Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas — Restaurant in Asheville

• edit, the owner has responded and been SO kind, he is taking every step to make sure this never happens again. He’s going above and beyond to make sure this never happens to anyone else and was genuinely apologetic! If you order gluten free, just make sure your noodles are green!!**

PSA for celiac/gluten intolerance/food sensitivities*

Last night I ordered food from Itto Ramen on Haywood, whose food I absolutely love! I have celiacs and love that I can get amazing veggie noodles there that allow me to still eat ramen. I made sure to specify on the phone that the noodles be gluten free because I have had them give me gluten noodles twice in the past, but when I got home with two orders of ramen, one for me and one for a friend to share and some pork buns (because my friend can eat gluten), I opened my container and saw that both orders of noodles weren't the usual green ones, so I called to let them know. As someone who has worked in the food service industry for years, I absolutely HATE having to complain about or change an order, but this isn't a missing topping- eating gluten causes me tons of physical anguish!!! When I called back the nice woman who had taken my order initially, Maya, confirmed that she put "gluten free" on my ticket. She went to get the manager, who proceeded to tell me that the yellow noodles in my meal were gluten free, that they had gluten free yellow noodles too, and that "my ticket had been modified" and promptly hung up on me before I could respond. I believed her and thank GOODNESS ate only half of a bowl of ramen... Today has been absolute torture for my tummy, those of you who can't eat gluten understand! It's truly been miserable, so I called back this evening to check and make sure the noodles I ate were in fact gluten free. The sweet woman who answered the phone confirmed for me that the only gluten free noodles they have are the green ones at that they never have gluten free noodles that are not green. The waitress was going to put me in touch with the owner but the manager, the same one who lied to me about the noodles being GF apparently reached over and put my conversation with the waitress on hold mid sentence and told the waitress that customers are not allowed to contact the owner, which I absolutely understand, no one wants to get tons of calls from disappointed customers! It just also felt really bad to get cut off like that! The waitress ended up taking my name and number but I'm not sure they'll call me back. Anyway, this long rant is to warn people with food sensitivities to be super careful ordering from Itto or avoid them since the manager apparently believed food sensitivities are a farce. I love their food but this experience was really awful. This was the third time they gave me regular noodles when I specified gluten free, but in the past they always fixed the order kindly and promptly, I am really shocked and disappointed that I was lied to. It sucks to have food sensitivities, I know a lot of people think they are made up, and it just really hurts on top of the physical pain to have my reality doubted and forcibly ignored and to be left with the real physical painful...

Their ramen is best in town, but don’t forget their other menu items!

Allow a little bit extra time, because they seem to be consistently understaffed.

We have been to Itto dozens of times since they opened, and I would say that overall, we have had some wonderful experiences. The food is consistently good. No misses on the food. Every once in a while, the servers are problematic and mixup an order. We were brought the stuffed Shishito peppers when we asked for the regular. One time we weren’t waited on at all, no waters or anything, for about 20 minutes. They explained it was a mixup. We have been given the wrong credit card receipt. One time they couldn’t find our credit card, because they had dropped it somewhere. But any time we had a problem with service, it was never with attitude. The servers always seem to be chipper, even when they are overwhelmed, as they often seem to be. Everyone is nice, apologetic when mistakes are made, and we simply know to allow a little bit more time when we eat there, because they are often busy and a bit understaffed. A funny story: One time we called and asked if we could make reservations and the person on the phone said, “I don’t see why not.“ And we arrived to discover that they don’t accept reservations. It was pretty funny; we weren’t mad, and we thought that the person who answered the phone must’ve had a sense of humor. And/or he was frustrated with working there, but, regardless, our table was ready very quickly, even if they did not have a reservation for us! Obviously, the ramen is the highlight here, but as I noted earlier, their sushi is good as well. Tapas appetizers are wonderful too. The Shishito peppers are excellent. The grilled squid is good and is a large portion. The mango shrimp is good.

But, again, the ramen is the star here. I always get the spicy ramen. My husband gets the classic ramen. We both order extra sides of the eggs. Sometimes we order three or four sides of the eggs. They are done so beautifully!

Overall, this is our “go-to” ramen place. The broth is just a step above the other places that serve...

SNAPSHOT = great noodles plus tasty tapas is a winner - review upated each visit - check back often - details below!

I have been to Itto's many times now since 06.11.19 grand opening. Spicy ramen is my favorite!. Consistly high quality has been impressive. Hardcore Ramen fans may or may not agree since they will have particulars on which they would insist.

Concept is a good one: anchor the menu with a handful of good noodle bowls and have several groupings of Asian Tappas - shumai, sashimi, poke, and tataki (both fish and beef.)

Value is easy to find on this menu. Spicy Ramen was $11 for a very good-sized portion. House Special Ramen are brothless and very tasty. Great value at $12.

UPDATE = Have since tried several tapas dishes on seperate visits. Yellowtail Jalapeno was fantastic on each of two visits. Zucchini Katsu was fantastic and a gem hiding in plain sight. Crab in scallion pancakes was very tasty.

STAFF NOTES = Staff here is great. Owner Tony continues to impress with staff moves that look to be great fits.

UPDATE 10.07.21 = hadn't gotten back here in months. New faces but still great! Kenzie served us and she is FANTASTIC! Such a delight! She has a wonderful sense of humor! and made a tasty lunch a bunch of fun! I will have to return much more often. Come have a great meal - sit in Kenzie's section and you won't be able to stop smiling! 😉 I enjoyed my lunch and Kenzie's gracious service has...