Oiistar — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

My 3-star rating means I wasn’t mad that I spent my money and calories here, but I won’t be putting this on my list of places to repeat giving how much great food there is in Chicago. The food was decent but overall it did not shine. I came in to Oiistar today for lunch, just after they opened for the day at noon. The two window tables had already been taken but the remainder of the restaurant was mostly empty. By the time we left, around 1:30, it was pretty much full.

For starters, we ordered two buns: the duck breast and the tempura shrimp. The waiter said these were definitely the best two buns they had. The buns come one per order, so they are honestly a little pricey as they’re $4 per bun or more. The duck breast bun is $4.50, and there was not a ton of meat in it. It was like, 60% herbs. The flavor was decent; the duck had a chargrilled taste, and the fresh herbs were good on top of that. The tempura shrimp bun was definitely the better of the two, though. It was much bigger. The shrimp tasted fresh and juicy, and the breading and everything else made for a great textural bite. A downside to both buns was that they both immediately split in half when we picked them up, because they were thinner in the middle. This made them super awkward to eat. I’ve never seen a bao bun do this like a cheap taco before… it was weird.

For ramens, we ordered the Spicy Garlic Shoyumen and the Chadolmen Modern. If you go to the menu on their website, you won’t see these because the website is outdated. In both of these ramens, the noodles were overcooked and too soft, and there were too many noodles given the amount of broth. The eggs were undercooked, so they were simultaneously hard to cut, and when you try to cut them, the yolk runs out everywhere into broth and are lost (generally i like my ramen egg to be more gelatinous).

The Spicy Garlic Shoyumen had three pepper signs next to it, which means it is the spiciest ramen on their menu. The version of this that we received had barely any spice, and the Chadolmen actually had more of a kick. I ended up adding a good dose of their table hot sauce to make this one be actually spicy. The broth on the Shoyumen was not anything special. It tasted very thin and basic. Yes i know it’s a chicken-based broth, but even as chicken-based broths go it was not that flavorful. I will say they did an excellent job on the pork belly though. It was tender and a little charred / smoky, and it was definitely the best thing about this dish.

The Chadolmen Modern reads like it’s going to wow you with flavors…. Brisket, ground pork, kimchi, spicy miso broth…. The broth was better than the Shoyumen broth, but this one still underwhelmed. The brisket I got was straight up cold, so I was swimming it around in the broth to heat it up before eating it. Some of the brisket pieces were actually kind of tough. They cut the brisket really thinly, which is weird. I lived in texas for three years and never once saw a thin brisket. I was really expecting it to be a thick chunk to pull apart, like the pork belly. As far as the ground pork, there was a small dollop of it that mostly disappeared into the bowl. I don’t remember it having all that...

I've often walked past this cute American/Japanese Ramen restaurant; but never ventured inside mostly because the hours weren't convenient so today I made a point of rushing here before they closed for lunch hour. First I'd love to talk about all the positive aspects of dining here today. The main reason for stopping in was to try their ramen and enjoy something spicy. I picked a decadent and generously portioned bowl of ramen with freshly steamed mussels and incredibly spicy ramen broth that was extremely flavorful. For reference the ramen I chose is called MUSCLEMEN which consists of steamed mussels, onion, chili pepper, scallion and bonito miso. I'd advise friends come here no later than an hour before their closing time at 2pm and share an appetizer and a bowl of ramen because you'll definitely have a second serving for leftovers. I took note that the restaurant itself was incredibly clean, organized and immaculate. I phoned the manager at 2:15 before heading over and asked him if I could dine in today and he said as long as I place my order by 2:45pm I could enjoy my ramen on the premises. My uber was a bit later than I had originally anticipated; but I made it just in time. I'll be honest though; I felt like my server/manager was hoping I'd order and slurp down everything quickly because all of his actions from bringing me a bowl of ramen within minutes to handing me my final bill 6 minutes later indicated to me that he was pushing me out the door. Before I even got to a quarter of my portion he wanted to know if I needed dessert because the kitchen was closing. I was able to take a few nice photographs of the beautiful ramen; but it was challenging because the lighting here is so dim. I took a few photos, tried to eat as quickly as possible and at 3:20 pm I was reminded that the restaurant officially closed 20 minutes ago and he needed to head to his second job. I spent $15 on soup $2 on a coca cola with no refills and I could clearly tell my server was harried and agitated the whole time from start to finish. I'm not a petty person so I'm leaving Oiistar four generous stars because I truly enjoyed my bowl of well prepared ramen. In conclusion I do not suggest anyone visit here too close to closing time because they definitely don't let you relax enough to enjoy your meal and finish it. I rushed at the very end to finish the ramen because I truly enjoyed it but I regret not waiting patiently till 5:30 PM when they reopen for dinner. I feel I spent a lot of money on my Uber ride to rush here for a huge bowl of ramen that I was pressured into finishing so my server could leave to make it to his second job on time. I wish he would have been honest with me on the phone and I could have just waited for their dinner...

was searching for a good ramen spot in wicker park/chicago and oiistar had raving reviews.

TLDR; a little pricey for ramen in the area, but high quality with a variety of menu items. the price seems worth it for the different types of ramen, and they come with a soft boiled egg and a large portion of pork belly (which ramen places a few dollars cheaper may not provide). good ambiance as well.

came on a sunday at 7:00pm and the waiter said it would be a 45 minute wait. you can put your name down and get a text that shows your position in line and when your table is ready.

the inside is nice; dimly lit with stool seating. tables and a bar area.

it took us 35 minutes to get off the waitlist. food came in around 25 minutes.

// #3: paitan shio with fukuoka roasted garlic oil ($17.90) // traditional tonkotsu broth with a dark brown roasted garlic oil. i got the wavy (thick and chewy) noodles. first thing i noticed was the amount of pork belly: three thick chunks of pork belly. egg was soft boiled and good.

i really enjoyed the garlic oil as it added flavor depth to the tonktosu broth -- worked really well together. the ramen felt like high quality. overall i prefer thin slices of charsiu vs. these thick cuts of pork belly as some were kind of fatty/dry but overall it was a good portion. good serving size of noodles too -- i took my leftover noodles and broth home and had it for a whole second meal.

overall, good ramen spot in the wicker park neighborhood and one of the better spots in chicago. very comparable to my favorite ramen spot in the bay area. i will revisit when i come...