Katsu Ramen — Restaurant in Aurora

This is an excellent ramen spot right in the center of Aurora which is also where many of the Asian community congregates. I have been to this ramen store so many times and have pleasant memories of eating here.

THE DESIGN: The interior of the store is amazing, I still remember when it was smaller and I was still impressed with the amount of pop culture designs and items that were decorated throughout the restaurant. It gives an immersive feeling before you eat and makes you feel as if you walked into a store in Japan. Not only are there figures, posters, and murals that are in Japanese fashion but even the TV's are switched to channels that are from Japan. Excellent attention to detail.

THE FRIED CHICKEN: Japan has their famous fried chicken called Karaage and if you are going to eat at this place for the first time I highly recommend you get it as your appetizer. They use chicken thigh and cut it into small bite size pieces. When you bite into the chicken it has a crispy texture on the outside and a soft buoyant texture on the inside. The fibers of the chicken thigh pull apart and is extremely juicy. Sometimes the pieces are so large that you have to use two bites to finish a single nugget of karaage.

THE BROTH: The ramen always goes through a soup base test first for me. I make sure to grab my spoon and taste the broth so to see how flavorful the ramen will be. And sure enough it had a superior savory flavor that just as though warms your entire body from the minute you taste it to after you swallow it. It screams as though it is exactly what you needed/wanted and makes you excited for the rest of the meal.

THE NOODLES: A perfect texture of ramen is cooked to perfection as the ramen is not too hard and not too soft. Sometimes I will eat at ramen places and the noodles are too bloated up with the water they were boiled in and it makes it feel as if the texture is that of glass noodles, HOWEVER, Katsu Ramen does it right every single time and makes sure to have these noodles boiled to a specific point where you will have the slight buoyancy when you bite into it as well as a pleasant softness.

THE PASTE: That red paste you see in my photo is a sort of savory slightly spicy paste that you can either mix into your broth or put pieces of it on every bite of your ramen. The reason that I always ALWAYS come back to this restaurant is because of this little addition here that makes a big impact. It is not overwhelming, and the texture will melt in your mouth as it is dissolved with your food. I don't know what it is about it but it's something that I always think about anytime I eat ramen now. This seems to be a unique little paste that I have not seen in other places and Katsu has officially stamped my brain as I think about this whenever I want to eat ramen.

The ramen is great, if you ever thought of how ramen tasted or been curious about how good the ramen Naruto ate would be, this is the place,...

Great food, atmosphere feels kind of like a Japanese restaurant, or as close as you can get in the Denver/Aurora area. Service left something to be desired, but was overall fine. The experience is designed so that you don’t have to interact with the wait staff too much.

Went with three friends and we all ordered the black garlic tonkotsu, as well as gyoza and karaage.

Service was pretty minimal, you write down your order on a sheet of paper like at a dim sum restaurant, and there are buttons at the table you can press to request service, napkins, chili oil, etc. 3 out of our 4 waters were dirty. One had dust in it, one a hair, and one a visible sheen of something. Two of us also ordered a beer (Beniaka by Coedo brewery, made with sweet potatoes) that was quite nice. Malty but crisp and clean. We also asked for glasses to drink them out of but they too looked a bit dirty. Perhaps from being kept in the beverage fridge to keep them cold.

The tonkotsu came first, which was interesting because we had ordered appetizers. There was a dollop of chili paste/crisp smeared onto the side of the bowl which was interesting. I guess so you can adjust the spice level to your liking, without them having to have jars of it on every table. The broth was heavenly. Creamy, garlicky, rich, and not too salty. The pork belly that came with it was also quite good, well seasoned and with a good meat:fat ratio. Each bowl came with 4-0.5 inch slices. The noodles were well cooked though approaching over cooked for my liking (I prefer my noodles slightly undercooked and with a little bite to them). The egg was unfortunately hard boiled, and the yolk was cold. They likely prepare these well in advance and just add them on top rather than reheating fully or making them the same day or to order. Overall, definitely some of the best ramen in the Denver/Aurora area, probably on par with Uncle but much less crowded and easier to park at.

We had to ask again about our appetizers before they were brought to our table. The gyoza were quite nice, the wrappers delicate and not too doughy or thick. Unfortunately this meant that they were also prone to splitting open. The filling was well seasoned and they were nicely crisped. The karaage was also quite good-crispy on the outside but still quite succulent inside. The pieces were quite large, around the size of half a chicken thigh each.

The restaurant was cute and had a shade coming about 8 inches down past the top of the door, making it feel like you were walking through noren. The wait staff shouted “irasshaimase”as parties entered. They had two TVs that were displaying the same Japanese culinary show, and had action figures from various anime covering shelves that lined the walls.

Would definitely recommend this place if you’re craving ramen and don’t want to wait for Uncle or want something a little bit cheaper. Not as good as ramen you can get in Chicago or NYC or...

Update : 2024 Still my all time ramen favorite, hands-down. Alone on this visit, a weekday, right before noon and quite a few customers. Was offered bar seating but, requested a table, which, did not bode well with the server based on his demeanor and tone. (Will touch on this later.)

Ordered: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Pork Gyoza Tip: My order could have been shared or I could have gotten a to-go box but, still had errands to do so, regretfully, had left 3 more gyozas and some of my ramen. So, take that into account if you are dining alone.

If trying them first time, I suggest what I ordered above.

Now, the service, my server was NOT as deserving a 👍. Was a bit brusque in his dealing. Could be my asking for a table instead of his offered bar seat. Take note, til I left, the restaurant never had full capacity. Thus, I rate this visit as 4.5, taking off a full 5 due to lack lustre service.

BTW, a slip of feedback sheet is provided with your bill but, couldn't say what I wanted to say about service as, my Server's name was not identified in my bill. (See pic of bill.)

Still, I strongly urge you to go and savor what Katsu Ramen has to offer.

Original Review: Finally (!), great ramen in CO!

First visit weekend early afternoon and place was near-packed with customers in and out non-stop. There was hardly any wait though, just a wait to clean up next available table.

Second visit within the following week, that explains the 5-star.

So far, have tasted: Tonkotsu (ramen) - upgrade topping to Pork Belly (REALLY good!) Pork Fried Rice - hubby loved it Pork Gyoza - delicious and had it as appetizer on both visits Katsu Curry - pork cutlets fried and cooked to perfection, crispy outside yet meat was tender Japanese Style Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Bowl - another thumbs up from my husband

Did I mention how much we love the ramen? So, we just had to get one to-go. After all, it is a bit of a drive from our residence.

The restaurant itself is decorated to reflect it's Japanese roots/flavor. and so do the TVs that feature Japanese shows. Kitchen area has wide-open spot to showcase sushi chef in action. My husband tried the Sapporo beer (kinda like what Coors is to Colorado) and he liked it.

Price is reasonable considering their big portions.

Staff are VERY courteous/polite. 5-* rating definitely!

The drawbacks? NO coffee for a coffee drinker like me. Parking - finding a slot and if you do find one, the slots and the lot itself is a bit small/narrow.

Still, above drawbacks won't be a deterrent to us going back.

Looking for delicious ramen? Go there! We will .... again!

UPDATE : Feb 2020

Since our first visit in Jan., we've been back 2times and maybe more if it was nearer.

So.....the Tonkatsu IS the BEST RAMEN...