Sakuramen Ramen Bar — Restaurant in Washington

Saturday night, bae and I decided to brave the cold for a ramen date. As a single mom, nights out without my little one are rare, so when I go out, I expect to make the most of my time. After a quick search, bae picked Sakuramen Ramen Bar as “the best ramen spot in the DMV,” and off we went.

Parking? Street and garage options are available, but I snagged a street spot. We arrived, wrote our names on the sign-in sheet, and waited. About 15 minutes later, a staff member came out to start seating people. Here’s where things went left.

The staffer asked if we were with the party of five seated near us (we weren’t) and then proceeded to seat two white gentlemen who had arrived after us. To their credit, those men immediately corrected him, pointing out that we were there first. (Shoutout to them for standing on principle—respect!) Even after this, the staffer hesitated, asking, “Do you want to be seated now?”

Excuse me? Why would you assume we wouldn’t want to be seated? Isn’t that why we’re here?

Eventually, we got seated, but my mood was already off. The space is divided between communal seating and a more intimate area. We were placed at a communal table, which was fine, but what followed wasn’t.

Another staff member wandered by to give checks to nearby tables and glanced at us like we didn’t belong. Finally, the first guy came back and asked if we wanted to order, but by then, I’d had enough.

Here’s the thing: I don’t take situations like this lightly. There was a sign-in sheet clearly stating we were next. The two gentlemen seated vouched for our place in line, yet we were still treated like an afterthought.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. I don’t like pulling the “race card,” but it felt impossible to ignore the implicit bias in this interaction. From assuming we were part of another Black party to blatantly prioritizing white guests over us, the experience left a sour taste—one no bowl of ramen could fix.

As a customer, my time and money are valuable, and I refuse to patronize establishments that fail to recognize that. Nights out are rare for me, and this one was wasted on an experience that left me feeling overlooked and undervalued.

Sakuramen may have great ramen (I wouldn’t know), but if you can’t value all your customers equally, that’s a dealbreaker for me. I’m taking my hard-earned coins elsewhere.

Final note: If you want your guests to feel welcome, take accountability when mistakes happen, listen to your customers, and leave bias at the door. It’s not just about food; it’s about how you make people feel. And I didn’t feel...

I decided to come to Sakuramen for the first time because I was in a ramen kind of mood this past Sunday. I typically use the cold weather as an excuse for my ramen adventures. The building's outside wall art walking upon it was pretty cool to me.

When I walked in, I must admit, I was not expecting it to be so small. I suppose it makes sense because it's an "underground"/basement restaurant. I reckon no more than 20 people at a time can dine in. It took a while to be seated because the restaurant suddenly got full, and a long line formed behind me. The wait wasn't too long, though. Thankfully, I came in solo. They have patrons sign their name on a waitlist in case it becomes too crowded. The wall art inside is a Samarai, I think, which is pretty awesome. It adds a fiery touch to the ambiance.

The Food: I ordered the Tonkotsu Red ramen bowl. I noticed on the menu that the noodles were "thin," but it didn't take away from the overall experience. The bowl itself was quite delightful. I typically rate how well a ramen will be if the chashu is cooked properly and the aromatic oils. The chashu was perfection, nearly melted in my mouth with a perfect lean to fat ratio pairing well with the broth. The oil (black garlic) and the red pepper tare were barely noticeable. I think improvement is needed on that. The mushrooms added a very interesting kick to it to me, mainly because this is my first time with mushrooms in my ramen. My main issue was the seasoned egg. I typically prefer & expect mine soft boiled with the runny yolk. As one can see, it was overcooked to my dismay. It was also quite overpriced (almost all of the "Extra Toppings" are very overpriced, in my opinion).

Though the bowl I had was pretty solid (not the best I ever had in DC, but can be better), I am unsure if I will return any time soon. The restaurant is located in Adams Morgan, which is a hike for me even without heavy traffic. The parking was also atrocious in the area so it'll take a minute to find something. If I am in the neighborhood by chance, I will come in for a bite. For those living in the Adams Morgan neighborhood or close by, I do recommend it. Just get there in the times when they aren't busy. I think that will typically be before 7 pm, even on weekends. They offer a decent variety in bowls and also have appetizers, drinks (regular drinks & Japanese + local beers), and a short list of side dishes & mochi ice cream as...

Came here with a group of friends (3). If you've never been here before, you have to let one of the workers know that you're waiting for a table. He doesn't write down names but somehow he remembers it all and sits people accordingly. He's a really nice/friendly guy. There's not a lot of seating but turnover is fairly quick.

I ordered the Chosun with spicy level of 4. It was very good. The chicken broth had in-depth flavors. Wasn't too salty. From other chicken broths I've tried at other places in NYC, there is room for improvement. This place can definitely make it in NYC but charging what they charge for the DC area seems slightly overpriced to me. My total without extras was $15.95 after taxes. The hard boiled egg was cooked properly and the yolk was still runny (I assume it's the "ramen egg") so if so, it would be prepared with soy sauce to give it the dark color and Japanese rice cooking wine. The flavors of the egg was balanced, wasn't overly salty. I thought the ramen noodles were cooked perfectly. I didn't get a chance to see the kitchen as I walked by but I don't think they make their own noodles.

Just fyi, their software calculates gratuity at the bottom of the receipt based off of the total (tax + subtotal). Gratuity technically should be based off of the subtotal. You don't pay gratuity on tax. Just a pet peeve of mine. If anything, gratuity is not mandatory, it's just a custom that's been in the US.

I digress, the decor of the place is fairly standard to other ramen places. A nice casual relaxed feel. They accept cc and was able to split the bill easily among 4 people.

I would definitely recommend this place and will be coming back here again to try their other ramens. I will also try their pork buns as it is a staple of most ramen places. I hope they pat attention to detail and add their own...