Menya Goku — Restaurant in Lake View Township

I've tried this place now a number of times with mixed results nearly each time. The food is fine. I would not say the ramen is great by the standards of even american ramen. Tonight I had tonkatsu ramen with a piece of pork in it that was largely just a large piece of fat w/o much meat. They always seem a bit overwhelmed in here on a weekend night, like they just don't have enough people front of house waiting on customers or back of house cooking. There also is a lot of takeout ordering which seems to create a lot of distraction for what already feels like a restaurant that is understaffed. Tonight it took an inordinately long time to be seated, to have our order taken, to get an appetizer, to get our ramen. People who were seated long after us were getting their ramen well before us. I really want to like this place and I probably won't give up even after this but I wish they would get it together. Also please stop charging these pandemic-era surcharges! Put the sales tax on and then let me decide how much extra I want to pay with my tip. If your service was excellent your extra fee would be much less annoying. I will say the karaage...

I’m from Sapporo (origin place of miso ramen) and I’ve been on a quest to try good ramen places in the States. People ask me the best ramen place in Chicago and my answer has been Ramen wasabi. I’ve heard this place is great and I . I’ve actually happen to seen the staff inside right before open, and they were cleaning windows, sweeping/mopping floors, cleaning the restaurant spotless getting ready to welcome customers. That’s when I knew they are AUTHENTIC Japanese restaurant. We finally had the chance to come in, and everyone was friendly. They told me ramen wasabi and they are brothers (same owners) which assured me that it’d be great ramen. Yet I was still pleasantly surprised with the quality of their foods. I appreciate the authenticity of the flavor, quality, and cleanliness. They not only have amazing food but their process is also true to Japanese culture. Our server Yasmeen was amazing and very knowledgeable! FYI, they have...

It is not clear to me why this is so much better than its sister restaurant, Wasabi. This is probably the best traditional ramen place in the city. Oiistar competes but it isn't traditional and Chicago Ramen isn't in the city.

Anyway, avoid the boring tonkotsu and get anything else and be amazed. The shoyu is as picture perfect version of the ones I had in Tokyo. The tantan is frankly better than the Michelin one I had in Japan. The miso is similarly impeccable.

What is crazy is that each bowl has a different protein and each is executed deftly. Whether is it the marinated pork belly in the miso or the chicken chashu in the shoyu. And the bamboo shoots are maybe the best I have ever had. I don't know if they make their own but the flavor and texture is spot on.

Only complaint is the location is far from me and maybe the ramen is a touch too salty. Minor complaints for an...