OBON Sushi Bar Ramen

Obon has become one of my favorite restaurants in Tucson. We are truly lucky to have this gem downtown and it absolutely deserves 5 starts.
There isn’t a single dish I have not loved at Obon. Their ramen, their poke bowls, and their sushi are all SO good. Even their veggie ramen is delicious! Let’s be honest this is not an easy feat-​since the broth cannot depend on meat for flavor. Their sushi rolls are unlike anything you can get in Tucson. They’re incredibly inventive and not just your basic sushi rolls. On top of it all, not only is all the food delicious, but it is always so well-​presented. Try to resist not Instagramming Obon’s food I dare you.
The cherry on top is the drinks. Oh the drinks! Original and delicious. When they opened, they had this boozy apple soda that came in a cute glass bottle with a striped paper straw. So cute and so yummy. I still think about this drink. Tip: If you see a drink that looks good to you, GET IT. It seems like Obon cycles through their drink menu so that drink you have your eye on might not be there next time you go. My other drink favorites: boozy taro boba and the Tokyo City Water.
Delicious food, great drinks, on-​point service, and a beautiful trendy atmosphere. Insert heart eyes emoji here!

Who knew ramen didnt have to be the crappy staple food from your adolescent years??? Simply amazing! I highly recommend the Obon Ramen and if you like it hot, get it with the Spice Bomb!
Staff is great and attentive, food comes out quick in my experience even when busy.

I enjoyed the ramen, but the service and drink selections were funky. The restaurant was also a bit loud and crowded feeling.

Best ramen in Tucson, and great sushi, too. I had the chance to try monkfish liver which was surprisingly tasty. I’ve been here about 4 times now, and service is usually quick. The atmosphere is very modern and unique. On chilly days, they have heaters outside to make you feel comfortable.

Surprisingly very good. I liked the different types of ramen and they have a good happy hour. Got a spam bun and shoyu ramen.
Spam bun was a disappointment. I’m not sure why there was so much kimchi and other things. The ramen on the other hand was really good. I wouldn’t go as far to say authentic but it was good.
I’m glad Tucson got a trendy sushi and ramen place. They have a good bar and a great atmosphere so no complaints!

It was my first time here, I had heard good things about it. I am not impressed but disappointed at this time with my monster roll. The rice was over cooked, and I did not find it flavorful. For I was expecting more quantity and quality for the price .
To me it was more like a baby monster than a monster roll? I will give it a another try.
–pork dumplings staters are delicious.

I heard a lot about this restaurant so I decided to see what the hype was all about. Parking was pretty bad if you are not use to the streets around the area. When I called for parking advice, the person explained to me all I need to do is park in the lot next to Hi Fi. This was pretty vague because I didn’t know where Hi Fi was located. After I drove around a couple of times, I was able to find parking. When I finally arrived, I was quickly greeted but waited awhile to be seated for a table, despite the fact that there were a handful of empty tables. The wait was approximately 30 minutes. The poke bowl I had was run-​of-​the-​mill. The tuna tasted alright, but it was drenched with sesame/​ginger dressing. The décor and atmosphere was trendy and modern and would be a good place to impress a date or night out with out-​of-​town guests. Otherwise, there are other Japanese restaurants that have better food and service.

I love OBON. They consistently have great food. Today’s review though is about my first bad experience. It is all about the service. Today my server was bad. The restaurant is dead and its lunch time. Long wait for a drink order to be placed. Wrong entrée dropped and then had to track down my server to have it replaced. Throughout all of this it was hard to track down our server for drink refills. While we were waiting another couple was seated in our section. After more than a few minutes of waiting for a server to come grab a drink order from them they decided that they didn’t want to stay and left.
Our food was delicious and we still be coming back. I hope they do a review with their waitstaff about promptness and attentiveness. Our server was Elyssa.

So to make sure that I am setting this up right, Japanese food other than sushi is not my favorite of Asian cuisine. I however, am pretty big fan of the fusion going on here, I have landed on the Rainbow Poke Bowel spicy as my regular dish. Everything else I have had has been fresh, crisp, and very satisfying. What I really enjoy is how fresh everything tastes, there is a lot attention to details. I have spent time in Japan and flown through many many times, and one of the thing I always love about the Japanese culture are the details that come along with service, the service here is excellent as well as the presentation.
The ambiance is inviting, and I love the indoor/​outdoor relationship of the space.
The patio is where I always land, and where I will return again and again and again.

We came here tonight because someone in our group demanded it. Service was average. Waters were not refilled. Food came out relatively fast though which was nice. My boyfriend wasn’t too hungry and just ordered the pork dumplings. They were quite delicious! Especially the dipping sauce. I ordered the fukushu roll that had spicy tuna, cucumber, spicy topping on the roll and a little Serrano pepper on top. I enjoyed it very much.
Patio seating is awesome, especially at night right now. It’s beautiful outside. Service could be better but whatever.

I’ve heard some mixed reviews of OBON. We decided to see for ourselves. We were told the ramen is much better than the sushi, so we tried that. I have never had restaurant ramen before, and I’ve never been a fan of the instant stuff, so I didn’t know what to expect. I chose the chicken, which came shredded into the bowl. It wasn’t a lot of meat. I sucked that down along with all the mushrooms (very good) and the other vegetables in the bowl. The noodles were rich and perfectly cooked. Unfortunately for me, I found that the broth became overwhelmingly salty the farther I got into the meal. I wasn’t able to eat very much of it, but hubby enjoyed it immensely for lunch the next day.
I also tasted the chicken teriyaki, which I liked a lot better, and the soft-​shelled crab appetizer, which was decent but not super memorable. Would return to sample other menu items.

I finally decided to give this place a try. Especially since I don’t normally find myself going downtown often due to issues finding parking and dealing with the traffic. Now that I’ve had a calm day to myself and downtown wasn’t as busy, I made the visit.
The place set up is very nice, it has nice decorations and that modern asian feel. There is a bar, high tops, tables and outdoor sitting. The outdoor seating is a nice spot to people watch or enjoy the weather at night. They have heaters and lights outside incase if it’s too cold. Not sure about misters for the summer.
The food wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed the steam buns on happy hour. The Pork belly had to be my favorite out of the 3. (Soft Shell Crab and Maui Maui). The Old Fashion drink was also pretty different but good. It had that mint taste to it. Now onto the reason why I came here… The Ramen! I’ve tried the special Obon, and it wasn’t that outstanding. I mean the flavor was good, and they had good add on likes thick pork belly and black bean oil but it wasn’t something I would rave about. I actually like my ramen a little more creamier and i believe the price is a little high for the amount you get. I feel I would be able to finish 3 bowls.
Overall it’s not a bad place. Definitely the best ramen you can get around downtown if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t get it everyday. I’d still recommend this place to people but just bring a little more cash in your pocket.

What a great addition to downtown. OBON Sushi Bar hits all the right notes for me and my husband. During my very first visit I started with a Kirin + sake bomb, Jalapeño albacore appetizer and a Tonkotsu Ramen. As this was after an event of beer tasting, I remember it was great but didn’t have much room for the ramen. The next day my house smelled super as I chowed down on the ramen, which was fantastic.
We have gone several weeks in a row to have dinner before attending Meet Me at Maynards, which is during their happy hour from 4 – 6. My husband is a big fan of their Tuna poke bowl and has declared this his favorite dish in all of Tucson. While I have found my favorite roll in all of Tucson which is their Tataki Maki signature OBON roll; seriously didn’t think looking at the description it would be all that, but it is. So it makes things hard trying other dishes with just the two of us since we don’t want to order other things since we are so in love with those two. However we are trying to share an appetizer and I did break from my norm to try the snowflake roll only to yearn for the Tataki Maki’s yummy chimichurry sauce topped tuna. On Monday, I had the chance to dine after Meet Me at Maynards and ordered their Chiltepin cobbler. The Chiltepin Cobbler is the best cocktail I can recall having outside of the Tough Luck Club or Scott n Co.
Sitting outside in the breezy shade of the patio is absolutely a must, with the weather so lovely in April. I can’t say how dining on the patio will be come the warmer weather, but the main dining area it’s just a bath of natural lighting and a soothing atmosphere.
OBON Sushi Bar and Ramen definitely is a highlight of 2016 in Tucson; somehow whatever my mind sees when I am ordering, the dish presented to me continues to surprise and exceed my expectations in taste.

I like OBON! A LOT! We met up with friends and stayed the night in Tucson. My girlfriend already knew what I wanted and blurted out «OBON!»
It was our first time in downtown Tucson so it was quite the experience esp with the University there.
OBON is a hot and happening restaurant. It’s really nice inside and even better sitting outside (They have heaters).
I had the iced green tea, which is their hot green tea poured over ice. It’s not a typical sugary iced green tea from a bottle or fountain and that I appreciated.
My husband and I ordered:
FUKUSHU — spicy mix topped with spicy tuna, serrano spicy mayo
FUKU WINGS — spicy gochujang glaze, cilantro, dried chili
Rainbow Poke bowl — It was packed with different types of fresh fish and a good amount of rice. I struggled trying to finish it but it was super tasty and they serve you a lot.
The service was average but the food, the company and the overall setting almost made it ok.

HANDS DOWN. BEST RAMEN I’VE EVER HAD.
I came here all the way from east coast to visit my lovely s/​o, and we went to Tucson to visit some museums and decided on ramen for dinner.
Coming from DC, the ramen as this establishment was priced VERY reasonably considering it was downtown Tucson, so prices can get a bit high. When we arrived, we entered these massive, what seemed like giant double metal doors, but it was super light, the ambiance inside was perfect. It was modern, and best of all, one of the TVs was playing Pokemon.
We set on the side near the bar, and it was happy hour, so of course we had to order some refreshing beers to go along with our ramen. I got the OBON ramen and my boo got the Tonkatsu ramen. We also decided to get a spice bomb to add an extra kick, for only 50 cents! And one was enough to split between the both of us. And I must say, the spice bomb really MADE the ramen a billion times more delectable. The OBON and tonkatsu were both DELIIIICCCIOUS. It didn’t feel greasy AT ALL, which I find in a lot of ramen establishments. The Tonkatsu have so much flavor, the broth was on point, the noodles on point (I hear that it’s handmade, super awesome). The OBON wasn’t as flavorful but all the toppings paired very well. One negative was that we were only given a little bit of meat…): but besides that, the other toppings were plentiful.
I also glanced over the cocktails, while some may say it’s expensive, I really feel they are really almost like an artistry. If you glance at the liquor and mixers they use, you can see why they are priced they way it is. Plus I saw ALCOHOLIC TARO BUBBLE TEA. I think that is so genius.
Great customer service as well, there was a family next to us and the female customer didn’t enjoy her meal (she stated that it wasn’t what she expected and that it didn’t fit her taste) and the server without hesitation, offered to take it off her bill.
This place is great for groups, families, dates, you name it. Would love to come back here.

Ahhh… the never ending searching quest for good ramen in Tucson. I have found it! I went to Japan over a year ago and ever since then, I’ve been craving authentic ramen. The good broth, not too salty, flavorful noodles– yum! This place has it!
They have 4 types! The best part was I asked which ones were miso based (miso tends to be saltier) and the waitress helped right away, making sure we picked the right one.
It was amazing. Pork flavor was on point. She gave us two eggs because we split the dish, and it came with mushrooms, chili, etc. So freaking good!
I didn’t try the sushi or drinks, so I can’t say anything for those yet. The ambiance and ramen are worth the five stars for now!

Maybe I was expecting more from this ramen/​sushi restruant.
Came here right at 4pm for opening on a very cold and windy day. The door was unlocked so we opened the door and walked in, but they asked us to wait outside for 5 – 10 minutes in the cold (some customer service and compassion :/​) because they were still getting set up but we waited because of all the reviews and hype.
The décor is very modern and upscale. Neon lit walls, high wooden tables, etc. I expected nothing less from this new downtown joint.
We ordered the poke bowl and one bowl of ramen. The ramen noodles were pretty average but the broth was rich and full of flavor. It bowl was a lot smaller then expected. My friend finished the bowl and was still hungry! The poke bowl was decent sized but it was filled with all the fillers :(there was only a small handful of raw fish chunks. ¾ of the bowl was filled with plain sushi rice and the rest was filled with seaweed salad. The poke could use a bit more flavor or sauce at least if there’s going to be that much rice. I didn’t want to carb up and eat all the rice in my bowl, so I wasn’t full either after eating the fish, seaweed salad, and ¹⁄₃ of the rice.
Overall, I wasn’t that impressed. Food was okay. Portions were small. Prices were high for what I got. Service was unmemorable. I don’t think I’d go through with the downtown parking hassle just to come here to eat. It was okay, but nothing I’d go out of my way for.
Environment: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ³⁄₅
Price: ²⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅

I had a decent experience here. Went on a Sunday around 5:30pm and even then I was glad we just barely missed the dinner rush.
I ended up trying the tonkotsu ramen and the tataki maki roll. The tonkotsu ramen was okay. Not bad but nothing that really amazed me either. The dried shredded chili gave it a distinct & mildly spicy flavor. However, I felt they definitely skimped on the meat. There were literally 3 slices of pork in my bowl. I love carbs but it was noodles for days. :(
The tataki maki roll was also enjoyable, but I felt the texture of the rice was slightly off – kinda mushy/​crumbly and not sticky enough. I found it bizarre that we were served sushi without wasabi or pickled ginger. I thought it was a mistake at first, but there were 3 tables around us also eating sushi without it. Once we asked for it, it was quickly brought over, but I still found it a little weird.
Summary: Obon is fine for Asian fusion. Pretty average imo. Bonus points for the fact they had 2 TVs playing 2 different seasons of Buffy when I was there.

WOW. That’s one word the sums up my experience here.
The service here was hands down the best I’ve had in a long time, plus we didn’t have to wait very long for our food and drinks either! Props to the kitchen as well! I believe our server was Matt. He was spot on, and so was the rest of the staff.
We’ve been wanting to try this new downtown restaurant for a while. To start off, I had made a group reservation for me and 10 friends to meet around 6pm. It was an open invite, meaning I told them if they had friends that wanted to try this new place out, please feel free to invite them too. I really didn’t expect no more than 10 people, but as the time progressed, my 10 party became a close to a 20 party. Most restaurants would have turned them away, or told my unexpected guests to wait. However, since our table was «expandable» per se, they kept adding tables to our area. Very accommodating, and I really appreciated that! Even when the people kept coming, the staff never flinched. Super friendly and poised as ever, they came and got our orders, and like I said earlier, was pretty quick in coming back with them!
Food was delicious! I had the soft shell crab steam bun as an appetizer, and a Tataki Maki sushi roll. Both were amazing. The Tataki maki sushi roll was very flavorful, and the soft shell crab steam bun, although very intimidating to eat at first, was delightful as well. I’ve also been here one other time, just nights prior to this big dinner to have their famous, talked-​about ramen noodles! No disappointments there either. One of the best I’ve had here in town!
Hands down one of the most pleasant eateries downtown! Staff is amazing, and the food & drinks are divine! Try it out! Thanks again to Matt and the rest of the staff at OBON for an impressive night on the town! Everyone had a great time!

OBON opened fairly recently, but I’d say that the new restaurant is doing a good job with its services. It had a newer downtown vibe, and the interior was cleanly constructed. As for seating areas, people are able to choose inside or outside seating. There’s also a bar area inside. It gets pretty busy, though, during the weekends and evenings.
I liked the food — I got the poke bowl, because for the first time, I wasn’t feeling the sushi rolls. It was exactly what a poke bowl was supposed to be, but I probably won’t get the jalepenos inside next time, because it was too spicy for me. My friend got the Tonkotsu Ramen, which she really liked. I’d recommend looking at the menu that they have online; I really liked this place since it had a variety of foods other than just sushi or teriyaki chicken.
The service was great as well. The waitress that we had was serving us for the first time — I feel like she checked in too often but that was completely understandable. I would rather have people check in too often rather than not at all, and she was very caring and attentive.
The only downside that I could think of was the difficulty that I had with parking, and that the sign blends in with the backdrop so it was a bit harder to find the restaurant. But that really could have been just me. The reason why I gave this place 4 stars rather than 5 was because the food was good, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it amazing. Still, I’d recommend the restaurant!