1981 Ramen Bar
| Address: | 129 Merrimack St, Lowell, MA 01852, USA |
| Site: | 1981ramenbar.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 5–10PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 13
TU
Turkeys Fly
My Husband and I went at 9 on a Saturday (hour before close) and they were packed. Being packed I expected some service problems but they were definitely a bit more unorganized. Wait staff were forgetting tables. Some people sitting outside had to come in looking for them. While others were sitting with empty glasses of water still waiting for their orders to be taken. This is the only reason they lost a star. The food was so delicious I want to give them 5 stars. My husband ordered a stage 3 ramen (spiciness) but it wasnt spicy at all (So if you like spicy maybe its only 3 stars). However my food came out perfect. Im giving up fast food and just saving to come her for date nights. Meat melts in your mouth and I really wanted to just drink all of the broth. The Chicken Bao dish although was spicy I didnt want to put it down. Soft in your mouth with such juicy fried chicken.. omg.. I was in love. I didnt want to share it with my husband. Now if only I can find a more quiet time to go so its not as noisy and maybe get some better service.....
TR
Trevor Pan
Its difficult to tell why Japanese ramen is not so popular in Mass, and there are only a few can do it right. 1981 is just another self-acclaimed "authentic ramen place" failed terribly. I ordered the miso ramen with pork add chilli as 辛みそ. The soup was so salty even bitter, I cannot taste miso or any other aroma at all, and although it looks red, but its difficult to taste the hot chilli. The noodles were normal, like those you can find in the fresh noodle aisle in an Hmart. The pork was a disaster, although it has some beautiful torched marks, but is way too fatty, and has a strong piggy gamey taste. I just finished the arugula, the marinated shiitake and the egg, left the rest untouched, such a waste of foods…
TI
Tiana Lee DeAngelis
Food is great here. Worth coming in for. But honestly Im doubting my will to want to come back. Ive run into a few issues the last time Ive been here. Half of their menu hasnt been available. And certain drinks werent available because the staff members didnt know how to properly set up a machine (due to only one person knowing how to change the container) (it was the hot sake machine). You couldnt even order a soft drink because the carbonation tank needed to be changed? And some other minor issues keep happening on top of this while Ive been in with friends. Its felt like a joke of a reason to sit down and eat. Foods still an A+ but things certainly need to be run through. ):
NI
Nicholas Martin
Ive been coming here since they first opened and while the food is still delicious a few things have gone down in quality. Mainly the service. The last few times my girlfriend and I have gone weve experienced poor service from the waitresses. They have screwed up our orders, gone long time periods without checking on us and have been generally rude. I want to give 1981 a five star review as the ramen, appetizers and drinks are fantastic but management needs to be a little harder on the wait staff. It also doesnt help that they had a recent fly infestation that made dining there uncomfortable. Please correct these issues and we will be happy to keep coming.
E
E L
Sorry, but the ramen was awful. Spaghetti noodles in a watered down broth with fatty pork. Had to drown it in hot sauce to get some inkling of flavor. Service was a little too slow for my liking. I think they couldnt decide if they were a nightclub or a restaurant, I wouldnt try to blend the two. My partner and I are trying to eat in one corner, music so loud we cant hear each other yelling from 2 feet away. Drunk people getting rowdy and inappropriate bumping into our table, the only 2 waitresses seemed to be having a little party with them. If you want good ramen just go all the way into Boston or Cambridge, Lowell and this restaurant are a dump.
HA
Haruka Kato
Ramen was okay. Maybe I am a little unfair since I came here a week after returning from Japan. Ramen in Japan is cheap, but like with most Japanese food in America, its overpriced here.. and not very good. Like, 600¥ (6$) ramen tastes better than what I had at this ramen bar. The ramen here was like 13$ or something. I went to some run down mall in Oomori that had cheap ramen, and I could hardly finish it because it was so big. Plus, you could eat alone there.. compared to here, where the waitresses just look at you weird :(
JO
Josh Hill
Last night was my 2nd time there, and it was the first for my wife. Its a great little trendy place with a limited menu but their specialty is there on the front and back side. The wait staff was super friendly and the ticket times were good. I will be back! If I have one observation, the music choice was not what I expected, and having the beer and drinks stacked on the floor outside of the food prep area gave the restaurant an appearance like they didnt care, but everything else was clean and orderly.
MA
Matt Drew
The name says it all. They dont have the most impressive menu, but what they do serve is prepared well enough. Portion sizes arent especially big (closer in size to home cooked meal than a typical restaurant). I realize thats highly subjective. Probably half to 2/3rds what youd get at a typical American restaurant. Wait staff is polite and attentive. Beer and spirits selection is okay. Theres a variety but its not extensive. Its worth giving a shot. You may like it, or you may not. Its a niche place.
SE
Sean Osborne
Ive been here a few times now and mostly I get the tonkotsu ramen which is pork belly, marinated egg, mushroom, and garlic. Outstanding. I also really like the smoked chicken ramen made with marinated egg, brown butter corn, and pickled radish. My girlfriend got the baby octopus brothless ramen which she really loved. Im not a seafood person and wouldnt know the difference but she claimed that they nailed the octopus, very tender according to her.
JO
Joseph Lin
Great tasting ramen and baos. I enjoyed the smoked chicken ramen but I did not like the vegetarian ramen. The vegetarian ramen was not that flavorful. I would eat here more if I could order their ramen takeout. Their reasoning for not offering takeout is that the noodles would get soggy but thats not a problem if you live a couple minutes away. Also, you could easily place the noodles in a separate container.
TA
Tanya Cameron
I frequent here often. It is favorite of mine and my daughters, however yesterday was mediocre. Disappointed in quality of broth and cleanliness. We also got marinated cucumbers that was prepared different from the first time we had them. quality was inconsistent with initial standards. That is why only 3 STARS. please dont get lazy and allow the quality of your Ramen go down
MI
mikke2261
I lived in japan for 2 years, then in San diego. Ive experienced good and bad ramen, and this is by far the worst. Customer service is good, but the broth is watery, lacks flavor, and is overall undesirable. The noodles are spaghetti noodles. Bad combination of ingredients. It was a chore to eat out of respect. I do not recommend to anyone, new or experienced.
TH
Thai Tan
The Ramen has gotten a lot better since they opened. I have had it with the time they open up, the time states to everyone is m-f 11:30.. a handful of times i have tried and failed because of excuses. Someone needs to make sure the place is ready for service at 11:30.. not everyone shows up at 11:30 and begin to work. I will not be back.
