Ramen Hakata

It’s been a long time since I decided to sit down and write a review from one of my restaurant outings. Food is my passion, whether I’m at home or at a friends house cooking or eating out I can always appreciate amazing cuisine.
With so many different cultures represented here in the U.S. it’s hard to call just one place your favorite. Every food spot brings something different to the plate, some just do things way better than others. I’m always in pursuit of places that are close to me that can offer even the slightest nuance of it’s origins.
I decided to head into Ramen Hakata on a Tuesday evening. The place was packed full of people but the bar had ample seating and I enjoy watching the masters at work, crafting the dishes that will soon go out of the kitchen. I was greeted right away by my server who took my order, she was polite and had good suggestions which is always a plus.
The menu was very small and while some people would find this to be a problem, I know this makes keeping fresh ingredients on hand much easier to manage and this translates to the freshness of the food. A smaller menu is always better than 7+ pages, watch a few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares or Restaurant Impossible if you really need to know why.
I started off my meal with the Goma Kyuri appetizer, this is about 13+ slices of fresh cucumber topped with a vinegar, garlic and chili topping. This is a traditional palette cleanser and needed to truly taste what you are about to receive. For my meal I ordered the Kimchi Ramen and I’m extremely impressed. All good things take time to make right, the broth in this dish is exceptional to say the least. Packed full of corn, tender sliced pork and loads of kimchi there isn’t really a word to describe the combination, heavenly would be my first choice.
I wanted to make note of the amazing décor this place has setup, they have an amazing feel without going over the top. I felt very comfortable and wasn’t distracted by design that didn’t belong for the sake of just putting it there. I am always very honest about the quality of the food, the staff in appearance and presence and my overall experience, this place was a joy to visit.
If you are in search of a place that will give you the best ramen experience you’ve ever had, I can’t assure you this is the place you’re looking for. However, if you want a very tasty, fresh meal with great staff and a great ambiance this place is for you. 5 stars go to this place, among the scrutiny I’ve read in previous reviews here and other places I cannot confirm a single problem mentioned. I will be back here in the future for sure.

I’ve been to several ramen houses in the Dallas Location, and so far, from my experience, this place is the best. As soon as you walk in the door, you are greeted by the entire staff, servers, waitresses, and cooks. You are immediately seated or have the choice to sit in their stalls. Food here is divine. Their tonkotsu hakata ramen is the absolute first choice you should get if you decide to stop here for the first time. Always a win! Broth is of good portion, rich and delicious… white and fatty just as it should be. Ramen noodles are fresh and delectable. Half broiled eggs soak up the soups decadent flavors as it melts in your mouth. Before you know it, you slurped up your soup already. Also, before I forget, please try the chashu pork buns. You won’t be disappointed!

Have you ever been a little under the weather and craved a hot, steaming bowl of soup?
Well, that wasn’t me but Ray M. was sure feeling that way.
Walking into Ramen Hakata (RH), the floor to ceiling glass walls and the soft wood décor make you feel instantly perkier.
We’re seated and surprise, surprise there is a VEGETARIAN RAMEN on the menu (This is not to be confused with their «Vegetable Ramen in pork broth»). Now, I’ve been on the hunt for a vegetarian ramen for the past year and can’t seem to find one within the DFW that excites me. I scan the toppings and a few things pop out.
There is avocado in this ramen. Yes boys and girls, avocado. There was also buttered corn. Now this is something I have never encountered before. Most ramen places in the DFW NEVER offer buttered corn to their meat free guest. I appreciated this vote of confidence. The rest of the toppings were the generic mushrooms, spring mix, etc.
Overall, I did not like the vegetarian ramen. The first few sips were pleasant but the following sips could be described as drinking warm sea water. As if the broth wasn’t salty enough, the toppings were also salty. The combination of the two had me sipping water in between bites to accommodate for my rising blood pressure.
Besides the salt level, the avocado slices that were artfully placed on top were still a few days short of ripe. The rubbery texture of unripe avocado is unpleasant. The four sprigs of spring mix that were tossed into the bowl were a couple of days away from becoming fertilizer and the egg was a disappointment. Not only was the yolk not runny, it was basically cooked all the way through.
The search continues.

Price Range: $ 8 — $ 12 per meal
Atmosphere: (⁵⁄₅)
— It is very true to the ramen shops in Japan
— Casual, well-​lit
Food: (⁴⁄₅)
— The ramen is okay. It’s not too salty, so that is a huge plus. But it’s just alright.
— The takoyaki is amazing!
Staff: (⁴⁄₅)
— Overall polite
— Don’t be surprised if all the staff yells, «Irasshaimasu!» when you walk in. It’s the culture of ramen shops.
Cleanliness: (⁵⁄₅)
— Overall clean
Hang out spot: Yes

Wow, this place is incredible! A friend of mine came here and when he sent me the picture of his ramen bowl. I knew I had to make a trip. I salivated the whole car ride there thinking about how good it was going to be, and man it didn’t disappoint. The staff was super nice and the service was prompt. I got the seafood ramen with spicy paste and geez the broth was absolutely amazing. I took home leftovers and was literally drinking the broth from the to-​go container. The menu is large and they offer a lot of different things to try. I loved sitting at the bar and watching the cooking staff prepare the greatness!

I came here by myself for lunch on a weekday and it was pretty crowded. I was able to find a seat at the «bar» easily and it was great. I was face to face with the cooks and there was even a stand for your phone so that you could stand it up and look at your screen while you wait and eat.
The menu is pretty typical of a ramen place, nothing stood out. Unfortunately for me, this place did not live up to the hype as the meal did not stand out either. It was okay, but nothing to come out of your way for. All I had was the Hakata Ramen (Large). The portion was not that large and there was not a ton of meat. I had high hopes for this place. The search for amazing ramen in the DFW area continues…

3.5 stars. I took an Über to Ramen Hakata to give their Spicy Ramen a shot. It was pretty good, nothing spectacular. I thought the broth was rather bland. Though bland soup is better than overly salty soup as I could simply add soy sauce and additional hot sauce to my bowl, I was underwhelmed.
The Cha Siu buns were yummy. There was a lot of sauce, which made me really happy. I do wish they were served warmer.
I thought the service was rather lacking, but I did come during lunch on a Sunday. It was really hard to get the attention of a waitress. I think they keep a good eye on customers at the tables, but I was off by the window.
Lots of parking, great décor and menu, and OK food and service. It is worth checking out as there are only less than a handful of ramen options around the area.

Extraordinarily superb! Brought my 11 year old and his friend along and they loved it too!
Kimchi Ramen was beyond very good! Our sever was very knowledgeable and offered several suggestions especially to the boys.
We will sure be back!

Yummy ramen soup, very authentic and different from what you get in the ramen packet soups at the grocery store.
The broth takes 12 hours to make and it shows in how it tastes — smooth, well balanced, and porky.
Kimchi ramen was hotter than I expected, and I LOVED THAT! The garlicky kimchi added depth and savouriness to the broth — and burned so good on the tongue! Smooth wheat noodles, corn, scallions, several slices of succulent pork belly and a soft boiled egg completed the dish.
4 stars for undercooked rice that came with the pork tonkatsu.
We will definitely be back!

I have only had Ramen one time before this, and I did not like it. My dad however is the worlds biggest Ramen fan… really.
So we decided to try Ramen in Dallas, we Unilocaled and this place was the closest and looked pretty good.
When we got there the place was totally full and we had to wait 20 minutes, i don’t mind, it means that its highly sought after for dinner, a good sign.
Well it definitely was! I got the garlic miso ramen and I ate the whole entire thing! It was amazing! My parents, who know more about Ramen thought so, too. I’ve been to one other Ramen place after this, and I still think this is the best of the Ramen that I have had.
Delicious, I will return next time I am in Dallas

It really is as good as it gets!
They were on my radar since they opened but it was crazy busy at that time. Looong lines, impossible to get in without waiting hours. I gave up but it was always in the back of my mind. Finally I made a group reservation and went yesterday, Sunday.
The food is outstanding, the reviews from my group were great, I was very happy. I had the spicy ramen, fantastic! It comes with a dollop of spicy paste on top, the right amount to give it a kick without compromising the flavors. Even the boil egg on it was delicious, mind you. Some friends had the uddon noodles and I heard it was excellent, as the appetizers like guioza. We can’t wait to go back to try other things.
Service was great from the start. I got 12 people first but then increased to 20 with no problem for a Sunday 1pm. Just be aware they do not take reservations for dinner after 6:30, if I am not mistaken. Everybody was served in a timely manner and ate together, so was all good. They have a room in the back, perfect for groups.
The restaurant itself is nice, modern décor and clean. Definitely coming back!

So I am a Ramen snob, I admit it. And I have had more than my share of Ramen in places like L.A., where the competition is HEAVY, as well as so many other places. And Ramen is one of those things that is really hit and miss, so I didn’t have high expectations in Dallas, especially when I saw that the reviews here were so mixed.
But it was close to our hotel, and we were craving Ramen. OK, I’ll be honest, I ALWAYS crave Ramen, but I digress…
To start with, they have a great selection of options, but I chose the Miso base. Their prices are excellent, and the place has a really nice look and feel to it. The ramen itself was absolutely excellent! I didn’t get the feeling that it was made from scratch, but it was not at all soggy, like pre-​made ramen often is, an the base was fantastic, as well as all of the ingredients.
I would highly recommend this place on quality, price, AND service. That said, I would not compare it to some of the better places in L.A., but I think that would be unfair. It is still VERY worth going.

The service was outstanding. From the moment we walked into and out of the door, we were well taken care of.
We started off with fried squid which had a crispy, light tempura coating and we perfectly cooked. I ordered the garlic tonkatsu ramen. The noddles were a little over cooked and the broth did not have as much depth in flavor. I was left craving for more flavor. We

I really like the whole setup here.
Love the décor, the appetizers and of course the ramen.
Look, we don’t have enough ramen places in the Dallas area. Period. I don’t understand why people need the best or why anyone would complain it’s not the best ramen they’ve ever had. Like, we get it, okay? You know what the eff ramen is. Stop showing off. I like cheeseburgers, but am I going to hem and haw over which place has the best cheeseburger? Hell, no. I eat McDonald’s more times than I would admit.
This ramen hits the spot! The noodles are somewhat chewier, which I actually prefer them to be, the broth is tasty, and the toppings, the pork and the egg are delicious. No two ramen places ever make their stuff the exact same, what would be the point?
I really liked the okonomiyaki, with the bits of squid and would like to come to try the squid, takoyaki and the other sizzling noodle dishes. There is so much to try.

/TL;DR I read some of the reviews and looked at some of the totally snooty comments about ramen in Dallas. It’s evident I have underdeveloped ramen taste buds cuz I really liked this place. Their beer selection is crap, though. :)
/​ATMOSPHERE The place is really cool looking. Not entirely comfortable, unless sitting on wood planks is your idea of firm support. Still, I dunno. I liked it.
/​FOOD I had the chashu ramen and LOVED it. The pork fell apart when I picked it up. The broth was hearty and flavorful. Am I missing something? This is not to say that this was the best bowl ever. I’ve had better, sure, but only moderately.
/​SERVICE Nothing I’m losing my mind over. It was friendly and adequate.
HOW TO READ MY REVIEWS:
1 Star — Does not approach edible. Enter at your own risk.
2 Stars — If I’m in the area, I’d pick something else.
3 Stars — I would stop by if I happen to be in the area.
4 Stars — I would pick this place out of other places nearby.
5 Stars — I would go out of my way to dine here.

I finally decided to make a drive down to Addison to try Ramen Hakata because I had been craving Japanese Ramen since I visited Japan last June. Well, I might have had too high expectations. To be honest, it wasn’t what I pictured.
I was there on Friday dinner and there was no wait. None! I had a gut feeling about their food since then. The inside of the restaurant was pretty small. The interior looks like a typical Asian fast food restaurant.
The quantity and price may be reasonable. Unfortunately, the quality of food was far from that. I had spicy Miso Ramen and I even asked for MORE SPICY, which I expected to be REALLY spicy. NOPE! They charged me $ 2 for what I asked to be more spicy. I just don’t get it! The soup broth was way to salty. The toppings were just alright. I also asked for no noodles and vegetarian styles, like no noodles, no pork, no egg!, and substitute with veggies in stead. I was ridiculous that they just put A LITTLE more bean sprouts and they charged me for $ 3 more! By the way, my boyfriend got a regular shoyu broth. He told me pork shachu was flavorless and the broth was watery with soy sauce!
TWO stars for the service!
Again, to be honest, I have a lot of experiences eating authentic Japanese ramen. I would not make the drive here again. It wasn’t worth $ 45 for 2 bowls of meh ramen. I am so sorry Ramen Hakata!

I feel like the quality of the ramen has deteriorated a little bit. I have been there since the first week it has opened and the texture of the ramen and the soup isn’t as good anymore, I had the miso ramen again and the soup was salty. Although they have expanded their menu (mostly their appetizers) I find they all kind of have the same seasoning.
The one thing I will say is the chicken wings were delish!

I would love to say that I’m a Ramenologist. And I can tell just by how the shadow falls after I pick up a chopstick-​full of hand pulled noodles how many hours the pork broth simmered for. I feel like ramen especially, is one of those food items that it is damn near impossible to impress most people. What magical bowl of ramen they’re comparing every restaurant to, I’d love to try. Because this time around at Ramen Hakata I couldn’t imagine a better bowl of ramen.
In the Chinese culture it is customary on your birthday to eat noodles for longevity. When you slurp the noodles, you’re also not supposed to break it and let the noodles fall back into your bowl. That’s bad juju. Even though my family isn’t exactly Chinese, we adopt a lot of traditions just because they’re fun and my parents always talk like they’re going to live to be 300. And because I didn’t want to drive in traffic for Chinese noodles, I figured ramen would just have to do.
I ordered the garlic ramen this time and everything in there was perfect! The broth wasn’t overly salty like I’ve had before. You could taste the hours of flavor developed in the kitchen from some awesome ramen shaman (that rhymes!). The egg was still perfect, soft yolk just glistening and floating majestically in the bowl. All the other components went together and the noodles had that slight chewy consistency that I love. No one likes mushy noodles! I wasn’t even hungry and I ate the entire bowl… and an order of wings. The Japanese style wings were crispy, slightly sweet, but had a unique flavor that I was trying to figure out. 17 bucks for a great birthday meal. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

Ramen Hakata is a great place to go to for your ramen fix. We arrived on a Saturday evening and didn’t have to wait long to be seated. The ambiance is cute and cozy and the service is quick and friendly. Prices are extremely reasonable. For two bowls of ramen and fried tofu appetizer the total came out to be a little less than $ 25. Not bad at all!
I had the hakata spicy which was good but not the best ramen I’ve had in DFW. I didn’t feel like there was enough meat and it only came with half an egg. The noodles were okay.
I’m giving them 4 stars because the ramen was good, the service was exceptional, and the prices are extremely reasonable.
I’d come back.

There aren’t too many ramen places in Dallas. It’s kind of hard to compare to other places, since there are probably only 2 or 3 other ramen shops in the DFW area. I give it an average rating of 3.7.
First off, I’ve had ramen elsewhere, this is decent, not bad, but also not the best. It’s good for the Dallas area:-) I’ve also had cheaper.
We ordered the takoyaki which is about as mediocre as takoyaki can get. Very typical. The taki wasabi was good, but I’ve also had better elsewhere.
I ordered the chashu ramen, it was good. That’s all I can say about it. The Chashu was very tender. My cousin liked her spicy miso ramen, which I thought lacked flavor. But decent, it wasn’t bad either.
Overall we both enjoyed our experience here. Maybe we’ll try other ramen bowls next time. But in the meantime I think there is better ramen out there. Still looking for a good place in DFW.