Chica Ramen — Restaurant in El Chaltén

TLDR - "ramen" is terrible, karage was serviceable. don't come here for ramen. literally go anywhere else. don't trust reviews here that say the ramen is good. they are delusional.

I didn't necessarily want to write this review but I felt the need to provide anyone who is considering going to this restaurant with an informed opinion.

I had the "pork ramen" and it was objectively very bad ramen. The broth had little to no flavor despite the variety of toppings and the noodles themselves also did not have any bite to them. They were sort of bland and limp.

I love ramen in all forms and I've had a lot of it both in Japan and in the US. From instant ramen to gourmet ramen made by people who trained their whole lives to make it. I'm not picky, if it tastes good, I'll eat it. This ramen did not taste close to as good as shin ramen or even the 99 cent top ramen. There was just no flavor to the broth and to top it all off it was outrageously expensive ($20+ USD) for a bowl of ramen that objectively had no flavor. If they had served me shin ramen with an egg in it, it would have been meaningfully better than what they're serving now.

I read through the reviews on this place and I'm honestly questioning the taste buds of anyone who says this place is delicious. Do not trust these reviews. Those people have obviously never had real ramen or even know what good food tastes like. These are probably the same people that think pepper is spicing up a dish.

My suggestion to the owners is just look up a basic ramen broth recipe on youtube and make that. Or honestly just go buy shin ramen in bulk and sell that because there's nothing close to asian in el chalten and I honestly would have been happy to pay 20k ARP for a bowl of shin ramen instead...

It is surprising to find a ramen restaurant in El Chalten, but this is by far the worst bowl of ramen I've ever had. The noodle tasted doughy instead of having an elastic springy texture it should have. The soup was lukewarm and tasted like a broth made more suited for "pho" than for ramen. The various condiments and toppings that were added (eggs, cha siu slices, pork cubes, etc.) came in different temperature points so each bite was not consistent. Adding grape tomatoes to pork based ramen was odd, more specifically the way that they were combined did not complement each other. While wasn't expecting much when deciding to try out this restaurant, I anticipated at least a decent bowl of ramen, especially when it costs more than what a typical bowl would be in NYC. Took more than 40 mins for the food to arrive only to be greatly...

Where to start - after several days spending time in Patagonia it was exactly what our heart desired! Who would expect to find such a restaurant in a remote place like El Chaltén. We went there twice in our short stay and we were not disappointed. You have to be a bit open to menu changes as the ingredients they serve can't just be bought in the store next door and therefore the delivery can take a bit longer.

However, Emilia and her team know how to make the best out of what they have and this with lots of love which you can taste in the food and feel in the atmosphere.

Once we return to El Chaltén we will definitely be back to have a bowl of Ramen, Oyakodon, Onigiri or what ever great food they are coming up with on this day!

To Emilia, the team and their young restaurant we wish all the best and...