Dashi
| Address: | 415 E Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701, USA |
| Phone: | +1 919-251-9335 |
| Site: | dashiramen.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
JO
Jonathan Jou
Dashi is a ramen shop that could, with some effort, develop into a wonderful place to warm up on a cold night. Fresh, flavorful ingredients go into every bowl, and the atmosphere is great for an evening with friends or family. The bar upstairs has a tasty selection of bites, as well. If youre expecting traditional Japanese ramen, however, you might not get what youre looking for. Dashis ramen is assembled before your eyes and served within seconds of being put into the bowl. While each bowl is carefully arranged, the broth lacks the flavor of traditional ramen shops. While Im a fan of subtle flavors, it was hard to tell what else was in the tonkotsu broth besides salt and water. Im also not sure why the noodles are served as firm as they are—they taste a little undercooked, and dont quite soak in the (lukewarm) broth to have enough flavor on their own. I cant help but wonder if heating the broth a little hotter and letting the contents of the bowl sit for a few minutes might have given the dish the flavor and kick I was hoping for. I also recommend asking that the chef leave out the pickled ginger. Im not a big fan of vinegar in my ramen, and I dont think Ive seen this particular addition anywhere else. Normal ginger, shredded or grated, might have added a tasty kick. Maybe even boiled into the broth to make it more flavorful. Pickled ginger has always been a great palate cleanser between sushi bites. I cant say Ive ever needed palate cleansing for the same bowl of ramen. All in all, Dashi is an inspired take on traditional ramen. The ingredients are truly high quality, and the tonkotsu ramen comes with pork belly that melts in your mouth. I highly recommend their soy eggs, and really enjoyed the marinated catfish in their shoyu ramen as well. The portions are hearty (if a little less generous than its price tag might suggest), the service is prompt, and the atmosphere is nice. The chefs have a very creative interpretation of traditional Japanese recipes, and if you keep your mind open, its a pretty enjoyable experience. Is it worth a 1-hour wait for a $15 meal? I wouldnt say so.
JO
John Morris
Service: 4/5. We were immediately seated at the bar. After sitting there for a moment - the cooks offered us a pickled appetizer of some sort and our waitress brought our water. Food was quick and the only complaint I had was that the waitress kept lining up the other customers bowls of food on the counter beside me which encroached on my actual eating space. The establishment is small to be sure but at a customer crowded bar...peoples orders should be placed elsewhere and not pinched inbetween other eating customers. Price: 4/5. The bowls are filling without the need to purchase an appetizer. That being said, the bowls are around $10 - 13 bucks each. As for the cost of the apetizers? Cant justify the price. Cleanliness: 3/5. The hostess dropped a water cup on to the dirty dish cart surface, picked it up and put it back to use by filling it up with water and gave it to a customer. Quality: 4/5. The food was very good and filling. Apetizers seemed a bit overpriced for the quantity youre getting. I think Dashi would benefit from better "germ" awareness training when it comes to dropped cups on dirty surfaces. I would like to see a dedicated/noncustomer populated area - for the placement of completed customers orders aside from cramming them onto the bar inbetween already eating patrons.
MI
Michael Frisch
My wife and I went to Dashi last night to have ramen so we cannot comment on the upstairs environment. Overall we were very disappointed as we were hoping to find a good ramen restaurant in the area. Positives: the restaurant is nice, the service is good, the beer selection is good for both bottles and drafts. Negatives: its the most expensive ramen Ive ever had, beer is priced above average, the soup-bases (tried shio and shoyu) are bland, and the flavor of the ingredients strongly clash with the soup. The shoyu was the worse of the two soups; Ive never had smoked pork in soup before and now I know why, it overpowers everything else with smoke flavor. Overall I was very displeased with my dish. My wife had the shio ramen, it was just okay. If you are expecting anything close to Japanese ramen, this is not the place.
NA
Naomi M
I can only comment on the downstairs dining: The atmosphere of Dashi is great. However, the ramen is not good. Ive eaten tons of ramen all over Japan, Korea, and the US, and know how good ramen tastes, and Dashi doesnt have good ramen. The sashimi we got was so drenched we could only taste the marinade and not the delicate fish flavor. The waiter was not knowledgeable about the cuisine she served and was very intense and unfriendly from the moment we arrived. The first smile she gave us was when she was collecting our money! If a restaurant specializes in Japanese food, the staff should know a little bit about it. Also, everything was overpriced. That being said, my party did really enjoy the drinks we ordered and we the dining room had nice décor, hence the three stars.
SC
Scott Morrison
Please take note: while the menu is inspired by traditional Japanese ramen dishes, the dishes here are really more like Japanese-Southern American fusion. This is totally cool, but its worth noting for purists. The food was very tasty and well-executed, with tender meats and toothsome vegetables, rich broths, and perfectly al dente noodles. I tried the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) and shio (sea salt broth), and both were delicious. I also ordered the homemade ginger ale, which I would highly recommend. The atmosphere is very chic ("polished rustic"?) in the downstairs ramen shop, and the staff was very friendly and helpful. I didnt visit the izakaya upstairs, but its menu looks equally enticing. Maybe next time!
TA
Taylor Gibson
Came with my father for lunch on a rainy afternoon. We were quickly seated at the bar. My first impression of the place was "small" as there were mainly only 2 person tables tightly placed around the walls. However, the decor was nice with lots of natural wood and dark colors. I could see this being a great place for a drink and dinner in the evening. The food was prepared quickly, each of us only ordering a bowl of ramen, and sitting at the bar we could watch them prepare it. The flavors were very rich and uniquely japanese. I loved the egg, as the yoke was just the perfect consistency: firm but a little runny. The tasty broth and ingredients filled a sizable bowl, leaving me full for the rest of the afternoon.
JI
Jim Northrup
Discriminatory seating policies. Come on Durham, you can do better. Great food, but their seating policy is whack. If you go in there as a solo or with a friend, they wont seat you at an open table or a booth. The table size must fit the party size. I was in there one time and there was no one there. I mean no one and they would not let me have a table. When I questioned their policy, they finally put me in a booth, but not before letting me know that they were breaking policy and trying to make me feel like they were doing me a favor by seating me in their restaurant. This is what durham has come to. Discriminatory seating policies?
ER
Eric Lai
The service here was decent, but the food was average at best. I applaud their effort in tweaking their dishes, but the end results dont really work. On one trip, my ramen was so badly burnt that I could only take in a couple spoonful before abandoning it. The manager was courteous in comping and offered to make another bowl for me, which I graciously refused as I thought the ramen even when not burnt was kinda bland and too haphazardly westernized. My friends felt the same about their ramen bowls. Overall, I like the decor and the atmosphere, but unfortunately the food couldnt love up to the expectation.
