Address: | 2141 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60616, USA |
Phone: | +1 312-374-3450 |
Site: | ramenchicago.com |
Rating: | 4.4 |
Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–12AM |
SA
Sam W
Summary: Food is average. Service is slow, a bit pricey for the average ramen. Not family friendly. This place is not for party with more than 4. I have 5 people and waited 40 minutes watching 4 or 5 parties of 2 that came in after us sat down first. I wished the hostess had told me there is a long wait for party of 5. We ended up sitting in the back of the restaurant. Perhaps this is the reason for the less than adequate service. More details on service later, but first of all - the foods... The noodle is interesting and has a different texture. Its a bit more al dente than the traditional ramen. The broth and toppings are average. The portion is a tad small compares to other ramen joints. Ive had way better ramen in Chicago area with better quality that cost less. Perhaps I am paying for the décor, definitely not for the service. While the waitress is very nice, I think she forgot about us after taking our orders and serving the foods because we sat in the back. I had to walk to the front to ask for the bill, then waited a while for her to return so decided to just walk to the front to pay for my bill. Never once had the waitress came back to check if we needed anything. We ran out of water half way through the meal and no one in sight to ask for more. I really contemplated not to leave the minimal 18% tip. The music is loud, décor is a bit pretentious and the menu is mostly in Japanese and rōmaji. They were kind enough to provide a "Strings Guide 101" for the layman that cant read either. I was excited to try this place seeing the crowd waiting in front. Now I know this is probably due to the slow service and the poor sitting arrangement. There are many authentic ramen options in the Chicago area with better foods and service at lower price. However, Strings is probably not a bad place to impress a date or friends if that is the MO.
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Jessie McDaniel
The decor was very casual. Low comfy benches and a few high counters done in wood.The outside patio is also enclosed and would be a great place to eat any time of the year. The kitchen is covered with a glass partition and you can see the chefs cooking the bones down for stock and simmering meats to perfection. Overall the effect is very impressive. The food was fantastic! Our server answered all our questions - he was extremely knowledgeable about ramen and the menu in general. I got the miso with Pork Loin and my boyfriend got the level 2 spicy ramen. Both were delicious! The ramen is made fresh in house and you can taste it. The noodles were perfectly al dente and as someone who hates broth, I ate all of mine. For dessert we had a cappuccino gelato that was perfect after all the saltiness in the ramen. Try the Stringrita. Its a mocktail of fruit juices and pop. It was so refreshing and light. Some hints: Make sure you read whats in each kind of ramen before you order. If youre a picky eater this place might not be for you. We got in on a Saturday around 530 pm and it was the perfect time. 20 minutes into our meal it started to get packed. If you think $13 is too expensive for ramen, think again. Portions are generous and worth the cost.
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Dylan Grieve
Last month, I was visited by my brother from Boston, and a good friend from Argentina. The weather was beginning to show hints of fall, with dryer air, cooler breezes, and the aroma of leaves changing. We had a hankering for soup, so decided to try this place out. They were here for 4 days, and we went 3 times. As a long-time cook, and someone who regularly creates dishes from scratch, I was very impressed. Also having made my own soups, I really appreciated the depth of flavor in the broths, and the simple beauty of the whole tasting and eating experience. The ramen was perfectly al dente- Ive never had a more well-cooked noodle, and its made fresh every day. The servings are generous, and the toppings are nicely displayed. The ambiance is great, they mostly play low-key, trip-hop type stuff, and they also have an interesting style of booth seating that I really liked for aesthetic reasons (check out the photos). It was a really great experience, and every time Ive gone back, its been continuously awesome. I recommend going with a really good friend or partner; someone you can laugh with, and someone who likes good food. Youll be happy you did!
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Laila Chen
I am definitely a regular here and I LOVE it. I know many people have mixed feelings about this place but according to self-declared Ramen expects, they all swear this is by far the best ramen in the city. I dont really care what anyone else thinks, I just know I love Strings and the tonkotsu is addictive. Its by far the richest broth Ive ever had. Some people think its fatty...maybe they just hate delicious, deep, rich flavors. Ive tried all the noodles, even the winter jigoku special and Ill say, while all the noodles and oden are tasty, Ive perfected the perfect bowl of noodles. Follow my directions and youre well on your way to delicious food heaven, with a little extra body padding ready for Chicagos winter hibernation. Order the kuro buta tonkotsu (FATTY MEAT. Always get the fatty meat. No argument). Add the soft boil egg not from the oden menu, but from the sides menu (its the perfect runny yolk you want for your noodles). Order sides of roasted garlic and spicy bamboo. Add in 1 small spoonful of the chili oil. Slurp, eat, slurp, slurp slurp....all done?! All ready?!?!?! Order another. Damn it. I just made myself hungry.
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Lu Yao
Ive heard mixed reviews about this place, and I wasnt sure whats to expect about the ramen here, so here is my first impression: Service: really great - the waiter explained the menu to us, and answered any questions we had. The food came out at a decent speed. Ambience: very modern looking, loved the minimalist decor. Food: this is where I had some issues. My tonkotsu was very oily, although I did order it with the pork belly. My moms shoyu with pork loin looked a LOT less artery clogging, even with wasabi oil. But the broths all have very good flavor. I also didnt like the type of noodles they used. They were somewhat thin but extremely dense and filling (the kind that doesnt soak up flavor well. My fiancée also ordered the shrimp, scallop and snow crab miso ramen, but there was no snow crab in it. Once he called them out on it, they checked with the chef and found out that they ran out of snow crab so they took off a bit from the bill. In any case the broth was delicious. Definitely order the lava egg side - they are very flavorful and will make you actually want to overdose on egg yolk.
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Emily Z
As a first time Ramen eater I was really impressed! I think all the bad reviews were from the first few weeks when every restaurant has kinks. Broth was warm, rich and full of flavor! Super cute modern decor and friendly service. They dont serve water but you get free hot green tea, which honestly had no flavor... but its cold so it felt nice to drink! I had the Miso Ramen with Kuro Buta (pork) $12.95, which was really rich and delicious, so rich it starts to form a bit of a film if left more than a minute untouched, eek. Portions and presentation are huge and fabulous! Definitely recommend the Spicy bamboo side, for $1.95. Though, it lacks any hint of spice it was crisp and cooling and perfectly counteracted the rich ramen! My only complaint is that there are no to-go containers, as apparently the noodles get mushy and arent good, the portions are huge and its hard to waste all that delicious food!