I wanted to try this new spot since I saw it was a chef driven ramen spot with focused menu. Unfortunately the experience did not pan out and there seemed to be more than a few things that warrant attention. We tried a fried mushroom bao, the tan tan pork ramen and the chicken ramen. It was over $40 with the tip which would be okay if the quality delivered. The mushroom in the bao was tough and not sliced so it pulled out on the first bite. The ramen was fine but came out just lukewarm despite the fact we were the only table. Both ramens were presented nicely and had a variety of ingredients. The serving size was underwhelming for $15 and could've used more noodles for the broth amount. It is a serve yourself place and the dirty dishes were stacked next to the water glasses and chopsticks. To make it worse the set up was next to a small storage room with a very dirty white door. Curiously there is an opening in the wall presumably to another kitchen but you mostly just hear noise from inside. If this all seems like I'm piling on, that's not my intent. It seems like all of these things are fixable with attention and I'm pulling for them.
luis yero
This place is legit!! Looking forward to trying everything on the menu..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amber Ashley
Truly delicious Ramen in relaxed, cozy atmosphere.I got the pork Ramen. Noodles were great and really soaked in the flavor of the broth. They really didnt skimp on the fixings (mine had Chashu pork, bamboo, spinach, leek, naruto slices, and green onion, as I recall)Service was prompt and The order-at-kiosk setup was very convenient. Overall, Izakaya is my new favorite ramen shop in the North Valley and the experience reminded me of delicious Ramen and Soba shops in Tokyo.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dashi Shoyu and Garlic Miso Goma
Jordan S.
Great Ramen! Our whole family loves IzaKaya Ramen. There are great options for kids. The Tan-tan-men is my favorite.
Lj O
We went and had Ramen and bao buns. The bao buns were either old or.... Not well made? We ordered four of them and all four of them cracked in the back and were not light and fluffy at all. We ordered three different types of ramen and the pork and chicken we're the best, but none of us are in a rush to go back. The soft egg was perfect thoughThe place is small but very cute. Maybe we just went on an off day?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Ann B
My husband and friends have been there twice now. Fun atmosphere. Easy to order on kiosk just inside door. Nice welcome by the Chef. Ramen was very good. I had Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramen. We shared Gyoza which was also very good. Try it out, you won't be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramyun, Steamed Bao Bun, Gyoza
Punktualityy
I really wanted to like this place. I had hopes for a good ramen place in North Phoenix, so when my girlfriend and I went here on Sunday, we were going in with high expectations. Maybe that was a bad thing, because we got 2 different kinds of ramen and both were incredibly bland. The broth looked clear and honestly tasted just like water; and it felt like no spices were used in the dishes at all. We were the only customers in the store at the time, so we theorized that that maybe the ramen was made quickly when we came in with not a lot of prep done beforehand. I did add hot sauce to mine which at least made it taste like something but I don't think you should *have* to do that in order to get good flavor. Despite the lackluster ramen, the gyoza was excellent, as was the bao we tried, and the staff (2 people were there) were both very friendly. The self service kiosk machine wasn't accepting any card we put into it so we did have to switch over to the other one and re-enter the whole order for both of us, which was annoying of course. The atmosphere, specifically the seating area inside was nice, although every piece of artwork on the walls looked as though they were AI generated, which isn't inherently bad, just seemed very low effort which felt on par for my dining experience as a whole. Overall a very mid time with there being some good and some bad. I think in the future if I want ramen, I will just have to continue going to Yutaka up the street.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Todd Schoenberger
This is a cute spot in a part of town that desperately needs a good ramen spot. Sadly it is not everything it could be. There were 7 of us, so we tried just about everything on the menu. We have all eaten a ton of ramen so I feel like we know what we are talking about.Three of the different ramen dishes were far too salty (the dashi, paitan, and tantanmen). I tend to over-salt food myself, and this was way too much even for me. The other ramen (spicy shoyu) was actually bland, my wife, who usually drinks the last of ramen broth from the bowl, left 1/3 of it untouched. The protein was very good, the pork belly was cooked well, the crunchy pieces of chicken and pork were great. The noodles were just ok.The Bao were pretty good, the gyoza were average.None of this is beyond redemption, deep beneath the crazy saltiness the broth had a great silkiness and complexity. With some better noodles and better balance to the broth, this could be excellent and worth $15 a bowl. But for now, it is worth driving elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
THE GRANDON GROUP presents THE LOCKBOX
Come on people! The place is not going to make it. First the food: The food choices were not good and the food was warm at best. The ingredients should be fresh. The chicken( 2 small pieces for $3.00 was gross. The guy in the front was nice and answered questions. Bring your own drinks because it is slim pickings. No restroom and the vibe just blows. With so many choices, probably will not be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Casey Wahlers
Great taste. Big portions. Owner was super friendly. Will be back!
Real talk, the broth is super flavorful all around, but the Paitan ramen is a step above everything else. The little bits of fried chicken just pull the soup together in ways that other soups can only dream of. The broth is extra thick and creamy and coats the noodles evenly for a satisfying bite every time.I know that I should probably try some sides, but I'm just wondering if ordering extra fried chicken counts..Vegetarian options: Vegan ShioEdamameWakameDietary restrictions: Vegan ShioEdamameWakame
… my comments interrupted. This place is a “must return soon”. Loved the drunken beef bowl — cold beer! A real treat in our neighborhood….. might go back tomorrow ?
Eda Marisol Hofer
Food was On ? point, especially if you're going for lunch it is fast, hot and fresh to order! The service was very welcoming and very appreciated. Good Vibes! The atmosphere was very calm, soothing and relaxing. Love the Art work on the walls. Definitely recommend for you to try it yourself. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kids Ramen, Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramyun, Chicken Crack Corn, Steamed Bao Bun, Gyoza, Shoyu Ramen, Dashi Shoyu and Garlic Miso Goma, Vegan Shio Vegan Noodle Soup, Tantanmen Tan-Tan-Men My Man
Jim P.
My wife had Chicken crack corn and I had Goma. The restaurant was small, but clean, and the cook/servers were nice and friendly. The food service was quick and the food was attractive. The Goma was very salty. It's nice to have a ramen place in the neighborhood. I hope they can back off on the salt so I can return
Todd S.
This is a cute spot in a part of town that desperately needs a good ramen spot. Sadly it is not everything it could be. There were 7 of us, so we tried just about everything on the menu. We have all eaten a ton of ramen so I feel like we know what we are talking about. Three of the different ramen dishes were far too salty (the dashi, paitan, and tantanmen). I tend to over-salt food myself, and this was way too much even for me. The other ramen (spicy shoyu) was actually bland, my wife, who usually drinks the last of ramen broth from the bowl, left 1/3 of it untouched. The protein was very good, the pork belly was cooked well, the crunchy pieces of chicken and pork were great. The noodles were just ok. The Bao were pretty good, the gyoza were average. None of this is beyond redemption, deep beneath the crazy saltiness the broth had a great silkiness and complexity. With some better noodles and better balance to the broth, this could be excellent and worth $15 a bowl. But for now, it is worth driving elsewhere.
I wanted to try this new spot since I saw it was a chef driven ramen spot with focused menu. Unfortunately the experience did not pan out and there seemed to be more than a few things that warrant attention. We tried a fried mushroom bao, the tan tan pork ramen and the chicken ramen. It was over $40 with the tip which would be okay if the quality delivered. The mushroom in the bao was tough and not sliced so it pulled out on the first bite. The ramen was fine but came out just lukewarm despite the fact we were the only table. Both ramens were presented nicely and had a variety of ingredients. The serving size was underwhelming for $15 and could've used more noodles for the broth amount. It is a serve yourself place and the dirty dishes were stacked next to the water glasses and chopsticks. To make it worse the set up was next to a small storage room with a very dirty white door. Curiously there is an opening in the wall presumably to another kitchen but you mostly just hear noise from inside. If this all seems like I'm piling on, that's not my intent. It seems like all of these things are fixable with attention and I'm pulling for them.
This place is legit!! Looking forward to trying everything on the menu..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Truly delicious Ramen in relaxed, cozy atmosphere.I got the pork Ramen. Noodles were great and really soaked in the flavor of the broth. They really didnt skimp on the fixings (mine had Chashu pork, bamboo, spinach, leek, naruto slices, and green onion, as I recall)Service was prompt and The order-at-kiosk setup was very convenient. Overall, Izakaya is my new favorite ramen shop in the North Valley and the experience reminded me of delicious Ramen and Soba shops in Tokyo.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dashi Shoyu and Garlic Miso Goma
Great Ramen! Our whole family loves IzaKaya Ramen. There are great options for kids. The Tan-tan-men is my favorite.
We went and had Ramen and bao buns. The bao buns were either old or.... Not well made? We ordered four of them and all four of them cracked in the back and were not light and fluffy at all. We ordered three different types of ramen and the pork and chicken we're the best, but none of us are in a rush to go back. The soft egg was perfect thoughThe place is small but very cute. Maybe we just went on an off day?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
My husband and friends have been there twice now. Fun atmosphere. Easy to order on kiosk just inside door. Nice welcome by the Chef. Ramen was very good. I had Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramen. We shared Gyoza which was also very good. Try it out, you won't be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramyun, Steamed Bao Bun, Gyoza
I really wanted to like this place. I had hopes for a good ramen place in North Phoenix, so when my girlfriend and I went here on Sunday, we were going in with high expectations. Maybe that was a bad thing, because we got 2 different kinds of ramen and both were incredibly bland. The broth looked clear and honestly tasted just like water; and it felt like no spices were used in the dishes at all. We were the only customers in the store at the time, so we theorized that that maybe the ramen was made quickly when we came in with not a lot of prep done beforehand. I did add hot sauce to mine which at least made it taste like something but I don't think you should *have* to do that in order to get good flavor. Despite the lackluster ramen, the gyoza was excellent, as was the bao we tried, and the staff (2 people were there) were both very friendly. The self service kiosk machine wasn't accepting any card we put into it so we did have to switch over to the other one and re-enter the whole order for both of us, which was annoying of course. The atmosphere, specifically the seating area inside was nice, although every piece of artwork on the walls looked as though they were AI generated, which isn't inherently bad, just seemed very low effort which felt on par for my dining experience as a whole. Overall a very mid time with there being some good and some bad. I think in the future if I want ramen, I will just have to continue going to Yutaka up the street.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
This is a cute spot in a part of town that desperately needs a good ramen spot. Sadly it is not everything it could be. There were 7 of us, so we tried just about everything on the menu. We have all eaten a ton of ramen so I feel like we know what we are talking about.Three of the different ramen dishes were far too salty (the dashi, paitan, and tantanmen). I tend to over-salt food myself, and this was way too much even for me. The other ramen (spicy shoyu) was actually bland, my wife, who usually drinks the last of ramen broth from the bowl, left 1/3 of it untouched. The protein was very good, the pork belly was cooked well, the crunchy pieces of chicken and pork were great. The noodles were just ok.The Bao were pretty good, the gyoza were average.None of this is beyond redemption, deep beneath the crazy saltiness the broth had a great silkiness and complexity. With some better noodles and better balance to the broth, this could be excellent and worth $15 a bowl. But for now, it is worth driving elsewhere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Come on people! The place is not going to make it. First the food: The food choices were not good and the food was warm at best. The ingredients should be fresh. The chicken( 2 small pieces for $3.00 was gross. The guy in the front was nice and answered questions. Bring your own drinks because it is slim pickings. No restroom and the vibe just blows. With so many choices, probably will not be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Great taste. Big portions. Owner was super friendly. Will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Crack Corn
Restaurantji Recommends
Real talk, the broth is super flavorful all around, but the Paitan ramen is a step above everything else. The little bits of fried chicken just pull the soup together in ways that other soups can only dream of. The broth is extra thick and creamy and coats the noodles evenly for a satisfying bite every time.I know that I should probably try some sides, but I'm just wondering if ordering extra fried chicken counts..Vegetarian options: Vegan ShioEdamameWakameDietary restrictions: Vegan ShioEdamameWakame
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Crack Corn, Gyoza, Vegan Shio Vegan Noodle Soup, Dumpling
… my comments interrupted. This place is a “must return soon”. Loved the drunken beef bowl — cold beer! A real treat in our neighborhood….. might go back tomorrow ?
Food was On ? point, especially if you're going for lunch it is fast, hot and fresh to order! The service was very welcoming and very appreciated. Good Vibes! The atmosphere was very calm, soothing and relaxing. Love the Art work on the walls. Definitely recommend for you to try it yourself. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kids Ramen, Spicy Shoyu Shin Ramyun, Chicken Crack Corn, Steamed Bao Bun, Gyoza, Shoyu Ramen, Dashi Shoyu and Garlic Miso Goma, Vegan Shio Vegan Noodle Soup, Tantanmen Tan-Tan-Men My Man
My wife had Chicken crack corn and I had Goma. The restaurant was small, but clean, and the cook/servers were nice and friendly. The food service was quick and the food was attractive. The Goma was very salty. It's nice to have a ramen place in the neighborhood. I hope they can back off on the salt so I can return
This is a cute spot in a part of town that desperately needs a good ramen spot. Sadly it is not everything it could be. There were 7 of us, so we tried just about everything on the menu. We have all eaten a ton of ramen so I feel like we know what we are talking about. Three of the different ramen dishes were far too salty (the dashi, paitan, and tantanmen). I tend to over-salt food myself, and this was way too much even for me. The other ramen (spicy shoyu) was actually bland, my wife, who usually drinks the last of ramen broth from the bowl, left 1/3 of it untouched. The protein was very good, the pork belly was cooked well, the crunchy pieces of chicken and pork were great. The noodles were just ok. The Bao were pretty good, the gyoza were average. None of this is beyond redemption, deep beneath the crazy saltiness the broth had a great silkiness and complexity. With some better noodles and better balance to the broth, this could be excellent and worth $15 a bowl. But for now, it is worth driving elsewhere.