Itadaki Ramen — Restaurant in Arlington

Note: We went during their soft-opening. Unfortunately, their sign has not arrived yet. If you plan to go, the address is correct, but the sign out front may be different. Just an FYI.

Great little restaurant with great service and a welcoming atmosphere.

For a soft opening and only a week in, the waitresses were very attentive and somewhat knowledgeable about the dishes on their menu.

I expect that once the grand opening is underway, they will have gained much knowledge of all their dishes and will be able to further help their customers in picking the right dish for their palette.

Looking through the menu, I could not figure out which ramen would be spicy, so I asked the waitress. She said the Kara Miso, so I ordered the Sapporo Gara Broth Ramen, Kara miso style.

They give you 4 flavors to choose from: Miso, Shoyu, Shio, or Kara Miso.

My husband ordered the Shoyu Clear Chicken Broth.

As we waited for our ramen, our appetizers came. We ordered Pork chashu buns and some seaweed salad.

The chashu bun was very good. The sweet tangy sauce they drizzled over the chashu made the overall taste very satisfying and had just enough to flavor the slightly charred chashu. The meat had a tougher bite than I'm used to, but it had a great flavor. The bun was not steaming hot, but it was also not soggy (which is a plus for me).

The seaweed salad is a typical seaweed salad you would find at any restaurant.

In the middle of our appetizers, our ramen came, and they were well presented, beautiful.

As any other noodle dish, it's customary to try the broth before adding or mixing.

The Kara miso had just the right amount of spiciness. It had a good miso flavor. Very delicate.

My husband's broth had a wonderful deep soy sauce flavor. Very clean.

The noodles were perfect. They had a great bounce. This restaurant prides themselves on receiving all their noodles from Sapporo Japan. I can tell.

And the soft, gooey egg, chefs kiss! Wish I had both sides in my bowl instead of only one. I think next time, I'll order extra ajitama eggs.

As I continued eating, I detected a hint of bitterness in my dish. I couldn't put my finger on what was making the dish bitter, but it was there.

As we finished our meal, the store owner and chef were very willing to answer all our questions.

After speaking to them, I found out the bitterness I was tasting in my dish was the wok hay technique they used to make the Sapporo Gara Broth. The slight char from the meat and vegetables used before adding in the broth is what gives it the Sapporo Gara flavor. I was very impressed that they were willing to tell me their process in how they make that dish and even more impressed that I was able to detect it eventhough I wasn't sure what their process of cooking was.

And, they were very willing to hear our critiques. A+++ in our books.

All in all, we would definitely come back.

Some extra critiques would be:

Maybe on the menu, place a pepper icon where the Kara miso is so their new customers can tell it will be spicy.

For their Sapporo gara, maybe explain the cooking process in the description and how they use the wok to char before...

Tldr. Maybe I came on a bad day or got the wrong food, but it was at best mid.

The Yakisoba was very bland, and the carrots in it were practically raw. Maybe it's just the style since they were also cut a lot thicker than usual, but they were so thick that them being almost raw meant it was an unpleasant texture experience instead of a nice crunch like thinner or fully raw. The shrimp was cooked okay, not the best texture but also not overly chewy or anything. But again there was almost no flavor to it other than what might have been oil that's about to need changing.

The squid was straight up bad.The squid itself was crunchy, like trying to chew cartilage. The main taste was what again tasted like slightly old oil. Other than that and some slight flavor to the breading, the squid just had that slight "sea" taste that not so fresh seafood gets.

I don't think they used any kind of sauce seasoning or marinade on it, and they only served it with some seasoned mayo and what was either cucumber or zucchini. (One of those is on recall right now so I wasn't risking eating it). It wasn't even served with a lemon wedge despite that being on the picture of it. Overall very bland and the flavor that was there was not so great.

The ice cream was the only good part of the meal. No notes here, just normal solid ice cream. If I'm willing to give this place a try again I'll ask for the green tea kind and see if it's good.

The atmosphere was great until the meal was over. It very much felt like once you pay they're trying to rush you out. I was still picking at my to go box while waiting for an Uber and was polite pressured into standing outside to wait. Not impolite words but very strong "You need to go" signals. which is crazy to me as a single diner (not taking up much room) who'd only waited a couple minutes and again was still picking at my to go box which I'd asked for early on in the meal. I also asked for the bill early but had mentioned that I would still be eating some.

The way they were pressuring me out was that "polite" "You need to get out" that restaurants usually reserve for people who have been loitering. I had been there less than 50 min. About 30 min of which was waiting on them to either take my order or prepare the food.

So in summary mid food and uncomfortable atmosphere means I'm not recommending.

I miss the restaurant that used to be here, and was really hoping this could be my go to lunch spot in this area to replace that one.

I will probably give it one more try, because maybe I got them on a bad night or picked the wrong menu items. (Seriously though, restaurants need to stop offering squid if they can't offer GOOD squid.)

Yakisoba 6/10 Squid 1/10 Ice cream 8/10

Service, mixed bag. During meal 7/10 After meal 4/10

Atmosphere 7.5/10 Nice interior. Chairs are all small though and there isn't much room for people who need more room, like if you have certain...

My group and I had such a wonderful experience today at Itadaki Ramen!! It was most of our first times, and after raves reviews from colleagues, we decided to try.

First- the service. From the beginning we were greeted with such sweet servers, and they made sure to get us any and everything we needed in a timely fashion with such a professional and caring demeanor. The manager also came to check on us several times to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and the meals. He was also very nice and accommodating.

Next the food- we ordered several appetizers, including the gyoza, fried chicken, and fried squid. All were very fresh, hot and delicious. However, the gyoza reigned supreme. We opted for pan fried, and when I tell you these were cooked to utter perfection, I am not exaggerating. The bottoms were so crisp, yet the rest of the dumpling so tender and flavorful. Especially when dipped in the accompanying sauce. My fiancé and I both agreed these were the best we’ve had! Then we all ordered some ramen (of course) and the table fell silent with happy eaters. I ordered the Nigori Chicken Broth ramen, Kara miso (spicy) style, and it was absolutely FANTASTIC! The noodles were perfection, so tender and still had a good bite and flavor to them, and the broth was so flavorful and packed with so much savory flavor. We did request some chili oil on the side to add to ours, because my fiancé and I enjoy EXTRA spicy, but if you are looking for just a good kick, the chili oil is not needed. We finished our meal with an assortment of ice cream flavors, which was really nice sweet and cold ending to our savory and hot meal. I only got a picture of my ramen (pre-chili oil addition) as I was so hungry and distracted by eating all the delicious things!

I cannot recommend this ramen establishment enough. From the service, to the food, and adding in the extremely cute atmosphere and decor in the restaurant, you will have a great meal and experience I am sure of it. We will be returning every time our ramen craving kicks in.

Also- a side note, as this place is brand new, their new store signage has not changed from the previous restaurant that occupied this spot. We asked about this and we’re told new signage is already in the works, just a little behind. Don’t let that deter/confuse you. It is exactly the spot your google maps directs you to.

Hope y’all all...