ORYZA POKE & RAMEN — Restaurant in Eagan

Last night I visited Oryza Poke and Ramen for the first time; I will be back, for sure!

Located in the old "Little Caesars" pizza store next to Cub Foods and Cub Liquor store in Eagan, the renovations made after Little Caesars closed is truly remarkable; There's now a decent number of small tables inside the ramen restaurant, as well as a number of picnic tables outside for the summertime.

Having personally spent 121 nights in Japan from 2017 - 2019, I am on an endless quest to find the "perfect" ramen restaurant in the Twin Cities so that I can feel "natsukashi" for Japan. Trust me, Oryza's ramen bowl I enjoyed last night brought my tastebuds right back to Fukuoka or Kagoshima! I was VERY impressed.

The staff was super friendly and helpful, and the ramen bowls were large and beautifully designed. My buddy and I chose to eat in, and there was a solid flow of people coming and going with takeout and Door Dash orders.

The restaurant itself was well decorated with many bright red lanterns hanging, and well lit and clean. (see my photos). I ultimately chose the "Blaze Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen" bowl, as I judge a good ramen place by the umami of their pork tonkotsu broth. Here again, Oryza lived up to my 5-star rating. The broth was delicious. I ordered the protein topping of beef, which was also delicious. They offer many options for their ramen bowls and poke bowls (here again, look at my photos - I took photos of the menu). Price point is in-line with other ramen places in the Twin Cities, average bowl of ramen in the $12 range, and the average poke bowl in the $13 range, depending on ingredients.

The two bowls of ramen were delivered to our table in about 5 minutes. Hot and ready to eat.

Overall, I walked away from Oryza amazed at the conversion of a Little Caesars to a ramen restaurant, but I'm happy they did! I give Oryza a 5-star for the authentic Japanese taste to the ramen I had, as well as the clean interior, and super friendly staff. I'll be back, for sure!

EDIT: Last night, my buddy and I returned again to Oryza. We ate inside. Again, the food, the service, the "vibe" of the place were all incredible. Last night I tried the standard tonkotsu ramen, and added for my protein the grilled pork belly. WOW, that pork as an addition to the delicious and flavorful tonkotsu was simply divine. And like I said earlier, I have spent over 120 nights in Japan from 2017 - 2019. I've had my share of inexpensive "authentic" ramen... in Japan. This rivals the best of them. I took more photos from last night, and will post them now.

EDIT 2: Again went there, again, consistently fantastic tonkotsu ramen, with Chashu, pork belly grilled. This time, I tried their "takoyaki" which is Japanese street/Matsuri food - fried or grilled octopus balls. As an appetizer, this was really tasty, with real chunks of octopus inside the fried balls. However, they were considerably smaller than those I've had in Japan, and clearly were not hand made. But, taste-wise, they were pretty authentic to Japan. See photos. Also once again, I have been so happy to be able to chat with the super polite, attentive, and wonderful staff at Oryza! Especially the front-line worker, Wendy, the cashier and waitress. ...

My wife and I chose Oryza Poke and Ramen in Eagan, MN for our Friday date night dinner venue. She ordered the shrimp creamy ramen and I ordered the spicy salmon poke with the house poke sauce, ginger sauce, and Wasabi. We both agreed that the dishes were very flavorful.

She would probably rate the ramen 5 stars. I rate the poke 4 stars only because after having authentic poke in a little family-run restaurant in Honolulu, my personal bar is set quite high. My main issue is the same as I have with Hawaii Poke Bowl restaurant: that mainland poke is served differently than authentic poke. Outside of Hawaii, poke is served on a bed of rice with a lot of optional goodies while Hawaiian poke is simply cubed raw fish in a liquid gingery soy/sesame oil sauce with rice on the side. This allows the fish to marrinate in the savory sauce for better flavor. Because the mainland poke is served on a bed of rice, the sauce is thickened to a consistency of catsup so it sticks to the fish so it doesn't flow off the fish into the rice. It is also sweeter (not necessarily bad but not authentic). I did like some of the optional goodies like fresh jalapeños, edamame, and pickled ginger. My second objectin concerns the preparation of the fish. The spicy salmon was ground rather than cubed, which gave it a mushy consistency. Next time I will try the regular salmon to see if it offers any improvement in texture.

Gripes and all, I will definitely return because it was quite a good dining experience with good service despite being very busy with both dine-in and carry-out customers. The portions were generous and the ingredients were very fresh. If you like a good seafood meal, this place is a fine fast-casual restaurant, especially when it concerns their Ramen. However, if you crave more authentic poke, the best I've had in Minnesota was at the State Fair-I can't remember the name of the place but...

I’ve been looking for a more traditional Japanese ramen restaurant in the suburbs here in Minnesota but a majority of the Japanese restaurants I’ve been to in the past have the typical menu. Finally there is a authentic style Japanese restaurant that caters more to Ramen as well as they have amazing poke dishes, and some unique appetizers. I had their Blaze Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen with some amazing pork, shrimp, and vegetables. The broth was very flavorful and all the ingredients were fresh. Not to mention the atmosphere and hospitality of the people who own the restaurant was very professional and inviting with ambient decor. If you get a chance and are craving some more Traditional Japanese Ramen dishes in Eagan, Minnesota than I strongly suggest you try Oryza Poke and Ramen. You won’t be...