Matsunoki Ramen — Restaurant in Portland

Stumbled upon this ramen while visiting Pine Street Market. I love these types of food halls with so many options in one spot! Tables a little dirty and flies near the bussing station.

We got the Tonkatsu shoyu ramen, spicy tonkatsu, and fried tofu. The sauce for the tofu was enjoyable, and on the side which was great for the kids. The tofu itself was crunchy and flavorful. I would get it again while we are waiting for the ramen.

The tonkatsu shoyu was a bunch of green onions, one piece of cha siu, and one full egg. The egg wasn't as flavorful as we like but still very good, my son ate 3 eggs. I kind of appreciated that there wasn't a ton of veggies (filler) in the ramen as some other places do. The cha siu was a bit too chewy for my younger son but I enjoyed it, as did my older son who ate more than his one piece. He liked it soaking up all of the soup.

The soup was definitely the highlight -- it was extremely flavorful and a bit thick, really excellent broth. My husband got the spicy version of this ramen and didn't like it as much. Stick with the tried and true I say!

Service was fine, nothing special. I would get it again if I was in the area. Plenty of street parking available early in the morning and at early dinner (around 5:15-5:30pm), though I also see multiple parking lots nearby. Free self-serve cold water available. There's also restrooms which...

Used to work here and the owner cares more about staying open and getting orders rather than making sure his employees get breaks. Food is good, but the kitchen overall needs lots of work. Yes there is a roach problem in the building, and it became more apparent once summer was over and they started laying eggs in the container bins and tinfoil wraps. Roaches are also around the counter area where lids and cups are at, so double checking before you use is recommended. Supposedly an exterminator is supposed to come every month, and they don’t. It’s also managements fault for not cracking down on employees and making sure the kitchen was thoroughly cleaned before opening the next day. Dishes tend to be put away dirty still or with food on them, and you can believe not every person checks or cares to check. The food is good don’t get me wrong, I would just recommend watching from the bar, because the store manager doesn’t tend to keep people in check when it comes to cleanliness and he’ll watch someone answer and use their phone in the middle of making ramens and not say anything. It’s so bad there was a customer who found a ring in their ramen once, and that still wasn’t enough to crack down on employees. I’ve seen McDonald’s be cleaner than this, hopefully time will tell. Nothing stated is untrue so no worries...

DECENT RAMEN & CHICKEN

Is this the best ramen in Portland? No! Is it top 10? Yes!

I have tried their black garlic and their tantanmen ramens. Both had noodles that were overcooked and both had PERFECT Chashu pork in them. The black garlic broth was flavorful and very salty the day I had it, while the tantanmen was uncharacteristically bland without adequate salt. I suspect both these ramens are delicious on days they NAIL it.

The karaage style fried chicken has not been good either time I tried it. The first time, the chicken was dried out and seemed like it was the day before. When trying a second time, I asked for it to be made fresh and it was burned.

With some work and consistency, this spot could easily be 5 stars and one of the top 5 ramen bars in Portland.

UPDATED TO 5 STARS Much more consistent with the product they are delivering now. Their cheese ramen has been amazing and I will miss it when it falls off the seasonal menu.

Owner is inflexible with additions or modifications and seems to have some sort of Napoleon complex. He wouldn’t add corn to the black garlic ramen and won’t make “reasonable” adjustments like changing the broth to noodle ratio at customer request. This could lead to a lack of return customers despite having tasty...