Uncle
| Address: | 2215 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211, USA |
| Phone: | +1 303-433-3263 |
| Site: | uncleramen.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
JO
John Runnels
I enjoyed it, but it was overhyped and overpriced. On the fence about going back. My friends and the internet have been raving about Uncle for quite a while, so I was very excited to finally try it out. I went with my girlfriend on a Monday night hoping to miss some of the crowd. We still had to wait about 30 minutes, but were able to have a drink while we waited for our table. Overall, the service was ok. Nothing went wrong, although there was a distinct lack of warmth. Unfriendliness doesnt make the food taste worse, however, so no big deal. We started with the fried green tomato buns. At $4 per bun, the serving size was pretty small. But they were pretty great. Whatever they breaded it with had a distinctly rich flavor that I couldnt place. When paired with some of the hot sauce they had on the table, I would have been able to eat a hundred of them. My girlfriend ordered the veggie ramen and I ordered the Kimchi Ramen. It took quite a while before our entrees arrived, with my ramen unfortunately arriving cold. The noodles were warm, but the soup had lost most of its heat. After stirring, the whole soup was luke-warm, which was definitely not the most exciting experience. The Kimchi flavor was great, and overall I enjoyed my meal. The veggie ramen was good, though a little bland. The mushrooms were delicious and were the star of that dish. We also tried the Yuzu sour, which was tasty. Overall I was disappointed. I was hoping for a life-changing experience, but I left feeling a resounding "meh." Perhaps if my soup had arrived hot and more quickly or perhaps if the restaurant wasnt so highly rated and recommended I would have walked away with a better experience. In any case, Im not sure Ill be going back anytime soon.
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Jay Keyes
Uncle is a hipster enclave and ramen-ya that likes a line of people outside of its restaurant, since it doesnt take reservations. Once I finally was seated inside Uncle, I tried the Hamachi Sashimi, which was prepared with shallots, lime, mint, lemongrass, sesame seeds, jalapeño, and toasted rice powder. The luscious strips of hamachi possessed plentiful marbled fat, which helped to somewhat mute the powerful lime and chili flavors while complementing the lemongrass and shallots. Variations of yellowtail and jalapeño are becoming de rigueur these days in terms of ramen-ya appetizers, and Ive had worse for $12. For my ramen course, I didnt see any pork options (e.g. Tonkotsu) on the menu, so I ordered the Spicy Chicken Ramen featuring a spicy sesame broth, scallions, bean sprouts, and a soft-boiled egg. I braced myself to be disappointed, but I was instead impressed by the big flavor seared onto Uncles properly-browned chicken. I enjoyed that the egg was truly soft-boiled rather than simply poached. I was pleased by the fact that the broth was indeed spicy, and that the heat complemented the flavors well. My fantastic waiter (sorry I forgot your name dude) brought me some pork belly on the side, and I was in business! Great ramen in Denver -- who would have thought? Id come here again, though I would not wait an hour for a seat. These guys need to get a reservation system in place if they want repeat business from me, despite the excellent food and service.
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andrew biviano
Preparation and staff skill is what separates this from any other Ramen in Denver. To give you an idea of the preparation, the egg in your Ramen is sous vided (french vacuum seal/water bath technique) for no less than 8 hours. The noodles are hand-made and the meat is all locally sourced. The Spicy Chicken ramen is a flavor powerhouse, not too spicy for anyone with a palate for spice. The coconut milk base is outstanding. The Duck Ramen is more traditional and also excellent, you cant go wrong with either. Im 62 185 and a dinner here (w/o apps) completely leaves me full and satisfied, a big meal. POPULARITY dictates coming early or being prepared to wait, but there is a great bar right next door (Highlands Tap & Grille) to pass the time. Best food in Highlands (including Root Down)
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BoBa Li
Have no idea what everyone is raving about. Got recommended by a coworker. Nothing to wow about at all. First off, the customer service is good at best; everyone running around with no clue at what to do. The food is subpar to what the expectations, other reviews, and all the talk of the town was about. We tried 3 different soups and the only one that was remotely delicious was the spicy chicken. Duck and pork tasted very bland and barely offered any taste bud excitability. On the other hand, pork buns were superb, with an excellent sauce. Overall, it is not worth the "experience". As an ex-cook, i was disappointed. For all the raves, limited menu and hours that are served, expectations were much higher.
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Charlie Cho
The ramen did not warrant the approx. 2-hour wait that I have experienced. Although not really the restaurants fault, but some of their patrons were just drinking and chilling after finishing their meal. A total disregard of the swarm of people waiting outside, in the cold outside, hoping to give UNCLE a try. $8 for two small cha-shu buns just felt like straight up robbery. They were good, but not $8 good. The ramen itself were mediocre in my opinion. Ingredients were fresh, but Im not sold on the combination. I guess I am more of a ramen traditionalist, it was ignorant of me comparing them to the likes of Tsujita LA, or Ippudo NY.
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g carino
One of my favorite places to eat in Colorado! I love their ramen and buns! Id give it 5 stars, but the wait for a table is crazy, at least most of the time. I always have to make sure Im there when it opens. Once, I had to wait almost 2 hours for a table because the host was not on top of it and saw that we were bumped down to the list, and he did not compensate for it, which is ridiculous! However, the service is usually pretty good and food is out fast, considering how busy they are, but I did notice that sometimes the ramen is warm, not hot when served. Try this place out!
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David Schatz
I was expecting more from such a niché restaurant in Denver but didnt get what I was hoping for. The service was great considering I was eating at the busiet time of day on the busiest day of the week, and the server was definitely friendly and helpful when I disputed an order I didnt get. Unfortunately, the ramen is equivalent of ordering a steak well done. Bland. Filled with too much spicy flavor. At least it is generous so you can fill up your stomach so you dont have to reason with your SO why youre ordering dinner twice.
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Nate Stevens
Its really the meat and how perfectly its cooked that sets Uncle apart (omg the pork). Its definitely worth visiting, but prepare for hanging out at the speakeasydown the street to kill time: youre going to encounter a long wait, and you can help yourself slightly by downloading some app called Nowait that lets you check in remotely, but I dont much care for the idea because it puts impulsive folks like me at a disadvantage. I wish for a low-sodium broth option, but I LOVE that I can add garlic oil to any ramen!
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Natalie Kavan
Great noodle place, rivals the ramen at Bones but less expensive. We had an extremely knowledgeable server (I think his name was Tom). He was great! Loved the vibe of the place--very casual and fun. One thing that I would like for them to change is the size of the specialty cocktails. My boyfriend and I almost laughed out loud when they brought them to the table. They were delicious, but tiny! At $7, we werent mad or anything. Just think that they could be a normal size drink and everything would be great!
