Super confused how this place has such high ratings. We were waiting to be sat and meanwhile the sat 6 tables in front of us. We were a larger table so I expected 2 or 3 tables ahead of us but they had plenty of room for us and still wouldn’t sit us then but the smaller tables at the bar leaving no room for us. The food was not worth the wait. The buns were great but the ramen severely lacked flavor. We can hear because of tik tok and it was definitely a miss. Won’t be recommending or returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns, Chosun Ramen
Alyssa Curran
meal tasted fine but not my favorite ramen i’ve had. i liked the bulgogi bun. i tried the chosun ramen but, for me, the meat to noodle ratio was very off with there being way to much meat for the broth and noodles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns
Abhijit Oka
Great atmosphere but limited seating.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
Sungho Park
Toppings are really fresh, and I like them. But noodle was so bad for me..
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
M M
Chashu and egg were very good. But the soup was below middle level.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
sba k
Vegetarian ramen was not worth it to me, mushrooms were beautifully done but the rest of the soup (esp. broth) wasn't that good. Place has unexpected personality with the intense pop selects playlist, servers, and decor
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Peter Shaw
If you've never been to Japan, if you've never been to Asia in general, or if you've never had real authentic ramen then maybe this is the ramen for you. For everyone else, avoid this place. This was like the panda express of ramen.
This was the most white washed, mediocre ramen I've ever had in the US. The broth was watery and didn't have the umami expected from ramen broth. The noodles were too soft like it's been cooked for too long, and they were cheap on the toppings for a bowl of ramen.
Should've known something was off when I walked in and didn't see a single Asian person in sight.
I still liked the chashu but they skimped on it. and the buns were decent.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
emna Chaieb
Service was slow, and the food was good but I do not recommend the mochi
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Paris K
Saturday night, bae and I decided to brave the cold for a ramen date. As a single mom, nights out without my little one are rare, so when I go out, I expect to make the most of my time. After a quick search, bae picked Sakuramen Ramen Bar as “the best ramen spot in the DMV,” and off we went.
Parking? Street and garage options are available, but I snagged a street spot. We arrived, wrote our names on the sign-in sheet, and waited. About 15 minutes later, a staff member came out to start seating people. Here’s where things went left.
The staffer asked if we were with the party of five seated near us (we weren’t) and then proceeded to seat two white gentlemen who had arrived after us. To their credit, those men immediately corrected him, pointing out that we were there first. (Shoutout to them for standing on principle—respect!) Even after this, the staffer hesitated, asking, “Do you want to be seated now?”
Excuse me? Why would you assume we wouldn’t want to be seated? Isn’t that why we’re here?
Eventually, we got seated, but my mood was already off. The space is divided between communal seating and a more intimate area. We were placed at a communal table, which was fine, but what followed wasn’t.
Another staff member wandered by to give checks to nearby tables and glanced at us like we didn’t belong. Finally, the first guy came back and asked if we wanted to order, but by then, I’d had enough.
Here’s the thing: I don’t take situations like this lightly. There was a sign-in sheet clearly stating we were next. The two gentlemen seated vouched for our place in line, yet we were still treated like an afterthought.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. I don’t like pulling the “race card,” but it felt impossible to ignore the implicit bias in this interaction. From assuming we were part of another Black party to blatantly prioritizing white guests over us, the experience left a sour taste—one no bowl of ramen could fix.
As a customer, my time and money are valuable, and I refuse to patronize establishments that fail to recognize that. Nights out are rare for me, and this one was wasted on an experience that left me feeling overlooked and undervalued.
Sakuramen may have great ramen (I wouldn’t know), but if you can’t value all your customers equally, that’s a dealbreaker for me. I’m taking my hard-earned coins elsewhere.
Final note: If you want your guests to feel welcome, take accountability when mistakes happen, listen to your customers, and leave bias at the door. It’s not just about food; it’s about how you make people feel. And I didn’t feel valued at all
Service: 1
Liam B
A great spot for ramen. The restaurant is quite small so the wait was pretty long for my group of three around 7PM on a weekday, but the waiter took our order while we were waiting to make sure we got our food right as we sat down. The tonkotsu red and chosun ramen were both great, particularly the bulgogi in the chosun. However, I didn’t love the chashu buns — they were quite sticky and seemed like they had been steamed and left to sit on the plate for a while. I’ll be back for another bowl of ramen but probably won’t bother with the buns again.
In need of some ramen during the cold weather in DC and we tried out this spot.
We got the bulgogi baos and the flavor was perfect. It was so yummy and juicy, so definitely something to try. I got the gojiramen which is like the shoyu ramen I usually get. The pork belly had a great flavor and the noodles were so yummy. I just wish they didn’t put so much bean sprouts and it would’ve been perfect, well, if it also had an egg, but still happy with my order.
Definitely a place to check out if you’re hungry, needing warmth from the cold and/or are visiting or live in the area.
Lots of other restaurants in the area too that looked really good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns, Gojiramen
Annie Nguyen
Be prepared for a wait but it goes quick. Restaurant has that small tokyo restaurant feel which was super authentic and reminded me of japan. ramen was so good and best i’ve had in the city. will keep coming back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Red
Amo Oluka
Best Ramen bar in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chosun Ramen
Daniel Weaver
Food was good. I like the people that work here. They seem normal. Normal is hard to find nowadays....
Jasmine McNair
Warm, cozy, and truly food for the soul! We visited on a rainy day and savored some delicious ramen. It feels like you’re in your family’s basement dining room. The owner personally checked on us, which added a nice touch. The bulgogi buns were flavorful, and both my fiancé and I loved our ramen—perfect spice level! We finished off with delightful mango mochi. Highly recommend for a comforting meal!
Super confused how this place has such high ratings. We were waiting to be sat and meanwhile the sat 6 tables in front of us. We were a larger table so I expected 2 or 3 tables ahead of us but they had plenty of room for us and still wouldn’t sit us then but the smaller tables at the bar leaving no room for us. The food was not worth the wait. The buns were great but the ramen severely lacked flavor. We can hear because of tik tok and it was definitely a miss. Won’t be recommending or returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns, Chosun Ramen
meal tasted fine but not my favorite ramen i’ve had. i liked the bulgogi bun. i tried the chosun ramen but, for me, the meat to noodle ratio was very off with there being way to much meat for the broth and noodles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns
Great atmosphere but limited seating.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
Toppings are really fresh, and I like them.
But noodle was so bad for me..
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Chashu and egg were very good. But the soup was below middle level.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Vegetarian ramen was not worth it to me, mushrooms were beautifully done but the rest of the soup (esp. broth) wasn't that good. Place has unexpected personality with the intense pop selects playlist, servers, and decor
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
If you've never been to Japan, if you've never been to Asia in general, or if you've never had real authentic ramen then maybe this is the ramen for you. For everyone else, avoid this place. This was like the panda express of ramen.
This was the most white washed, mediocre ramen I've ever had in the US. The broth was watery and didn't have the umami expected from ramen broth. The noodles were too soft like it's been cooked for too long, and they were cheap on the toppings for a bowl of ramen.
Should've known something was off when I walked in and didn't see a single Asian person in sight.
I still liked the chashu but they skimped on it. and the buns were decent.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Service was slow, and the food was good but I do not recommend the mochi
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Saturday night, bae and I decided to brave the cold for a ramen date. As a single mom, nights out without my little one are rare, so when I go out, I expect to make the most of my time. After a quick search, bae picked Sakuramen Ramen Bar as “the best ramen spot in the DMV,” and off we went.
Parking? Street and garage options are available, but I snagged a street spot. We arrived, wrote our names on the sign-in sheet, and waited. About 15 minutes later, a staff member came out to start seating people. Here’s where things went left.
The staffer asked if we were with the party of five seated near us (we weren’t) and then proceeded to seat two white gentlemen who had arrived after us. To their credit, those men immediately corrected him, pointing out that we were there first. (Shoutout to them for standing on principle—respect!) Even after this, the staffer hesitated, asking, “Do you want to be seated now?”
Excuse me? Why would you assume we wouldn’t want to be seated? Isn’t that why we’re here?
Eventually, we got seated, but my mood was already off. The space is divided between communal seating and a more intimate area. We were placed at a communal table, which was fine, but what followed wasn’t.
Another staff member wandered by to give checks to nearby tables and glanced at us like we didn’t belong. Finally, the first guy came back and asked if we wanted to order, but by then, I’d had enough.
Here’s the thing: I don’t take situations like this lightly. There was a sign-in sheet clearly stating we were next. The two gentlemen seated vouched for our place in line, yet we were still treated like an afterthought.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. I don’t like pulling the “race card,” but it felt impossible to ignore the implicit bias in this interaction. From assuming we were part of another Black party to blatantly prioritizing white guests over us, the experience left a sour taste—one no bowl of ramen could fix.
As a customer, my time and money are valuable, and I refuse to patronize establishments that fail to recognize that. Nights out are rare for me, and this one was wasted on an experience that left me feeling overlooked and undervalued.
Sakuramen may have great ramen (I wouldn’t know), but if you can’t value all your customers equally, that’s a dealbreaker for me. I’m taking my hard-earned coins elsewhere.
Final note: If you want your guests to feel welcome, take accountability when mistakes happen, listen to your customers, and leave bias at the door. It’s not just about food; it’s about how you make people feel. And I didn’t feel valued at all
Service: 1
A great spot for ramen. The restaurant is quite small so the wait was pretty long for my group of three around 7PM on a weekday, but the waiter took our order while we were waiting to make sure we got our food right as we sat down. The tonkotsu red and chosun ramen were both great, particularly the bulgogi in the chosun. However, I didn’t love the chashu buns — they were quite sticky and seemed like they had been steamed and left to sit on the plate for a while. I’ll be back for another bowl of ramen but probably won’t bother with the buns again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
In need of some ramen during the cold weather in DC and we tried out this spot.
We got the bulgogi baos and the flavor was perfect. It was so yummy and juicy, so definitely something to try. I got the gojiramen which is like the shoyu ramen I usually get. The pork belly had a great flavor and the noodles were so yummy. I just wish they didn’t put so much bean sprouts and it would’ve been perfect, well, if it also had an egg, but still happy with my order.
Definitely a place to check out if you’re hungry, needing warmth from the cold and/or are visiting or live in the area.
Lots of other restaurants in the area too that looked really good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Buns, Gojiramen
Be prepared for a wait but it goes quick. Restaurant has that small tokyo restaurant feel which was super authentic and reminded me of japan. ramen was so good and best i’ve had in the city. will keep coming back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Red
Best Ramen bar in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chosun Ramen
Food was good. I like the people that work here. They seem normal. Normal is hard to find nowadays....
Warm, cozy, and truly food for the soul! We visited on a rainy day and savored some delicious ramen. It feels like you’re in your family’s basement dining room. The owner personally checked on us, which added a nice touch. The bulgogi buns were flavorful, and both my fiancé and I loved our ramen—perfect spice level! We finished off with delightful mango mochi. Highly recommend for a comforting meal!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Mochi Ice Cream, Bulgogi Buns
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