KOHOKU-KU RAMEN CHICAGO — Restaurant in Lake View Township

We had lunch on a weekday so there were plenty of seats, but also a couple other customers. We were seated in a festive booth that has coat hooks and a sense of privacy without feeling too enclosed. I asked what ramen was recommended for the first time eating at their shop, and ordered the recommended Spicy Tonkotsu ($18), a pork bone broth with red chili mixed in to a medium degree (my friend ordered the regular Tonkotsu ramen, $17). We also ordered the kurobuta (Berkshire) sausage ($7), which comes with a spicy mayo, as well as a couple of melon cream sodas ($4), which were ectoplasm green and served with a cute, cartoonish glass and straw.

The service was mindful, friendly, and fast, getting our order early on, giving me a recommendation when asked, describing the spice level, bringing out the food and checking on us a couple times. Everything was done with a genuine looking smile and demeanor, and was just right.

The food portions were as expected, and the ingredients were above par. The ramen noodles are thin, served slightly al dente with a good bite and chew. The bowl was also extra-packed with the noodles, which are delicious, but also absorb the broth over time, so I would focus on eating at least half of the noodles in the beginning when having ramen there, and then enjoy the second half with the toppings like the hanjuku egg, chashu pork, nori, etc. The appetizer came with five good-sized sausages, and it was easy to cut the last one to share, since they were perfectly crisped on the outside and juicy on the inside. The melon cream soda was surprisingly refreshing and not-too-sweet to cut through the heavier flavors in the ramen to reset the palate.

Overall, having tried ramen at a number of places around Chicago, as well as Japan, I would say Kohoku-Ku Ramen is a solid choice off the beaten path, and deserves a visit when you have an urge to try something new, or go...

I went with my partner yesterday. Cool looking place, and we enjoyed the music. However, the food was so bad. Here are the things we got & what we rated them: Sea salt edamame: 5/5 (for me) he gave it a 4/5 because he doesn’t like salt, but that’s not the establishment’s fault Corn korokke: 2.5/5. Edible. I think it’s just not for me, but can’t determine if it wasn’t cooked well. He rated it a: 5/5

0/10 for the vegetable tempura Here’s the really horrible part. I got the vegetable tempura ramen and it smelled so bad that I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach it, but I took a deep breath and got some broth and noodles and it was somehow both bland and odd. Not seasoned well at all. 0/10. I’ve never disliked a bowl of ramen so much. I’ve had “alright” bowls, but this was inedible. I never send things back because I’m pretty easy to please, but this got sent back.

The fried vegetables/tempura were absolutely flavorless. That’s the theme I suppose. 1/5 because it was at least vegetables fried…I’ll give them that.

My partner got the shoyu ramen & said it smelled like chemicals, and the meat was flavorless. He still ate most of it due to it being our anniversary and saving his appetite for it. Rate: 3/5 because he added things later and it got good ha!

Rice: was rice. He said it tasted as it was supposed to. I didn’t have any due to feeling grossed out after trying my food. But, I don’t doubt it was good.

She asked how things were once, so nice job. The vegetable tempura stayed on the bill, which is fair enough, but c’mon. I couldn’t even take a...

I'm at a loss here.

I visited this shop a month after they opened and was completely underwhelmed. I chalked it up to a new restaurant, new staff figuring their stuff out. The ramen was underseasoned and lacked any depth of flavor.

It was only fair to give them a second chance based on the 4.8 star review they'd accumulated over the last year. I got kohoku-ku ramen with a starter of the karaage and the ika geso.

The squid came out first. Strike 1. It was nothing like in the menu, they were lumps of battered squid tentacles - cold. Batter was soggy and gummy. What's funny is, there was cold oil pooling around the bits of squid chunks so, they did drop it in the fryer, but who knows when.

Then the karaage. Strike 2. The meat was actually hot this time but the outside breading was soggy. I'm pretty sure they microwaved it. For god's sake.

Ok. If the ramen is good, I'm willing to look past the appetizers. Nah. The chicken broth looked like they just took boxed broth and dumped it into their stock pot. The only flavor I got was spicy and sesame oil. Nothing else. Noodle texture was acceptable. The softshell crab, shrimp and veggies tempura were actually fried fresh. So they DO know how to cook fresh. So, strike 3.

I wish I could see what these people raving about are seeing. Skip this place. The staff was wonderful and the interior decor is so charming. But my god the food. It's not just bad ramen, it's one of the worst meals...