OTEMBA- ramen — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Finally had a chance to try Otemba and am a bit disappointed. First I think it's most important to mention that the staff is amazing! Incredibly attentive and super friendly! This review is solely on the food not on service.

I love ramen. It's one of my favorite dishes! Especially living in super rainy Amsterdam. I love bold flavors and always up to try something new and different! I tried the tantamen and it was interesting to say the least, but unfortunately it was almost not even edible- it's not even a soup. It's more a -saucy consistency. Maybe it was a bad batch or some ingredient went array? I believe there was a vegan egg in it- which totally fine but there was soo much that it was just a gooey blob. The noodles were great though- which let's be real noodles are one of the most important things! But it was hard to enjoy it with the broth taste :-O It wasn't even like peanut-y it straight up tasted like hummus broth.

I ordered a yuzu bubbly drink which was super refreshing but don't understand the measurements but it was like a quarter of a quarter- the quantity that was given was more like a tasting glass- definitely not worth it

I didn't finish my ramen- I wanted to take it to go because I know at least my boyfriend would enjoy it (he always finishes for me haha) and I really didn't want to waste the food (I had a full bowl of ramen left) the waitress said there's no containers because they are plastic free- which is totally fine but then again theres alternatives? I asked her to see with the chef maybe he has an empty container or something like that (I'm not picky) but without even checking she kept answering me that there's nothing. How do you know if you don't even dare to have a look?

Very sad to leave a bowl of ramen behind, I know how hard it is to make it perfectly and to not even be able to finish or fully appreciate it- the foodie in me is sad!

The decor and atmosphere is quite nice though! Maybe in terms of food they had a bad day yesterday?

we had their fried chicken yesterday as well and it was a...

Recently moved to Amsterdam and was very excited to go to Otemba as it was my favorite ramen in the area when I visited last year. Ramen was just as good, but the service really upset me and my partner.

We were sitting outside and not many people were there. A larger table opened up next to us and we asked if we could switch tables so I could sit next to my partner on the bench side. The server mentioned those tables are reserved for larger groups, but the people sitting there earlier were a couple as well. We completely understood that, but within 5 minutes, another couple came and asked if they could sit at the larger table and they were allowed to sit there.

Then, another larger table opened up, and another couple asked to sit there and they were allowed to use that table as well.

We are still learning Dutch and are trying our best to assimilate, but as these other couples took the larger tables, even though these couples were speaking English, the servers talked to them in Dutch. In the end, it just really soured the experience as we couldn’t help but feel like we were treated less as we were clearly not Dutch.

We weren’t loud, we weren’t bothersome, and we helped our server along the way by making room on our small table to make sure all our food fit. While the other couples were complaining a lot or being loud. We know how Americans can be and we try our best to not bring that culture wherever we go here in the Netherlands as we want to be Dutch.

I love Otemba, but that experience really didn’t...

I may have tried all the new ramen places in Amsterdam since I came back in Nov 2021. And for me, Otemba is still my favourite for the overall experience, from flavours to the vibe. It's like ramen meets Amsterdam without trying too hard.

I like all their ramen. The tonkotsu is always a winner. I like that they were brave enough to serve a proper pork ramen in a city where chicken ramen seems to be the default, the broth is delicious and the chasiu has the right tenderness and flavours to it (and not too fatty). I wish they would use thin noodles as in Ichiran or Ippudo in Japan, but nevertheless the noodles they use is sufficient. It's not soggy and has a good bite to it.

My other favourite is their 'Amsterdam ' gyoza, stuffed with langoustine with shaved Old Amsterdam cheese. I need to have this everytime I order.

Another surprise was the tatsuta. It is essentially just fried chicken but the twist they gave to it, Dutch mayo and haring caviar, elevated this dish.

I also like that they have mannenliefde, brewdog punk ipa beers on tap.

Their tantanmen with duck was also memorable.

Anyhow, if you like a relaxed ramen place where you don't have to queue outside or feel like you are being rushed or smell like the kitchen after eating, then Otemba is your place.

I really like how they owned their version of ramen. I think it's true to its roots without trying to be too fusion-ish. Great addition to the Amsterdam (limited but...