Ajida Ramen
| Address: | 201 N Wells St C, Chicago, IL 60606, USA |
| Phone: | +1 312-332-6878 |
| Site: | ajidachicago.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 10:30AM–9:30PM 10:30AM–9:30PM 10:30AM–9:30PM 10:30AM–9:30PM 10:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
ED
Edie Liao
Dear lord, the things some people say. "Ramen without wavy noodles is NOT ramen."??? I may have a stroke. Education time. Only INSTANT ramen is wavy to save space, so they can package it in fried bricks. Ajida is hands down the best value on authentic ramen in the city. I visit Asia regularly, and I can swear by the authenticity. If you want the thick, heavy broth style, go to Ramen-San or Slurping Turtle. When youre not in the mood for the Paula Deen-ified ramen, Ajida hits the spot. Not to mention their happy hour special is an absolute steal. You can get a drink and a small plate plus an entree, and all the plates are spot on authentic Japanese food. Not to mention theyve added other Japanese comfort food classics like curry and eel bowl. Not sure whats going on with other peoples food quality, but I come here all the time and the food is always piping hot and delicious. I get the feeling they were expecting it to taste like instant ramen and their brains shut down as soon as they realized "omg not the same!", so they never gave it a chance. If thats not the case, I highly encourage you to try this place again! They may have tightened up the service since youve visited. Ordering delivery can be hit or miss though, since they deliver via EatStreet. By the time my food got to my place, it was stone cold.
AD
Adrian Speyrer
They dont keep their posted hours. I walk past every night and they are almost never open until their posted hour of 9:30 weekdays. I tried to eat there at 9:02 and they told me the kitchen closes at 9. Usually terrible service. They often dont refill the water or take away the empty app plates (Ive been probably a dozen times only because I live so close). Quality of food is just ok. Ramen is bland and most certainly not made in house. Typical Chinese-run Japanese restaurant. Dont go here for good service or good ramen. There are plenty of much better spots near in River North. Edit* Ive eaten at various restaurants all over Asia (Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines...). None of the restaurants Ive eaten at stop serving food 30 minutes before their listed hours. If there is a difference between closing time and kitchen closing time, it is always noted. Also, having eaten ramen all over Japan and China, it is clear you have the Chinese, pseudo-Japanese ramen restaurant model. Please dont think what you are serving is authentic. It is certainly neither authentic, nor fresh. Thanks for the condescending reply.
ST
Stephanie Leopold
Walking around in the loop and saw this new little spot. Stopped in for lunch. Its a cute little space. We tried lots of things...everything was pretty damn good. Bao buns Shrimp Shumai Gyoza Scallop skewer Beef wrapped shrimp skewer Classic Ramen Obviously I havent started the NY resolutions because we pigged out...ho hum... Service was great! They all seemed like they were aiming to please...kind of nice for a change. Price...overall I thought it was really reasonable. For the skewers, $2.5 per skewer...pretty good for the meats and seafood and a little high for veggies, but they were good. Ramens are like $13....kind of the going rate. Everything else seemed pretty cheap. It was fast and convenient! I would definitely go back and eat again!
MI
Michael Sechler
My option is a little biased, but Ill share it. One day I had a long work meeting. I woke up at 645, running late, so I skipped breakfast. I was there all day. They served lunch, but all the sandwiches had something I didnt like on them. So I waited it out. By the time I got on the blue line I was so hungry I could hallucinate. A short eternity later, after my subway ride, I was famished. I stumbled up the blue line stairs with desperation. "first place I find, Im eating there.... I dont care what it is". After my last step I looked up, and right in front of me was this tiny ramen shop. Not to mention they had a killer happy hour special. The ramen was delicious, and I was throughly satisfied.
MO
Morgan Phillips
This is not ramen. Plain and simple. I had the "Shoyu" and it was awful. Broth tasted of soy sauce and swanson beef broth, egg was cold, pork was bland, and asparagus had no business being there. If they called it "Asian Soup" i might have a better opinion, but as a bowl of ramen this was terrible. The noodles werent even right! Ramen without wavy noodles is NOT ramen. I dont even consider myself a purist or anything. I eat the instant kind as well as wander into some "Fancy" Ramen places. I love it all, but Ajidas ramen is not at all ramen. If you want something really delicious id suggest going to Ramen-San, Slurping Turtle, or Oii-Star. Ive enjoyed delicious ramen at all 3 restaurants.
TH
Thongsy Singvongsa
My husband and I came here for dinner before the Wait Wait Dont Tell NPR show. Not the best choice we made. My husband ordered the classic ramen and I ordered the shoyu ramen. Both were highly disappointing. I kid you not when I write that my husband ate one bite and that was it. He was hungry and still chose not to eat his ramen because it was that unappetizing. My ramen was OK. I couldnt finish my dish either but I dont like to waste food or money. Dont come here looking for good ramen; there are other options for that in the downtown area. I give them two stars for fast and friendly service.
ES
Esme Luciano
Im only giving it one star because you cant give it zero. We went there before the lunch rush, got seated for a party of three and were asked to move for a party of four??? we moved and were forgotten for 45 minutes. They lost our lunch order and never told us? Other groups were coming in waiting being seated and served and we just sat...we were told once our food was next and it wasnt. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. When we got up to leave the hostess acting like she didnt care and waived us off. TERRIBLE SERVICE. I told everyone I work with about this place and my counterparts are doing the same.
AD
Adam A
Great place; the happy hour special is well worth the trip and the Ramen is excellently prepared. Perfect varying flavor notes. Im hooked on their Shoyu. Also, give the sweet potato tempura a try. Even the house sake is worth a go, which actually caught me off guard because I wasnt expecting much. The service is a bit hands-off, which can be a little awkward because Im not used to having to signal the server for every little thing, but its not a deal breaker. As soon as he spotted me, he was at my table, and I got what I wanted.
JO
Jorene Ooi
At $13 per bowl of ramen, Ajida is pricey for mediocre food. That being said, its in the Loop, so I will cut it some slack. The food is nothing to write home about. Theyre pretty accommodating with vegetarian preferences, which is nice. When I was there, only one server (presumably the owner?) appeared to be working, but service was prompt. However, I can imagine the place getting busy during weekday lunches due to its location, so I hope they have more than one person working during those times!
CH
Chien Saevang
The food came out very quickly. Almost too quickly? I ordered the classic ramen. The broth was good and the pork was good, but the egg was not even close to acceptable. It tasted like a boiled egg and even looked so. I was extremely disappointed. The yakitori was not bad. The service was questionable though. I did not get my drink refilled or even asked when it was empty. Also their credit card machine was down and did not tell us until we were ready to pay. I wouldnt eat here again.
