Tori Ramen — Restaurant in Saint Paul

From the inception of its lengthy run in the St Paul area, being reinvented more than once in order to survive the past two years of pandemic mayhem, Tori Ramen has stood resolute as a peak of creative expression based in heritage and driven to innovate. The owner and head chef, Jason, places great value in accessibility (practically anything on the menu can be made gluten-free, and many items can be prepared vegan) is committed to food-chain sustainability, and at the end of the day, is dedicated to seeing a feast for each and every one of the senses placed at your table.

The West 7th train car has been beautifully reimagined in such a way that transports you to another time and place, especially if you arrive during their late night weekend hours (open from 11PM to 3AM) where time starts to lose much of its meaning, and the whole experience begins to feel like a bit of a dream. A dream filled with delicious ramen and creative nightcaps!

Pictured here is the Bali Bali Ramen and the Midnight Rider. The Bali is a long-time staple at Tori - the rich, incredibly thick tahini-based broth creating a toasty, creamy, spicy flavor-bomb laced with succulent chicken, sprouts, greens, and a perfect slow-cooked egg. My other go-to, if you're looking for something a bit less heavy, is the Dra(MN), a showcase of Chef Jason's three broth bases combined into one phenomenal bowl. Tori also offers several veggie-based ramens, which range from earthy and umami, to bright and acidic.

The Midnight Rider was a wonderful umami cocktail, essentially a Gibson given a twist with the addition of soju, fermented shiitake, and black garlic oil. If you like savory cocktails, I'd recommend giving it a try! My dining partner was delighted with the Tori 75, a French 75 with a base of floral/citrus-forward Roku Gin and yuzu.

As for the new addition of the late night hours, as I said, it was definitely a transportive experience! I'm absolutely in favor of its continuation, but I might urge Jason to temper the mood just a bit, particularly the lighting balance and the music volume. It can get pretty intense in the train car when you're there for a full dining experience. I imagine the staff simply have a hard time recognizing this as well as their customers might, considering they're passing in and out throughout their shifts, between other parts of the restaurant where the sound levels and lighting are more even. That being said, the music taste of whoever's running the playlist creates a fantastic vibe, and the blue string lights hanging from the ceiling of the train car after eleven help to cultivate a sort of dream-like atmosphere that I'd hate to see disappear completely.

Lastly, in response to those who attempt to discredit Tori's authenticity or dedication to the craft for their deviation from Americanized standards of what ramen is "supposed" to be like, I want to emphasize that there is no single traditional style of ramen. That's like saying la pizza napoletana is the only traditional style of pizza in Italy. Throughout Japan, you can find many delicious regional varieties including shio, miso, shoyu, fish-based broths, and combinations of them all. Many of the tonkotsu ramen you may try will even include a certain amount of chicken bones in their broth bases to balance the flavor profile.

Tori isn't trying to be Ichiran, they're not trying to be anyone other than themselves, and that's what makes them so brilliant. Chef Jason has a background in Korean cuisine, and you can often find that infused into his dishes, along with many other methods of creating rich, complex flavor profiles that are far more capable of cultivating a sense of inspiration and wonder than the half-dozen Ichiran clones you'll find hovering around the Twin Cites.

Branch out. Go to Tori Ramen. You won't be...

I drove past this place for a year or so having no idea what it was. Frankly, from the outside, it didn't look like much, so I never went in. That turned out to be a mistake.

Relatively recently I found out it was a ramen spot, and the West Seventh neighborhood, to my knowledge, doesn't have a ton of ramen or pho shops.

I immediately decided to give it a try, and am glad I did. I got the salted duck ramen with chili crunch, and the flavor was insanely good. The chili crunch came on the side so I could control my own heat, and it was incredible. It made my mouth tingle, and was the perfect level of spice.

I also tried one of the inherently hot dishes (chili oil not on the side but cooked in), and it wasn't Minnesota hot, but actually hot. Amazingly delicious, and awesome heat. Basically, I think that regardless of your preferred heat level, this place can deliver.

The vibe in the place is very relaxing, unique, and cozy. It's sort of dark and mysterious, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's essentially an old train car with an addition, windows looking out at 7th street, and nice plants all over. You really step out of Minnesota and into another world the moment you walk in, and I mean that in the best way possible.

There are lots of little nooks and crannies to grab a table in, or if you sit at the bar you can watch the cooks in the kitchen. My bartender was great, and served up one of the best Old Fashioneds I've had in recent memory. He finished it by lighting the top on fire quickly, giving it an excellent, smokey taste.

Although I'm certainly not a ramen connoisseur, it was one of the best bowls of ramen I've ever had, and I've had them all over the country. The taste was bursting with flavor, and as mentioned prior, the heat level was dialed in perfectly. Everything was fresh and delicious.

I don't love commenting on prices because things are rarely "cheap" anymore these days, but you can get almost all their bowls for between $10-20, which to me is a great deal. It's going to be nearly impossible for a restaurant to serve fresh, often local, delicious ingredients for under that (though I did hear they have a happy hour). My understanding is that they do source organic, local, and sustainable often, and still manage to keep almost all their ramen bowls at this price point, which to me is amazing.

What I will say is that being one of the best bowls of ramen I've ever had, I would have gladly paid more for it.

It's great having a spot like this in West Seventh that's walkable to downtown, and I definitely look forward to...

Really wanted a good experience because the other reviews seemed promising but I was very disappointed.

The food was beautifully presented but that’s about all I can say that’s positive.

We walked in and were politely greeted by a female host? Server? I’m not sure.

It took awhile before someone came to greet us and take drink orders and I think it’s only because I looked over my shoulder trying to catch someone’s eye. A tall man with a beard came over to take our drink orders and was condescending when I asked for a soda. All they have to drink is alcoholic beverages or water according to him, so I stuck with water.

He came back for our ramen order and was again condescending when I asked for a recommendation and explained what I was looking for. I’m assuming this man was maybe new or filling in as a server because he was just rude and didn’t know the menu. Another man came by, blonde and younger, with a specials menu and I asked to clarify if all they had was alcohol. He informed us that they also have a selection of craft lemonade and mocktails the other gentlemen apparently didn’t mention. The blonde guy was nice enough.

Our ramen came out decently fast and looked beautiful. My husband really liked his duck ramen but I didn’t like the one I ordered. The noodles had great texture but the broth was just not what I was looking for, it was just straight spicy, and the chicken looked and had the texture of those pre cooked chicken chunk portions you can get from the store. No one came to check on us after our food was delivered until it was obvious we were both done and we were asked if we wanted a to go container for my bowl that was probably 90% still full. I said no and the girl removed my bowl but didn’t ask us if we had liked our meal. Is it the customers job to advocate? Yes, sometimes, but with how rude the man earlier had been to me earlier I didn’t think trying to talk to this girl would do anything. We also never saw the rude man who had taken our drink and food orders again.

Along with the poor service and not satisfying food, the restaurant was sweltering and humid. There was an AC on the wall that was set to 75 but it had to have been 80s degrees inside the dining room.

Overall, Tori ramen is just another extremely overhyped hipster joint and I would recommend going somewhere else. My husband liked his ramen and sake but also agreed that the...