Baltimore Katana Sushi, Japanese Cuisine & Ramen Noodles Soup — Restaurant in Baltimore

Don't get me wrong, this place has amazing qualities as well as those a bit lacking in my opinion. The location is great for locals to walk to and from for eats and drinks but if you are driving in you may have a hard time finding close parking. The interior was a good balance of hip modern meets traditional Japanese. Both the cocktail and food menus have a lot to offer and choose from. I did come to Katana on a Ramen mission but sadly I was less than thrilled about my dish. I ordered the spicy ramen with chicken and brisket. The portion was generous however the pork broth was very bland and generic in flavor. As well the chicken was unseasoned having nothing to add or enhance. I did very much enjoy the beef brisket. I'm positive I won't order the ramen again. The second dish I ordered was the hibachi chicken and it more than made up for the disappointing first course. The garlicky sauce was super tasty and the char on the chicken was perfect as well we're the tender vegetables. For appetizers I tried the spring rolls which came with two per order. They arrived perfectly golden brown and crisp on the outside.... but quickly I realized once biting into one that they were not freshly made but more likely commercially made and frozen, as the vegetables inside were total mush and soggy. Having to try the sushi before leaving I ordered some pieces of my goto have to try everywhere sushi ( smoked salmon, shrimp, and eel sushi) The eel was wonderful plump juicy and covered in an unexpectedly unique eel sauce. I absolutely recommend the eel. The shrimp was good and the smoked salmon had a very good flavor only the texture was a bit on the mushy side. Finally I ordered one of the specialty rolls, the dancing eel ( 5 large pieces of smoked salmon, eel, cream cheese, scallions with rice spicy mayo and eel sauce) the flavor components went well together and the presentation was eye catching. I washed it all down...

A short Asian ( Korean , Japanese , Chinese etc . Whichever you prefer ) chick with round glasses and short hair was very rude today and acts like she doesn’t want to work there! Quality customer service is nonexistent here.

No wonder it’s a dead zone here

Edit

( Having waitresses respond to complaints is a first for a business.

You were rude , you rolled your eyes and made a huge subtle deal about walking to grab the order at YOUR job. I understand there are signs and etc but if a customer comes to your establishment you should serve them irregardless to how inconvenient it is for you.

Calling you Asian isn’t racist , that’s literally your race identification, ( can I be more specific sure but my family is Jamaican American not African; so why should I bother to be specific with you ) im simply describing you in detail which is why I went into detail about your outfit . If the race card is something you wish to use against a black female in a highly gentrified area then , feel free.

Having the waitress respond to a customer complaint instead of management that wasn’t involved in the event is not only biased but also proof of lack of hierarchy and judgement at your...

As an Asian who have been in search of the best ramen close to authentic, I find this place the near perfect in my taste. I've tasted a lot of ramen houses in Baltimore and outside the US, and this one hits home. The Ramen is amazing, the sashimi is well prepared and fresh, one of the exotic dishes they have is the IDAKO, or baby octopus. It's soft and Chewy and appetizing. The Takoyaki and age Tofu is a must try if you're new to Japanese dish. The preparations of the food is like an art, almost perfect. The Only downside I find is there's a shortage of attendant/waiter, probably it's because I always went there during rush hours. I'm glad the restaurant survived the Pandemic. There's no other place I can compare thier Ramen. It's what keeps me coming back. The ramen noodles is freshly made, chewy and and has texture just how I liked it, not soaked like the other ramen houses.

Update May2024,

The ramen never fails to satisfy me, hope they'll never change the taste, no oil, the noodles are chewy as I like it. Age tofu and takoyaki is recommend...