Sakuramen Ramen Bar

Reviews 4

JA

Jaymeth Maddox

Ive been to a few of the other ramen spots around town (Toki, Daikaya, Taan, etc.) and I would put this firmly at #2, just behind Toki (which is my gold standard). Just to give some background so you have an idea of the perspective of my review: I am a 25 year old, male who lived in Japan for 4 years when I was younger so I have some experience with the culture/food. I went around 9pm on a Friday night with two other people and we didnt have to wait to be seated (a significant improvement over the hour-plus long waits at Toki). The restaurant has a good ambiance. It is a little smaller. The music was a little eclectic but if youre my age you wouldve recognized and likely enjoyed pretty much all of the songs. It wasnt too loud (either from music or people) despite the smaller quarters. Once seated, we ordered just about every appetizer on the menu and they were all delicious (Id say they have the best apps of all of the ramen spots). My favorite would have to be the chashu pork steam buns followed by the gyoza. For the ramen, I ordered the Chosun (Korean style) with the bulgolgi and added on a fireball (at 5/5 hotness) for some extra kick and an extra egg. It wasnt as hot as I was expecting which was OK, because it didnt overpower the flavor of the ramen which was quite good. The egg was good (cooked correctly by the technique they used) but I prefer the soft poach that Toki uses versus the soft/medium boil the Sakuramen and a few of the other places employ. Throughout the meal the wait staff was great and then after the meal the chef came out (without us asking) and chatted with us for a little bit about the meal and asked us our opinions which really made an impression. There are a few downsides (although these are mostly just nice-to-haves): the decor was a little lack luster. It isnt that it was bad, it just wasnt anything to write home about. Also (and this can be a deal breaker for some) Sakuramen does not have a liquor license. I think this is due to control of the number licenses they can have in Admo and I guess theyre in line waiting to get it. In the meantime, if you want to enjoy a beer or adult beverage with your meal, Sakuramen wont be able to help you out. I will say, I didnt feel like I was really missing out on a beer during the meal though. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and Sakuramen definitely hit all the important points on my list for a good restaurant. If youre in the area and craving some ramen I would definitely recommend you give Sakuramen some serious consideration.

LE

Leo O

Came here with a group of friends (3). If youve never been here before, you have to let one of the workers know that youre waiting for a table. He doesnt write down names but somehow he remembers it all and sits people accordingly. Hes a really nice/friendly guy. Theres not a lot of seating but turnover is fairly quick. I ordered the Chosun with spicy level of 4. It was very good. The chicken broth had in-depth flavors. Wasnt too salty. From other chicken broths Ive tried at other places in NYC, there is room for improvement. This place can definitely make it in NYC but charging what they charge for the DC area seems slightly overpriced to me. My total without extras was $15.95 after taxes. The hard boiled egg was cooked properly and the yolk was still runny (I assume its the "ramen egg") so if so, it would be prepared with soy sauce to give it the dark color and Japanese rice cooking wine. The flavors of the egg was balanced, wasnt overly salty. I thought the ramen noodles were cooked perfectly. I didnt get a chance to see the kitchen as I walked by but I dont think they make their own noodles. Just fyi, their software calculates gratuity at the bottom of the receipt based off of the total (tax + subtotal). Gratuity technically should be based off of the subtotal. You dont pay gratuity on tax. Just a pet peeve of mine. If anything, gratuity is not mandatory, its just a custom thats been in the US. I digress, the decor of the place is fairly standard to other ramen places. A nice casual relaxed feel. They accept cc and was able to split the bill easily among 4 people. I would definitely recommend this place and will be coming back here again to try their other ramens. I will also try their pork buns as it is a staple of most ramen places. I hope they pat attention to detail and add their own flare to it.

AL

Alice Wang

I eat ramen too much for my own good and my favorites in the area are Toki and Rens. Now I normally dont frequent Adams Morgan but this past weekend after a failed attempt of seeing Bao Bao the panda awake at the zoo, my other half and I walked from Woodley Park to Adams Morgan for some late lunch. We stopped at Sakuramen since we both love ramen and hadnt tried Sakuramen yet. Luckily, being at the awkward 3:30pm range, there werent a lot of people in the restaurant and we managed to snag a seat. I ordered the Tonkotsu Mild with a soft boiled egg. Ramen came out very quickly. My bowl contained Berkshire pork belly chashu, nori, woodear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green onions, charred garlic oil, in a tonkotsu/pork broth. Noodles were thin and wavy although they were cooked slightly past al dente and ended up being a little too chewy for my taste. Pork chashu was tender. Egg was perfect and was probably the highlight of my bowl. The broth was flavorful. I think its good but not overwhemingly good. Service was good and like I mentioned, everything came out super fast. Of course, we did go at an off-peak time which was nice. I usually wait at least 30 minutes to eat ramen so this was a nice change of pace. Being out of the way in Adams Morgan, I cant fathom coming here whenever I get a ramen craving but its worth a visit whenever Im in the neighborhood and dont have to wait too long. I definitely think this place is better than Daikaya though (still cant believe I got burnt bean sprouts there UGH). 3.5 stars.

AU

Austin Graff

Wow. I thought Toki Underground was the best ramen in DC, but I was wrong. Sakuramen takes the cake! Sakuramen is in the basement of one of the row houses on the main strip in Adams Morgan. You walk in and theres one long community table that would be typical in Japan and around 10-12 smaller tables for two. Right away we were seated and the server asked for our order (They obviously are trying to get people in and out due to the popularity of this place, but I never felt rushed at all). My wife and I ordered the bulgogi buns for an appetizer. The bulgogi was as good as any Ive had in Korea and it comes on these amazing buns that look like a thick tortilla. One order includes two buns so its perfect for two! My wife and I ordered two very different ramens but both were amazing. My wife lives spicy and ordered the Spicy Miso. If you cant handle spice like me, stay away because it is legit spicy. I ordered the Tonkotsu Mild. I love meat and love non-spicy foods and this was the perfect meal for me. To top it off at the end, we ordered mochi. The texture is very different from the ones from Trader Joes but they come on a cool plate with fruit on it and a chocolate cookie stick. You must go here! Best ramen in DC hands down!