Ika Ramen and Izakaya

This place has so much potential. The base is there, the broth was rich but under salted and lack a deeper flavor profile. The texture of the noodles was similar to some instant ramen I’ve had in the past. The soft boiled egg was prefect. The green onions and ginger toppings was a great touch. The appetizers were a tad pricey, but delicious. They need to be able to serve tap water and not have only canned soda and bottled water. Also, waiting 50 mins for our order to be completed is a bit long for ramen. Service was excellent, however. Great for satisfying a craving, but I hope that they can improve. I would love to try this place again in the future and think it can be a hit!

Tonkatsu ramen broth was okay, but flavor was not rich or deep as it should be. The bowls are small for the price. The ramen was average at best. The place is small so expect a long wait. It is really cramped so there’s really not a good waiting area. Just not a very inviting atmosphere.

Ok so the rice bowl was good. However, not enough seating, room was FREEZING and uncomfortable, they ran out of several items, our waiter messed up one order, food took 30+minutes, paying took too long.

We came just before it got busy. They take cash or card. There is water or canned sodas available to drink. I had the chicken ramen with the rich broth, which is thicker and more of a creamy consistency. We didn’t wait long for our food. As an appetizer we had the steamed buns, which is essentially flavored pork in a small bun with garnish. It was very good. I would definitely come back. This is a great addition to Benson.

Er mer gerd! The FLAVOR! All of the flavor!!! We had a very good experience at Ika Ramen. The eggplant was wonderful. The ramen broth had the most amazing flavor. I got the vegetarian ramen and it was loaded with yummies. Really glad there is a Ramen place in Benson. We will be eating there often.

I was so excited for Omaha to finally get a ramen shop but Ika was way below expectations. First off, it took over an hour to finally get our ramen AND they got our appetizer wrong. Secondly, the broth had almost no flavor and tasted like watered down chicken broth even after adding several spoonfuls of the spices they had available on the table. Lastly, the prices are just ridiculous for the quality of food. All the ramen shops I’ve been to in my hometown include toppings like pork belly and $ 1 for a squirt of sriracha? Ridiculous.

Fad or fame?
I was fairly impressed with the quality of a soup I bought in college for pennies on the dollar while unimpressed with the wait and price. I understand, they are new and have room for improvement but a nickel and dime business model won’t win true followers of ramen over.
Pluses: Kimchee, spices, extra noodles
Minuses: Walmart Great Value bottled water, pig skins vs. Chicharones, empty spice jars, and slow to fill orders. When a person says spicey put some Sriracha or chili sauces in front of them…
I think they’ve got a great idea going here but have to concentrate on pork belly preparation and look up Chicharones on Yummly.
Room for improvement but good.

I will preface this by saying that my visit to Ika was within their first 10 days of being open.
We started with a couple of the small plates — the steam buns, and the shishito peppers. Both came out fairly quickly and were very very good. I would definitely order both again.
For ramen, we ordered the Tonkotsu and the Paitan. I paid the extra $ 1 (begrudgingly) to «make it spicy.» Both bowls were just okay… decent flavor, and certainly edible, but not as good as other bowls I’ve had at Ugly Duck, Yoshi-​Ya, and at Ramen Fest. I know they’ll continue to improve as they’re still new, and they definitely have the expertise from having served ramen at Taita.
Looking forward to returning in a few months once the kinks get worked out and (hopefully) they have their liquor license.

Ika is a great addition to Benson and Omaha in general. I think they’re Omaha’s first official spot dedicated to ramen, opening a few weeks before Yoshi-​ya at Westroads. The interior is small and dark. And there’s not much signage out front. And parking can be frustrating (and frightening, especially when jaywalking across Maple street). But the food is good — several choices of broth and add-​ons plus plenty of apps to keep everyone happy.
I tried the thick pork broth with added pork belly, made spicy. Rich and hearty, really a treat on a cold winter night before hitting up a local concert down the street. I also tried the gyoza, pork buns, yakitori and edamame. Of the four, the pork buns were my favorite. But I can punish a bowl of edamame any day of the week (and I did).
Still, as Ika is new, there are a few kinks to work out. For one, making your ramen «spicy» means — at least it seemed to me — that they squirted a shot of Sriracha on it. Shouldn’t that be free and not an extra $ 1? The ramen was also super-​heavy on the green onions, wow. The gyoza was slightly burnt and still served to my group even after it was literally cooked right in front of us. Both are forgivable, but I’ll have a higher standard for my next visit.
Speaking of my next visit, I’m going to wait until they get their liquor license because a couple cold beers would be perfect with the apps and hot soup. I mean it is an Izakaya after all. And if ika means squid in Japanese, where are all the squid and other seafood options?

***UPDATED REVIEW***
We decided to give this place another try. I’d give it a 3.5 stars.
The Good:
Food was really delish!
–Pork Belly sliders… awesomeness!
–Tonkotsu Ramen… a really rich pork soup with just the right amount of spiciness.
–Buta Kimchi Don… a great and delicious rice bowl dish
–Ika Don… we’ll put this on the neutral column. Didn’t know that this dish was served chilled.
Needs Improvement:
–Service…the wait was a little longer than normal
–Drinks…they don’t serve/​offer regular water… Really?! Just bottled water and can soda… not a fan of this at all.
–small bites are a little pricey.
— — — — — — — — —
Attempted to dine here Sunday (3 Jan @ 2PM)…apparently, they couldn’t accommodate us due to some «food prep» issues. They said they should have resolve it/​re-​open by 3:30PM.
I’m not really rating the food, but if this is any indication of their service… we’ll pass.

We were really excited about this, but we walked away ambivalent. We ordered waters and received plastic bottles ($.50 each!). Grilled eggplant was delicious but it was literally four bites of eggplant. I ordered the pork ramen add pork belly and make it spicy. It was incredibly salty and only a slurp or two was spicy (making it spicy costs $ 1 btw). It was alright. The egg was delicious. There was a mistake and I ended up not getting my meal until the other 5 people in my party were done eating but they comped my meal.
Basically, it was fine, but not great, we’ll give it another go in 6 months.

Ika Ramen didn’t disappoint. Pork belly sliders were yummy! Im glad Omaha is catching up with the food trends. dont listen to the haters until you try it for yourself!

I had the shio (chicken broth ramen). While I’m not at all a ramen expert and I don’t have a reference point for that dish, the ramen bowl smelled like sewage. Steamy sewage. And the fact that they charge a dollar to make anything spicy is somewhat outrageous. You cannot pay me to eat there again.

Great new place in Benson! The ramen is perfect for a cold night. Awesome pork sliders. The menu is fairly limited, but they usually have a special going in addition to the regular offerings. I’ve had their ramen a couple times at pop ups prior to the restaurant opening and I’ve never been disappointed. The place is small and you can tell it’s still new. They hadn’t gotten their liquor license the last time we visited, but they were in the process of getting it. A bit more décor and drink offerings (which I’m sure the owners are working on) and this place will deserve 5 stars.

Have bee to IKA three times in the three weeks since they opened and have never been let down yet! Amazing ramen and appetizers! Don’t miss the roasted peppers or steamed buns. Vegetarian options are awesome. The chef is fun to watch plate these gems if you sit at the bar. This little diner is only getting better and better… think I will be there once more before the year ends.

First off, place is small and was difficult to find parking. The inside of the restaurant was nice, clean and modern. Service was good. Waiter could not tell us what he really like from the menu, but offered that everything taste great. The ramen is $ 8 per bowl. That comes only with broth of your choice, noodles, egg and green onions. If you want pork belly added to your bowl. You will have to pay $ 2 extra. Same thing for extra egg or to make it spicy (additional $ 1 – 2 for everything). So each bowl is about $ 10. The serving was very small. About the size of 2 cups. The broth was tasteless and very bland. The pork belly was very small and did not have much taste in it. Noodle was not fresh made and from the package. I saw the chef pulled the noodle from frozen package.
Keep in mind, I have tried many ramen joints from both east and west coast. I do have a general idea of what good ramen noodle taste like and how they should cost. This restaurant definite stands below the benchmark. If anything I would just recommend you trying out their appetizers. They have a good selection and they taste pretty good.

This place has newly opened and already they’re busy. It’s a small cozy place but enough seating. I recommend you call ahead and reserve if you plan to go with a big party. The menu is small but has delicious appetizers, I HIGHLY recommend the Pork Belly Steamed Buns, they’re to die for!!! They have like 4 different types of ramen on their menu and a «Special of the day» that’s not on the Menu but is presented by the waitress. The customer service was great and the chefs were visible to the customers, everyone there was friendly and welcoming. Will be going back.