High Five Ramen
| Address: | 112 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607, USA |
| Phone: | +1 312-754-0431 |
| Site: | highfiveramen.com |
| Rating: | 4.6 |
| Working: | 6–11PM 6PM–12AM 6PM–12AM 6PM–1AM 6PM–1AM 6PM–1AM 6–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Nathan L
Wow, wow, wow! High Five was a recommendation from a friend. It is another of Chicagos hidden gems practically tucked inside Green Street. It is, as other reviews note literally in the basement. It is dark yet comfortable with seating for around 20. Prepare to wait during peak times. The ambiance is very hipster/retro and the rap music playing cracked me up for sure. The menu is short but complex. The ramen is... incredible! I cant say I am the biggest expert on ramen but I have eaten at a few ramen places and a few in Chicago but High Five is the most amazing by far! I ordered the High Five dish but chose to go with the no spice. I really wish I had gone with at least the half spice. The full spice is NOT for the faint of heart. It comes covered in spice and the watering eyes and wiping of noses was clear how spicy the full spice was. The bowl is large and you will not leave hungry for sure. They do have bibs if needed. They have slurpee type drinks that they can put booze into if wanted and they have beers as well including huge cans of Asahi beer that seemed to be very popular. The price is on the moderate side but you will not be disappointed with the food in any way. I would not suggest this for groups of more than 6 or for families either. This will be a return place for us for sure.
AN
Anthony Huskey
After reviewing all of the ramen places I could find through social media this one looked like a winner. We did not come in with any preconceived notions of what ramen is or isnt we (traditional or fusion or du jour). The ratings were high and the pictures looked good. It was a little tricky finding the place as the street number wasnt visible and the door is located in the outdoor seating area of another restaurant. We asked the valet across the street and he gave us directions. The place is small and dark. We had to wait about 30 minutes for seating and they texted us when the table was ready. The host/server was efficient and friendly. We both ordered the same ramen (there were only four choices) I think it had sho or cho in the name. Either way it was absolutely delicious. There were a couple of slices of pork which were tender and flavorful. Probably could have shared one bowl it was that big. We ordered with half spice which was sufficiently hot anything more may have overpowered the ramen. A great dining experience.
EL
elisabeth oh
This is one of my favorite places in Chicago! It is in a basement and seats only 16 at a time, so best to get there early and try to make the first seating. Luckily, if you do have to wait, they take down your cell phone number and use an app called: Nowait so you dont physically have to stay on-location. The staff is super friendly and they even made an effort to remember my name, which I am very grateful for. If I bring or send people here, I always preface by saying dont expect a traditional ramen experience. The broth is very spicy and heavier compared to even other spicy ramen, but its good -- its unique. The soft boiled egg is always seasoned and cooked perfectly. The pork belly comes from Green Smoked Meats so its good; melt in your mouth kind of good. I dont possess the culinary background to break down the flavors or spices but my mouth knows good taste. So if youre down for a unique take on traditional ramen, I highly recommend! All in all -- The wait is guaranteed but so is the awesome ramen!
MO
Monica Bhalla
Adorable, dark, tiny space in the basement of GSSM, awesome music and spicy, spicy ramen. My friend and I shared the Half Spice High Five Ramen and the Coconut Painkiller Slushy. The slushy was strong, fruity and delicious. I wouldve preferred more coconut, but overall it was a great relief to compliment the spiciness of the ramen. As for the ramen, the spice-factor gradually kicked in, but the flavors were spot on. The pork belly was cooked perfectly, and the egg was a nice bonus, but the noodles and broth are what kept me going. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the broth was extremely flavorful, despite how spicy it was. It seemed like everyone around us couldnt stop talking about how spicy it was, but every bowl was finished to its last drop. Im knocking off one star because I found one of the servers to rush us a bit, and she kind of had an attitude. But overall, a great spot to get your ramen fix!
IJ
Ijun Lai
We were waiting in line before 6, but unfortunately so were about 25 other people. So we missed the first seating of 16, put our names down on the list, and grabbed a few drinks at Green Street. We were seated about an hour later. This place is tiny, dark, and was blasting Wu Tang when we were there--love it! We ordered the Hi-Five ramen. The noodles were the perfect springiness, the soft boiled egg was perfect, as was the pork belly. I was not a huge fan of the broth though. It tasted like it had szechuan peppercorns in it so I was thrown off. Actually, the broth would have been amazing with Taiwanese beef noodle soup. I like my ramen soup more focused on meat flavors than spice. We also ordered one of the sakes. It came in a can which sounds bizarre but it was delicious. The wait staff was super nice and always made sure we had enough water--major plus.
SE
Seher Dholakia
So reminiscent of ramen joints in New York, particularly Totto Ramen, High Five Ramen is in a small, underground space with a sign-in sheet and bar stools only. Super quaint, the restaurant only seats 16 people in a bar-style fashion. While the restaurant opens at 6 PM, there is always a line outside even before the restaurant opens. I definitely suggest getting there early and not dining with more than a group of 2-3 people, or youll be waiting quite a while if you would all like to sit together. The signature High Five Ramen comes in no spice, half spice, or full spice depending on your tolerance. Even if you like spicy, I definitely suggest ordering the half spice so you can still experience all of the flavors without tears streaming out of your eyes and your tongue on fire. Regardless, its absolutely delicious and I definitely recommend it.
JI
Jin Nam
They are currently closed on Sunday & Monday. Days they are open, they stay open until 1am for food, 1:30am last call for drinks. I had the Demons Club ramen. Its a bowl of ramen bathing in spicy, fairly thick broth (like slightly thin gravy viscosity more than soup broth) so order it if you like very spicy meal worth of spice. The spice has a lot of heat but does not cross over the line of being heat only. I was able to taste the flavors and the ramen noodle. The two thick slices of pork was buttery tender and very flavorful on its own. The boiled egg, to my delight, was soft boiled. Perfectly. The one beer on the menu is a liter can of Asahi, aka "Canzilla". This went very well with the spicy bowl of ramen. Dont worry about the volume. Youll sweat out the alcohol during the meal.
JA
jason herrell
This place was absolutely amazing. Well worth the 2 hour wait (on a Saturday night) after getting our name on the list. Having GSSM upstairs where you can sit and have a few drinks really helps with the waiting and builds the anticipation. Be ready for some spice if you get the High Five Ramen, if you cant handle spicy go with the Special Ramen. They have a very limited drink menu but being that there are only 16 seats youre not encouraged to sit and drink considering there will be a line of people waiting their turn to eat. But the Pain Killer slushy was very good and came in a little half skull mug. The vibe is that you are in a dimly lit Japanese basement with Wu Tang Clan playing really helps with the whole mystique
