Futo Buta
| Address: | 222 E Bland St, Charlotte, NC 28203, USA |
| Phone: | +1 704-376-8400 |
| Site: | futobuta.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | Closed 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 12–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
DA
David Vasta
To all the people who "THINK" this is what Japanese Ramen and Noodle bowls are like, you are wrong. To the "chef" who thinks this is what they are like, you are wrong. These are fat laden, filled with salt and tastes that dont go together. These are anything but Japanese food. Japanese food is simple and has harmony. There is a word... UMAMI (うま味.). Your food is an attempt at UMAMI but in a effort to get there you destroy anything to do with it. Your American twist on it is just bad. You should take another trip to Japan and really try to taste the food. Its almost like you went over there and tried all the fast food then came back and tried to make it worse. Nothing about the food there is Japanese. Its American, fat, salty, and disastrous! "The high level of integrity of Japanese cuisine resonates with (Michael) Shortino." - Quote from site Yet here you are...getting it all wrong. Adding so many flavors and spices you clearly dont need. You make it too complex. You make it too salty, You make too fatty all in an attempt to make it Japanese and its all wrong. However you do have a very nice location and the design is very cool, but we are not coming there for the decor...its the food. Sadly too many people in Charlotte think its fantastic because they dont know any better. Notice too that ever person reviewing the place poorly has lived in Japan. You got it wrong son. Its wrong.
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Darren Holman
Futo Buta is Amazing! I have been waiting for a Ramen shop to open in Charlotte for years! After being spoiled by great soup places in Washington DC, Charlotte had no real alternatives. I have been 5 or 6 times in the last 2 months. This place is great. I have tried alomst every Ramen they have (I still need to try the vegan Niwa.) My favorites are the Fire and Ice, Shoyu, and the Tonkatsu, but I have enjoyed everything I have had. I admit I am mainly a soup guy here, but the sweet corn Amami soft serve ice cream was also not to be missed. The service has always been great and very personable. I feel like we are now friends since they recognize me and know me by name. This is really the only place for Ramen in town, head and shoulders better than my one experience at Yama Izakaya. I will say the portions at Yama were larger, but the quality at Futo Buta is superb, and the portion is definitely large enough. It is slightly more expensive than your average lunch, but sooo worth it! I go every chance I get. This is my new favorite place in Charlotte. Give any of the soups a try, you wont be sorry. As a side note the spicy pork is an amazing add in on the miso-hungry, the chizu and the shoyu - dont miss out!!!
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Nick Pinto
Disappointed. I did lunch takeout even though they dont have a lunch menu. I chose the Tonkotsu and added the spicy ground pork, as highly recommended by the staff, which brought my bowl of ramen to $ 16 before tax and tip. The dollar amount didnt bother me but my return on investment did. The first thing I noticed when I uncovered the "to go" bowl was the layer of oil on top. I assumed it was some form of chili oil; no, it was grease. Next there were only 2 somewhat small pieces of pork belly and the up-charged spicy ground pork was difficult to find..... maybe a heaping tablespoon. There was a lot of broth and not a lot of ramen so Id say this was a soup and not a ramen dish. I was expecting to find something special in the ramen but they were fairly mushy. In the end. I was out close to $ 20, highly salted (which I expected) and had a layer of grease that didnt want to leave my mouth. I may try this place again in the hope that I just chose the wrong dish but it may take a while to convince myself to take the chance.
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John DeRienzo
Our waiter came off as pretty condescending to the whole group. When he learned it was our first time, he was actually shocked, saying, "Oh wow. Really? Well, have you ever heard of ramen? Its something you might find in big cities like New York or Chicago, but not someplace like Charlotte." OK, buddy. We all went to college. Were familiar with the concept of ramen. The place is cramped, and weirdly enough to notice, the center table they sat my group of 4 at had these weird divots/channels in it that made it hard to set our bowls and cups on without feeling like they would tip. The ramens themselves had good flavors and meats, but were way too salty and too small in portion to justify $14. My buddy even had to ask for hot water to tone down the salt. Im an English teacher in China who came back for the holidays, and Ive spent time in Japan. If that waiter thinks what they serve is anything close to "big city" Tokyo ramen, hes wrong on taste, price, and portions. Way overhyped.
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The BlackLegChef
I had high expectations for this establishment. Unfortunately those expectations were shot. The Tonkotsu broth was bland. The saltiness of the pork belly was completely absent and was just disappointing to taste. A ramen shop that cant make an adequate enough bowl of Tonkotsu isnt to be bothered with. The "Tori Kara Age" was over-cooked and dry. Now mind you, not everything was terrible in taste. The pork buns were delicious enough. The service was far from exceptional. Dirty menus were handed out. Condiment bottle was dirty to the point where I myself had to clean off. Now if you are someone who eats food to just eat rather then actually go for taste and quality, by all means help yourselves. Personally Id rather go to Yama Izakaya for a nice Tonkotsu broth. My rating is ☆☆ And that is me being generous. Hopefully this establishment can improve. I will eventually give it another chance. Hopefully on my next visit theyll be able to satisfy my palette.
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Sasha D
The sushi was alright. The ramen was awful. Im not sure how its supposed to taste, but if its supposed to be bland and bland is up your alley then take this review with a grain of salt. I got the most expensive ramen they have and it was not worth the money. $14 for a little bowl of cloudy water mixed with oil and a few pieces of meat... I mean really? It didnt even taste like they used genuine bone broth. It simply tasted like water. I had to drown it in sriracha. It wasnt so awful that it induced a gag reflex. I wouldnt mind eating it again. But NEVER for $14. NEVER. Simply ridiculous. And why do the pork buns looks like pork tacos? Ive never had buns like that before. The buns Ive had in the past were actual buns. They were good, but it was weird that they look like little tacos with a fluffy soft shell. Wont be going back and mad that they got so much of my money. lol. Seriously. It was not worth it.
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Ric Walker
First ever foray into Japanese Ramen at a restaurant. Miso was recommended as I couldnt decide between the six dishes (bowls)that I was assured were NOT hot (spicy). The meal was Awesome! The bowl was huge with so much food I couldnt eat it all before it got cold. The white corn was the sweetist I can ever remember eating and the pork was nothing short of succulent! For a first timer, I found the meal a little messy but that was ALl ON ME. My very attentive waitress offered me a fork, twice before the dish arrived. DO NOT TURN DOWN THE FORK if you are new to real Ramen or unless you are very practiced with chopsticks. The owners know about us "newbies" and provide awesome napkins (fit for a wedding), huge and very absorbent.
