Rice Bar — Restaurant in Washington

I got the udon noodles with clear broth. Toppings were: radish kimchi, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed & mushroom. Protein was kalbi. For sauce I got hot chili.

Food: Udon noodles were chewy. Super yum. The radish kimchi, although it was spicy it wasnt very spicy. So I wouldnt avoid it. It tasted really good, gave the food a refreshing kick. The kalbi looked dry so I was kinda worried. But it definitely wasnt. It was very tender. Hot chili sauce was also not super spicy. There wasnt really any option to make it more spicy for heat lovers like me but it still tasted pretty good.

Service: Its like Chipotle, but you fill up a paper form instead. It was actually easy. This was my first time and the form is very easy to follow. I feel like I understood everything first go round and didnt even ask questions. Everyone was professional & respectful. No complaints there.

Atmosphere: It was clean, its a clean up after yourself place. They had all the utensils and condiments so you can help yourself.

Price: I got the food mentioned earlier & a soda and I paid $19.18.

Wait: I waited in line for approximately 10 mins at 1pm on a Thursday.

Would I go again? Yes, but its a 1 hour trek for me so I would only go if im already in the area. I would not travel out if my way to go here.

Would I order the same thing I ordered? No, there is so much various stuff id want to try...

There's not much direction for a not so normal ordering process. Service is ok but they're irritable & not very willing to be helpful. You have to pull info from them. They seem really annoyed when you ask where the bathroom is. Ordering: there's a booth before you get to their Chipotle/subway sandwich style make-line. There's a 3 section paper system that's color coded. One is for noodles, one is for rice, & I think the other is for soup? Then you pick your custom options like Genghis grill or you pick one of their menu items. What grossed me out, is they had a large cutting board that was directly supported on the rim of a large trash can & they were chopping everything on it from chicken to lettuce... All on top of the trash can 😳🤢 I had already ordered when I saw this, & was there with a party so I ate. It was delicious. But I couldn't get the images out of my head. The place is a bit cluttered, with restaurant supplies & not a real defined area of what patrons eating at the restaurant, To-go or for employees only is all mixed together. This is a chain, I'd eat at the chain again but not this location given...

Service: Came with a friend while we were in the area. The ordering process was smooth—you select your ingredients using a sheet, which keeps things simple. There were only two staff members preparing food, so even though it wasn’t too busy, the wait was longer than expected. Staff was polite but minimal interaction overall.

Taste: The food was flavorful and tasted fresh. Everything came together really well in the bowl, and it definitely felt like a more authentic take on a fast-casual rice bowl spot. The ingredients looked and tasted high quality.

Ambiance: Very casual, more of a quick-eat or takeout kind of place. Not ideal for a sit-down meal if you’re looking for atmosphere, but it gets the job done for a fast and tasty option.

Overall Review: Rice Bowl is a solid spot for a quick and flavorful meal. Just be mindful that it’s more expensive than similar build-your-own places like Cava or Chipotle, especially with add-ons. That said, the food tastes fresh and authentic, so it’s worth trying if...