Koku Ramen & Bites — Restaurant in Beaverton

I didn't have any negative experiences when I visited Koku, I just had a very average ramen experience, so that's the reason for the 3 stars. The menu had very standard ramen flavors: tonkotsu, miso, shoyu, and the one standout from the usual - the vegan one. I didn't try any of the ramen flavors myself, but I tried some of my partner's tonkotsu, and it was very standard pork bone broth. I did like the full sheets of nori paper that they give you in the ramen. I had the Japanese curry - I haven't had Japanese curry before, so I enjoyed having a new experience. Their Jasmine tea came in very cute little kettles, and their karaage (fried chicken) side we ordered was I think the stand-out of the meal. I never think a side dish should be the star of the meal - so 3 stars for the mains and sides.

I thought the service was a bit above average - as the waitress asked if we were ok with chopsticks or if we wanted western silverware. I also appreciated that the waitress checked in with us a few times, and when we were "camping" at the end of the meal: aka just talking the waitress was kind enough to refill my water. So I'd give the service 4 stars.

The dessert menu I found somewhat lackluster and uninspired. The vanilla panna cotta was decent - and my guest said the matcha panna cotta was similar for her - just decent. My partner disliked the clearly store-bought frozen mochi. I'm surprised they wouldn't make their own or at least buy more high-end mochi. They looked and tasted like Bubbies Mochi that you can get at like a Fred Meyer's or Safeway. The dessert menu needs a huge improvement - 2 stars.

The only other thing to note is that this restaurant shares a single-stall bathroom with a *correction from previous incorrect neighbor restaurant: Vietnamese restaurant right next to it, so when in person dining starts kicking off more - this could be a problem if you need to use the restroom.

Would I give them another shot? Maybe to try the vegan ramen dish as it's the only unique one... but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit them.

Note: Thank you owner for your response - I do understand that the pandemic hit restaurants hard. I do wish you all the best, and I look forward to seeing what fun new types of ramen you make when restaurants have higher amounts of patrons again. I wish you...

Last night, my wife and I went to a new ramen restaurant that was recommended to her. It's called Koku, and is located at 206th Ave. & Baseline Rd., in Aloha (or Beaverton, if you prefer). We've been looking for a new place, since our favorite Noraneko over near OMSI permanently closed during the pandemic response. While Koku isn't quite up to Noraneko standards, they are very close! They are also open. And the staff are friendly! We definitely recommend the restaurant.

I had the Mala (spicy) Tonkotsu pork bone broth and Chasu Pork, while Sonya had the Shoyu soy sauce base and Fried Ota Tofu. Both ramen bowls were very good. While it may look expensive on the menu (at $12), it needs to be pointed out that these soups came with toppings that you often have to pay extra for. Our ramen came with an entire medium-boiled ramen egg (two halves), dried seaweed, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and our choice of protein. We felt the price was on par with the quality and quantity of food we were given - and on par with other PDX Metro ramen restaurants.

If you're not into fatty pork belly or fried tofu, you also have the choice of chicken karaage. Since we chose to get the chicken karaage as well as fried calamari as appetizers, we chose the pork and the tofu for our ramen bowls. Other soup base options are tonkotsu that isn't spicy, miso (Japanese soybean paste), and a vegan vegetable broth with miso. Koku has sake, beer and wine, for those so inclined. I tried the Shimai Toshi Yuzu Lager, while Sonya tried the Yomi Junmai Ginjo "The Afterlife" craft sake. The Yuzu was a little more bitter than I prefer, and next time I'll probably just get Sapporo on draft. And there will definitely be a...

Walking distance from my house so we decided to try it out.

When we were seated, we knew we loved the environment. Itwas soooo welcoming!! I just wished they had a bar in the corner to top it all off!!

First, we ordered hot green tea and calamari for appetizers. Note that we are ramen addicts and I currently work at a ramen shop so I have some strong opinions based on what I have experienced in other restaurants.

Best tea ever! Even though it costs $3, it's some high quality tea and you can tell because of the tea pot with infuser in it and loose green tea leaves.

Calamari was good!! Texture was on point, super crispy not chewy at all and the dip is different. I noticed it's not spicy Mayo, it's a little sweet. I did wish that the calamari was seasoned with salt though because I was craving that saltiness from the calamari. The dip made up for it

As for the ramen... noodles were great! Excellent texture, soft boiled egg is perfect, but why give customers the option to top off your ramen with chicken kaarage? I did not understand this concept. I decided to get my ramen topped off with chicken kaarage because I didn't want to pay for it separately as an appetizer, but I still wanted to try it out of course. Oh yes and the broth of the ramen did not wow us. It was okay..

Chicken kaarage was crispy but lacking salt and other flavors. Crispiness is there but no flavor... and it was sitting on top of my ramen, so it eventually became soggy. (I'm mad I didn't get a pic)

Overall it was okay. Presentation was there but maybe go a little crazy on the salt and other seasonings?

They are pretty new and I can tell they are trying their best. Will go back but not...