Botan Ramen n’ Bar

It was pretty good here. I'd been craving some ramen. This mostly hit the spot. I got the special chef's choice where all the meats and veg come on a separate place. The noodles are good. The tonkatsu broth, while it had a good mouth-feel, was candidly a bit too mild. That might be what was intended, but it was too mild for my taste. I had both the pork belly and the pork chashu. Both were good. The really surprising standout was the aged bamboo shoots. Those were really good.When I go again, I'll probably try the spicy miso broth or the seafood one.Though I love pork, I am a little perplexed that they don't have chicken or beef protein options. That limits me bringing some of my friends to enjoy an otherwise pleasant gem in Everett.

Located in downtown Everett on Colby Ave, Botan Ramen n' Bar is one of two Botan restaurants in the immediate area. The menus are different (the other has teriyaki), so review the menus before deciding which to go. Being on Colby Ave, it is street parking only but plentiful. Entering Botan, a giant faux cherry blossom tree decorates the left front of the restaurant, blending into an area with trellis style coverings. I must say it's kind of cool. We knew what we wanted, so we placed our order soon after seating. It is 45 minutes before closing, so we want to make sure we finish in a timely manner. They mentioned to us that it is last call for kitchen orders, which is perfectly fair. Our service was mostly reasonable, except they made a grave omission - that they are running out of broth! Our two ramens arrived, and the broth is just covering the noodles. I thought that is how they serve them, but I asked later. The server told me they were very busy earlier and they are low on broth. I wish they told us. I would have ordered differently. I like my ramen very well covered in broth. The Food:Pork Belly Bun (2pcs), $8.95 - 3 Stars The meat is too thinly cut and small, and the buns are served unnecessarily covered in sauce sloppily. It does not look like the menu photo or the business photo that they posted on Yelp. The business photo looks way better. Haru Maki (4pcs), $6.95 - 3.5 StarsThe vegetable spring rolls are well fried and crispy outside. The inside is very mushy. The ingredients need a change to give it some texture. Chicken Wings (6pcs), $9.95 - 3 StarsGlazed in an abundance of "traditional Japanese sauce", the no-longer-crunchy chicken wings are swimming in a sticky sauce. They could use a lesson in less-is-more. I honestly don't know what the traditional sauce is. It's too thin to be katsu sauce, too sweet for many of the typical entrée sauce. They tasted pretty good but too sweet for a genuine Japanese palette.Traditional Tonkotsu Ramen, $13.95 - 3.5 StarsThe char siu is thinly cut with the typical fattiness. There are plenty of bamboo shoots. As previously mentioned, there is not quite enough broth. Very unfortunate as the broth is tasty. Seafood Lover with tonkotsu broth, $15.95 - 3.5 StarsThe Seafood Lover normally comes with miso broth (he said). I asked if he can change it to tonkotsu broth. He said yes, no problem. Sigh. It's better to mention the lack of broth issue. This could have easily been a 4+ stars dish. I will say they serve their noodles softer than the average ramen place. If true ramen al dente is important to you, you may want to skip the ramens.

Yummy! Found out about this place from a coworker. And I agree with her how great this place is. Wish it was closer to my house. But so good every time!!

My wife was in the mood for ramen, which is shocking because we've had terrible luck finding good ramen in the area and I was afraid that I'd never have a chance to redeem one of my favorite types of food. In a bizarre twist of fate, I was too full from previous feasts to really splurge, and was more of a passenger and clean-up crew on this adventure.Our visit was in mid October and the restaurant was decorated for Halloween, with spider webs across the ceiling and skeletons on the walls. That may be your thing, but dangling spider webs aren't on my list of appetizing décor. They also put up yellow "Do Not Enter" tape over the door that leads to the bathroom. That felt weird, because I needed to enter for biological reasons, but the rule follower in me took a moment to be convinced.We were seated quickly in a then-empty restaurant. Water was provided within moments. Maybe they were still setting up, because it was almost 15 minutes before our server came back to take our order. It was long enough to start feeling uncomfortable.I asked for the grapefruit Chu-hi, but was told that it shouldn't be on the menu anymore, and ended up with a green apple Chu-hi instead. It was tasty and the alcohol wasn't at all prevalent. It was like a sweet green apple soda.My meal was three of the four provided pieces of Kani Mama. The menu says crab meat, but I believe it was imitation crab based on taste and texture (not to mention price). Tasty and hit the spot, though I'd appreciate transparency if it really is imitation crab meat.The wife got a lunch combo of Tonkatsu ramen with a side salad. The cucumber salad was refreshing, with a sweet/sour sauce. It paired well with the heaviness of good ramen. I'm pleased to say that she loved her ramen, especially the richness of the broth. She doesn't normally eat the marinated eggs, but was willing to try it this time... only to discover that this combo doesn't have it. Shoot! Our server had told us before ordering that the combo was exactly the same as the one on the regular menu, which includes the egg. She didn't mention it again, but I was disappointed because the creaminess that it adds is a favorite of mine and I don't know if/when she'll be in the mood to be ramen-adventurous again.I would've gladly ordered a marinated egg on the side, except that our server never checked on us. The restaurant got about three-fourths full, which was enough to keep the two servers busy. Having served at restaurants for years when we were younger, both my wife and I were disappointed with the service.The food was good, but the service makes a five star review impossible. If service is the same on our next visit, it would be our last. Decor is a personal preference so I'm objectively choosing to not penalize the restaurant, especially since it's seasonal.

Pretty good ramen in the Everett area! The decor and seating inside is super cute with lots of Japanese inspired elements. The ramen is standard with lots of noodles. Standard friendly service. Perfect for a cold day!

Giving this place a 3 star because this is the first time I had a bad experience here. Ordered the house special and I received a bowl of sadness. The soup temperature was pretty low to the point the vegetables didn't even get warm when I put them in. The noodles were clumped up because the soup was not at enough temperature. I do recommend this place because it is a great place.

I'll be back! with friends! we stopped on a whim. what a pleasant surprise in downtown Everett! a small inconspicuous front opens into a narrow yet welcoming interior with a faux cherry blossom tree, semi-private booths, regular tables along the wall, and understated art. the feel is calm and serene. the background pop music volume was not deafening and we could converse without shouting at each other. my only wish was that the music was Japanese pop music. the menu is sn extensive Japanese- focused menu. the ramen choices are mostly traditional style and not too wacky. appetizers and entrees, again, are Japanese focused and mostly traditional. service was attentive and low-key.lovely serving plates.tonkotsu ramen: above expectations. I'm not a tonkotsu broth fan, but on another whim, decided to order. the broth was a light, creamy broth unlike the gluey, fatty broth that seems to be de riguer nowadays. large portion of chasu, not the common paper-thin single slice. perfect egg slice. tons of bamboo shoots, and super thinly sliced green onions. i was pleased to see red pepper on the table I happily added to my ramen. no sriracha please!steamed buns with pork belly: as expected. buns were fluffy, they did not skimp on the pork belly. I did not care for the sauce, but that's a personal taste.karaage don: loaded with crispy seasoned karaage. a huge portion of lightly pickled very thinly sliced cucumber was a delightful surprise and a calming foil to the muscular karaage serving. too much mayo, imho, but again, my personal preference. my dining partner loved it.rice (in the donburi): outstanding! steaming hot, moist, and tender. not dried out. not microwave reheated.noodles: perfect! slightly al dented, not mushy. it's on the thinner side and curly: my favorite style of ramen noodles.good food and the price is right.I'll be back. I want to build my own shoyu ramen and try all the other appetizers, and the Kyoto beer.highly recommended.

Such a cute little restaurant with beautiful Japanese decor. Definitely a great date spot with some privacy between tables. We went right at opening on a Monday. Our server was very friendly and welcoming. I was impressed with their menu choices & prices. Pretty affordable with inflated prices nowadays. I love how they offer different combos based on how hungry you are lol. I ordered the ramen & rice dishes with gyozas. Comes with plenty of boiled eggs and plenty of food! Amazing flavor too. I've been to a good share of ramen spots and this place is up on the top of my list. I did take a star off because it took awhile for us to get our meals. We weren't sure what was going on.. been about 30 min wait. Finally they updated us that their boiler was out. Other than that.. amazing lunch and can't wait to come back!

This restaurant is amazing, the beer, sake, and drink menu is excellent and the staff is extremely friendly. The vibe in the restaurant is authentic, mixed with a cozy family friendly spot, and a great watering hole. The food is great and the portions are huge, and the prices are great. I think this restaurant would be best to go in a small group to try more of the menu. I'll be visiting this spot when I'm in town.

My son and I went here recently for a late lunch while in the area. He used Yelp and picked Botan. He loves ramen so this was a nice surprise to discover a nice ramen place in Everett. The first four pages of the menu were alcohol drinks such as Japanese beer, Sake, etc. I guess the word "Bar" is in the restaurant name so no big deal. It just seemed like a lot of options to put on the food menu. We shared the Chicken Karaage as an appetizer then each of us had a bowl of yummy ramen. He picked the build your own and I went with the Tonkotsu. The Karaage was perfectly browned and fried and was a good sized serving. The chicken seemed a bit dry and per my son, it is supposed to be juicer. It came with a ample amount of dipping sauce as well.The star of the place (after the aforementioned booze) is the ramen. Each of us loved what we had and consumed it all.I really loved the attention to detail in the interior decorations in this place as they had a lot of cherry blossom decorations tastefully displayed throughout and interesting framed prints on the walls and a village themed section with tile roofs that looked pretty authentic. Overall, this place is a nice find in downtown Everett and I will return one day.