CHICAGO RAMEN & SUSHI St. Charles — Restaurant in St. Charles

Edit: I'm taking this down from 5 stars to 3. This used to be my favorite Japanese restaurant, but my most recent visit was so horrible I can't feel good about recommending this place to anybody. I hope it was just a weird one-off and they can pull the quality back up to 5.

When it first opened, staff was very attentive, food was ABSOLUTELY delicious, and the menu was different. A bunch of my favorite and want-to-try dishes have been removed since then, with only the beef curry ramen and pork cutlet curry remaining.

During my most recent visit, the waitress never asked to take our drink and appetizer orders, and forgot my drink and appetizer that I ordered with the meals until I reminded her after I finished my sushi. I got a roll that said it had tempura shrimp, eel, and avocado, but there was no eel, so we spent $15.95 on a shrimp rolled in rice with paper-thin slices of avocado on top. It was ok but not worth the price. My partner got the pork cutlet curry (which was the same price as the single sushi roll) and it looked and tasted so bad, nothing like my previous favorite dish. The pork was unevenly battered, the meat itself was cut strangely and full of chunks of fat, and the marinated egg just tasted weird, like the solution was missing sugar or was made with the wrong proportions.

The worst part was that as our food came out, fruit flies came with it. Swatting away at your meal while you try to eat it is so off-putting. They were quite big, and I have a friend with a fruit fly problem, so I know they only get that big when they've been a problem for awhile. Gross!

I think everyone really tried and they were really nice, so I'm not mad at them. But it was such a bad experience. It almost seemed like nobody had any experience or training. As we walked out, someone was asleep at the bar, in full view of the dining room, with her head on her arms as if she were tired and miserable. The music was also turned off, so the atmosphere was awkwardly quiet the whole time. Just a bizarrely awful...

I brought my husband here as he had never been. I had gotten the red miso ramen a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it, so we both ordered it. What came out was completely different than what I had eaten the previous time. It was so thick (yes it is listed as thick and it was thick last time), but this time it was a PASTE. The pork slice was cold, and the broth was so salty I had to stop eating my meal halfway through. The server was not attentive, and was very awkward at times. We ordered an appetizer and waters, and instead of asking if we were ready to order entrees (we were not) he just stared at us and did not say a word. My husband literally had to guide the conversation for him. The first half of our visit we were only one of two tables dining in, and there were dirty dishes left on a table for over half an hour. There are only two tables with customers and you can’t clear dishes off one table in 30 minutes? To me, that speaks badly of the work ethic of the staff. I was so disappointed in our meal, and the fact that we spent close to $50 on a meal that we could barely choke down. I should have left it at one and done here, but after that second visit I know I will not be returning....

I’m so incredibly happy this place opened.

I just went by myself today, sat at the sushi bar and tried it.

I’ve been a Japanese Kaiseki style chef for over 10 years. I moved here from Los Angeles 3-4 years ago now and I have not found an amazing ramen spot to rave about.

That has now changed. I will be coming here all the time now.

With my background I’m extremely picky when it comes to Japanese food. I hate it but it’s just the way I am.

I ordered the beef curry ramen spicy level 3.

Every single ramen spot I’ve tried in the suburbs or city I haven’t seen a curry ramen except for a few places. However, Chicago ramen knocks it out of the park.

The ramen broth itself is the perfect balance of curry. It’s not super like a lot of places make the mistake of doing, nor is it super thick. There was so much flavor packed into the broth. The noodles were perfectly chewy and not soggy. The thin beef seemed to be a sukiyaki style, it held so much flavor. You could taste the soy some cooking sake and mirin. I loved every single part of this ramen.

I will literally be back tomorrow. To try even more.

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