Osaka Ramen

My sister and I came here on New Year’s Eve for our quickly-​becoming-​a-​tradition ramen lunch. Everything we had was excellent. We started with the okonomiyaki fries, which were outstanding, and then moved on to ramen. I had the salmon ramen (which was their special), and it was excellent. The broth was flavorful, but not overwhelming to the flavor of the salmon. There was a lot of salmon in the dish and it was perfectly cooked. My sister had the spicy miso ramen, and was similarly happy with her choice. We finished with the mochi doughnuts, which were unbelievable. I’m pretty sure I referred to them as «life-​changing.»
We came back a few days later and brought my husband, who ordered primarily off of the small plates menu. He enjoyed all of the dishes he ordered. I had the tonkatsu ramen and thought it was excellent. We had the fries and the doughnuts again and they were both still delicious.
I will absolutely be back. Highly recommended!

Finally Denver has a REAL ramen shop! This ramen is JUST like the ramen I had in Japan. No other ramen shop in Denver comes close!
The entrance and location reminds me of being in Tokyo as well. Tokyo has restaurants and shops underground that you access via a staircase from street level all over!
THE RAMEN:
I order Tonkatsu every time.
The broth — super rich, flavorful and creamy. theres not actual cream in this broth, thats just from all the juicy pork goodness! Seasoned to perfection.
(I really don’t understand reviews that say the broth is bland. I can barely eat it after awhile because its SO RICH. My leftovers formed a solid paste. If this is «bland», I’d like to taste what they consider «flavorful» broth)
Noodles — firm (but not hard). Just the way I like it.
Pork Belly — what do I really need to say? Heavenly and amazing
Egg — A PERFECT RUNNY SOFT POACHED EGG. The only way it should be.
Veggies/​garnish — Everything about this ramen is traditional, including the veggies and garnish.
This is literally exactly how they served/​prepared Ramen in Japan.
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I WISH I COULD COMMENT ON OTHER REVIEWS!!!
(This is my reply to to 2.0 star rating 5÷21÷2015 by Helene K.)
Helene gave a poor review of Tonkatsu ramen, with reasons being:
— Bland broth (If this is «bland», I’d like to taste what she considers «flavorful» broth)
— FATTY INEDIBLE MEAT. da fuq!!! You ordered PORK BELLY, which is pig stomach aka BACON. Its literally just pork fat. What the f*ck did you expect?
She goes on to say that the chunks of meat were too large was appalled by lazy presentation.
— Meat? Too large? I don’t understand the meaning of these words in the same sentence.
— Can’t cut your meat with chopsticks? literally billions of people eat with these everyday. Be a little more adventurous/​open minded when eating ethnic food. Also you’re in America, ask your waiter for a knife and fork.
— I am appalled that Helene is appalled by the lazy presentation. I am appalled by her review.

Osaka Ramen is absolutely underrated. I have been here several times and am always impressed with the creativity of the menu and the quality of the food/​service. Osaka Ramen doesn’t strive to be the most traditional style Japanese food, but embraces a Americanized version of cuisine.
Usually I will go and split several of the small plates as tapas, this is probably the most affordable and fun way to eat here. The Bacon Fried rice, and Chicken Kara Age are a must try. Would highly recommend the Bass Bento or the Tonkotsu Ramen.

Every thing was great! Great bass bento box super good Ramen, killer service. And a cool space. I’ll come back for sure.

Cool space with a good crowd. Sat at the counter. We ordered shishito peppers, I got the special salmon with miso ramen broth and my partner got shoyu. He’s on a mission to find the best shoyu in Denver. The peppers were a miss. We should have sent them back. Warm or steamed but not blistered which makes them unpleasant to eat. A new thing is bonito flakes on shishitos. They look creepy and in the future I will order without. Double miss. My salmon ramen tasted good, especially the broth. My partner said the shoyu was just ok. It ranked behind uncle and tokio. 0 stars, 4 star and a 3 star averages to a 3.

I was excited to check this place out but it was honestly nothing to write home about.
It wasn’t bad by any means, and the staff was pleasant… The food was just boring and not worth what it’s priced at.

Unfortunately, the ramen wasn’t anything to rave about. It was good but definitely nowhere near the best I’ve had. However, their desserts are definitely something to rave about!
Pros: they give you thick pieces of pork and salmon. My sisters ordered the salmon and I ordered the Tonkotsu. In my opinion, the salmon ramen tasted better than the Tonkotsu. Also, the actual salmon filet was delicious!
We ordered the Tea cake with earl grey ice cream and the chocolate cardamom pudding with an almond cookie. Absolutely fantastic. I would definitely go back there just for the desserts.
Our server was great. She was friendly, made jokes, and offered suggestions.
Cons: to go to the bathroom is kind of a schlep. You have to walk out of the restaurant and the bathroom is at the end of a hallway. It was very clean though.
As mentioned before, the ramen was just «okay.» It wasn’t horrible, just not amazing. And for that price?! I mean, I pay $ 14 for a bowl of ramen at the best ramen place in NY. Didn’t expect to pay that in Denver.

I dig the underground entrance that leads you straight into the hustle and bustle that is Osaka. The décor is unique but simple, with creative murals and signs about the restaurant, and gives off a inviting feel once you walk in. The entrance is also heated during the winter, which is especially nice if you’re fighting off the cold air of a chilly night.
My group was seated immediately and the waitress was attentive and knowledgeable about our various questions about the menu. Still on our quest for the best ramen in town, we all decided on various ramen specials on the menu: spicy miso, shoyu, and the special of the night: blacked fish ramen. We also ordered some onigiri to keep us occupied before the main dishes arrived. The ume (pickled plum) was exceptionally tasty!
Once the ramen was served, I was excited about the presentation and portion size, but the flavor was slightly lacking (my bowl was the spicy miso). I had to add some extra spices to liven up the broth, but loved the texture of the noodles and the vegetables! Similar experiences were expressed by the rest of the table.
We ended our meal with the mochi donuts, which was a menu item that I haven’t seen elsewhere, and was delicious. Perfectly crispy with warm butter and reminiscent of churros.
At $ 14 a bowl, it’s decently priced, but I will have to try more of their menu to get a better idea of the quality of their ramen.

Super-​cool-​industrial-​urban feel in a downstairs location. It just adds a level of mystique when you descend down a flight of stairs to find this joint ;)
We sat a the bar, which was great. Got to watch all the food being made and listen to all the cooks speak in Spanish. Haha. I don’t care what language they speak, as long as they are cooking up some great food. The owner was also there working the pass (on the night of the soft opening of his new restaurant).
Ok, the food… is it truly authentic? I have no idea, and I don’t care. It was delicious, made from scratch and creative. We tried the panko fried oysters, shishito peppers, house made spam onigiri (maybe a little too much rice and not enough spam on this one), salmon miso ramen and pork belly ramen (kind of which the pork belly was broiled/​grilled a little for a bit of crispness, it was a little squishy… but otherwise delicious). Also, a nice little condiment tray to spice things up!
There was also a nice selection of sake and Japanese beers on the menu.
So glad we tried something new (instead of one of our go-​to places). It was fun, delicious and we will be back.
Can’t wait to try the new sushi restaurant they just opened.

There was a lot of expectation for Osaka Ramen based on reviews and articles throughout the year that raved about it. Three friends and I checked it out for the first time on a cold winter’s night, and, sadly, were let down by it.
We all got a bowl of Ramen, the Salmon for myself, and while I enjoyed it, I think a bowl of Ramen and a beer for $ 21 is simply overpriced. It needs to be truly a spectacle if I’d return.
None of my friends had negative things to say, just that it was… A-​OK.

My best friend was excited to bring me here, as we both love trying ramen from different restaurants. It was edible, but I’ve had so much better.
I ordered the tonkotsu. The broth was a little bland, and needed plenty of flavors added. The pork though… oh my. It looked and tasted like griddled, thick cut bacon.
Although my friend was impressed with the miso ramen, that pork really destroyed this place for me.
The staff and sake offerings were great though!

I was surprised that I liked it as much as did. It only has 3 ½ stars which I think is a tad under rated. I was a little hungover today and craved a comforting bowl of ramen. Since Uncle is closed on Sunday’s, I figured I would try a new place. We ordered the shishito peppers which were pretty good. I wasn’t a big fan of the flakes on top as they were a bit strong and fishy. I ordered the spicy miso and my boyfriend ordered the special which was just miso broth. After spicing it up myself with stirs ha, togarashi and chili oil, the flavor was spot on. The soft egg was cooked perfectly and they give you quite a bit of noodles. When I can’t have uncle, I’ll be coming here. Hopefully the second time is just as good.

I love this spot! Everything has been awesome, and the service is prompt, friendly and attentive.
I have noticed some negative reviews about this place, so allow me to help you determine if you should try Osaka Ramen:
1. Are you obsessed with authenticity? You may not be pleased with the level of «authenticity» here. You see, the chefs of the world don’t necessarily want to prepare food exactly the way your host mom made it when you did study abroad in college. Yes, sometimes culinary professionals want to do things their own way, whatever their reasons may be. That does not mean that you have a right to denigrate their food for not being traditional. Insisting that the cuisines of foreign nations be forever prepared «authentically» so that you can continue viewing the rest of the world as an abstract idea unburdened by the realities of constantly-​shifting demographics and zeitgeists doesn’t make you «cultured.» It makes you ignorant and a little racist.
2. Are you ordering takeout from a full-​service restaurant? That’s probably not a great idea. It takes a special kind of window-​licker to order Ramen or Kara Age stuffed into carry-​out containers so it can be driven to Highlands Ranch or wherever. Noodles don’t hold well in hot liquid, little buddy. Did you think, for a moment, that perhaps not all «Asian» food comes in little white cartons with metal carrying handles and served with fortune cookies? If you order take-​out from a dine-​in restaurant, don’t whine when it’s cold and soggy 45 minutes later. That’s on you.
3. Do you think $ 14 for an entrée is too much? May I suggest Noodles and Company at Colorado Mills? They even have free parking! Looking for a prepared-​to-​order meal in an eclectic, high-​demand urban neighborhood? That’s going to cost a bit more. It costs money to cook food, especially to cook it «to order.» The people who make it and the people who serve it don’t exist on your positive opinions of the establishment you’ve graced with your presence. Small, independent restaurants can’t take advantage of massive economies of scale or the highly structured processes that make chain restaurants profitable at low prices. If you don’t feel comfortable spending over $ 10 for an entrée, there are alternatives available.
If you like to eat delicious, fresh, creative and reasonably-​priced food, I highly recommend you try Osaka Ramen.

Really nice people and cool restaurant. Small variety of ramen, I was expecting more of a selection. The chicken ramen was good, just not hot. If you have a problem with seafood taste, tell them to leave off the seaweed-​it adds a fishy flavor to the ramen. I would give more stars if the ramen was hotter.

Trying to be really open-​minded about our experience after reading the reviews and then visiting on our own. The verdict: decent ramen, although not what I had expected. I like Shoyu and normally order it wherever I get ramen. I am going to say that their take on it is just different; not bad, but different. The broth was good and the pork was shredded. I like my usual ramen with the sliced pork and salty, savory broth. We ordered the fried chicken appetizer which was melt-​in-​your mouth delicious. The ambience was pretty cool-​a basement restaurant with simple, chic paint scheme. The wait staff was very cool. My bowl of ramen was around $ 14z. Just wish my ramen was what I had craved… plain old Shoyu ramen.

Was so excited to try this place. The ambiance is cool, simple, and fits with the neighbourhood
We only tried the ramen but there were a few options. I had one with pork shoulder and vegetables that was delicious, not greasy, and full of delicious vegetables and a hefty portion of pork. My husband had the spicy ramen which sounded better in paper than what it was. The broth had no flavour and it was very disappointing so my husband didn’t eat it and instead we shared mine. Two ramen bowls, 1 can of hard cider and water came to over $ 35

These last few years I have been wandering this city in search of the best, easiest ramen, and I have to say this place is a serious contender.
We started with a glass of wine each and the bacon fried rice which was so surprisingly delicious. That was something I wouldn’t have ordered on my own but the girlfriend I was with had been before and said it was a must-​have, and I’m very glad she did! Including that in the review so you don’t miss out on this dish because it’s something you wouldn’t have ordered on your own, also. Be aware, it is very rich and somewhat filling, so come here with an appetite so you can fully experience it!
Next up, ramen: absolutely delicious, can’t be beat. I got the Shio which was stuffed with vegetables and super tender pork, as well as a soft-​boiled egg which was genuinely soft boiled and mixable into the bowl. I will probably come again and again because the taste was so phenomenal. Also, they provide all of the various condiments (chili powder, sriracha, chili oil, etc.) to make the ramen the flavor you really want, which I think is amazing as most ramen places are a little pretentious on this front, believing that their recipes shouldn’t require intervention. If I want my eyes to be watering because it’s so spicy, let me! And Osaka does.
The downfall of this place are the prices. Of course I don’t mind paying for a nice dinner out, but this place has a very casual vibe to it. Industrial looking, in a basement, never packed, servers wear a t-​shirt with the logo on it. It doesn’t have the more formal or just exceptional feeling, and feels like a place you would just pop in to grab a quick dinner with a friend (which for us, it was), not necessarily somewhere you would get done up for and go to on a Friday night. Because of that, the prices of bowls ($ 14) are a bit much, especially compared with its most similar ramen joint Tengu ($ 10). Also, the prices of the wine are what really got me squirming a bit. I like to have anywhere from 1 – 3 glasses of wine with dinner, especially if I’m with my girlfriends, but the only Chardonnay option here was $ 11 a glass. I understand having nice wine, but there should be an option for half that price, otherwise your dinner just went from casual to $ 50+ for just yourself. There were less steeply priced wines, but I’m a Chardy girl.
Regardless, I will probably convert this to my new ramen place, because the ramen really was that good. I will have to watch my drinking intake (which is my least favorite thing to do), but it’s so good my leftovers didn’t even make it until the morning, so we’ll call it even.

I decided to finally go and check out Osaka after all the hype died down. Of course, I didn’t have high expectations because I heard from a lot of my die hard ramen friends that they did not enjoy it. Maybe because my expectations were low that I actually enjoyed myself more than I thought I would.
First, we went because my friend was trying to go through this Buzzfeed (I think) list of cheap good eats in Denver. One of them was for Osaka, of course it was not for the ramen but for the Kara Age. I can say it was good and juicy but I had better at Katsu Ramen and a more affordable version at Kiki’s.
The ramen was not bad, but not great. The flavor had more of a depth to it, as in, you had to keep eating it for the flavor to really stand out. Does it mean it was bland? Not necessarily. I thought the Tonkotsu Ramen definitely had more flavor than the curry ramen, which to me was certainly bland. And in a battle between having a place like Tokio over salt my ramen or having a place like Osaka under salt my ramen, I’d go with under salt any day.
I do have to say, I’m not saying Osaka impressed me and the next time I have a ramen craving, I will still probably go to Uncle, but Osaka was not the worst I’ve ever had.
Note: I decided to try the Ume Onigiri since Brett had said it was rare to come by and it is not suitable for my taste pallet and their «homemade» spam… I’d much prefer the real «fake» stuff. The mochi donuts were excellent though! Just a little too much for three people.

I’ve been waiting for this place to open for months and I’m so glad it now has. This basement restaurant well lit and decorated. We didn’t have a reservation, it was 7pm on a Saturday and we were sat immediately.
My friend and I shared the chicken kara age to start. It was very good. I’m not usually someone who orders chicken at restaurants but my friend insisted based off of other reviews. I’m so glad we did, delicious!
I ordered the Shoyu Ramen and it was quite good. The noodles were cooked well but I might order extra veggies next time as they were not very generous with those. The portion was large, I took some home for lunch the following day.
I know this place will become a staple during the winter months.

Osaka Ramen, I wanted to like you more. But you missed the mark.
Ryan K. and I went to Osaka Ramen on a Friday evening, which was probably our first mistake: busy restaurant and a rather pretentious crowd. Luckily, we did not have to wait long.
The environment is reminiscient of my time in Tokyo: lots of people, noise, hustle bustle. Sign placards written in hiragana/​katakana are placed across from the entrance of food items that are actually not available on the menu: probably merely there for decoration.
Service was quick and efficient: lots of servers on hand to make sure we had full glasses of water.
But the two stars really comes down to the food and the presentation, which is the most important part of any Unilocal review, right?
We ordered:
— 2 onigiri: ume and spam. Great appetizer with just enough of the ume/​spam inside the rice ball to maintain a balanced yet rich flavor. This was probably the BEST part of the meal…
— Tonkatsu ramen: Ryan K. received a huge piece of mostly-​fatty pork that was mostly inedible. The broth was bland.
— Shoyu ramen: I was appalled by the laziness in presentation. My pork was also a huge chunk of meat (but luckily not super-​fatty). The fact that ramen is eaten with a soup spoon and chopsticks made the experience quite cumbersome trying to chew the meat into smaller pieces. The bok choi (vegetable) that was in my bowl was also not cut up.
The fact that we both received bowls of ramen with huge chunks of meat and vegetables just showed laziness/​lack of preparation. Osaka Ramen is already pretty popular/​busy, so … the kitchen should know to prepare everything in advance!
Don’t get me wrong: for the price of $ 14 per bowl, the big chunk of meat is a good deal, but I believe most people don’t want to sit there tearing apart their meat like a barbarian. This takes away from the experience of enjoying the meal!
The only redeeming factor of our entrees was the fact that the ramen had a chewy yet firm texture.
At one point, we saw Jeff Osaka walking around the restaurant and Ryan K. observed that Jeff had a concerned look on his face.
I think Osaka Ramen has SO MUCH potential. We want to come back in several more months to see if the quality has improved.