Ramen Kid
| Address: | 461 W Gilman St, Madison, WI 53703, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-467-7387 |
| Site: | ramenkidmadison.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
MA
Matt Wahoske
Theres a New Kid on the Block slinging out bowls of ramen to a receptive audience. After my recent visit to the Ramen Kid, would I be crooning "Baby You Got It" about my experience, or would "Single" (as in a single star review) be more apropos? Other than a new sign, the pale brick exterior of the restaurant has changed little from its previous incarnation as the Lava Lounge, so dont expect to be blown away when you first lay eyes on the establishment. However, the interior is another story, as the owner has done an effective job converting the former night club into a proper ramen shop. Its a long, narrow space and despite limited natural light, the interior is well illuminated. The anime collage above the open, stainless steel kitchen, the Japanese calligraphy on the dining room walls and the multicolored paper umbrellas all set the proper mood for the Japanese themed eatery. The matching tables and chairs along with the neat stacks of red, white and black bowls and plates stacked on the bar reinforce the sense of order inside the restaurant. The fairly loud background music sounded fairly unique - it sounded like Japanese pop to my uneducated ear. While there are still rough spots to the interior décor (a hastily painted false ceiling, a grungy looking mirror behind the kitchen cooler), overall the new incarnation was generally well executed. Ramen Kid offers counter service. The engaging cashier deftly guided me as I navigated the limited menu for the first time. The kitchen delivered my steaming bowl of deliciousness in slightly more than five minutes, which was greatly appreciated, as Madison was in the grips of the a particularly virulent Polar Vortex and the steam from the bowl had revived both body and soul that encounter. Because the restaurant was not particularly busy during my visit, I had the runner, the cook and older gentleman who I assumed was the owner ask me what I thought of my lunch. The menu includes over a half dozen ramen options, a pair of stir-fried noodle dishes and several different curry bowls. For appetizers, there are a variety of dumplings, calamari, kara-age (fried chicken bites) and edamame. The restaurant also offers a limited beer and wine menu. After consulting the staff, I wisely decided to go with the popular Tonkatsu (marinated soft boiled egg, green onions, bamboo shoot and pork chashu). The intensely savory broth had a soothing depth of flavor, extremely satisfying on its own and the salt level was spot on. My bowl brimmed with a generous quantity of slurpilicious noodles. The soft boil egg added a nice visual element but flavor-wise, it seemed lost in the other components of the dish. I was pleased with the quantity of the under-seasoned pork chashu, however, I wished it was portioned into smaller pieces. Overall, Im extremely excited to have a ramen shop joining Madisons food scene and look forward to further exploration of their menu.
AE
Aedan Flynn
I feel really bad making this review but I have to. I came in for lunch because I had heard good things. Was seated fairly quick but thats where everything went bad. Not one of the 5 servers in the restaurant at that time acknowledged me from that point on. I sat at the bar for a full 1 hour and not a single person talked to me or even gave me a drink, let alone take my order. After an hour had a passed, I simply got up and left the restaurant with not a single word from any of the staff on my way out. I know the place is new but that is no excuse for that bad of service. Food issues are excusable but you cant fix a bad service experience. I have no plans to go back until this issue is fixed.
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Jenna Richardson
Menu is short and sweet, which is great! The takoyaki octopus appetizer is actually really good. I do not like a strong fishy taste and fish flakes generally put me over the edge, but these were mild. The octopus is not rubbery or chewy, also great, and the flavor was delicious. I had the veggie ramen with miso broth, which was nice. My friend got the spicy tonkatsu which comes with coconut curry broth, I believe, and that looks very good as well. The shaved ice is very nice and fairly traditional from what I understand. We had the "tiger blood" and it was basically fruit punch flavor, but with the red bean added on the side it was great!
GU
Guiying Huang
I have been to this place two times since it opened. The first two experience were great, today is my third time to eat ramen here, but it disappointed me, because everything changed so quickly, the portion and the taste are very different, I was even not able to finish the noodle the first two times, today I finish it like less than 5 minutes. And I asked the change the noodles because it is not cooked well done, they changed it for me, I mean, their service is ok, but the quality of the food is not as good as before. I hope it will get back to original version.
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Simon Puleo
I agree with Liu, no flavor if you are looking for Authentic Ramen you probably have to go to Chicago or try Jade Garden at least it is piping hot and tasty. I ordered the top of the menu pork ramen, the one slice of pork was tasty but just served to make me hungry so I slurped up the rubbery bottom of the shelf store bought noodles. My partner had the veggie Ramen - the egg was not cooked and looked suspicious. The best thing is when you consider the cooks are blaring Mariachi music and shouting in Spanish you know that at least you are in America!
BR
Brian Costello
Ramen Kid has tasty ramen! Ive tried the tonkatsu ramen and the spicy ramen. Both were great. The spicy ramen is "flavorful and mildly hot" spicy, not "burning" spicy. Its great for someone like me who is a super-hot/burning spice (i.e. very hot jalapeño, or "Thai" hot) wimp. Their menu really gives you like many options. But at the same time, its not overwhelming. Service has been good the times I have been there. The decor has a cozy, eclectic, Japanese pop-culture vibe.
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Charmaine Tabilas
The food was delicious but the service was the absolute worst Ive had in Madison. Bar none. The staff was not attentive, they ran out of napkins, we had to constantly get up and walk to our waiter whenever we needed anything because he just was not attending out table. They also had trouble combining checks in the end even though everyone ordered the same thing at the same price.
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Savannah Sippy
Was brought to the bar by the same waiter after specifically asking to be seated at a table, even if I had to wait. I waited over an hour for my bowl of instant noodles which is absolutely absurd before walking out. Spend your hard earned money somewhere with atleast mildly competent and timely service. You will not find it here. The food is nothing to sing about, either.
JO
Joe Merkel
The manager was really friendly and I tried the spicy miso soup at his suggestion. It was fantastic, perfect food for a cold day. The staff are all really nice and the value of the food is great, inside is modern but not too bright with nice chill music. Id highly suggest stopping in, I want to try one of their curries next time I go back.
MA
Maly Vang
The food was very good. I went here for dinner with my boyfriend and we were seated fairly quickly. It did take a while for someone to take our order but our food came out rather quickly so I was impressed. I enjoyed the variety of meat and condiments in my Spicy Miso bowl, and my ice cream sundae was also very decorative and tasty.
