Good service and hearty ramen with pork shoulder yummy yummy! I will be heading back now that the UIUC students are home for winter break.
Jack Sparrow
In a town where so many restaurants have left me disappointed for the money I spent, Tanaka Ramen has given me hope and set a gold standard. Great portion sizes and just incredible tastes that are sustained through every bite. Flavor? In my dishes?! Say it ain't soThe spice level for the ramen is actually to be taken seriously; Level 2 was considerably spicy even for someone like me who devours spicy foods all day. The tonkotsu pork is exactly what you'd always want it to be: tender and explosive in umami.I chose fries as the complementary side to the ramen out of curiosity (I usually dismiss fries in restaurants that aren't burger joints as cheap filler). Even the FRIES are banging. They stay crispy even after cooling 10 minutes later and every crinkle fry is perfectly seasoned with salt.The takoyaki was great— a medley of saltiness, savoriness, and textures. The mochi ice cream— particularly the pink berry-flavored one— is phenomenal.In the words of Gordon Ramsay: "Finally, some good ----ing food."
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu
Hania Niemczyk
Very good vegan ramen!Vegetarian options: There are 2 vegan ramen types
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen
Bob Dill
I ordered carry out from Tanaka Ramen for lunch because I thought the lunch special of a free appetizer with any entree seemed like a good deal. The food was ready for pick-up on time but after I got back to work, I noticed that the appetizer hadn't been included. After driving back and explaining, the server was apologetic, offered a free drink and said that the kitchen was very busy (there were a grand total of 6 people in the restaurant) and assured me that the food would be ready in 3-5 minutes. 15 minutes later he comes back to apologize to both me and a delivery driver who said that his order was over 20 minutes late as well. It was another 10 minutes before my food was finally brought out. I think the food here is pretty good and you could tell this poor server was doing his best but the management and the kitchen in this place are total garbage. This place is probably fine for dine-in but NEVER order takeout, unless you enjoy being shortchanged and having to wait 2-3 times longer than they tell you to get your food.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Runzer W.
Enjoy the Ramen at Tanaka so much! I ordered a Soft Shell Crab Bun and a Tanaka Spicy Miso. The size of their per plate was really sufficient big enough, and I was impressed by the minced meat they put on the top of the Ramen! Honestly, the level 2 spicy was not spicy at all lol, so if you have a really high tolerance to spice, please feel free to try the level 3 or 4! And, I would recommend you to dipping the bun into the soup of the Ramen because it might be a little too bland to just eat the bun itself. The service was good but they seemed to be in great need for labor. The environment inside was in cold tones and made people feel alright. Anw, I enjoyed this lunch so much!
Bianca Xu (Bianca)
Staff were very friendly and helpful, BUT they are definitely understaffed. Foods were served in an extremely slow pace - my appetizer was actually served after main entree because apparently no one was able to work on it until the last minute. Ramen was ok, soup base was definitely made from concentrated paste/powder, noodles was little bit harder than I expected, wish they offer an option for longer boiling time/softer textured noodles.
Zihao Xu
Service seems rather poor. We stood at the front for at least ten minutes without being acknowledged by a waiter. There was only one table occupied, so there is no excuse. So we then decided to order takeout from the kiosk instead.The food was a bit expensive, but the quality justifies the pricing. What is not justified, though, is the fact that I ordered extra pork chashu and did not receive them. I genuinely cannot give a good rating based on this experience.
Food: 4
Service: 1
Tyrell P
Amazing spicy tori ramen and Takoyaki (octopus balls). The spicy broth was so addicting I had to finish my bowl definitley check it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Tori Ramen, Takoyaki
Marco Villanueva
Great food, great service. They were fast and friendly. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu
Annie Bananie
Tasty! Food served fast. I only waited for about 10 minutes. Clean and big area.
My husband and I loved the food. The ramen was delicious. We cook ramen at home all the time and felt like this was comparable for taste and amount of food. The ramen was full of flavor and creamy. I got level 3 spice and definitely felt the heat and I’m a spice lover. My husband got level 4 and he loved it! our sever must have been a high schooler or just young. We felt like he didn’t want to be there and didn’t care to provide quality service. We probably would have explored the menu more. Overall we recommend this place because it was good ramen at a decent price.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Piet
Ordered delivery and food was well packaged and arrived tasting fresh! I chose spicy level 2 broth, which had enough kick for me to make the ramen enjoyable without being too overpowering. The Takoyaki was crispy/soft and had a generous serving of toppings. Definitely would recommend.
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Tanaka Classic
Haozhe S.
The noodles are on the hard side. The bun is wonderful. The service and the environment arr average.
Sophia S.
I came here with friends for my husbands birthday. Super yummy food, cozy, and wonderful service. Will absolutely be back again!
Brian Yoon
Broth is so watered out and service from one of the waiters was really bad. We also got charged big table tip of 18% as a grouo of 5 when our friends who also went in a seperate group of 5 did not get charged.
Good service and hearty ramen with pork shoulder yummy yummy! I will be heading back now that the UIUC students are home for winter break.
In a town where so many restaurants have left me disappointed for the money I spent, Tanaka Ramen has given me hope and set a gold standard. Great portion sizes and just incredible tastes that are sustained through every bite. Flavor? In my dishes?! Say it ain't soThe spice level for the ramen is actually to be taken seriously; Level 2 was considerably spicy even for someone like me who devours spicy foods all day. The tonkotsu pork is exactly what you'd always want it to be: tender and explosive in umami.I chose fries as the complementary side to the ramen out of curiosity (I usually dismiss fries in restaurants that aren't burger joints as cheap filler). Even the FRIES are banging. They stay crispy even after cooling 10 minutes later and every crinkle fry is perfectly seasoned with salt.The takoyaki was great— a medley of saltiness, savoriness, and textures. The mochi ice cream— particularly the pink berry-flavored one— is phenomenal.In the words of Gordon Ramsay: "Finally, some good ----ing food."
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu
Very good vegan ramen!Vegetarian options: There are 2 vegan ramen types
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen
I ordered carry out from Tanaka Ramen for lunch because I thought the lunch special of a free appetizer with any entree seemed like a good deal. The food was ready for pick-up on time but after I got back to work, I noticed that the appetizer hadn't been included. After driving back and explaining, the server was apologetic, offered a free drink and said that the kitchen was very busy (there were a grand total of 6 people in the restaurant) and assured me that the food would be ready in 3-5 minutes. 15 minutes later he comes back to apologize to both me and a delivery driver who said that his order was over 20 minutes late as well. It was another 10 minutes before my food was finally brought out. I think the food here is pretty good and you could tell this poor server was doing his best but the management and the kitchen in this place are total garbage. This place is probably fine for dine-in but NEVER order takeout, unless you enjoy being shortchanged and having to wait 2-3 times longer than they tell you to get your food.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Enjoy the Ramen at Tanaka so much! I ordered a Soft Shell Crab Bun and a Tanaka Spicy Miso. The size of their per plate was really sufficient big enough, and I was impressed by the minced meat they put on the top of the Ramen! Honestly, the level 2 spicy was not spicy at all lol, so if you have a really high tolerance to spice, please feel free to try the level 3 or 4! And, I would recommend you to dipping the bun into the soup of the Ramen because it might be a little too bland to just eat the bun itself. The service was good but they seemed to be in great need for labor. The environment inside was in cold tones and made people feel alright. Anw, I enjoyed this lunch so much!
Staff were very friendly and helpful, BUT they are definitely understaffed. Foods were served in an extremely slow pace - my appetizer was actually served after main entree because apparently no one was able to work on it until the last minute. Ramen was ok, soup base was definitely made from concentrated paste/powder, noodles was little bit harder than I expected, wish they offer an option for longer boiling time/softer textured noodles.
Service seems rather poor. We stood at the front for at least ten minutes without being acknowledged by a waiter. There was only one table occupied, so there is no excuse. So we then decided to order takeout from the kiosk instead.The food was a bit expensive, but the quality justifies the pricing. What is not justified, though, is the fact that I ordered extra pork chashu and did not receive them. I genuinely cannot give a good rating based on this experience.
Food: 4
Service: 1
Amazing spicy tori ramen and Takoyaki (octopus balls). The spicy broth was so addicting I had to finish my bowl definitley check it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Tori Ramen, Takoyaki
Great food, great service. They were fast and friendly. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu
Tasty! Food served fast. I only waited for about 10 minutes. Clean and big area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
My husband and I loved the food. The ramen was delicious. We cook ramen at home all the time and felt like this was comparable for taste and amount of food. The ramen was full of flavor and creamy. I got level 3 spice and definitely felt the heat and I’m a spice lover. My husband got level 4 and he loved it! our sever must have been a high schooler or just young. We felt like he didn’t want to be there and didn’t care to provide quality service. We probably would have explored the menu more. Overall we recommend this place because it was good ramen at a decent price.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Ordered delivery and food was well packaged and arrived tasting fresh! I chose spicy level 2 broth, which had enough kick for me to make the ramen enjoyable without being too overpowering. The Takoyaki was crispy/soft and had a generous serving of toppings. Definitely would recommend.
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Tanaka Classic
The noodles are on the hard side. The bun is wonderful. The service and the environment arr average.
I came here with friends for my husbands birthday. Super yummy food, cozy, and wonderful service. Will absolutely be back again!
Broth is so watered out and service from one of the waiters was really bad. We also got charged big table tip of 18% as a grouo of 5 when our friends who also went in a seperate group of 5 did not get charged.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1