Ram's Restaurant — Restaurant in Bratislava

A good potential but with many flaws

The restaurant/bistro is in the city centre in an area mainly residential. You need to know what you are looking for because it is unlikely you can get there by chance. Located in a basement of a recently renovated building, the restaurant also owns a covered terrace in front.

The place: recently opened (I understood they opened right before the pandemic in 2020), the style is informal and vaguely hipster with an open kitchen. Considering that the offered food is pan-asian, the style didn't recall that at all, making it a bit anonymous. Unfortunately the overall feeling is a bit cold, almost giving the sensation of unfinished. We had dinner on the terrace and it felt a bit sad. A different lighting, some plants to cover the wall surrounding the terrace would probably help to bring warmth. What didn't help was the fact that on a Saturday night at 20:00 the place was virtually empty. While I'm not a fan of overcrowded places, a relatively big restaurant completely empty doesn't really convey a sense of cosiness. It amplified the feeling of a cold and a bit sad place and it is a pity.

The service: the service was really nice. Staff was always available and ready. We were welcomed and followed with a smile and professionalism.

The food: the restaurant presents itself as a pan-asian place with a menu set accordingly. I found the pricing a bit erratic, alternating prices that I would consider appropriate for the type of place with prices I would expect in much more upscale establishments. A vegetables tempura for 9 euro is more expensive than in very good Japanese restaurants in Florence or Milan. A portion of gyoza dumplings for 10 euro is preposterous. In general prices are in the expected range. The menu spaces from Thai to Indonesian to Japanese, with a couple of "out of place" dishes (Chicken Tikka Masala and naan). What I missed here is a bit of concept, of story. When it comes to pan-asian restaurants I would like to understand the approach and here it felt a bit random. I tried a good chicken Tom Kha, while the Chicken Nasi Goreng was way too salty. Very well cooked chicken and perfectly running sunny side egg, but the rice was definitely excessively salted. The Thai Chicken yellow curry was actually really good and tasty, very well balanced and I really enjoyed the thickness of the curry. Also got a very good garlic naan that could have been perfect with just a little bit less melted butter that was having an overpowering taste. Finished with the chocolate ball for dessert that was fun and very well presented.

Conclusion: Overall I would recommend Ram's for a quick tasty dinner, especially for a Thai Curry. The price of 40 euro for all the above mentioned food seems fair. But it can go up rather quickly depending of the choices you make. It's a place where to go when you come back from work and don't want to cook, or before a cinema or theatre. I wouldn't choose it again for a couple dinner.

Small note: I don't know if it is a general new trend, but soft drinks are really too expensive. Almost 3 euro for a 200ml coke is definitely not ok in Bratislava. These are the same prices you find in Paris or Berlin. It cannot be justified.

Personally I may come back, maybe to try their Ramen or to enjoy again a Thai curry, but it is not a place I would enjoy...

Update 24 jul 2021, in their new restaurant: So. I have mixed feelings. And lots of thoughts. Their food is delicious, no doubt about that. They have many vegetarian and even some vegan options. The amount and and variety of veggies is awesome. Tom kha soup was probably our favorite dish. But. The veggie tempura was too oily and too salty. The chocolate bowl dessert had a very impressive presentation but was too sweet for our taste. Now lets talk about the tofu pad thai. I have to say it was rather rice linguine arrabbiata. Still delicious but it was not pad thai, lots of spicy tomato sauce and no peanuts, no scrambled egg… i expected something else (they make a very traditional nasi goreng and chana masala, so this was a surprise). We had starter and a soup and it came like 5min apart (there were only two other customers when we visited). Service was so so. Thumbs up for the aesop soap. It’s a great place to eat but I think they should try harder now that they increased their prices quite significantly (especially the soft drinks prices seem quite unreasonable).

Original review: Their food is really excellent. Loved everything we ordered. Don’t skip dessert, coconut tiramisu was surprisingly delicious. The only complaint I have about food is that nasi goreng was a bit too salty for my taste, but their kitchen still deserves all the stars. And they also have lots of veggie options. But they still have lots of room for improvement regarding drinks - they had no beer, no wine by glass and the bottle of white wine we ordered was at room temperature... thumbs up for the nice wine glasses and gorgeous plates. Will definitely be back to try more dishes from...

It was OK. Not great, not terrible. There's a lot to be desired, still.

This was my third or fourth visit in a span of a year. The pricing is very confusing. Some appetizers are way out of line. But not just appetizers. A mini serving of edamame beans for 4.5€ or gyozas for 11€ is preposterous. Unlike previous visits, this time it was crowded. Almost all tables taken. Outside was very cold but inside was uncomfortably hot for us, and very noisy in that small space.

But for me the biggest problem is the decreasing quality of food. Every visit, the food was a bit more boring, the presentation a bit less suiting and prices a bit more expensive. The beef ramen I had was incredibly bland. The broth was very bland. Eggs were barely marinated. For 15€ it was sad. For a pan-asian restaurant you would expect there would be some spices available, some like it more hot than others. I asked if I can get something spicy, they brought a few slices of fresh chilli. It wasn't particularly strong, but OK. What was strongly ridiculous was that they had the gall to charge me 2.5€ EXTRA, as I found out on the bill.

Deserts were OK and nicely presented. Drinks (some tea and a tea cocktail) were nice, although again a bit more expensive, but sadly not unusual in Bratislava. Servers were polite and available.

All in all, it feels like quality is going downhill and the prices does not match anymore. I will think twice before I muster the...