The SafeHouse

Safe house has a pretty good atmosphere on most nights. They do not have their service in order to match that so that’s why I can’t give it more than 2 stars. The food is ok, the atmosphere is ok, the service is ok. Other new-​ish restaurants usually get 5 stars in some areas, even if they are working on, or lacking in others. Safe house consistently has bad service. I think if they worked on that, their reviews would go up bc statistically people would have a better experiences. They don’t seem to understand the service part of the industry.

For my first time at The Safehouse, I really enjoyed it, and I’m sure my friends, the food, the drinks, and the N64s had something to do with it!
The girl that took our order at the bar was a complete sweetheart! I really liked her. My friends and I ordered the bun flight (then I ordered another one later on because we wanted another snack and they were so good), grapefruit cider, and sake. After we ordered and paid, we sat down and drank until they brought the food over to us.
The grapefruit cider was really good, and I don’t do ciders often. The sake was strong, so I’m glad I wasn’t the one who ordered it. While waiting for our food and just hanging out, we were playing Mario Kart because that was the game at our table! It was so much fun and very nostalgic, I really like that – and it reminds me of Coin-​Op, which is a ton of games, but is such a small space.
The buns were delicious. The ones we ordered were the surf and turf, char siu chicken, and panko shrimp. The shrimp was my favorite, and char siu was my least favorite, but they were all pretty tasty. It’s much cheaper (by a few dollars or so) to do the bun flight.
Overall, I really liked it. It wasn’t too bad in pricing and it was a good time.

Great staff, great beer list and Nintendo!!! Cool spot!

Ok, I’m pretty sure there aren’t Japanese samurai brewing up the broth. It’s not that great — but I guess it’s not that bad either.
The steam buns are great. Also, great tap list.
Still nothing crazy good.

REVIEWER # 295
The Safehouse had a whole bunch of Unilocalers in the building during Unilocal Spring Break weekend and unfortunately they failed to satisfy most of us… ARGHH!
Safehouse, I wanted to really like you and I did for a while but then the service went downnn… Why. why…why?
A crew of Unilocalers and I came to this bar for a Unofficial Unilocal Event that was taking place during a Friday night and I have to say the crowd had the restaurant turn’t up!
SafeHouse has a really good craft beer list, ramen, steamed buns, Nintendo 64 to play from your table on the big screens. I have to say what a creative idea!! I smile just thinking about it!
This restaurant is very traditional to Japanese culture; they have Izakaya inspired eats, which mean they consider themselves a drinking establishment that serves food to accompany the drinks. What a great combination for me since I love to eat and I love to drink! The staff are good however I did feeling that the prices can be more reasonable.
BIG THANK YOU: To the manager Nate, who gave me a drink on the house! That was REALLY nice of him especially since the place was CROWDED! He definitely made up for the lack of service that my crew and I experienced that night.
DID YOU KNOW: They sometimes offer bun nights and $ 1 bloody Mary’s on certain days/​times. (Be on the lookout for that!
BONUS TIP: they are open late (until 3am sometimes)… a much better after party option than gross fast food drive thru!
The SafeHouse brought Asian food and craft beer to University Avenue. The white chardonnay is amazing and I definitely recommend you try it! They serve steam buns, which can be ordered individually or in flights of three, and additional small dishes, from chilled calamari salad to fried rice, plus a new seafood ramen variation and a build-​your-​own ramen option that allows you to custom create your own bowl. On the brunch menu, which ranges from breakfast rice bowls to fried chicken and biscuits, there’s now a new soft shell crab Benedict.
This a pretty cool modern Japanese restaurant and bar down in North Park. It has a great location kind of right in the middle of everything. The food is really yummy. The beer selection is pretty great they have a lot funny descriptions for their beers. The staff was for the most part friendly, though service was SLOWWWW. The most awesome part was getting to play N64 while I ate and drank with my friends. It was like elementary school all over again, accept this time with beer.
Late now ramen to fill up that drunken stomach of yours… This is the place. Make sure to get the pork ramen with EVERYTHING. Can’t go wrong! The price could be lower however.
REVIEW # ³⁹⁄₁₉₆

Japanese bar bites and old school video games have to be a match made in heaven! Despite all the advances in gaming technology, I still find the original games I played to be the most fun. It was a simpler time, when all your friends could come over to play Mario Party or Super Smash… oh…wait, I still do that!
When I arrived at around 11 pm, it was still kind of empty and we got to snag a whole table to ourselves with a N64 and 4 controllers (even my fave see-​through purple controller!). We were so excited to play some Super Smash that we forgot to order, but nobody hassled us. Eventually, I chose the TONKOTSU RAMEN ($ 10), and some edamame (FREE w/​check in). The beer selection is decent, but they really need to upgrade to a cleaner menu, because all the chalk was smudged and it was difficult to read in the dim light.
— RAMEN: I wasn’t expecting much, but it was surprisingly good! There were 2 thick cuts of pork belly, and they were delicious. It also came with wakame, enoki mushrooms, a soft boiled egg, and fish cakes. The broth was nice and flavorful too. ~ ⁴⁄₅
— EDAMAME: I picked the spicy garlic option (you can choose kosher salt or shoyu glaze also), and it was quite delicious! Try not to get any on the controllers. ~ ⁴⁄₅
I loved the SafeHouse, but I can see why others might not have. As it got later, our friends ordered and did not receive their food for a very long time. They got an apology and a discount. Another friend ordered a pulled pork bun, but received a pork belly bun instead. There are also not that many consoles available, so if you come too late and want to play a game you might be out of luck. I think the best way to experience this place is early, when it’s not so crowded.
ありがとう, SafeHouse!
Food: 4, Service: 3, Environment: 5, Price: 4

The steam buns are so yummy! I have no idea what they’re made of but they’re so good with food and alone too.
I had the miso soup because I love me some miso!
I also has the pineapple cider. Yum. Can’t wait to go back and try something new off the menu. Definitely a place worth trying out once or several times

Giving a 4 star. This was not the smoothest of operations that I have had, but I will say that no service members were rude or apprehensive. We were overcharged for an item, and a new employee had difficulty in explaining some items as well as an online promotion. The overcharge was handled well though, thank you guys for being open minded. Clean up the fuzziness in service and get your staff dailed out in the menu and beer list, as well as operation of bill receipt and payment. After those challenges are met this place will b an easy 5 star. Safe house is a cool spot, just needs some people TLC.
Food was great and for checking in you get an app that seems to rotate.

The one star is for the environment of the joint. They had super Mario and Mario kart 64 on their TVs. Pretty cool false impression of everything else.
The food: order of Ramen took a long time, then wrong item brought to me and my girlfriend. We asked for it to be fixed. Got it fixed, and the final product was watery, little flavor and it was so bad it made my stomach churn.
The service: the redhead lady had no idea what she was doing, and gave us a free beer for her whack service which still didn’t compensate for the crappiness.
The one beer kinda sucked but I usually like that type of beer.
If I didn’t pay at first I would have walked out for all the fatal flaws it had. The place is whack.

It’s hard for me to even write this because I kind of hate being that negative keyboard warrior that complains about everything, and they did give me my money back — but honestly, this experience was ridiculous and I feel it’s fair to give an honest review of that, so here you go.
It took them almost an hour and a half to give my friend and I our food. Yes, it was super busy and there was a large crowd. Normally I try to have some sympathy for the employees as I know it can be completely hectic in there, but there still has to be some responsibility in that you are a late night food place and it’s going to get busy — get prepared for it. It wasn’t just that our food came late (that’s understandable) — it came so late that the restaurant was literally on the way to closing and all our friend’s were completely finished with their meals, besides that it only came because we had to go back to the counter to ask where it was. After an hour and a half!
By the time I did get to the counter to ask for my food again, I was definitely a whole mixture of hungry, tired, and all sorts of annoyed. They gave us our money back at that point, which I’m grateful for and gets them an extra star. So yeah, I apologize for my own irritation too. They also apologized, then told me that I shouldn’t write this review and should come back to try them again because it was «just a busy day». However, looking at multiple other reviews I see this is a common thing. Maybe I’m a crazy person for still writing this, but it’s my honest opinion — even though I do appreciate the apology, this review is based on if I’d want to experience all that again, and I wouldn’t. This two stars is for «meh, I’ve experience better» and I’ve definitely had better experiences at other ramen places close by.
When I finally got my food it was in a to-​go box because everyone was going, luckily my Lyft driver let me eat in his car because by that point I was pretty hungry. The food itself was 3 stars, albeit probably better when you actually get it out of a bowl at the restaurant.
Maybe try coming back at a time there is nobody in here, but busy nights don’t seem to go very well for them.

I’m quite sure I’m going to be nailed balls to the walls with this review. Folks all I’m doing is giving you the truth the whole truth so help me Unilocal!
I came here with friend to get drinks and eats. Problem #1 I was trying to order items off the board and was told I can only order from a happy hour menu that had beer, pork buns and Ramen.
So, I asked the man at the register if they had vegan ramen he says yes! I order that and a mother’s earth beer. While I’m waiting my vegan friends asked if I ordered food I said yes and they said cancel it because of the broth not being vegan. Yikes! That’s will not work for me.
I go back to the register and let the guy know I want to cancel my order. I’m asked why I tell him and he has to ask the manager of the broth is vegan friendly. Geez, I would think he would know being he works there and all… Sigh!
The manager than comes and ask me why I don’t want the ramen as though the other worker didn’t just tell him. I finally get my money back after waiting 20 mins and to add insult to injury. The manager hands me $ 12 dollars and says your refund is $ 10 something but I’m giving you $ 12 like you are doing me a favor.
So, I just wait for my other friends who ordered food and just what?! They had to ask where their food was after almost a 1.5 hrs how do I know it was that long? Well, one of my friends turned on their timer after they ordered and I told him you will be waiting for a hour for his food, I was joking with him but in reality it was longer to the point the place was closing for the night. Yes folks closing and they still have no food!
Anyways, I give 1 star for my beer service is way below average and needs to be worked on. More than likely I won’t be back. There are way better places out here.

It’s a late night gourmet eatery spot. If you’re craving for craft beer, buns, and ramen then this is the spot to go to. If you’re a gamer, well then this is a bonus spot for you. Either way you could enjoy this chilled spot.
What flavors to try? You must have the soft shell crab bun for an extra $ 1 more. And of course by default the braises duck. Duck bun is the default food for the Chinese fusion. If you have had a plum duck with bun dish at a Chinese restaurant then you know what I mean.
Beers, well I can’t tell you much. I’ve only tried their pineapple beer which is definitely tasty and easy drink.

Would give zero stars if possible. Service was below par to say the least. Cashier was dumbfounded by our simple order of veggie ramen with extra garlic and ginger. After waiting 25 minutes I went over to ask how much longer. I wasn’t trying to rush just curious because everyone was getting their food in about 10. She went to the kitchen and came back with the order immediately, but it was completely wrong. Veg does not equal tonkatsu.
And on to the most important part. The ramen. Sucked so bad. Broth was basically water. Sigh. Please work on that safe house! You have potential!
Anyways, the vibe of the place was cool. Week beers on tap though. The chick did try giving me a free beer for making us wait and screwing up our order, props for that. Shouldn’t happen though l

I’ve only been here twice, once was when I visited the area back in September. I fell in love with the ramen. The waitress explained the different types of ramen to me, to help with my decision. This time around, we sat down, and a few minutes later, we realized the big «order here» sign at the cash register. So, don’t wait to have your order taken.
We both ordered ramen. I checked in, and received the edamame. The man asked if I wanted to try the spicy garlic edamame, and I’m so glad he suggested it. It was delicious! I also ordered a pork belly steamed bun since I’ve read so many great things about it. They never brought out my steamed bun, which I was a little sad about, but I was too full to wait after paying for our meal. Next time, I’ll make sure to try it! Overall, the food I did have was very good. If you ask for the house spicy sauce, make sure to try a little bit before you dump the entire thing in your ramen. I’m a spicy food lover, so it was perfect. But I know a lot of people that wouldn’t be able to eat it after that.
You can bring your furry little friends here. I wish I would’ve brought mine.
I will be returning !

Safehouse is a solid hangout spot in North Park! While they probably don’t have the best omg-​wow ramen in the whole world, it is really good and consistent. I’ve never had something I didn’t like, and you get an amount that is fair for the price.
Their rotating draft list will cater to all kinds of beer drinkers. They also have Mario Kart 64 available to play almost all the time.
Service is always prompt and friendly.
No complaints!

Awesome bar with the perfect casual setting to hang out and enjoy a night with friends.
Came here on a Friday night and there were the perfect amount of people there. Fun vibe but enough space at all the tables to hang out and spread out with friends. The tables on the sides are all connected to N-​64 game players with old favorites like Mario Kart and Super Smash. So fun and free to play!
They’ve got a bunch of different and unique beers on tap that range from $ 4 – 8 on average. Their menu is also unique. You wouldn’t expect it but it’s all Asian cuisine like ramen and steamed buns.
Overall, really fun, chill option in North Park if you’re looking for a place to go out but still be able to talk with friends.

I liked this place a lot. It’s open late, has good food and video games. Ramen was on the lighter/​brotherly side. I like my soups like this. But if you like a thicker, ramen soup, you may need to adjust.
Good tasty pork belly in there and well cooked noodles.
We also got the bun which is an Americanized version of Peking duck. It was actually pretty good! Well balanced in flavor. Not too fatty.
What a pleasant surprise!

FORTY TWO MINUTES. The amount of time it took for us to receive our first appetizer plate, the Bun Flight. That’s 42 minutes of watching others come in, sit down, order, receive food, consume food, and depart for the evening. Forty two minutes of trying to flag down our waitress. Forty two minutes of being ignored.
Once the flight finally got to us, she did apologize and told us she was taking our beer orders off of our bill, as she said she knew we’d «been waiting for a long time.» And the «Understatement of the Year award goes to…»
The buns were decent. In a flight, you get a choice of three. We went with the pork belly, the char siu chicken and the sausage. They were good. The pork belly was super fatty, even more than I’d expected from a slab of pork meat. The chicken was my favorite, as the flavors worked really well together. The sausage was deep fried, and had a very rich, meaty flavor. I think that was my husband’s favorite.
FORTY SIX MINUTES. That’s how long it took for appetizer number two to come out. One tiny plate of karaage. It was okay, but definitely reminded me of the breading on a Popeye’s chicken breast. The spicy mayo was good, though.
SEVENTY. EIGHT. MINUTES. Yes, friends. It took OVER AN HOUR from the time we placed our orders for us to get our main dishes. The waitress had come by to clear the appetizer plates away, and said our food would be «right out.» LLPOF.
When the plates arrived, my tonkotsu ramen was not hot. I’d call it tepid. That lovely stream that you usually get from a piping hot bowl of ramen was nowhere to be found. All around us, others were digging into their bowls, and wafts of steam floated sensually up around their heads. Mine did no such thing. My husband asked if I wanted to send it back. I almost fell off my chair. Who knew how long it would’ve taken to get a fresh bowl?!
Beyond that, the noodles reminded me of the instant ramen packages that you can get for $.25 at the store. That was the quality I experienced. The broth was creamy, but super salty. It was like a salt lick in my bowl. I woke up twice last night to gulp water because of it.
The egg was perfectly cooked, and my favorite thing about the ramen. Yeah. You heard me right. The *egg* was the highlight.
At any rate, though my husband enjoyed the food, I doubt we’ll be back. The waitress at one point told us she had «no idea» what went wrong with our order, but neither of us noticed any kind of urgency in ensuring we were taken care of.
Oh, and don’t even get be started on the waitress with the long black hair.
Thanks, but no thanks. There are so many great restaurants out there, that I don’t see the need to waste our money and time on establishments like this.

Not sure what happened to my original review. I gave the restaurant a «2» and I’m giving them a «3» based on better service this time around.
On another visit, years ago, the server forgot my order etc. I believe the saving grace was their Ramen despite of my experience with the server.
Today, I returned and tried the ramen again along with the pork buns. The pork buns were just alright and the ramen was nothing I remembered it to be. It was bland in flavor and the noodles were overcooked. I was not happy at all.
I read some reviews and people complained about the broth being salty but my tonkotsu was far from salty.
Oh well, hopefully my next time around the broth will be richer in flavor.

First timer here at safe house!
Parking is the most horrible thing in the world at this location. But I will assure you it is worth driving around to get a parking spot to eat here.
I came on a slow Monday night. There is a sign that says seat yourself so I did. Server quickly came and let us know their happy hour drink specials which are until 10pm. Lots of draft options to choose from.
I love a good bowl of ramen. This place doesn’t feel as heavy and as unhealthy as other restaurants I have tried which is a great thing to me. I got the Tonkotsu ramen. Huge portion! The meat is very very tasty and perfectly cooked. I love how their boiled egg has runny yolk.
Our server was very nice! I do not know her name but she was super cute.
Don’t forget to check in for a free pork bun. There’s also lots of video games to play! Which is different and cool.
I honestly don’t recommend this place to bring a small child because the stools are high and there are no places for small children to sit safely unless it’s in the patio.