Aji Ramen Bar — Restaurant in Little Rock

It went from being a pretty good ramen bar to one of the worst I've ever been to. Considering it's the only ramen bar in Little Rock (that I know of), I'll try to be a little lenient with my review. I'm not a ramen connoisseur, but I know a good bowl of ramen when I have one.

First off, I'd like to say that Aji will NOT "take you to Japan" by any means like some of these other reviews say, especially not now since they are under new management. Was it good ramen? Sure, considering it is the only ramen bar in Little Rock. Could definitely be improved upon, but they had a nice system going and it was quick and tasty service.

Previous management was amazing. All the staff knew me as a regular and would always greet me and ask how I'm doing. The cooks knew how to properly cook all the foods on their menu - I haven't had a bad time with any of the dishes served to me. The ramen broth was a little bland, but easily brightened up with a spoonful of the hot chili paste and black garlic oil. Potstickers were frozen but they still managed to make it taste pretty good. Fried tofu appetizer was my favorite and would always turn out amazing. The pork slices got worse over time, but I was told they started using a new cut of pork. Still tasty though. Steam buns were a close 2nd to the fried tofu as far as appetizers go, but got worse over time as the pork got worse.

New management is when Aji went downhill. New cooks do not seem to know how to multi-task in a busy kitchen. Even with their food timers, they still manage to overcook both the noodles and my appetizer (fried tofu). The ramen tasted like they didn't bother draining out the water properly from the noodles after they got cooked because they were very slimy and overcooked. Let me also mention that my appetizer came out 17 minutes after sitting down at the bar. My ramen came out about 2 minutes after my tofu did... I barely had time to eat 1 piece of tofu. No one stopped by a single time to check if I was still doing okay or needed a refill. It was just a really sad overall experience. I've gone three times so far since they got new management and I've been disappointed each time. Don't think I'll be going back any time soon unless I hear they magically got better.

If anyone wants good ramen in Arkansas, take a weekend trip to Bentonville and get ramen at one of the ramen bars there. Otherwise, you'll probably get let down with Aji like I did.

Previous management: 3 star Service could have been a bit better. Pork and chicken broths had no flavor. Many times forgot my black garlic oil. Quality of foods went down over time.

New management: 1 star Service has somehow gotten worse. Broths still have no flavor. Noodles are overcooked and slimy every time. Forgot black garlic oil every time. Pork was very hard to chew (very overcooked) every time. Appetizers take 10+ minutes to come out. They now bury their ramen under the other ingredients such as corn, bean sprouts, and sliced green onions. I did not see any kitchen staff wearing gloves or using proper kitchen cleanliness. Only 3 of them wore a mask covering only their mouth and...

Yesterday I ate Ramen, and it was delicious. Today I think I'm going back for seconds!

My experience with "traditional" or "authentic" ramen is very limited. I know what I see in Japanese TV dramas, or Anime, and the few American restaurants I've been to. That said, this ramen bar is reminiscent of the ramen shops I see in shows in terms of looks. And the bowls of ramen look about as I'd expect also. And they taste amazing!

Local ramen options at this point in time include: Aji Ramen Bar, Zen Rice and Ramen (Conway), Arkansas Heart Hospital's Cafe, & Mt. Fuji. I'm not aware of any other places to get traditional ramen soup. I would rate those places in that order. If the Heart Hospital offered ramen every day, I'd rank it second.

I had the Chicken Shoyu with a Vegetable Croquet appetizer. The croquet is a mashed potato patty breaded in panko bread crumbs, deep fried, with a slightly sweet and salty sauce drizzled on top, served on a bed of shredded lettuce with a side of dipping sauce. It was crispy crunchy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside. I thought there would be other vegetables mixed in with the potatoes maybe.. but nope. It was tasty and there were two croquets.

The ramen broth was flavorful, but I was surprised that there was no tare on the table to go with it since it's been available at other comparable restaurants that I've been to. There was soy sauce, and grinder pepper and grinder pink salt on the table for anyone who felt the need to alter their dish. The soft boiled egg was delicious with a creamy and smooth yolk that could spread like butter, and it had a delicious flavor soaked into the egg white. The noodles were delightfully chewy. I ordered some pork cutlet as an additional protein and it was served cold on the side. I ate some cold and put some in the soup. It had a mild but delicious flavor.

I was sad that they were out of my desert pick of Creme Brulee. The only other restaurant I've found that at is Bonefish and I never go there, so I was really looking forward to it!...

Wildly enough Aji Ramen has always been extremely good with service and food quality. I genuinely enjoyed every single visit. But my experience today was with cold food(this would be chicken in my ramen) and when I mentioned this I was informed that it couldn’t be the case.

Initially during the visit, I noticed that cup was cracked in a fair amount of places. I asked if I could swap out a different(genuinely didn’t want to be that guy) but I was informed to just use a straw. And so I was given another extremely chipped and cracked cup that was in her other hand.

Afterwards we were unable to order appetizers and the meal separately so we were skipped over twice by those who arrived after us and had to wait to order, and was spoken to fairly condescendingly by who I assume to be the manager. Afterwards when the ramen arrived many of the food items within were cold, I mentioned this and was informed that since it was in the warmer, that there is no way it could have been cold. And was strangely enough, informed that usually “Americans like they’re food to be too hot”So I was forced to eat my food cold. This likely one of the most disappointing if not the most jarring and disappointing experiences I have ever had. And that’s why I felt the need to elaborate on it. The manager was on-hand was even rude towards their employees, as well. Which honestly given how I was treated, isn’t too surprising. I’ve always loved Aji. But this was a disappointing experience. I’ve never felt the need to review anything. But I kind of felt less than human. I’ve been there plenty of times beforehand, and have even gone on dates there, those experiences were awesome. Unfortunately I will no longer be eating here at all. And it actually was my favorite...