everything is delicious my only feedback is that if you order Tonkatsu be ready to get a bowl that's half the size of other orders. I spent most of the meal watching my friend eat Bc his bowl was so much larger than mine. If you order the extra noodles at the end the half order is quite a bit just FYI. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Turkey Yakisoba - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came for the ramen but it was actually not the food item that impressed me the most. I am always on the ramen look out so naturally I had to try Strings Ramen as I passed through Chinatown. I first checked in on Yelp and got my 2 free oden. Oden are different "snacks" on a stick that is reminiscent of street cart food in Asia. Of the 8 variety of oden they offer, I chose ageball (fried fish ball) and kuro buta sausage (berkshire pork sausage) at the recommendation of the waiter. The ageball, I loved. It had a really nice flavor to it but the kuro buta sausage I could've done without. It tasted like a rubbery mini sausage that had been sitting in water for way too long and had all of its flavor boiled out. My main meal of miso ramen w/ pork and spicy crab uni rice bowl came next. The miso ramen broth was really delicious but I found the noodles to be a little more chewy than I would've liked. I do applaud the fact that they make their own noodles and they've got some open windows near the back of the restaurant where you can see the magic happen. The ramen was satisfying but the highlight of my entire meal was the spicy crab uni bowl. I love everything dealing with sea urchin so I had to try this. Boy was I glad I did. This dish had creaminess, depth, tons of flavor exploding in my mouth with every bite, and it was just a beautiful dish. I really encourage anyone who loves food to come and try this dish because it is awesome. I would come back time and time again for this dish! Another solid addition to add to my list of go-to's in Chinatown! read more

Note to self: 1. DO NOT ORDER THE JAPANESE FRUIT SODA. It's $3 for a can of water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid and food coloring that tastes like jolly ranchers and contains no fruit juice at all. 2. DO NOT GET THE PORK BELLY. We were trying to decide between pork belly and pork loin but our waiter highly recommended the pork belly. OMG, it was a pure slice of fat. Did not touch it at all. 3. DON'T NEED TO COME BACK. I had been to Strings maybe 1.5 years ago and I remembered it being pretty good. Really disappointed with the pork belly, unacceptable to charge $14 for a bowl of ramen and then give your customers pork belly that's pure fat and inedible. read more

Conflicted. 2.5 stars with a generous round up. It was really more of a "meh" than an a-ok but I'm going to cut them slack since they're so new! The interior is trendy with wood paneling and the chefs are in a glass box so you can watch everything they're doing. Love! Transparency is always great in a restaurant, it says they take pride in their work and have nothing to hide. It is a little chilly though, since it's a small space and chiberian breezes make their way around every time the door opens. There are really only about five booths that seat four people each, and then a set of four high tops for two to three people. They have four different broths to choose from, tonkatsu (their house specialty), miso, shoyu, and one other. The base price for ramen is $13 for kuro bota (pork), and you can upgrade to add seafood or duck for a few dollars more. They also have sides you can order ala carte such as extra pork, an egg, or spicy bamboo. The portions are slightly different depending on which broth you order. My friend got the tonkatsu broth and her bowl definitely looked smaller than my miso, but I was satisfied with the portion. They also have rice bowls for about $5, but on this Sunday at lunch they had run out of rice. :( I got their miso broth, which is pork based and had corn and bean sprouts thrown in. The flavor was good, it was a rich broth, but there was a skin of oil in the top, which indicates to me that the broth had been sitting for a while. The piece of pork was pork belly, which was really flavorful and tender. The temperature was fine, not piping hot, but definitely hotter than lukewarm. And the noodles, contrary to some reviews, were nice and chewy and not at all slimy! Downsides: The pork was half fat (as pork belly tends to be), and I had to pick the layer of fat off before eating it. Additionally, there must have been a lot of sodium in that broth, because even hours later, I'm still craving water to quench my tastebuds. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I'd had enough water to drink while dining, but the other downside to this restaurant was the service. They were very kind, just not particularly attentive and extremely slow. The place was about half full when we arrived, but after we were seated and given menus and a run down (promptly), we waited quite a long time before putting in our orders, and the wait for our food was so long that we thought perhaps they'd forgotten about us! And again we had to flag down our waiter for the check to come. And imagine that kind of service with water refills. They refilled our waters twice over the course of two hours, and our waters were about the size of a double shot (or a teacup, for the under 21 crowd!). Considering it's a small establishment with three waiters working the crowd, I expected better service. The plus side is they totally don't mind if you stay for two hours! Lol they were very kind, I think if service improves they could do just fine. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Miso: kuro bota (pork) $13 - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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A solid 4 star ramen shop. We tried 2 flavors of ramen - the tonkatsu with pork and the miso with pork. Tonkatsu was the better of the two. The miso broth didn't have much miso flavor, and instead tasted more like a salt ramen. There was 1 piece of pork in each bowl of ramen which was a bit disappointing. When I think ramen, I think "yum! Pork belly." So 2-3 pieces would've been nice. If you check in through yelp, you can redeem either an American or Japanese soda, or you can opt for 2 sides/oden. I got 2 orders of the soft-boiled eggs. It wasn't what I had expected. I was expecting the half an egg typically found in ramen, but this was 2 whole eggs, more hard-boiled than soft. And it was served up in a delicious dashi (fish flake) broth alongside a quarter sized amount of a wasabi mustard dip. The broth was wonderful and the dip paired well. The interior was clean and modernly designed. There's even outdoor seating. Not your typical Chinatown restaurant. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkatsu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Strings is a trendy looking place, with pretty decent food. All the times I've been there my food has tasted fine. The rice bowls are on the small side, but pretty filling. Meat is sometimes a little overly salty, but definitely flavorful. My favorite thing to order is actually the turkey ramen which is super surprising. It's really flavorful with lots of good broth and tender shredded turkey meat. It also comes with nice toppings including an egg. I think it's one of their cheapest ramens which is awesome as well. Definitely recommend. Some of their other ramens like the tonkatsu are average for the price though. read more

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On a ridiculously cold Tuesday night, my friends and I were craving some ramen as it is the perfect winter meal. My party of four arrived at 7:30 and we were immediately seated. Looking around, I noticed how narrow the restaurant is. If you're trying to use the bathroom, you'll have use some agility to dodge the staff as you make your way. But though it is slightly cramped, the restaurant is modern, clean, and well lit. The menu here, while showing the food items, served as a series of eye exercises since most of the meats are written in Japanese directly translated to English with a vocab box to help you out in the corner. Trying to decide on an entree can take a bit of time. Our table started off with 4 free oden due to the yelp check in offer, which was great because I don't think I would ever pay for it. We got the tofu, squid, fish ball, and mushroom; neither of them were memorable. For my entree, I ordered the pork tonkotsu ramen, and damn the broth here is delicious! The slightly heavier pork flavor from my soup was tastier compared to the miso ramen my friends ordered. The pork itself was tender and had the perfect amount of fat where I didn't feel the need to pick it off, and instead it complimented the protein. One thing I have to knock is the noodles--I felt they were too thin and spaghetti-like though they were cooked to a nice consistency. Having had High Five ramen not too long ago, I would pick theirs instead. Overall Strings is solid ramen stop and is definitely unique since it's located in Chinatown. I would give the food a solid 3.5 stars, but the service here is solid so it gets the bump to a 4. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Tonkotsu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Sunday at 11pm this was 1 of about 3 places open in Chinatown, so we walked in and hoped for the best since my experience with authentic ramen is quite limited. The inside is really hip/modern, kind of small too. We were told to sit wherever we want and began looking at the menu. This was where I got a little confused at first, but once I realized how the menu explained the contents of the 4-5 ramens they had, everything seemed a little more clear, but I still wasn't 100% confident I would like what I ordered. I ended up going with a Miso ramen bowl with kuro buta pork loin and a soft boiled egg. I forget what my friends got but it was something very similar. I thought it was just alright, it seemed really salty and even though this is fairly exotic for my palate, there was nothing that really "wowed" be about it, especially at $15. I did not care for the egg at all, perhaps due to the almost slimy texture. I added some chili paste to my ramen which gave it a nice spice. I did like how the noodles had some firmness to them, and I later read that they make their own noodles in house which is cool.The flavors were interesting and the pork meat seemed to be cooked properly, but I just kept getting overwhelmed by the sodium that is used in high quantities in lots of Asian cuisine. In terms of service, the first male server seemed a little agitated, possibly due to us walking in at almost 11:30pm. However, the second female server was a little more pleasant, though they both weren't really that great in my opinion. Overall it was an interesting dish but nothing that got me overly excited. 3/5 read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Pork loin miso ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Amazing every time! My favorite Ramen place in chicago hands down. We have gone several times to eat there and have taken it to go and they are always consistent read more

Great food. I used to travel to mitsuwa for ramen but looks like I found a good alternative in Chicago ! The tonkatsu ramen was packed with aromatic flavor and taste Our waiter tommy was attentive and friendly. Food arrived quick and it was tasty. Try out the oden, it's interesting and fun. I would recommend this place. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Interior - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Strings is so good. Wish I could have it on a weekly basis. My cousin took me here when I was visiting. He said it was his favorite ramen spot in town. OMG! SOOOOO good. We got the level 3 and a side of pork belly. OMG! It was literally amazing. It was the perfect amount of spicy. I don't think I could handle a level 4. Haha. But the broth was perfect. I loved it, slurped it all up. Definitely would recommend Strings. read more

How have I never been here before? It's so close to our new place, I already can't wait to come back on my next Ramen binge. I'd also like to try some other menu items next time because everything being dropped off at tables around us looked excellent! I do have to say, the menu was pretty darn confusing which is the only reason for them not getting the full 5 star review. I understand it's authentic, I mean c'mon it's in China town! But when we asked the server for an explanation of the menu, she sort of breezed over it and we were still left pondering what was what! Anyways, on to the food. Boyfriend got the hell ramen level 2, and he claims he blacked out in the middle of his meal he enjoyed it that much(lol!) it was so spicy, I can't even image the level 5! He really enjoys spicy and said he wouldn't be able to go up to 3 which has ghost peppers included. I ordered the miso seafood ramen and it was down right delicious. The pork belly wasn't overly fatty, which is usually my big ramen complaint. The seafood was perfectly cooked, and pretty plentiful! Also you could tell the noodles were made in house. They were fresh and had the perfect amount of bite like a ramen should. read more

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This place serves bland ramen. While the wait staff are quick and knowledgeable, the restaurant is cozy but really dusty. I ordered a miso ramen with seafood (no kuro buta). The broth was oddly buttery, and they skimped a bit on seafood and veggies. This place wasn't horrible, and I've got friends who love this place - but I probably won't be coming back. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here for late night food and wasn't disappointed. The staff was really friendly and helpful when choosing from the menu for my friend with food restrictions. The music and overall ambiance was nice too. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Chicken and Turkey Bone Broth Turkey Chazuke - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I eat noodles almost every day, so I have wanted to try Strings since they opened. Like most Ramen shops, it's small and tight quarters, but you can't move the tables here, so it's almost impossible to get in and out. I didn't like that the menu does not have clear descriptions of everything. I'm not an expert in Japanese ramen, so I'd like to know what is included in the different types of soups. Since it wasn't on the menu, we spent a while asking the waitress what each dish included until we found something we wanted. I got the spicy noodles, but the waitress talked me down from getting a 4, so I only got the 3. It was definitely spicy, but I should have stuck with my gut and gotten the 4. The 3 was plenty hot for the average person and made my friend curse when she tried it, but I would have liked the 4. They have a challenge where you can win a $50 gift certificate if you can finish a bowl of the 5 spicy in 30 minutes might have to try that. Anyway, the soup was spicy, but it was a bit greasy. The pork belly was one piece of meat and there simply were not enough noodles. Fortunately, the extra noodles were only $1.95. My friend had the bone broth soup and it was good, but nothing special. Overall the ramen was decent, but this place gets 2 stars (my friend would have given them 1 star) because the bill was $50 for 2 bowls of soup with extra noodles. The extra noodles were the only reasonably priced item and helped because we took them home with the leftover broth, so I'll have soup again tomorrow. No idea what all the hype has been about, but ramen is definitely not supposed to be this expensive! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Kitchen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Delicious ramen and very healthy servings. Service was prompt, food took a little while but only because they were pretty busy. Not very many vegetarian options, but I still managed to find something delicious. I would definitely return! read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois