AFURI Houston Heights — Restaurant in Houston

Afuri Ramen + Dumpling is a fantastic addition to the Houston Heights dining scene, offering a taste of authentic Japanese ramen. The restaurant is named after Mount Afuri, a sacred mountain in Japan known for its pure spring water, and where the restaurant had their first location at the foot of the mountain. Afuri is known for its Yuzu Shio ramen and its commitment to using GMO-free ingredients and no MSG.

Afuri first opened in Tokyo in 2003 and has since expanded to over 28 locations worldwide. The Heights location opened on November 1, 2024 and has quickly gained popularity. The restaurant has a spacious and modern interior with minimalist decor and a welcoming outdoor patio. They also offer a free private parking lot with plenty of spaces.

We visited around 2 pm on a Sunday with our 1-year-old and were seated immediately. The restaurant is family-friendly, with plenty of high chairs, and we noticed several other families dining with young children.

Here's what we ordered:

[NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES]

+Yuzu Limeade (yuzu, lime, and soda) for $5 - Refreshing and very citrusy. - 4/5

+Housemade Ginger Ale (ginger, lime, bitters, and soda) for $5 - Had a nice spicy kick from the ginger. - 4/5

[STARTERS]

+Yuzu Shio Edamame (edamame, yuzu shio sauce, black pepper, and garlic chips) for $6 - I wasn't a fan of the yuzu shio sauce--it overpowered the edamame. - 2.5/5

[APPETIZERS]

+Tuna Tartare (spicy tuna, chives, salmon caviar, yuzu kosho ponzu, microgreens, fried leeks, wasabi, and gyoza chips) for $18 - Unfortunately, this dish was drenched in yuzu kosho ponzu sauce, making it overly salty and masking the tuna's flavor. - 3/5

[RAMEN]

+Tonkotsu Tantan (spicy miso tare, tonkotsu broth, pork crumbles, bok choy, shiitake mushroom, leeks, chili oil, and thick noodles) for $16.80 - The broth was rich and had a good amount of spice. I wasn't a fan of the shiitake mushrooms and was disappointed that a seasoned egg wasn't included--I had to pay an additional $3 for it. It would also be great if they offered corn as a topping option. - 4/5

The ramen was the star of the meal, with a flavorful and comforting broth that made it worth the visit. However, the starters and appetizers didn't live up to expectations--the flavors were either too overpowering or not well-balanced.

Afuri Ramen + Dumpling excels in its ramen offerings and has a comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere that makes it a great spot for any time of day. With some adjustments to the small plates, this could easily become a five-star dining experience. I look forward to returning to try more of their...

I was so excited to try this place out that I had it planned for WEEKS. I even told my husband who went to Japan and is a ramen snob that this place is coming to town for us to try.

When we got there, the place is beautifully decorated and pleasing to the eye. They definitely did a great job on the esthetic part. The service did start slow but the servers were reallt nice. Now... the food? Honestly, very underwhelming. Majority of the food we ordered were all tasteless and bland. The gyoza was the most surprising part considering all the ingredients they put but it was so bland, my husband had to put soy sauce on their home made sauce because it lacked that much flavor.

We ordered the crispy bok choy and that was the only dish that was decent. My only critic is that the tail of the bok choy is crispy, not the body of it which I find that odd considering the name.

The most important part is the ramen. My husband got the tonkotsu chiu and he stated it was bland and this is not how ramen in Japan taste like. You should be able to find the flavor immediately when you have your first bite. He did however love the ramen noodles but the broth was not great.

I ordered the tonkotsu tartan and... I was very disappointed. I ate alot of ramen in the Houston area and this is by far my least favorite. For a spicy broth, it was just diluted tomato broth. I had no spice or flavor whatsoever. Even their noodles were not great. My only favorite was their mushrooms but that's about it. I didn't even finish my ramen because it tasted that bad. My only take is that I don't think this ramen is authentically Japanese as what's its advertise nor its origonal from Afuri in Japan which I wish they stick to the original Japanese flavor. (Yes - I did check their menu in Japan and it is nowhere in their menu)

Overall, I don't know if I'll ever come back considering their price. I'm sorry Afuri, but it just wasn't impressive. I really hope things improve in the future because we love authentic...

We dined in for a party of 2 around 8 PM on a weekday. We sat at the bar and our server did not attend to us until 10 minutes after and until we waved him down. He served a party that came after us first. Once the server got to us he just said hi awkwardly and did not have an intro or welcoming gesture. He made it seem like he did not want to be there to work and that it wasn’t his responsibility to take orders from customers. So since he did not say anything else we just started to place our order. Luckily we have been there once and did not have questions about the menu and knew what we wanted to order.

We ordered the spicy karage & 2 tonkotsu ramen. The only good and tasty food was the karage appetizer. The ramen was bland in flavor and the egg was cold compared to the hot ramen and the pork was burnt.

There was a bottle of water on the table already before we sat down but with no cups. So we gave our server the benefit of the doubt to provide better service after making us wait to get our order and after not having a welcoming intro for taking our order. However he did not provide cups and our appetizer came out already and we still did not have water cups. So I had to ask water cups for my table of two after twenty minutes of being seated.

Overall bad and lazy service and the food did not compensate for the service. The first time I went there was around grand opening and the server was so much better to our party of 8. The reason why I came back this time was because of the great service and I wanted to give the food another try to see if I really like it. However the food is still not up to par & the...