Rudy's Ramen — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I apologize for the length but my review of Rudy’s is long overdue. I’ve frequented too much to not leave one. This has been a favorite of mine (and my wife’s) for a long time.

I’d like to add some context before I get to talking about Rudy’s. First, we wouldn’t consider the Chicago ramen scene to be very impressive, I’m tempted but will refrain from mentioning overrated ramen spots here. We’ve been lucky to have had good-to-great ramen in Japan, NYC, and Seattle. My wife and I traveled back to Chicago following a stint in Seattle where I was going to Ramen Danbo, and others, far too often. Needless to say, I was very bummed to come back to the Ramen options here; that is until I came across Rudy’s.

Rudy’s stands out and holds up just as much as any of those positive experiences in cities mentioned; possibly even more when considering competitors in the area. I really can’t say enough about how much I appreciate what Rudy’s is doing here in Chicago. They pay attention to the details of what makes good ramen, good.

I love and appreciate that Rudy’s focuses on just a couple bowls. They do not bog down the menu with too many items that reduce the performance and execution of the kitchen. This is so often an issue with restaurants. The bowls have a nice array of components all combined in one bowl with great proportions as well.

My go to order is the spicy tonkotsu. Rudy’s easily has the most exceptional and multidimensional broth of any tried here. It’s honestly my favorite broth among any I’ve tried. The noodles are always executed exceptionally, not soggy and full of bounce. The scorching on the pork belly done just as well as any other feature of the bowl. I haven’t had a bowl where any of the components were done poorly.

Also, I have to mention that we love seeing Rudy very much involved with the processes here and meeting with/ checking in on customers. We always note the quality maintains as the owner/chef(s) remains passionate and onsite. He and his staff do a great job curating the whole experience. You’re never waiting long here and they treat you with the utmost respect and consideration. It’s the small details that add up to make a holistic experience; everyone at Rudy’s recognizes this and always puts their best foot forward.

I’ve been shocked Rudy’s hasn’t become more crowded. I know this place will be one of those crowded places when the general public finds out about it. I suggest that when it does, they opt for only reservation seating (rather than the stress, chaos, and atmosphere killing that comes with lines out the door).

One other suggestion, if Rudy or his staff, has time to develop a rotating special bowl. I think this could really help by adding that item on the menu ‘regulars’ generally haven’t gotten to try. But, please don’t try this if it will compromise any of the other amazing things you have working for you.

This place is an absolute gem and deserves so much attention. As much attention, if not more, than Akahoshi. Rudy’s would have long lines and way more people talking about it if it were located further northwest along Milwaukee. It’s my personal favorite restaurant in town and we always bring guests to this spot.

Really fortunate to have Rudy’s in our...

Let me preface this by saying I’ve had dozens of ramens in Japan and other parts of the world, and I was surprised by the amount of good reviews this place had but unfortunately this place didn’t live up to the hype, the service was extremely slow when the place wasn’t even at 50% capacity.

Everything started wrong, first we sit at the bar, but then we decided a table was better (the black ones in the back) but oh surprise the table was extremely wobbly so my gf and I were like well let’s find another one at the front, and the table continued to wobble so we had to deal with it but the server comes and say “are we settled yet?” Seriously? If the tables weren’t as wobbly of course I would be settled already.

I ordered the spicy tonkotsu ($20) and here’s everything that was missing:

For $20 you get HALF an egg? Never in my life at any ramen place I’ve gotten half an egg, photos in the reviews show a whole egg While the broth was rich, our bowls had very little, 2-3 slurps in and the broth was almost gone The noodles were really thin! Again, I’ve never seen noodles this thin at other ramen places, the noodles here looked like what you get on a Pho Spicy tonkotsu is not even spicy at all, this is the type of “spicy” you give to beginners, honestly. Where was the Nori? A bowl of ramen must come with nori, I saw other reviews and their ramen included Nori, and while it’s part of the extras, so is the bamboo shoots but I got those.

The service was abysmal, they took forever to take our order, I asked for an extra beer and it took forever and when I was ready to leave they took like 10 minutes to bring me the bill.

Also, the vibe of this place was off, the whole time we were there they were playing Ghibli music, I felt like I was at a maid cafe the weebs visit after the anime convention.

Be careful with all these positive reviews, many of the positive reviews here are from these so called “influencers” and other reviews are from people with just 1 review in...

Rudy's Ramen is hands down the best ramen spot in Chicago, and maybe even America. It stands out in every aspect, the food, the ambience, and the service.

The ambience: The second you step in you're greeted by the small team that calls themselves Rudy's Ramen. There is almost never a wait to get seated and everyone is really casual and nice. There's also a space to hang up your jacket and bags!!!! The space itself is really nice and you get to see directly to the kitchen (which is also the bar).

The service: Rudy was there to greet everyone and interact with everyone. You can tell him and his team really care about making the patrons happy and satisfied. Today, a lot of the team was sick and service was a bit slower. Rudy made that clear to us the second we stepped in and made sure to accommodate the wait and even offered us karaage on the house! He's such a wonderful person to talk to and it makes me happy that his ramen is tasty.

THE FOOD!!!!!: I recommend the spicy tonkotsu with extra char siu. Hands down. The. Best. Ramen. Ever. The noodles are thin but have a great texture to them, the broth is extremely flavorful but still clean and light. The ajitama egg and bamboo both really stick out as well. Most importantly, the pork literally MELTS in your mouth and EXPLODES WITH FLAVOR. I would get 3x pork if I could honestly. Did I forget to say that everything is made in house? On top of the really good ramen (I also recommend the spicy miso and vegetarian ramens, the tonkotsu is my favorite though), the appetizers are really really good and have their own unique characters. The Brussel sprouts are my favorite. The menu is so simple yet gets the job done plus more.

I probably have gone here 1-2 times every week since it's inception and it has never disappointed. Every time I walk in, am greeted by Rudy and his amazing team, and eat the ramen, I just...