Silverlake Ramen LBX — Restaurant in Long Beach

There is a wealth of options for places to eat at LBX. As such, it’s quite the gathering place for long beach locals and the surrounding area, always giving them a plethora of options to choose from for where to eat. It would be easy to get something from inside “the hangar” but doing so would rob you of the dishes offered by “Silverlake Ramen” just across the street. Silverlake is a small restaurant on an unassuming corner in the parking lot that serves Japanese food, with an emphasis on ramen. The keyword is emphasis, as while Silverlake Ramen does have Ramen in its name, their Chicken Karaage rice bowl is the dish that keeps me coming back. The dish is Japanese style fried chicken over rice, topped with a spicy aioli, and teriyaki sauce. With fried chicken common American’s know, the outside batter is crispy, and the meat underneath tends to be on the tougher side, allowing us to really rip into the meat with a satisfying crunch. Silverlake’s Karaage batter manages to have a satisfying crunch that ticks every box you didn’t know you had about batter, while leaving the chicken underneath perfectly tender. The chicken is flavorful enough on its own, but the aioli and teriyaki drizzled on top gives way to a complicated wonderful flavor that makes you wish you had more chicken in front of you. The bed of rice the chicken sits on top of can soak up any extra sauce the chicken may drip off, as well as make any bite of chicken feel that much more filling. There is also soy sauce available at every table, both for rice, but also for any sushi you may order. The service is great, I’ve always been served quickly with my food fresh and hot, and water attended to. The staff play in well to the environment of the establishment. Because of the location and the attitude of the staff, it feels more on the homier side. If the inside is a little hectic they do have patio seating, which is much calmer and gives a great view of the ice cream shop across the street with a line that goes out and around the corner making you feel like you’re missing out on something fantastic. The benefit of being in a location like LBX is that should the restaurant itself not be the kind of environment you want, you are perfectly able to take your food to go and walking to the hangar, which is always sure to have live music and a few different styles of outside seating. It’s quite the environment to enjoy and starkly different from a restaurant interior while only being 200 feet away. The big benefit Silverlake has is consistency. I’m a regular patron and no one visit has been worse than the rest. It’s been just as good as the first time, and I’m confident it will continue to be for me...

Mediocre Experience at Silverlake Ramen

I recently visited Silverlake Ramen and ordered the two classic ramen bowls, one with chicken and the other with pork, along with Chicken Karaage and California rolls. While the ramen noodles stood out, the overall experience left much to be desired.

Starting with the California rolls, they lacked the freshness and flavor I expected. They felt like store-bought rolls, and to make matters worse, we weren’t provided soy sauce until after we received the check. This oversight was disappointing.

The Chicken Karaage was a letdown as well. It mainly consisted of fat and had a chewy texture, which didn’t align with our expectations. It fell short of delivering the crispy, flavorful karaage we hoped for.

On the brighter side, the ramen noodles themselves were great. They had a pleasing texture and were undoubtedly the highlight of the meal. My partner even enjoyed her broth, although I found mine to be too milky. Nevertheless, I understand that this is a characteristic of the style of ramen they serve.

The beer selection, specifically the Asahi, was a saving grace. It provided a refreshing accompaniment to the meal and added a positive note to the overall experience.

One positive aspect worth mentioning is that Silverlake Ramen is pet-friendly. If you want to dine with your furry friend, this restaurant offers that convenience.

When it comes to the service, it was instead cut and dry. While we didn’t encounter any significant issues, it lacked the personal touch that would have made our visit more memorable. Overall, the service was forgettable and didn’t leave a lasting impression.

In summary, my experience at Silverlake Ramen was mediocre. While the ramen noodles and beer stood out, the California rolls fell short, the Chicken Karaage was disappointing, and the service was unremarkable. If you’re in the area and craving ramen, there may be better options...

Will never order from here again. Ordered Uber Eats and they forgot some items in our order ( bao buns). The Uber driver told me they were only handed the one bag. The girl on the phone at the restaurant very confidently told me that she had put the items in the bag with the rest of our order and refused to even admit the possibility that she could have mistakenly put them in with another order. It would have been easy to just say “hey, sorry I must have put them in the wrong order” instead of boldly lying about it. The worst part is the bao buns were what our friend ordered for their dinner and we didn’t get them and having the employee there lie to me about it instead of offering resolution made it even worse. It looks like I’m not the only one who has had a bad experience here with pickup/takeout orders either so maybe put a bit more priority in making sure things are accurate instead of gaslighting customers when things...