Reren Lamen & Bar — Restaurant in Washington

I came here for dinner because I had heard good things about it online. The restaurant was very small. It has only a few tables and a bar with a couple of barstools located by the front door. Despite how small it was I had no problem getting a table because it was pretty empty. Unfortunately the service was kind of disappointing. My server was nice but she didn't introduce herself, explain the menu, or even ask me if I had any allergies. She just asked what I wanted. I decided to try a few appetizers and then one of the ramen soups. For the appetizers I ordered the takoyaki, vegetable dumplings, and the crazy fish. I got the dumplings first. The wrapper for the dumplings wasn't a normal dumpling wrapper. It was green and made of a veggie substitute so it was steamed which made it kind of mushy and it fell apart when you tried to pick it up with chopsticks or a fork. The filling for the dumplings had no flavor. All of the flavor came from the dumpling sauce. Honestly I wasn't a fan of the dumplings but all of the other options for dumplings were pork which I don't eat so that was my only option which wasn't great. Next came the takoyaki. I thought this was pretty decent. While this wasn't the best I have ever had I did like that they didn't drown it in sauce like a lot of places do. After that came the crazy fish. This was also disappointing. The fish was a battered and fried white fish. It was cooked well and was nice and flakey. Unfortunately this also had no flavor. I thought that they would at least season the batter but they didn't. They sauteed onions and garlic and put it on top of the fish as a garnish. I didn't finish it. It was at this point that the service went downhill. I finally ordered the grilled chicken ramen but because they only had pork or veggie broth I asked for veggie broth as a substitute and I asked for no green onions. The server had repeated "veggie broth" and "no green onions" so I know she heard my requests. They ramen came out and it had veggie broth but they had put green onions in even though I had said not to. I was not convinced that the meat in my soup was chicken. The meat that was in there looked a lot like pork so I didn't eat it. The noodles and veggies were fine but once again the broth had no flavor. At this point I had no desire to stay so I paid and left to find food elsewhere. They may have other choices that are better but honestly I have no desire to find out. If you want to go to try this place feel free but personally I...

Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Hype I visited this restaurant in August with my husband and mother-in-law during our trip to Washington, DC. Based on the waitress’s recommendation, we ordered the Pork Over Rice, Kungfu Noodles, and Reren Signature Lamen. To our surprise, the food arrived unusually fast—within just a few minutes—which raised our concerns about the freshness and preparation. Unfortunately, those concerns proved valid. The dishes tasted heavily seasoned, almost to the point of being overwhelming, and the broth seemed to rely more on sodium and flavoring than real ingredients. The noodles had the texture and appearance of instant noodles, and the meat portions were minimal—just a few thin slices that lacked substance. There was hardly any protein in any of the dishes aside from a halved boiled egg. Even more troubling, all three of us experienced digestive issues shortly after returning to our hotel. It was a deeply unpleasant end to what we hoped would be a satisfying meal. Additionally, while I still tipped 18% out of courtesy, the waitress pointed out the amount on the receipt in front of my husband and mother-in-law, implying it wasn’t enough. This made for an uncomfortable and embarrassing situation. We would have rated zero star for this restaurant if we could. It’s disappointing to feel misled by what were promoted as “signature” dishes. The experience left us questioning the authenticity of the positive reviews we saw online. This was, unfortunately, the second time we encountered a Chinese restaurant in DC that marketed fusion-style dishes that didn’t live up to expectations. Based on our experience, I would recommend exercising caution not just with this restaurant, but with other Chinese restaurants that advertise a mix of Asian cuisines without delivering...

Went in right when they opened and was served lukewarm ramen with a cold egg… idk if it was just sitting there for a while or they just didn’t warm up the broth enough. Our waitress was rude, we weren’t sure if they used straws or just forgot so when she came to take our order we asked if we could have a couple of straws and she just responded in way that came off like rude. After about 12 minutes of eating our food she came and just put the check down in front of our faces. I came to eat with 2 other people and planned to split the bill and planned to say so when she came around to fill our waters or ask if we needed anything but she didn’t, she didn’t even ask if we needed boxes or napkins. We had to call down another host for a box to go. It honestly just felt like she was rushing us to get out since there seemed to be a wait for table but I still had my face in my bowl when she came over and started cleaning up… I came to eat at this place when I visited last spring and it was good I’m not sure what happened this time around but it was an uncomfortable experience.

Edit: Absolutely ridiculous! I did not tip because of my horrible experience and woke up to an extra 10$ being charged from the total! I only tip for great service and I received none!

Update: Called and got a refund which was great they were nice about it but we didn’t receive an apology for the situation which was a bit eye rolling but what can you do? Just happy we got...