Kintaro Ramen — Restaurant in Arlington

Who decides to try ramen for the first time when they’re on vacation? I do! I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but there are so many places to choose from back home that I get overwhelmed and just go with a burger. It was a significantly easier decision here. This place was ten minutes from our hotel and in downtown Arlington. It was easy to find plenty of parking out front. I went at 7pm on a Tuesday and managed to avoid the wait that Yelp prepared me for.

The restaurant is tiny with maybe four or five 4-person tables. The back table could fit 8 people and there are a couple chairs at a bar type situation along the kitchen barrier. The kitchen is to the right and takes up as much (or more) room than the dining area, but you can see the guys in there preparing everything, which is pretty neat. Ordering and payment is all contactless. You scan a QR code for the menu, then input your order into a tablet at the front. You pay at the same tablet and take a number. You can customize you ramen to your liking which is great for picky eaters. FYI: non-alcoholic drinks come with unlimited refills! The sweet tea comes in adorable 750ml glass bottles with a runner cork/top, aaannnndd they bring you frosty glasses for your drink!! I loved that!

On to the food. I had the tonkatsu with black lard and garlic sauce, and I added narutomaki (because my kids love anime and I recognized the little design 😂). Let me tell you how freaking good that dang ramen was!! I dropped my spoon and laid back in my seat! My mama was with me and I almost reached across the table and slapped her! (ALMOST because I ain’t crazy 😅) I groaned over my bowl, ANGRY that I had lived thirty+ years and had never had it until now! Y’ALL IT WAS AMAZING! The broth! The brothhhh 😭😭😭 it was so amazing I could cry. I would drink that broth alone and be pleased! The pork belly was tender, the bamboo shoots were full of flavor (WHO KNEW BAMBOO TASTED LIKE ANYTHING?? Apparently the pandas are on to something!), and the aromatic lard??? I don’t even know what that was but it was delicious! Everything in that bowl blessed my spirit. Even the little narutomaki, which didn’t taste like much on their own, but once they soaked in that broth??? Top tier! Tens across the board!

Hi. Hello. Go here. Get the ramen. You won’t be disappointed. Shoutout to the chefs in the kitchen who understood...

I am thoroughly surprised by the high praise for this place. I never review restaurants, but have not stopped thinking about my experience here from Valentines Day. Background: My husband and I eat at Wabi House primarily. I've talked to the chef there for minutes at a time about how they make their broth. He gave me their recipe and I've used it at home. It takes 12 hours for a rolling boil with pork bone, but oh my gosh it tastes nearly as good and fresh as Wabi. So when we moved to Arlington, we were hoping to find something at least close to the quality of their ramen.

I'll keep this simple: the pork they serve is raw. Mine was entirely white on the side that wasn't seared. The chef insisted this was normal pork, as if I hadn't been eaten chashu pork myself for a decade now both at home and in popular kitchens. He said it couldn't possibly be raw because their distributor gives it to them cooked and then frozen. He said "we torch it for the appearance" but my husband mentioned "your distributor could be giving you poor meat quality. That happens a lot." The guy shrugged and said he'd torch it more but that I "shouldn't expect that the next time."

Aside from the raw pork (which I tossed), the noodles are not made of eggs or high alkaline water. In fact, when my husband and I left we both simultaneously said "was that angel hair pasta?" The noodles were not springy or absorbent, and were actually quite tough. They stuck out terribly in the broth. The ramen eggs also didn't seem like they had marinated for very long, if at all.

I will actively tell my ramen-loving friends to never, ever go here. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. The pork is absolutely disgusting and slimy, no matter how much they "torch" it. If you haven't had genuine ramen noodles, do not come here or you will get Italian-esque angel hair pasta that goes terribly with the broth.

DFW does have good ramen! This is just not one of...

I am only giving this a 3 star because my experience with the Fort Worth Location has always been amazing and never had any issues. This location however really frustrates me. I have spent at least $1350 with this business since I found it because I love their ramen and it is the only place I genuinely go out of my way for. No one matches their ramen. Not even Wabi house.

I always avoided placing an order with this specific location though as every single time I do they always change things on the order. The last few times I ordered with them they gave me the wrong broth or wrong noodles or just removed eggs without my knowledge and I understand one time , maybe even two, but every time?

Sadly the other location has shut down so I placed an order with this location because I still love the ramen. So when I spend $77 dollars then make a 38 minute drive from work to go pick up my food and then drive another 40 minutes home and realize that my order has the incorrect meat and is using the smoked chashu (smoked meat makes me nauseous) and not the normal chashu that I paid for (I ordered extra pieces as well) it really is frustrating.

They never have ever asked me each time they change an order. They just make an executive decision to change whatever, whenever with an order I paid my own money for and don’t seem to care.

This was gonna be my last splurge on a solid meal before I have surgery and I chose this place only to be let down once again. Wish the Fort Worth location never got shut down as I miss their good customer service and...