Favorite restaurant in STL hands down!!! I come here at least once a month, and sometimes multiple times a week. This might be one of the best ramen spots I've ever been to (including top rated ramen spots in SF, LA, NY)! What I love about this ramen is that it is not super heavy or oily, the noodles and meat are cooked PERFECTLY, and the ramen and broths are so flavorful. My favorite dishes are the tantanmen ramen (w/ broth) and the tsukemen (dipping ramen). The broth is sooooo good and I love the way the pork is cooked in the tantanmen. My partner loves the brothless ramens (aburasoba, then tantanmen). We always get the cucumber appetizers - they're so fresh and perfectly sauced and crunchy. The karage is also very popular and good. All the broths are meat based, but on all the dishes you can request no pork if you like. It is first come first serve, and there's usually a line, but it goes by pretty fast and it's worth the wait. The vibe is fast paced - meant mainly to allow the line outside to move fast, but the restaurant does have a nice homey, warm feel to it. Service is great, the chefs are sweet. 10/10 spot, defs a must try!

Line moves quick, and the ramen is the most authentic you'll find in STL. Both appetizers were amazing, they will hit your table fast and after a couple minutes your ramen will. Awesome food and experience. Disregard the bad reviews, most are about lack of options to one's dietary preference. They clearly state they dont serve any vegan options.

did i get hangry waiting in the line outside? yes did I leave super full and satisfied? yes this is a tiny space but has a super cute atmosphere. the food was delicious. the brothless noodles were quite better than others i've had! chicken app was sooo good and the perfect quantity to not fill u up too much.

OMG. The brothless noodles were amazing! The wait wasn't bad either at 35 mins during prime time dinner time on a Thursday. The menu is simple. You can't make a reservation. And you cannot do to-go. Apparently our local friend said this is the #2 spot for ramen in the nation... You basically wait in line. Ordering is via the QR code which is where the payment is made. Water, utensils, and napkins are at the front left for you to grab. Everything else is brought out to you. House cucumbers: There appears to be two types of pickled, rice vinegar cucumbers. It was coated with mayo that added a nice fatty flavor profile. It was good, but these are cucumbers so there's not much to rave about. Original aburasoba: Get this if you're wanting to try something different. IT'S A MUST TRY! Despite it being brothless, the noodles were coated in a scallop oil and house shoyu that coated the noodles super well and provided really nice flavors. The pork shoulder chasyu also added to this interesting dish's unique DNA. It felt a little salty towards the bottom where all the oils were, but that's also where all the flavors were. There was also an additional bottle of rice vinegar (?) if you're daring for more flavors -- of which I went for. Tantanmen: The hubs ordered this chili oil and sesame paste ramen with ground pork. It's a regular ramen with broth btw. There was definitely a unique flavor profile. It was really strong though imo. It was good, but not one of my top choice. There was almost a curry flavoring to it when I tasted this. I also sampled the pork shoyu, and by golly the broth was super duper rich. Too rich almost. Good but over powering. The karaage was pretty good. It was juicy and had a nice outer breading.

One of the first meals I had in St. Louis and I have been back numerous times since. Small restaurant so expect a line! They do not take reservations or call-ins, you'll just have to wait outside. When seated, you order and pay through the QR code! Get the house cucumbers!! So good and refreshing to eat as an appetizer -- I love the miso marinated ones. I have tried both the chicken and pork shoyu ramen, both incredibly flavorful, well seasoned, and delicious. My partner always gets the tantanmem which is spicy and delicious as well. Best part is the marinated jammy egg, SO GOOD. It's sweet and savory goodness, Pro tip: order an extra egg through the waitstaff. So good, will be back!

The ramen here lives up to the hype! We first attempted to eat here in shortly after St Louis Post-dispatch published an article about it...we waited 40 minutes then left after realizing we wouldn't make it into the restaurant in our limited timeframe. 2nd attempt was yesterday, a few months after the buzz had died down a bit, and this time we got there 40 minutes before the restaurant opens at 5pm. We were first in line and were quickly seated at 5:02pm. There were about 20 people in line by the time the restaurant opened. They don't take reservations or do takeout. When you enter, you grab water and chopsticks then order using the QR code. Our food arrived within 10 minutes and we finished eating after another 20 minutes and we quickly exited so that the next customer could enter. The pork shoyu ramen was incredibly flavorful with rich creamy broth, perfectly cooked pork, scallions, and chewy noodles. I thought the ramen was comparable to Nudo Cafe's, but has even more complex and rich broth and flavors. I also enjoyed my aburasoba which is a brothless ramen with savory sauce, pork, nori, and beansprouts, as well as dried fish powder in a little pile on the side. I mixed it all together in my bowl, and the waiter provided a container of vinegar which helped cut some of the richness/saltiness of the shoyu sauce. The noodles are thicker in the aburasoba than the pork shoyu ramen and super filling, so I ended up bringing some leftovers home.

Heard about this place through recommendations of STL natives, and the recent Yelp list ranking this place #2 across the nation. I was already expecting a lot and this place definitely matched some of the expectations (although I still think some places in LA, Houston, NY are better than this). Overall, it is excellent, especially for being in STL. The line will always be long, so we came here around 4:40pm on a Wednesday, and we were about 2nd in line (although as soon as we got in line, everyone left their cars and joined the line. When we got in, it was a nice intimate ambience. We ordered the karaage, chicken shoyu, and tsukemen. All of the dishes were excellent. The karaage was very juicy with a very soft crunch on the outside. It was extremely pleasant texture, and very flavorful. The chicken shoyu was extremely delicious. It was a delicate balance of umami-rich soy sauce, hearty chicken stock, and subtle hints of aromatic spices. The pork slice was also very rich and fatty (may not be for everyone). Finally, the tsukemen is amazing as well (although I think not as good as the chicken shoyu). It came out as a bowl of piping hot dipping broth accompanied by a separate plate of springy ramen noodles and nori strips. The noodles had an unbelievable texture and I couldn't get enough of. The broth itself was very good, but I feel like it might not have been the best tsukemen I've had, so it falls short to my expectations. Overall, an excellent place to go for dinner. Can't wait to come back to try the brothless ramen. 4.5/5 stars!

This place is phenomenal. Super authentic and great experience overall. We were so excited to try this place after hearing it was on the top 100 restaurants list. We came in on a Sunday night for dinner around 8pm, and the line was around the corner. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes, but it was well worth it. Once seated, the restaurant is self-service, where you grab your own utensils, napkins, water, and order via QR code. Minimal interaction with staff, similar to an authentic ramen shop in Japan in terms of service and ambiance. We did some research and saw that the owner studied ramen in Japan. Definitely best ramen in the midwest. - Dipping ramen (5/5): I had been wanting to try dipping ramen for a while, and was so excited to see this on the menu. It was AMAZING. The noodles were super thick, chewy, perfectly cooked, tasted so fresh. The broth was super concentrated, savory, perfect for dipping. Pork was tender and delicious. And the egg was perfectly soft boiled. - Pork ramen (5/5): Also so yummy. The broth was the perfect amount of salty and flavorful. Noodles were more thin but equally delicious. - Chicken karage (4.5/5): Portion was a bit small but okay to share between 2 people. The chicken was crispy with great flavor.