Ikimono Ramen — Restaurant in Portland

I visited for early lunch (around 11:30) on a Wednesday about three weeks after they opened.

I was the only dine in customer in the shop the whole time. When I walked in I was waved over to have a seat at the counter. I instantly knew what I wanted after a brief momentary glance at the menu (I’m a sucker for black garlic tonkotsu anytime I see it on a menu), but I wanted 3 or 4 minutes to order while he was sweeping or some such.

They brought on complementary Edamame. I don’t usually go for it, but I tried it and it was delicious. I’ve never liked edamame so much! Very salty.

My food came fast and was absolutely fantastic! The bowl was enormous. Lots of noodles - they were more of a thin style than I expected. Price was a bit more than I was enthusiastic about, but well worth it.

I...

This place does not skimp on the portion of ramen! The bowls are double the size of regular ramen shops, and their prices are really worth it. So many noodles!! I boxed up my leftovers, and only could eat half of my ramen. The tempura shrimp was deliciously crisp, not too oiley. Veggie summer rolls were okay, basic with iceberg lettuce and avocado.

Beautiful, fun and clean ramen shop with very nice person who took care of us. Flavor wise, their broth could use a little bit more precision. The tan tan ramen broth needed a bit more salt and acid. The black garlic ramen also needed a bit more soy sauce. Or perhaps they can have more condiments on the table - even after adding some soy sauce and chili oil, the broth wasn't really right... I'm a super taster. Downtown street...

This is hands down the best ramen I’ve had in the US by far, and I’ve tried many different ramen spots. We visited Portland for the weekend and decided to try it on our first night there. I've never finished a whole bowl of ramen in my life. I normally leave a couple noodles and some broth maybe, and this bowl was HUGE. It was so good that we went back on the last night of our trip, which speaks volumes considering Portland's reputation as a foodie city, and we consider ourselves foodies. The broth was especially outstanding. The interior decor was also so cute and trendy. I was pleasantly surprised to see Brown from LINE Friends hanging on the wall—I love him. Please do visit this spot and show them some love; they...