Ramen Star — Restaurant in Denver

On a cold day, I went to this place with my friends and ordered the following: veggie miso ramen with tofu and takoyaki octopus balls. I would rate the octopus balls 4/5 as I am trying it for first time. But, I would rate the veggie ramen, 0/5. Not only did the veggie ramen taste bad but they served the ramen mildly warm with cold tofu (not fried). Honestly, this is the worst veggie ramen I have had so far. On top of that, they charged me extra for a small side of spicy miso which I wasn’t informed until I was paying the bill.

I have tasted some amazing veggie ramens and this by far the worst. I would not recommend this place for any vegetarians. Also, they over charge for everything.

UPDATED RESPONSE TO THE OWNER's Reply Maybe, I should have been very clear on my review.

The server is half correct. I came along with 2 of my friends and 1 of my friend was satisfied with her Chocolate ramen whereas me and my other friend were not as satisfied as her. Additionally, if the waiter recalls his memory, when he asked, “how is everything?” only 1 of my friend gave good feedback that the chocolate ramen tasted amazing. Me and my other friend didn’t give any reply.

My entire review was merely on the VEGGIE RAMEN. So let me try to make it clear with what I didn’t like: There was absolutely no FLAVOR to the veggie ramen broth. I have tasted some amazing veggie broths in California (where I reside). If the tofu can be fried upon request, then why is it not mentioned on your menu? It would help, if you would add that info in your menu or inform the customers beforehand as I am one of those who likes tofu fried. I requested for a spicy veggie ramen, the waiter said he can provide me with the spicy miso paste on the side but failed to inform that it would cost me extra. In my review, I said it was costly because of the extra charge for the miso paste. I have never been to a place where they charged me extra for requesting spicy. Not in California, more specifically in the bay area. Since, you have provided such details about the cost of the noodles (which I didn’t even talk about in my review), I would like to get an explanation as to why the broth was served lukewarm? Did the Westword try your veggie ramen? If they have not, then they should come back to try and re-judge.

I would like to inform you that I absolutely don’t mind spending a little extra on food if it tastes good and has amazing flavors (Don’t forget that I am from California, pricier than Denver I believe). I have no complaints about the noodles, but to me the broth is the key to the ramen. Since, the broth itself didn’t have any flavor, I was very disappointed and left this review.

Lastly, I would request you to come to California and try out few ramen places that serves veggie ramen. I can also recommend you few places, just...

Where does a Texas-winterpocalypse-escaping, Japanese-speaking, ramen-loving gal go when she comes to Denver? Here, and I was NOT disappointed!

What first drew me to Ramen Star was the fact that they made their own broth AND their own noodles - knowing that, this has to be the first ramen I had in Denver (and Colorado entirely).

Coming for lunch on a Sunday, my partner and I booked a reservation for right when they opened, and had our choice of tables. Speaking of tables, most of the tables are hand-made by a Japanese native who lives in Denver who is a friend of the chef/ramen master - love the attention to the small details (and that was the first of many!).

There's a small staff here, and they're all very friendly and knowledgeable. They're such a delight to talk to and provide impeccable customer service. We always had what we needed, when we needed it, and they provided great suggestions on pairing shareables, ramen, and beer.

Our full menu was: Gyoza Nikuman Ramen Star ramen (with my partner getting the hot paste to pair with it) Green Tea and Strawberry Mochi Hitachino Yuzu Lager for me and Echigo Stout for my partner

The gyoza was perfectly crispy on the bottom and soft/steamed on the top. They serve them with soy sauce that has a bit of chili oil in it - if you're not aware of it, it can bite you in the back of the throat, but once you know, the flavor pairs smoothly with the pork in the gyoza.

The nikuman comes with both soy sauce and kewpie mayo with togarashi (Japanese seven spice blend) on it - my favorite way to eat the bun is to dip it into the mayo, ensuring I get a bit of the togarashi as well and ... well ... you need to try it for yourself ;)

The ramen was top notch - you can taste the passion that the chef has for the broth and noodles he personally makes. I've never had pickled ginger in ramen before (usually have it in yakisoba), but it adds a nice pungency to the broth, which is smooth but filling. The noodles, even after being in the broth for many minutes (due to having some epic conversation) the noodles were still the perfect level of firm and chewy, all the way down to the last bite. The chashu pork was thinly sliced and balanced perfectly with the rest of the ingredients.

I didn't think I had any room left, but the mochi was worth adding to the end of the meal. A sweet ending to a meal that, quite literally, made me feel like myself again - after days of below-freezing temperatures, a long-haul road trip, my first warm shower in a week - there's nothing like ramen to bring you back into yourself.

A huge thank you to the spectacular customer service and powerfully delicious food, Ramen Star!

When we move to Denver later this year, you'll see us...

I am incredibly conflicted and writing this review. The ramen was phenomenal, but the experience was one of the worst dining experiences that I've had all year.

We went on a Friday night and got there at about 6:00 p.m. and between walking into the door and getting our food it took almost exactly 2 hours. Ramen star does not let you do dinner reservations online and so we just had to stand in line with two different couples in front of us. So a total of four people that were ahead of us. It took 1 hour waiting in line before we were seated. There was nowhere for us to put down our information and there was no hostess to provide any information. You just had to wait until there was an open table and then the single server that was working would come to the front of the house and take whoever was still there to a table. You had no idea how long it was going to take and you had no opportunity to ask.

We ordered the fried mackerel buns and then the ramen star ramen and the shoyu ramen.

We each got a glass of water which was never refilled while we were at our table. It took about 25 minutes before we had our order taken. And then after we had our orders taken, it took another 35 minutes before the food actually came out.

It was clear that they were getting overwhelmed by takeout orders, and there was only one person who was working full time as a server, while she was also taking phone orders.

When we actually got our ramen I always pleasantly surprised with mine. The broth was delightful and the noodles were an amazing texture. The pork chashu was the best cashu that I've ever had. Unfortunately my wife did not have a similar experience. Her broth was already lukewarm by the time we got our food.

The woman from the kitchen who brought us our food apologized once about the wait and thanked us for our patience, but nothing else was done.

In my opinion, the restaurant should have stopped taking any takeout or delivery orders and focus then prioritized on the customers that they had waiting in the restaurant.

It is a shame because I did really enjoy my ramen and maybe if they were less busy I would recommend coming here to other people, but having to wait 2 hours was just kind of unacceptable so I don't think we will ever return.

One person came in to cancel their pickup order because they had been waiting over 60 minutes for their food and they did at least say that they have never seen the restaurant this busy. So maybe we just had an exceptional case but it's still just wasn't worth it at the end of...