Oni Ramen — Restaurant in Richardson

I am seething as I am writing this review. Went here for dinner and am extremely disappointed in the food, service, and atmosphere of this location. The signs by the self service kiosk clearly state that an order can be placed with the bartender, yet when I walked to the bar and asked someone if I could place an order there, I was told no. When I mentioned the sign at the self service kiosk, another serve said yes, I could order with the bartender. The bartender (named Skylar) himself seemed uninterested in wanting to take my order. He averted eye contact and just stayed on the opposite end of the bar, away from the area where an order could be placed. When called over he begrudgingly took the order but seemed irritated that he had to do so. I ordered a melon cream soda, vegetarian gyoza, and vegetarian ramen. When it came time to pay, I took out my card but he just started talking to someone else in another language while I waited to pay for my order. when he was done with his side conversation, he actually seemed irritated by ME for not having paid when in fact I had my card in my hand the entire time, waiting for him to swipe it on his iPad. Nonetheless, I paid and then went to sit down for a dine-in experience.

My gyoza arrived within 10 ish minutes of the order and this is when the annoyance began. Firstly, for the dine-in experience where I paid a 20% tip, I would expect the food to be brought to me. No, the person at the microphone yelled my order number and I went to pick up my gyoza across the restaurant. My soda was nowhere to be seen, so I had to go back and ask the bartender for it. Again, instead of apologizing for not giving it to me, he begrudgingly got it out of the cooler to give it to me (something he should have done as I was paying for my meal). I waited another 20 minutes for my ramen to arrive, nothing. I saw people who had come after me get their food and begin chowing down on it. Still no sight of a vegetarian ramen that should have taken all of 4 minutes to put together in a bowl.

Once again I had to go across the restaurant to ask for my ramen. I get told they’re very busy with to-go orders. I tell them 20+ minutes (almost 30 minutes at this point) is a very long time to wait for ramen and I wonder if they have forgotten about my order after just making the gyoza. He checks my order number and I see something go across his face that suggests they have forgotten about it. Nonetheless, he says they’ll make it. I go back and wait another 15 minutes to finally hear my number being called. Trek back across the restaurant only to find out they have made my ramen order to-go. I tell them it’s a dine-in order, just like my gyoza had been. The bartender Skylar (who might be an assistant manager?) is standing there, once again averting eye contact while the others are trying to figure out what to do. No apologies or sense of ownership for their mess up. I then wait by the kitchen for another 10 minutes for my ramen to be made. People who came after me ordered, ate, and left before I could even have my first bite. Make it back to my table with the bowl, take one bite of the noodles and realize they’re absolutely disgusting. The noodles were actually clumpy yet somehow al denté. It’s as if someone took frozen noodles and threw them in boiling water but didn’t let them cook through and then let them sit in soggy broth. I’m attaching a picture to show the consistency of the noodles. Absolutely disgusting. I left the bowl of noodles behind after waiting over an hour just to be able to eat them. As far as atmosphere goes, none of the employees seemed interested in cleaning up. Lots of tables had empty trays, bowls, cups while all the employees just seemed busy standing by the kitchen. I will not be going back and recommend others...

Had the signature Oni Reaper bowl, with proper Demon-level spice, replaced the parmesan with wood ear mushroom (some people like cheesy ramen, I am not one of those people.) Probably one of THE best bowls of ultra spicy ramen I have ever had!

Higuma Ramen just narrowly beats them out spice-wise with their Spicy Bomb, and their bowls are absolutely delicious, HOWEVER!!! the pork belly it's served with at Oni is drastically better, and I dare say, the BEST cooked pork belly I have ever had in a bowl of ramen! Making Oni the best ramen, overall, I have ever had, beating out Higuma for 1st place in my book. A shame I don't live closer to eat here more regularly.

Thick, juicy, succulent, the perfect amount of fat laced alongside the meat ("Oh but Noel, isn't fat a bad thing blah blah blah?" Hush up! Not in a spicy pork miso ramen it isn't! You want ultra healthy? Go drink a smoothie with supplement powder and still be unsatisfied!) This is a double hefty serving of thick-sliced pork belly, and it has been cooked to absolute perfection for this ramen! This is a meal you eat to ENJOY life, not stretch it out! (and even then, it's still a healthier option than most typical American eats, so have your cake and eat it too!)

The other veggie ingredients were fresh and full amounts, and the broth was ultra rich and full of that satisfying umami flavor, and came topped with decadent threads of saffron! (Maybe slice the whole egg you give us in half though? A little unwieldy trying to eat a whole soft boiled egg, though not impossible, and it adds a splash more color to the dish seeing that jammy center. Admittedly, this is an incredibly minor qualm, and can be disregarded of desired, Oni staff.)

The Tori no Karaage was pretty top notch, could be a teeny bit more crispy outside, but otherwise the chicken thigh itself was extra juicy, marinated perfectly, and sprinkled with a delightful seasoning on the outside for MAXIMUM FLAVOR! Get the spicy dip option, of course. I'm all about that spice!

Pairs EXCELLENTLY with an Asahi beer (or two!) so make sure you sit at the bar for those drinks and tip your bartender well!

I got a lot, the bowl, the appetizer, and two Asahi beers, for a smidge over $40, but you can just get a specialty bowl for less than $20 if you'd...

The Good: absolutely beautiful decor and great location next to George Bush Freeway.

The Bad: The whole vibe of this place screams "Daddies Money." There are self service kiosks where you must order yourselves, which as others have said,was a little disconcerting, especially for those who may not be familiar with traditional Ramen. The first sign of trouble was when it said there was a charge for any spice. I've traveled all over the world and never encountered this.It just smacks of nickle and diming. Suggested tip was 20%, which seemed average. Then I realized that you have to walk over to the kitchen yourself, AND retrieve any drinks separately from the bar! What am I tipping you for, exactly? Several tables had plates stacked that no one was cleaning, and the only "free" one had someone's trash. I cleaned it off myself. After getting the food (which was surprisingly quick) with a weird look from the chef (no idea why!) and then having the guy at the bar go through my receipt and finally figure out our drinks, we sat down and tried it. In short, VERY average Ramen. Mine was WAY too spicy to be "medium" but was ok, I guess. There are notices saying they won't remake if you don't like the spice level so I guess there have been issues with this before. That's right, if YOU, the customer, having zero contact with the chef, don't like the spice that YOU selected, then tough. My girlfriend ordered shio (salt) based Ramen which was WAY too salty. For over $50, I expected way better. I lived in Japan for over 6 years and this place acts like they're the creme de la creme, but if they opened in Tokyo they'd be out of...