Chika Ramen Bar

I would probably rate this place a 3.5/5 so I just rounded up. The food is good-- don't get me wrong I enjoyed it-- but I do think it is a touch over priced. The space is amazing. It looks just like all the pictures of it.I had hand roll set A, miso chicken ramen, spicy tuna rice, and the tuna tataki. All were good. I was satisfied eating it, but nothing compels me to come back. The service is what you would expect: standard. I was pleased with this. While making a reservation, it prompts you on if there is a specific reason you're coming in which I was there for a birthday, but it was never mentioned. Not that this is necessary, but I think that's a good example of an easy way the service could've been above and beyond.

First time visiting. There were positives and negatives to the experience but I'm open to returning.It was a bit warm that day and when we entered we were told to sit anywhere we liked. We picked a table near the front and started to realize it was getting hot in there. We felt no cold air or any air circulation at all. Our server said the air was on but the heat from the kitchen was overpowering it. Uhh... was this really not figured out before opening for business? It's our fault for having hot soup on a warm evening but, restaurants are supposed to have AC in the summer I thought.We were given water with no ice. I looked to the people at the bar who also had food and they DID have ice. Uhh... and no one refilled our water. We got sodas that had ice at least but no one asked to refill those either. Our food was brought out by someone else, when our server came by the one time to check on us they asked how it was which was nice. We had not yet finished water or soda but that was really the only time we saw the server. When we were done the server was playing on their phone in the back for a while. Later when getting the check we are told there actually is cool air way in the back but no one said anything earlier or offered to move us when we said we were uncomfortable from the stuffy air.Aside from the stuffy heat and lack of ice and drink refills, the soups came out fast and tasted great. I got a fried tofu appetizer which tasted great too. There was no silverware, only chopsticks and the little broth spoon. If they have silverware as an alternative option they didn't tell us. There was also no salt/pepper or anything else on our table except for drink menus. If they have it as an option, again no one told us.The music was cool, not super loud. The other customers there all seemed nice, no one being too loud or annoying. The place looked pretty clean, as soon as people at the bar left, guys came around to clean the area up nicely. There were no bad smells or anything. It's a well kept place - just super stuffy hot air.Maybe I'll go back when it's cold outside!

Ramen review #25This is a restaurant that has a really good vibe. It has cool lighting and is in the basement. I think a lot of people would come here for dinner.I got the ramen, and here were my thoughts.Soup is good, but it was spicy in the wrong way. This was a 2/5 spice but the oil had no flavor of garlic or anything. I was a good spice level but I think it was masking that the broth wasn't super super hearty. The Ramen noodles were goodPork unfortunately had a strong "pork" taste because it wasn't really marinated for a long time. This was probably the meaty taste. Spicy pork was good tho (which they gave in addition)Egg wasn't marinated even though temps are good. And nice texture for the egg, but again, should be marinated.Unfortunately I think there are a few options that are better in center city. But this place might be fun later at night as they have non-ramen options. Just know that this isn't a dedicated ramen spot.

Stopped here while on the hunt for ramen Friday night. After our first choice turned into a total dud and was too busy, I made the executive decision to walk to another place (this one). Vog got fussy with me and hurt my feelings, but I bit my lip and we trekked another 1/8 mile to this location and walked in.It is located on the bottom floor of a building and really, if it not for the neon sign you may blink and miss it. We walked in and got very lucky with a booth in the back and were sat immediately.We ordered several appetizers - gyoza and buns. The gyoza was about as standard as it comes. The buns were very good and loaded with toppings. For my ramen - I went with the standard Tonkotsu and added egg. Of course I forgot to say hold the shoots and shrooms so Vog got extra from me. It was a good meal, which we earned by walked 2 miles to get there.

Cool lately night vibe. I tried coming to this place on its opening week and the lines were down the street so I was excited to see no lines my second time giving this place a try. The service was pretty fair, no complaints. I had the veggie ramen which was delicious, however, my only suggestion would be to cook the seasoned eggs for less time and marinate them longer... They lacked color and flavor and were a bit on the overcooked but other than that I would definitely come here again!

I fell into the social media hype and foolishly stood in line for too long to get a seat at the bar for good ramen. It's good, not exceptional enough to stand in a line in the cold. The space is electric and funky, but again, not blow your socks off cool enough to stand in a line. I had the Veggie Ramen and my husband had the Spicy Chicken Ramen. Both were good and portions are nice and large. My two critiques: You can't reserve a table unless you're a food influencer. There was one table reserved and we noticed it was for a couple that skipped the line and had plate after plate brought to them. Lights and camera phones out snapping pics. The servers were piling up all the dirty plates on the bar right next to us. It would have been kind of ok if the bar tenders took them away quickly, but they did not. Definitely not cool and gross.

Cocktails - so many unique flavors, I wanted to try them all! I got the Hannibal Chew and absolutely loved it. Slightly savory cocktail. Amazing.Food- vegetarian ramen broth and noodles were great. The fried tofu was silk tofu (not my favorite). The vegetables in the ramen were unexpected, like broccoli. I was expecting more Asian veggies, and they would have tasted better in this.Service...bartender was great, but my god, please accept reservations.

I love this spot! Shep the bartender is the best! The food is excellent - absolutely love the spicy ramen here. The drinks are also wonderful, and I'm appreciative that they have several mocktails. Pro tip: add the strawberry popping bubbles to your cocktail or mocktail. The vibe is so cool, looking straight out of Blade Runner, & the service is always fast and excellent. Definitely one of my favorite spots in Center City.

I tried out Chika with three of my friends and we had a great time! The atmosphere definitely can't be beat, but I will say normally they have only one four-seater table and the other options are sitting at the bar for a party as large as ours. This is best for just a date night or catching up with only one other friend just so you're not waiting for forever. We really lucked out and the greeter at the door was able to open up their back area (which isn't always open) to seat us at a table, but you can expect waiting in line for a bit.The inside is really cute, the neon lights everywhere are a vibe and it's just super fun. The menu had a lot of good ramen options, I didn't love that you had to pay extra for a classic ramen egg, but eh. The noodle texture was great, not too overdone and nice and chewy but still soft. The broth was also great. I think the pork charsiu could have been a little more tender. I think overall, the ramen was solid but had some noticeable points I think could be better.The drinks were delicious though, I didn't take pictures of everyone's but they had a lot of different options and were enjoyable. The names are all Bladerunner references of course. The server was great in helping us choose as well. Pictured in my review is the Deckard and the Roy Batty if I'm remembering corrrectly, and everyone of course tried each other's and pretty much liked every option we got. I got the Electric Sheep, and the popping boba was a great touch to the cocktail.Service in general was excellent, and I think I would come again but mostly for the vibes. Again, the line is truly not bad but only if you're a party of 2. For context, we went around 5ish or so during a Saturday night so really wasn't the worst.

This place has been all over social media recently, so my boyfriend and I, being the ramen lovers that we are, made our way into to try this Blade Runner inspired basement Ramen joint. Probably the worst thing about this place is that it's first come first serve-- but that's typical in Japan, so i didn't find it too annoying. Also it weeds about people that really don't want to be there, only people who REALLY want to try a place. It looks like this place used to be a diner, but they've outfitted everything with ambient neon lights and mirrors (I've never seen Blade Runner). The front half is a typical diner setup of counter space seating and small 2/4 top tables, and then the back of the restaurant is larger booths that they use for communal seating (fine by me) and then two larger tables if you're willing to wait. Okay now let's get to the food & drinks, we got:--Tori Karaage ($12.00) Japanese boneless fried chicken, sweet sauce, spicy mayo--Tonkotsu Chashumen ($17.00) with 3pc Chashu is their signature hakata style "tonkotsu" (pork bone broth boiled over 24 hrs) noodle soup w/ marinated chashu pork, shiitake, menma, red pickled ginger, sesame, scallions & drizzled w/ roasted garlic oil, served w/ straight noodles.--Shoyu Chashumen ($17.00) with 3pc Chashu, is their soy-flavored wavy noodle soup, topped w/ marinated chashu pork, shiitake, menma, red pickled ginger, naruto, sesame, & scallions, served with wavy noodles. --Ajitama ($2.00) 2 Marinated Boiled Eggs (two for each ramen we added). --Electric Sheep ($14.00) Japanese Gin, Cherry Blossom Calpico, Elderflower Tonic, Strawberry Bubbles -- Deckard ($15.00) Japanese Whisky, Cherry Shochu, St Germaine, Citrus, Egg WhiteOf the two ramens the Shoyu Chashumen was the clear favorite. The brother was so flavorful and just vastly outshined the other. If you've got enough broth over you can ask for more noodles for $4.00 (which is so Japanese, I LOVE IT). Any-- I loved this place and will surely come back once it's gets warmer outside cause waiting outside is only going to get worse as the winter goes on.