Friends Ramen — Restaurant in Chicago

I've eaten here three times and I'm writing a very fair review for this very expensive restaurant. Let's explore portion size first. The first visit I had no clue how tiny my $6 bowl of chicken ramen would be but it is a third or a quarter size of a traditional bowl served in other restaurants but I enjoyed the flavor and got a $3 melon soda so I spent $10 the first time and made note that the seated benches are tiny so it's not a comfortable sitting situation if you have back issues or you are taller than 5 feet 2 you are going to feel VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. Second visit I tried a combo for $15 and I got 2 tiny soups a tiny gyoza dumpling and the server didn't charge me extra for me wanting to substitute out the coke products for a melon soda. I was happy with my second visit even though I hate the ugly and loud hip hop that plays here 24/7. The server explained it's his music selection so I suggested other genres of music and he smiled and said he'd consider it. Today was my 3rd and final visit. Today I ordered a combination again, asked for a can of melon soda rather than a coke beverage, chose 2 tiny soups and a tiny hot rice and was charged $22.50 rather than the fixed combination rate of $15 because my waitress isn't fluent with English and didn't tell me there would be a price hike because I picked a different soup and the can of melon soda. The music continues to play loud and of course it's house music and hip hop. This is my final visit because I'd rather spend $14 receiving a giant portion of well prepared traditional Japanese ramen than blow $22 in a loud restaurant with uncomfortable seating, and servers who can't understand you. The music here is uninteresting, uninspiring and I actually asked a few other guests if they enjoyed the music and none of these guests spoke up but I'm here to say save your money and get the whole portion of ramen elsewhere and you'll leave satisfied and less broke. I don't want to order ramen as an appetizer also the more shallow bowls don't retain the heat of the soup so it's half cold by the time you've eaten your half...

This place is BEYOND amazing. Now I like Ramen places and have had it in a few cities and states and even another country but I've always viewed the dishes as "ok" and thus would wonder why in Anime they eat Ramen like they fresh out of jail or something..... Then it happened, I went to Friends Ramen in Chicago. OH! MY! GOD! My food was so good I started to get angry because I was too full to finish it, it was THAT good. It's been almost a week and my mouth is currently salivating writing this review. My Fiance had a bit of spice to her's but I didn't which made it even more perfect. Give me this over ANY mid tier steak place ANY day, speaking of that's exactly what I had in my bowl and it was soooooooo flavorful and tender.

Now I've never been fond of the city of Chicago all that much and the Mrs. Has been begging me for years to take her and we finally went for my Daughter's 5th birthday/ Christmas and now I think I'm going to be the one itching to go back simply so I can stop here and get more of the Niku Ramen in the absolute largest container they can fit it in then get mad at myself all over again because the human stomach can only expand so much.

If you never had Ramen and don't want to risk going somewhere that might not be good PLEASE START HERE so you can be addicted. And just a heads-up the place is a teeny tiny place but the music is good and small Ramen Shops is exactly how you will find them in Japan so it feels more authentic that way. Whoever owns/ runs this place as well as the chefs in the kitchen you all should hold your heads high and take great honor in this...

I want to start by saying, I actually enjoyed the food. It didn't blow me away, but it was cozy and fast. But lets talk about my customer experience.

I walked up to the restaurant at around 9:40. I was just looking at the menu/seeing when they close when a young man came to the door to invite me and a friend in. We went in and sat immediately. I saw that they had been cleaning up and I felt bad about coming in, but thought if I was literally waved in, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Then, got the menu and the server gives me an incredibly rude "yeah so last call is in like 2 minutes..." and just stands there... alright I think, I can order fast, I know what I want. So I order what I wanted and the server sighs and says "that's it?" implying I should order more. Now, I get that I should make them making us food worthwhile, so I double up on the order ($33 of food). The waiter then asks about DRINKS. So I order 2 more drinks. At this point I've spent 10x what I expected but, whatever.

Food comes out and my friend and I literally scarf it down. Probably ate all of it in 4-5 minutes. I was trying to leave as soon as possible. We are paid and out by 9:56. It's not even 10 yet. Before we leave, the server asks "are you from Chicago?" in the most condescending manner I've ever heard. This is after I gave him a $10 tip on a $30 bill.

So overall, this is a restaurant I wouldn't recommend as the service simply doesn't understand hospitality. I was bummed because I liked the food, service was...