Daruma Ramen

Reviews 6

DE

Debbie Kim

Okay, Ive never had legit authentic Japanese ramen in Japan before- but 4 out of 6 people in my group went to Japan and had the real deal said that this ramen was good! I think thats saying something. The ramen was good! There is 4 different types of ramen, shio, shoyu, miso, and vegan. Its sorted out from heavy(greasy) broth to very light broth. I wanted to try the shoyu ramen but unfortunately was not available that night :( so I had to go with the miso instead. I added the extra spicy sauce and some bamboo shoots with it cause you can never go wrong with spicy and bamboo shoottts! It was delicious and just right for such a cold night! Plus their special flavored ice cream is a fun thing you can try out. The flavor of the night was beet for me- the color was so pretty like itll taste like raspberry and all that but nope. Straight up beet flavor! They dont lie. The only things that can bother you can be: - Parking, you know how 6th st can be. - The wait. It. Will. Take. Forever. The restaurant is tiny and it takes time for them to serve the food and also for people to eat the food. Plus you have to wait outside... And this is not something you want to do when its super cold outside! - Some of the seats are communal, so you might be eating ramen with some random people. - Service can be slow. Overall a really great place, and Ill be back here fosho!

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GO

GonzO Rodrigue

I dont want to rate this too lowly -- the people are nice and hardworking, and the ingredients were fresh. However, it must be said that anyone who gives this a 4- or 5-star rating simply has no idea what authentic Ramen actually tastes like. Almost none of the dishes serve authentic Ramen broth. The Shoyou is like a blander, clearer version of HEBs chicken broth. The Miso is that plus miso and soy. NONE of them taste anything like a standard Tonkotsu or even an old-fashioned Shio broth, and _all_ of the different broths Ive tasted were definitely something actual Ramen is not: bland. A bowl of soup is $10.00 here, which makes it more expensive than practically every other Ramen shop in town, while also being a smaller serving then that offered by every other Ramen shop in town. On top of that: the space is _small_. The seating, when its available, will have you rubbing elbows with a stranger. The thermostat was set to 78. Parking sucks, this being e. 6th and all. It isnt repulsive food, and the condiments in each soup I had were very fresh and tasty. But when compared to every other offering in this city, this is methadone to everyone elses heroin. Its _okay_, once you finally get in there and find anywhere to sit, but everywhere else that sells Ramen is better, sometimes head and shoulders above.

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SH

Sherry Li

So I was pretty excited about this place based on the Yelp reviews and the fact that they do a chicken broth, which is so hard to find in this tonkotsu world or ramen. But Im sad to say that I didnt enjoy the food at all. They had a special today - yuzu shio ramen, and I happen to love yuzu. I dont know if this is only for the special or all their ramen, but there were quite a few execution and conceptual mistakes. 1. The broth was too light on the chicken. Its a chicken broth, so the chicken should stand out. 2. The broth was WAY too salty. Everything else was pretty salty too. 3. They added arugula. I really dont like the trend of lettuce or arugula in ramen. It doesnt make sense to me. Also arugula is really bitter, so it compounded the issue with the saltiness. 4. The umeboshi was a good idea, but didnt really work out. If it was a sauce that can be mixed in, it may have fared better. But it just ended up erasing any yuzu flavor because ume is so strong in flavor. The good part of the ramen was the soft boiled egg - that was amazing. The "chashu" chicken was pretty good too. I also ordered the tatsuta-age which were decent, but only when theyre hot. The portion was large so if youre in a group, its a great deal. They charge $3 for hot tea - super pet peeve :(

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RY

Ryan Oji

I wish more of the reviews were more honest. For people that claim to have tried ramen from all the places around town, saying they had the best ramen at Daruma seems like it shouldnt be possible. I hate giving bad reviews but Id also really have appreciated reading more honest reviews when I made the decision to go out and dine here. I tried Daruma with a friend after having tried ramen at Ramen Tatsu-ya for the first time. I was blown away by the flavor of the bowl, I was excited that ramen turned out to be as good as it looked. When I tried Darumas chicken bowl(because they dont serve chashu) I was totally underwhelmed by the flavor. Yes, the noodles were thicker, but there was so little flavor to the actual bowl. It wasnt spicy, it wasnt salty, it wasnt much of anything but bland. I also tried the rice ball side. It says theres a filling but when they say "filling" they apparently mean a tiny pinch because it was basically just $3-$4 for a literal ball of rice wrapped in seaweed. The flavor of the rice ball was salty and pretty good but definitely not worth that price for white rice. With the bland flavor, the rushed revolving door service, and the troublesome parking situation, its definitely not an experience Ill be repeating anytime soon.

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NA

Naoki Matsumoto

- Miso ramen on a Wednesday night. The place is really cozy and feels warm; it literally is quite warm inside so much that after the food I ended up sweating. But besides the point, the place is nice and has friendly atmosphere. Service is speedy and though it is quite small, the turnaround was quite fast and got seated right away; Id say though that on the weekends, it might be quite the wait since on a Wednesday night, it was packed; no waiting line but all tables and bars occupied. Food was great! I got the Miso ramen which actually tasted like miso. Usually, other ramen joints are too heavily seasoned that you cannot taste anything in there and the broth gets too thick. Here at Daruma, the broth was tasty and smooth; not too oily nor heavy to the stomach. The chicken went well with it though it is my first time trying with chicken. The rest is simple, some sprouts and green onions. The noodles were cooked just right as well, giving it that extra legit ramen noodle taste. The side dish of chicken karaage was a bit too dark and not crunchy enough; still, the juicy chicken inside delivered well. TL;DR Though a bit expensive, great ramen worth the buck. Broth is righteously delicious. 10/10 would recommend.

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CH

Chase V

Wow, I was blown away. This is a great ramen spot. I consider myself a connoisseur of ramen and these guys have it down. Having eaten ramen all over Manhattan, Ramen TatsuYa, Michi, etc. I have developed quite the taste for it, and I might choose this place over Ramen TatsuYa on some days. Heres why: The ramen here is all chicken, this was a turn off for me when the server first informed me.. Boy was I wrong.. I did NOT miss the pork. The pieces of chicken were exquisite.. Tender, fatty, delicious. The broth was also perfectly hot.. I didnt have to wait for it to cool down, but you wouldnt want to drink it fast either. The baby bok choi was an excellent addition and I was happy for it. But heres the kicker guys.. This is in my opinion what makes a ramen.. If this element is missing I wont rate a place 5 star. The noodles were perfect. Absolutely perfectly cooked. I will be back again to check consistency on this.. And Im praying its the same. The broth is also excellent in flavor, color, and viscosity. Im happy it isnt as salty as the competition. This is why Id eat it more often perhaps than TatsuYa.. Daruma, well meet again.

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