This ramen felt pretty expensive for what it was - not too many solid options for vegetarians (only 2) and they didn't look super good to me. I ordered a custom bowl for $22 (which is a lot for just ramen at a casual place) and it felt meh. They also forgot to bring out our edamame - wasn't charged on the bill but nobody remembered or even brought it up.
Mike W.
Very good reman spot, the service was great and they took care of you the ramen is well balanced good broth and noodle. The curry was on point the Katsu was yummy
Elizabeth F.
This place is delicious, I almost want to keep it a secret but I love supporting small local businesses. The spicy vegan ramen is delicious and the tofu is perfectly crispy and crunchy not soggy which I hate. I ordered a side of chili oil and it brought the spice level to perfection so I recommend for anyone complaining about spice to order a side of chili oil.
Tooba
Really loved the chicken wonton ramen and the truffle fries!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alex Anne M.
The first amazing find at this spot was TEMPURA BRUSSEL SPROUTS! Why aren't they more common? I sure as hell don't know because they are wonderful. The layers of brussel sprout split in your mouth creating amusing texture. I was eating these like potato chips on the couch. In my opinion, ramen is the best kind of soup out there. I always have to try the ramen broth first to appreciate the complex flavor alone and then I dive into the rest. I got the Beef Sukiyaki Tonkotsu with its solid broth and very mild flavor noodles. Combined with the toppings and the broth it's pretty amazing - especially on a cold Chicago day. The food came freaky fast! My partner is pretty tolerant of spice and when he requested a level of 3 out of 4 the waiter suggested a spice level of 2 instead. When questioned the waiter said the flavor comes through more with a spice level of 2. We went with it and couldn't have been happier. The 2 is more like a 2.5 and a wonderful balance of flavor and spice!
Tracy Naddaf
One of my favorite ramen places in the city.. always fast service and delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Miranda Schmidt
Make your own ramen was a highlight!! Lots of options and very tasty!! Cool chill laid back atmosphere and friendly waiter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aditya Venkitarama
So disappointed with the quality of the food. We ordered two ramen bowls (one Spicy Tori Chicken and one Tanaka Rich Garlic with extra noodles) for take-out, which totaled nearly $40 (without tip). We were expecting professional-style, gourmet ramen dishes from a restaurant that claims to have “the best ramen in town”.Instead, we received bland, tasteless noodles coupled with watered-down soup that left us feeling rather dissatisfied. There were barely any garnishes or spices added to the soup base. The overall quantity of food is very small considering the very high-end prices. I wish I had just microwaved a $1 cup of noodles instead of purchasing food from Tanaka Ramen.I definitely recommend other ramen stores (Musashiya Ramen and Kameya Ramen) that will actually care about the quality of the food they serve you. We only ordered from Tanaka because every other good ramen place was closed on Monday. Mistakes were made.Other ramen restaurants I have been to have far better prices and offer larger and tastier portions. The overall quality of other local ramen places far surpasses that of Tanaka Ramen. You have a better chance of making tastier ramen at home - even if you cannot cook!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Faux
No frills ramen and zensai. Decent, filling, but not worth going out of the way for. Very consistent in flavor and what you would expect. They had a fun selection of sake and their house sake was mild and easy. Great for a cold Chicago evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tanaka Spicy Soup, Bun
Nive S.
Food was terrible and didn't taste fresh. Way too overpriced for how flavorless it was. The broth, chicken, noodles all lacked flavor. This was the most bland ramen I've ever had from a restaurant. Highly recommend going to a different ramen spot in the Lincoln Park or Lakeview East area or even going to Argyle for some amazing ramen! Definitely will not be coming here again.
Came on a Saturday night and didn't have a problem getting a table with 4 other friends. Ordered the spicy creamy vegan ramen but subbed in chicken for tofu and added corn and an egg. I was surprised at the lack of spice for the dish being labeled as spicy. It was nevertheless still tasty. Main concern was the service - staff didn't check in on us for water, especially when a few other soups were VERY spicy. It took a long time for the check to come as well.
Nurdin Artykov
this is the worst
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jiru Kazunari
I seriously don't get the hype. The ramen didn't taste like much and the appetizer sizes are outrageous compared to the price ($8 for a bun with one scrawny leg of tempura softshell crab..you could get a whole tempura softshell crab for $12 elsewhere). After eating for awhile we both started feeling sick. The boba tea is also very watered down and definitely made with flavoring powder and not real ingredients. The wait staff were fast and attentive though they look miserable, and the atmosphere was nice, but those are the only good things I can say about this place. Won't be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Nasif H.
This is the best ramen in Chicago. I don't do pork, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but they absolutely have the best broth. Service is hit or miss, but whoever is behind the chef's counter is consistent.
biggbirdy2000
The environment was amazing and my ramen was delicious as well i ordered extra fish cakes ? on mine. And also tried the garlic wings which would recommend especially if you into a sweet type of garlic sauce. Waitresses were all very nice and they were also playing adventure time by the bar section. Also took a look at the drink menu which did catch my eye definitely want to go back and try a few.
This ramen felt pretty expensive for what it was - not too many solid options for vegetarians (only 2) and they didn't look super good to me. I ordered a custom bowl for $22 (which is a lot for just ramen at a casual place) and it felt meh. They also forgot to bring out our edamame - wasn't charged on the bill but nobody remembered or even brought it up.
Very good reman spot, the service was great and they took care of you the ramen is well balanced good broth and noodle. The curry was on point the Katsu was yummy
This place is delicious, I almost want to keep it a secret but I love supporting small local businesses. The spicy vegan ramen is delicious and the tofu is perfectly crispy and crunchy not soggy which I hate. I ordered a side of chili oil and it brought the spice level to perfection so I recommend for anyone complaining about spice to order a side of chili oil.
Really loved the chicken wonton ramen and the truffle fries!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The first amazing find at this spot was TEMPURA BRUSSEL SPROUTS! Why aren't they more common? I sure as hell don't know because they are wonderful. The layers of brussel sprout split in your mouth creating amusing texture. I was eating these like potato chips on the couch. In my opinion, ramen is the best kind of soup out there. I always have to try the ramen broth first to appreciate the complex flavor alone and then I dive into the rest. I got the Beef Sukiyaki Tonkotsu with its solid broth and very mild flavor noodles. Combined with the toppings and the broth it's pretty amazing - especially on a cold Chicago day. The food came freaky fast! My partner is pretty tolerant of spice and when he requested a level of 3 out of 4 the waiter suggested a spice level of 2 instead. When questioned the waiter said the flavor comes through more with a spice level of 2. We went with it and couldn't have been happier. The 2 is more like a 2.5 and a wonderful balance of flavor and spice!
One of my favorite ramen places in the city.. always fast service and delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Make your own ramen was a highlight!! Lots of options and very tasty!! Cool chill laid back atmosphere and friendly waiter.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So disappointed with the quality of the food. We ordered two ramen bowls (one Spicy Tori Chicken and one Tanaka Rich Garlic with extra noodles) for take-out, which totaled nearly $40 (without tip). We were expecting professional-style, gourmet ramen dishes from a restaurant that claims to have “the best ramen in town”.Instead, we received bland, tasteless noodles coupled with watered-down soup that left us feeling rather dissatisfied. There were barely any garnishes or spices added to the soup base. The overall quantity of food is very small considering the very high-end prices. I wish I had just microwaved a $1 cup of noodles instead of purchasing food from Tanaka Ramen.I definitely recommend other ramen stores (Musashiya Ramen and Kameya Ramen) that will actually care about the quality of the food they serve you. We only ordered from Tanaka because every other good ramen place was closed on Monday. Mistakes were made.Other ramen restaurants I have been to have far better prices and offer larger and tastier portions. The overall quality of other local ramen places far surpasses that of Tanaka Ramen. You have a better chance of making tastier ramen at home - even if you cannot cook!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
No frills ramen and zensai. Decent, filling, but not worth going out of the way for. Very consistent in flavor and what you would expect. They had a fun selection of sake and their house sake was mild and easy. Great for a cold Chicago evening.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tanaka Spicy Soup, Bun
Food was terrible and didn't taste fresh. Way too overpriced for how flavorless it was. The broth, chicken, noodles all lacked flavor. This was the most bland ramen I've ever had from a restaurant. Highly recommend going to a different ramen spot in the Lincoln Park or Lakeview East area or even going to Argyle for some amazing ramen! Definitely will not be coming here again.
Restaurantji Recommends
Came on a Saturday night and didn't have a problem getting a table with 4 other friends. Ordered the spicy creamy vegan ramen but subbed in chicken for tofu and added corn and an egg. I was surprised at the lack of spice for the dish being labeled as spicy. It was nevertheless still tasty. Main concern was the service - staff didn't check in on us for water, especially when a few other soups were VERY spicy. It took a long time for the check to come as well.
this is the worst
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I seriously don't get the hype. The ramen didn't taste like much and the appetizer sizes are outrageous compared to the price ($8 for a bun with one scrawny leg of tempura softshell crab..you could get a whole tempura softshell crab for $12 elsewhere). After eating for awhile we both started feeling sick. The boba tea is also very watered down and definitely made with flavoring powder and not real ingredients. The wait staff were fast and attentive though they look miserable, and the atmosphere was nice, but those are the only good things I can say about this place. Won't be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
This is the best ramen in Chicago. I don't do pork, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but they absolutely have the best broth. Service is hit or miss, but whoever is behind the chef's counter is consistent.
The environment was amazing and my ramen was delicious as well i ordered extra fish cakes ? on mine. And also tried the garlic wings which would recommend especially if you into a sweet type of garlic sauce. Waitresses were all very nice and they were also playing adventure time by the bar section. Also took a look at the drink menu which did catch my eye definitely want to go back and try a few.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5