Neko Ramen & Rice — Restaurant in Denver

The owner must be obsessed with cats, given the name of the restaurant ("neko" is cat in Japanese) and the interior which has more maneki-neko (beckoning cat) figurines than I have ever seen in one place. Not to mention all the cat drawings, including a series of tatooed, yakuza-style kitties.

Maneki-neko bring good luck in Japan and I had the good luck to find this somewhat odd little place. It looks like it should be a branch of yet another fast food chain, but it is a standalone, family-owned restaurant with carefully, made-to-order food.

The menu is focused on ramen with six basic varieties, mostly using chicken or chashu (pork belly). There's also a vegan option and a kid's version. There are 15 choices for extra toppings. I don't think most people will find these necessary, although I do like to add a second egg to my order.

If you don't want soup, you can get fried rice or a rice bowl with pork or chicken. There are a variety of appetizers including dumplings (gyoza), shrimp, a pork bun, chicken, egg rolls, wontons, Brussels sprouts, edamame (soy beans), and takoyaki (octopus balls).

Besides fountain drinks there are sone canned teas, Japanese sodas (Ramune), and a small selection of sake and bottled beer.

I've tried the black garlic, miso, and tori ramen, the first two with pork belly and the latter with chicken. Are these the best ramen ever? No. However the broth has been made with care, all of the ingredients are very fresh, and the pork and chicken are tender and flavorful.

The ramen is served in beautiful, porcelain bowls--not cheap plastic. That definitely elevates the experience. You order and pay at the counter, receive a number on a stand, find a seat, and a pleasant staffer brings your order to you.

There's comfortable, inside seating for about 25-30. This is not fast-food. Expect your order to take 12-15 minutes to prepare. We arrived just a few minutes after opening and the space was already two-thirds full with take out orders starting to stack up.

I've enjoyed the food, the service, and the ambiance here. If you're feeling down, a bowl of delicious ramen and a wall of lucky cats is sure to cheer you up....

We came on a Thursday evening, very little wait to order and no problem getting a table. The decor is adorable and the vibes were immaculate.

We ordered the taloyaki, gyoza, wonton, and pork bun along with ramen and a chashu bowl.

First, the appetizers were loved by everyone. The sauce for the wontons was just a bit spicy and probably the best wonton sauce we've ever had. The takoyaki was perfectly on point and hot. The gyoza are crispy fried and delicious. The pork bun is fluffy, tender, and well seasoned.

As for the ramen, the noodles are tender and bouncy. We are big fans of ramen and have been searching for a great ramen shop in the Denver area with minimal luck, but the search appears to be over.

We had the black garlic, corn butter, and spicy.ramen along with the chashu bowl. The garlic was not overpowering but left a nice garlic flavor in the broth. The corn butter has a rich soup base broth augmented by sweet corn and creamy butter. The spicy was not overly spicy, however the dish to add more spice is on the table if you wish, we were happy with the spice level in the broth as it comes. It is not just spicy for the sake of being spicy, it has complexity in the flavor and is quite delicious. The chashu bowl came dressed with mayo, which we found surprising but it worked really well in this dish

Overall, we would not hesitate to call this place the best ramen shop in the Denver area. We will be back...

Neko Ramen & Rice has the best ramen in all of Denver. I always get the creamy vegan and my fiancé always gets the black garlic and we have never, EVER, been disappointed. I'm not sure how they do it, but the vegan broth is the most flavorful vegan broth i have ever had; and although I am not vegan, i have tried my fair share of vegan broths. This time we got the pork bao and pork gyoza as our appetizers, and they were absolutely delicious and done right. The gyozas were fried perfectly and served with a sauce that complimented the filling beautifully. The pork bao had a fresh bun filled with layers of pork chasu, two yummy sauces, spinach, and was absolutely incredible. We usually get the bang bang shrimp and cheese wontons for our appetizers, and because they are so good it was hard for us to switch up our usual order tonight, but I'm happy we've explored more of the menu. But I am still obsessed with my favorites so im including pictures of them as well. As always, Neko was incredible. Everyone who works here is so friendly and the manager is always there ensuring you have a great experience; whether that be in the kitchen or in the front taking orders. I'm also obsessed with the decor; cats and ramen? Yes please. I'll always love this place, next time you're looking for...