Service was great and very attentive. Loved the set-up and view of the kitchen. Noodles were very good, however on the more expensive end, especially given the other great noodle places in Chinatown. Made the mistake of participating in the "hell" ramen challenge on level 4. I am a dumb eater so this made sense at the time, but if you have any respect for your body or the people you are with/sitting around, do not do this. I was weeping and snotting the whole time. The broth is viscous and terrifying, and it actually quite literally lit my butthole on fire the next day. It felt as though a demon was being birthed out of my anus. read more

The broth!!! I must have spent 10 minutes hugging my bowl because it was so delicious and I never wanted it to end. I'm definitely coming back when throughout the winter for some more warm and dreamy ramen. read more

In the heart of Chinatown, strings has the best ramen. And those waiters and waitresses are incredibly knowledgeable in the art of ramen crafting. Bless em. They work combinations that aren't a written option in the menu according to what you want/can handle. The decor is 'fresh' lots of green plants hanging from the ceiling decor and a lot of resin sealed wood. The calming decor balances the bustling ramen eating mood here. And they have sangria. Yep read more

This used to be my fave ramen shop in Chicago. But it seems like they don't care about service any longer and just trying to get people in and out. Even if it means customers get wrong orders. ‍ read more

Premium tonkotsu ramen is easily the best in Chicago. Many of the side dishes like egg, beef tongue, dried bamboo, and garlic are of high quality and would go really well with the thick-flavored ramen. read more

Delicious, rich ramen broth that comes out really quickly after ordering. They recommend you finish the ramen within a few minutes for best taste - believe me, you'll have no trouble doing that! Also ordered their tofu appetizer, which is okay and a little small. Loved it and located right in the heart of Chinatown! read more

My favorite ramen place in Chicago. The service is good , and the noodles are tasty. Gonna come back some time soon!!!!!

Honestly the best thing I ever eaten. I have tried ramen from different places before and it has never been this good. They have a great selection of different ramen and the one I had was excellent. The service was attentive, knowledgable and very helpful in understanding the menu. Not too pricey all things considered, you get a lot of food for your money. If you ever have the chance to go the tonkotsu ramen with pork belly and duck is delicious. read more

One of the 2-3 best Ramen places in the city IMO. Especially after trying some of the other ramen spots in the city, it's worth a few extra bucks for some ramen done right. The molten egg on the side was perfect (not too runny like a lot of places). read more

Very good! I was determined to find the best ramen in Chicago on my visit, and even though this is the only ramen place I visited, I think it has to be in the top ten ramen u have ever had. I eat a lot of ren, and tend to like thicker broth, but their to broth was very flavorful and perfectly salted. The pork belly was perfect. The input find was the slightly undercooked noodles, but not enough to deduct a star. read more

Strings felt like the ghost of Lure's glory past. Lure by far was one of my favorite restaurants but Strings falls short of Lure's level of quality by far in both food and service. The broths leave much to be desired. Tonkotsu when made well is rich and satisfying. String's version didn't seem to have developed enough as it tasted too similar to their miso base (also pork based). The noodles had a nice snap to it in that it was cooked al dente but falls behind that of Wasabi and Misoya. I've read in previous reviews that the broths are layered so I should mix well before slurping but jokes on me, even with sips of water in between, I had trouble differentiating between the broths. The beautiful cut of pork belly was terribly cut. It was so thick that the qualities of the meat fail to shine. It should've been sliced delicately thin to further enhance the meat's richness and allow for better mouth feel. And what?!?! Egg doesn't come standard with the noodles? No bueno! The rice bowl I tasted was less than impressive in that it was so homestyle that I could've sworn I can make this at home (broth + rice + shredded protein). Maybe it just wasn't my bag. Service is Strings achilles heel and greatest downfall. On a night where there were a steady stream of customers but never over capacity, the staff seemed incredibly overwhelmed. It took longer than necessary to get seated. Our server hastily took our order and left. The food was delivered in similar fashion - think drive by type service. Throughout the meal, we never once got topped off on water, tea, or were asked how things were. When the meal was over, I practically had to throw a net over our server to ask for the check - wouldn't have been necessary if anyone realized we've been done for 10-15 and I was physically turned around looking straight at the wait staff. Even paying for the meal, I had to drop it off at the register because our server never came back. Please either training your wait staff better or invest in a runner/bus boy. Better yet, BOTH! Summary: While Strings had a decent bowl of noodles, the other stuff on the menu serves to distract (and fails to impress). Service was at the level of other Chinatown spots (as in bad, inattentive, and rushed). While good enough to satisfy an emergency ramen craving, if I have time to make it to Wasabi, Misoya, Santouka, or Oiistar, I wouldn't find myself at Strings. read more

This place is ramen heaven. I was a little skeptical at first but wow! Yaki Soba was insane. I'll be back!

So, I have been pretty unimpressed by Chicago's ramen options in general. But This place was soooooo good. I have only ever ordered the Hell ramen level 2 and it's been amazing every time. I'd like to try other items on the menu but it's just too good! read more

It wasn't bad but then I had Totto Ramen in NYC 3 days back and it was no where close to that. If this is Chicago's best, I'm so disappointed. :( read more

My grandsons took me to strings for lunch. I was skeptical at first as I only knew about the packaged ramon noodles at grocery stores. But what a treat this was, not even similar to the packaged stuff. The ramon was delicious and the service was great. I will definitely go to Strings again. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Okay, I was here during the soft opening and wasn't very impressed. There were a few things that needed correcting. So after a month I decided to give them a second chance. Things are looking up. I think they corrected many of the issues I had before like the oily broth, noodles too done, egg cooked to much, pork too hard. So things are looking up. If you want a delicious bowl of ramen noodles visit here before it becomes too popular. There was a side dish of uni and crab you must try if you love uni (it's not on the menu). Things were a LOT better including the wait staff. If you didn't like it before give it another chance and you'll be surprised. read more

Strings was my first experience having ramen. The wait wasn't bad and the waiter was helpful with deciding what to order. The food was enjoyable and It was a cozy place for a meal. I look forward to going back. read more

I was very excited for Strings to open! I love Japanese Ramen, but unfortunately the experience did not meet my expectation. I ordered the tonkotsu kuro buta ramen for $12.95. Service: Attentive and Nice. The food took a little bit longer, but it arrived at a reasonable time. Atmosphere: Cute and Modern Portion: Slightly Smaller than most Ramen Places Food: The broth had a lot of pork flavor, but it lacked salt. I thought the flavor was one dimensional. The noodle was meh, and the pork was average. The most disappointing part was when they left out my egg. Seriously??? Overall: I am not willing to pay $12.95 for a bowl of ramen that is below average/ average. I don't think I will be returning until they fix their ramen. read more

Portion sizes are small compared to the price. I got the pork belly with mine and I only got one small piece...I felt ripped off. For almost $15-20 you would think they'd give multiple pieces...not one small one. Even ordering extra noodles at the end...I still felt hungry. You're better off going elsewhere for a better value with the same if not better quality. read more

I don't always give a five-star but this is really my favorite ramen shop so far. I live in Arizona, but it's the first place I would go whenever I visit Chicago. The soup there is just perfect, really tasty but not as greasy as other authentic Japanese ramen shops. Highly recommend. That's the only place I would recommend when my friends visit Chicago. read more

Strings Ramen Shop - Ramen Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I think the quality of the broth and ingredients is very good, but no better than several others with Ramen Misoya as my gold standard. What I found disappointing was the serving size. This is a relatively small bowl of ramen, significantly smaller than other ramen shops I frequent. For 13.95 for the basic bowl. i don't think it's worth the money. read more

Homemade noodles and variety of fish or porky broths. Hell Ramen 3 (1-5) is about as high as I would go if you like it hot, but don't want an upset stomach. BYOB makes it a reasonably priced as well as yummy venue. read more

cute place, good service, tasty food! lots of options, so everyone should be able to find something they like. better than a lot of ramen places in NYC (just moved here from there). really appreciate that they offer a child's menu too! read more

I have never ever given any restaurant 2 stars before. This is my first time and I really desperate to tell you why. We were so excited to try a new ramen in Chinatown. It turned out that strings made me think my expectation for this place was way too high. My bf ordered tonkatsu ramen in special way is 16.75$ and I ordered miso kuro buta ramen for 12.75$ first star off was they served the food that came after us. Secondly was the duck meat didn't come with( Actually our server told us it will come with our ramen) neither the boiled eggs. The servers were really nice and also friendly. I love the ambience though. The ramen was OK. read more

overall quite delicious, however (and sorry for the short hand on this one): - broth too salty (i know it's supposed to be salty but this was too salty, period) - overwhelming amount of sesame seeds and sesame oil flavor (i love sesame as much as the next person, but too much was simply distracting) - our perfectly cooked eggs were served separately and not nicely placed on the soup (first time i've seen this and yes i fumbled with mine, but still not happy having COLD eggs served separately) - noodles were beautifully made, al dente, but a little too thin/narrow for my preference and not enough of them to boot read more

Woman server was nice and very informative w/ the menu as me and my brother walks in. Great service!

My favorite tasting ramen joint that I've ever been to! I had miso ramen with pork belly and it was to die for. The only negative thing about this place was the service. My two friends and I got there and were asked to wait outside the door because there were no open tables in any section. They said that we were the ones to be seated next. Mind you I don't think that people can make reservations. Next thing we knew, a party of three walked in and were seated immediately. We had to wait for another 15 minutes. Grr. read more

It's really great to have a restaurant dedicated to Ramen in Chinatown. The ramen noodles are unique, "string" like noodles instead of the usual ramen that we are used to. I went on their soft opening night and unfortunately, it was so popular they ran out of the soup I wanted. I did get to try a ramen soup I never usually order and found it very enjoyable. The noodles were nice and al dente. I am looking forward to Strings establishing itself in Chinatown. I anticipate more trips there to try out their different ramen soups. read more

I think decor and service were fine. but im here to review the food. there has been a blast of ramen shops (and rumor is, more to come) in chicago. I ordered the Donkatsu with pork and duck. To me, the broth had the oiliness of a donkatsu broth, but not the richness I was expecting. Personally, I find Wasabi's donkatsu broth the one to beat and the measuring stick for Chicago's ramen scene. Even visually, right off the bat, you notice it doesnt have that milkiness look to it that you would expect from a donkatsu broth. And as you take the soup ladle to drink up, you notice the bottom of your bowl has many specks of garlic in it. I love garlic, but this is more of a FYI than anything because people that don't like that raw garlic taste, will not like it. I really like garlic, and even this was starting to get overpowering as I kept ladling broth with garlic pieces in it into my mouth. I thought the piece of pork belly was good. good flavor and texture and a nice size too. they didnt skimp with me. I could have done without the duck. didnt really add much to my bowl of ramen. I thought the noodles had great texture and did absorb the flavor of the broth well. A very good traditional noodle, however, I personally like the noodles to be a little thicker. I recently had the ramen at the soon-to-be-closed Kabocha and loved their noodles. One big issue I had also was....there was no egg in it. I have never had a donkatsu ramen without egg. I looked at the menu, and found no egg to be included in their donkatsu. I think it could have helped it overall, if done right. I will have to try to the other ramens here, but the donkatsu did not quite win me over. The price point is definitely on the higher end for ramen. While I did not dislike my meal, there is no reason for me to go back for the donkatsu, but am willing to try the other ones. read more

My go-to authentic ramen place! Every part of the ramen, the noodles, the broth, is all made from scratch. The broth is super rich with lip sticking pork bone nutrients. Warning, if you're gonna try the ramen from hell, Level 1 is PLENTY spicy. I have a high tolerance for spicy, and level 1 is already fire in the hole spicy. If you're not going for the challenge, level 1 is the way to go. The food is great, but in addition to that, the servers are all super nice, and the place is clean with nice ambiance. Highly recommended. Note for vegetarians: Not too many options here. Broth is based on bone, and oden is made from fish paste. Dessert looks pretty good, though I've never tried it. read more

The location and atmosphere of this place was amazing to begin with. Very close and convenient for me to be a regular. The food was superb super delicious and bursting with flavor and the service from our waitress Ashley Campbell. I experienced some of the best service I've ever had my life, she was super knowledgeable about all of the items on the menu and how they were prepared and was waiting on our every need with a smile on her face like she was happy to be serving us such delicious food at such a fine establishment!! Definitely would recommend it to all my friends and family!!! read more

This was an authentic, traditional and high quality ramen experience. Everyone I was with had a wonderful time. The place is brand new and bound to have some bumps in this intro phase, but I see the making of what is bound to be a permanent fixture on the Chicago ramen scene, where until recently an authentic ramen experience akin to one in Tokyo, New York or San Francisco was practically non-existent. The ramen meals are high quality and identical to quality spots I've been to across the globe. For a novice to ramen, this is the perfect place to introduce yourself to the real deal from which the "ramen" sold in grocery stores is derived and pathetically imitated. The prices are bargain. The decor, a nuanced blend of traditional ramen shop with modern minimalist design-warm wood textures predominate with clean and beautiful lines, no nonsense frivolties but nice splashes of color. My ramen was delicious. I don't discredit the negative experiences some have reported but I will say that everyone I was with (a large party) loved their dishes and had a great time. The atmosphere was warm, lively and communal probably because of the design combined with the food. Folks need to remember that negative experiences happen at great places too. This place is brand new, so people are more likely to yelp a negative experience than a great one, like I had. Again, this place has the fundamentals of a permanent fixture on the nascent Chicago ramen scene. It gives China Town a new edge -hip but traditional, quality but affordable. Cheers. read more

One word. Delicious!! The place is small but the service is quick! Waitress was awesome! Her name was Nicki and she was very helpful explaining the menu!! I love spicy and it was spicy! I highly recommend this place! So good! Also all the broth options are diff and taste different! So expect to visit more than once to try diff dishes! Great food! read more

First time here and I thought it was great! My husband and I ordered the Hell Ramen #1 and it was pretty spicy, but delicious. We both had to refill our cups with water often! It's a small place with good service. I would definitely recommend to friends. read more

BUZZ - Kuro Bota (6/10) I ALSO TRIED - Tonkatsu Ramen (5/10) - Chazuke Duck Rice Bowl (5/10) - Spicy Snow Crab Yaki Soba (8/10) - Oden (6/10) This was another one of those episodes of "OMG! I don't know what anything is! I'm gonna order all of it!" Yeah...so...my tab was $90! I've had ramen before, but there were a lot of other things here I've never even heard of before, so I just let curiosity take over. ODEN I ordered 1 of every Oden. The menu of these aren't online, but they're like a buck a piece or so, but because everyone pronounces it as "Odin," which may or may not be how it is in Japanese, I know these in Korean to be "Odeng," which are basically various shapes and kinds of fishcakes. Each of these small fish cakes, whether they be in a ping pong ball shape and size or Pink Pet eraser shape/size, they're served in a small container with a broth in it. In Korean cuisine, there's something called "Odeng Gook," which is basically Odeng soup, and this is what it is! Odeng Gook is very inexpensive, so had I known that before I went on my ordering frenzy, I probably would've passed. That all being said, I like Odeng Gook, so yeah, this was fairly tasty. TONKATSU RAMEN Kuro Bota is pork belly, and yes, I got some in my ramen. This was the strangest tasting ramen I've ever had. I don't venture out too much, but most of the ones I've had were all "miso tonkatsu" ramen, so they have a miso base. This one had none, but surprisingly, the broth tasted garlicky! Now, anything garlicky is usually awesome for me, but for some reason, I wasn't a fan of it here! Supposedly, the garlic was coming from the kuro bota, and without the miso to cover it, it was front and center. I kept trying more because the taste was so foreign to me, but in the end I don't think I liked it very much. As for the ramen noodles themselves, people have mentioned that they felt like packaged noodles. Now, I've seen the pictures and videos, so I don't question that they do make them fresh, but I do understand when people say that, because it does kind of have that grainy texture, common with packaged noodles (think bowl noodles). CHAZUKE DUCK This completely took me by surprise. It's basically this "soup" and a scoop of rice in it with duck, but also with slices of pink ginger on top. I tried a spoonful and was like, "Whoa! This soup tastes like tea!" Apparently, that's exactly what it is! It's a scoop of rice in a bowl of tea, and pieces of duck and other seasonings. Well, I never liked pink ginger, but I mixed it in anyway, because if I'm going to try something for the first time, I'll try it as it was intended. Well, I know now that I don't want that pink ginger! It mixed that tea leaf flavor and a little bitterness with some seasoned duck, and it was a strange flavor, but again, something I kept scooping because it was interesting. The duck wasn't my favorite, and I'd venture to say that it was a little dry. I'd say that even though it's a rather interesting dish, and worth a try, I don't see myself ever ordering it again, even just to try with another meat. SPICY CRAB YAKI SOBA I've heard the term "yaki soba," but I never knew what it was. I'd describe it as "fried ramen." So, you take your ramen noodles, add cooking oil, add seasonings and other flavors, and fry them in a wok for a while. It's not crispy, but I'd describe the texture as like Pad Thai. It feels greasy yet clean, meaning as you slurp the noodles, you feel the oil on the noodle, but as you lick your lips afterwards, your lips and your mouth don't feel like Crisco. It's got the flavor for frying, but the spicy crab on top is just awesome! There is spice, but I wouldn't even describe it as a "building heat," it's, dare I say, more...ninja...than that! It's not spicy until you think about it. It's not just chunks of crab, but there was probably some mayo in there to make it look like a crab salad. I think I fell in love with the texture right off the bat, and then the "fried" flavor kinda came out, and it sounds nasty, but it tasted great, as a supporting flavor. Then the perfectly seasoned (and little spicy) crab came and won me over. I really liked it and definitely would order it again...maybe over a ramen too! I believe this is seasonal, so it's not always available. KURO BOTA This is really just more pieces of that pork belly that's in the ramen. I honestly didn't eat much of this, because I was stuffed, but it definitely had nice garlic flavors and decent seasoning. If I was hungrier, I'd probably have appreciated it more. THE TIES THAT BIND Strings is pretty good. Unfortunately, their headliner, tonkatsu ramen, was severely outshone by the yaki soba (and most other ramens I've had). Unfortunately, it's a decent eatery shadowed by some behemoths. 554 is walking distance from here. I don't think I can overlook that. I'd take their yaki soba over The Noodle, but definitely wouldn't for their ramen. It's worth a try, but for actual ramen, I'd go elsewhere. read more

Very tasty ramen and good service. I was so stuffed afterwards, so I think it was worth the price. Be sure to check in on yelp so you can get the coupon! I got to get a Japanese soda with my meal. I think the ramen is very well made, and no flavor was too overwhelming over the other components of the dish. Would definitely go back if I go to Chinatown. read more

Was excited to try this place given the good ratings. Went in on a Sunday afternoon off hours. Seated immediately, waiter seemed nice. Ordered pork brother ramen, waited 30 min. Suddenly a very loud rattling noise stared filling up the whole restaurant with this unbarable screeching noise. I asked the waiter whats happening, he goes to the open kitchen sats its the pressure cooker and it will be on for 15 more min. They were unable to do anything about the noise. Waited a total of 45 min in that noise without any ramen, gave up and left. Worst remen experience ever. Will not be back. read more

I used to like Strings a lot. I think their ramen has one of the better tasting broths in Chicago, on par or better than Wasabi and Oiistar. The restaurant appears modern and is located in a decent part of Chinatown (even though it is a Japanese restaurant). Overall, I have no problems with the food here. The service, however, is why I give this place two stars. When me and my girlfriend entered the shop, we were seated by a nice woman who was not our server. Our server was a fat hipster guy with glasses. We ordered ramen and the free soda and sides that come with a yelp check in. He forgets the free side and soda, which is understandable since we all make mistakes. However, what I can't stand is that he ignored us the rest of the night. He sees that our water is not filled, yet does nothing about it. I wanted to order extra noodles, but it took me 4 tries to get his attention. I should not have to yell or tap your shoulder to get your attention. And once I do get his attention, he acts as if I am bothering him. If it wasn't for the first person being nice to us, I would have left zero tip. Pro tip to fat hipster waiter with glasses, be a better waiter and don't ignore your customers. It's not that hard to get us some extra noodles, we're paying for it after all. Me and my group of friends used to go to this place a lot. In fact, I suggested this place to my friends when it first opened up. I'll probably suggest we go elsewhere to oiistar or wasabi next time. read more

They make their own noodles, and they have miso ramen - WINNING.

Driving through Chinatown, the striking sign and design of Strings caught our eye. My husband and I had pleasure of enjoying the Tonkotsu ramen with duck breast and pork belly (great flavor and amazing broth), stringria (yummy, refreshing drink), and tiramisu (delicious)! This was the perfect meal for a hubby feeling under-the-weather...he felt immediately revived after this meal and even happened to find some room for oden (he ordered the fish balls and sausage) -- oh the smiles. Thank you for a great meal :) read more