Ramen Belly — Restaurant in Iowa City

First impressions - when you walk in you’re told by the staff to order from the QR code on the table or walk to the counter to order from a tablet. The restaurant itself is small so not sure why the two employees just standing and talking at the counter can’t take orders? And if I’m doing the ordering myself, why would anyone tip?

The restaurant itself looks clean, modern, and well kept.

Food wise, delicious appetizer of pot stickers. Followed by tonkotsu ramen with pork belly. Broth was tasty, noodles were great, pork belly was flavorful and tender. Food wise - best ramen in Iowa city. Food came out fast as well, always a plus.

Now, back to the service itself. We received our food but after that, zero interaction from the staff to us. No follow up if the food was good, if we needed anything additional, if the order was correct, nothing. We had to flag down a staff member walking around for a bit of chili oil. We finished our meal and when checking out from the QR code app it asks what percent tip would you like to give. Again I am perplexed at this point because you are told to order yourself when you walk in. What am I tipping for? I’ve lived in the US, Asia, and Europe and this was by far the weirdest ‘service’ situation in a restaurant I’ve seen. In other restaurants with QR codes on the tables, I’ve been told by the server that I can order with the QR code or the server can take the order. I always have the server take the order because I like to give generous tips to those working service jobs like I have done. In this restaurant - I was pointed to QR codes and a tablet on the counter and told to order myself - so again not sure why anyone would tip?

The restaurant itself looks like a sit down restaurant so you think as soon as you walk in you will get table service, not order yourself at the counter like to go type restaurants. I think this restaurant needs to decide which it wants to be. I suggest the option of having the servers actually provide table service if the table opts for it, so that they can earn tips for, well you guessed it, actually serving.

Overall, food was great - please give the...

Walked into Ramen Belly thinking I was about to have a soul-warming bowl of ramen. Instead, I got a masterclass in confusion, cultural cosplay, and waiting.

Let’s talk about the wait time first. We were told 20 minutes. Cute. Nearly an hour later, I was still ramen-less, emotionally spiraling, and considering a DoorDash order from the sidewalk. I genuinely think I could have learned how to make my own ramen from scratch in the time it took to get served.

While I waited, I had plenty of time to soak in the ambiance: an anime blaring on the TV like we were pre-gaming a Comic-Con, and right next to it, a Chinese cooking channel showing someone make mango sago. So now I’m watching Goku power up while a very kind elderly woman explains gelatin ratios—and neither had anything to do with the Japanese ramen I came here for. It was like cultural roulette.

The menu leans heavily on “fusion,” which I think is code for “we threw everything in a bowl and hoped you wouldn’t notice.” The branding feels like someone said “Let’s monetize Asia,” then slapped together TikTok aesthetics and ramen emojis without any real connection to the culture behind the food.

Also, not to mention, flies. Yes, flies! At a Chinese establishment. Embarrassing at best. They need to lean into their culture and realize that this is American washed ramen you could purchase at Walmart for much cheaper.

Look, I’m not asking for a culinary pilgrimage to Tokyo, but maybe just a little respect? Or a shorter wait? Or maybe don’t mix anime, Chinese desserts, and Japanese food and call it a vibe?

One star for the server who, honestly, looked like they wanted to be...

I can't do 3.5 so I'll have to do a 3.

4 potstickers for $8, not cooked remotely how potstickers should be. No crispy bottoms at all, just gooey/wet like a home cook would do it.

Their 'tonkatsu' was smashed thin and was dry as heck. Any time we had it in Japan it was meaty and juicy. They are stretching their dollar and charging a premium price while doing so.

Their 'ramen in a blanket' is two smashed thin 'tonkatsu' with a large amount of what tastes like moist packaged ramen - for $15. That's insane.

Their 'tonkotsu' ramen is okay I suppose. It has no umami to it, no mouth feel, and is overall just not like it should be. I was expected a white and creamy broth full of flavor. What I got was a cloudy brown broth that only tasted of some pork meat. I'm sure it's great to anyone that hasn't had the real thing. For us it was a disappointment.

The service was good. The girls were practically running in a circle from inside to out and seemed to be keeping everyone happy.

The menu on their website is not updated regularly either apparently as they did not have Pocari, which we haven't had since we came back from Japan and really wanted to get.

Not a huge deal, but there were flies in the place. It happens, but it is also still annoying. There was also (I assume) an employees kid there that kept running around and in and out.

We were excited to try this place, but man it was such a let down if you've actually been to a place with authentic ramen. (honestly whoever cooked the potstickers and charged $2 a piece should be ashamed of...