Zen Ramen & Poke
Zen Ramen & Poke
Black Garlic Ramen
Black Garlic Ramen
Black Garlic Pork Broth
Chicken Katsu Curry Ramen(spicy) on the side
Poke bowl with sushi rice, tempura shrimp, crab, cucumber, sprouts, tomatoes and spicy mayo
Karaage Fried Chicken
Milk tea
Nice interior decor
One bowl of spicy black garlic ramen (front) and one zen ramen in the back.
Black Garlic Ramen
Mix of appetizer offerings and ramen
Shoyu Chicken ramen with added squid
Chicken katsu
By
Gorgeous artwork
Appetizers
Steamed Shanghai Pork Soup Dumpling (6pcs)
Black Garlic Ramen
Poke bowl with sushi rice, shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, carrot, avocado and spicy mayo
Poke Bowl
Dessert
Medium spicy NY steak ramen, substituting corns for sprouts (corns in ramen is just so eek)
Seaweed Salad
Outside the restaurant
Jessica F.
Jan 27, 2025
We were at the waterworks to buy my kiddo a pair of shoes and stopped in here on a whim. I wasn't expecting much, as it looks pretty low key from the outside, but I was blown away. Service was very friendly from the moment we walked in the door. The vibe inside is pretty casual, nothing fancy or overly hip like many of the other ramen restaurants in the area. We were seated promptly and given the menus and some water. The menu is divided into several sections. We started with seaweed salad and pork gyoza. The gyoza in particular were so yummy - very crispy and delicious, though I wish there had been more dipping sauce included. My daughter, a dumpling aficionado, said they were her favorite she's had from a restaurant. I ordered the black garlic ramen, my husband ordered the chicken katsu curry ramen, and my daughter ordered the chicken and rice bowl. We all enjoyed our meals and were remarking about how delicious everything was! My ramen in particular was so creamy and flavorful and hit the spot - one of the best bowls of ramen I've had in awhile though I'm always down to keep doing more research. As a bonus, we thought the prices were reasonable, especially in combination with the portion sizes. We all went home with leftovers!
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Terry B.
Mar 2, 2025
It's pretty yummy! Hidden in the Waterworks of all places. Service was not particularly attentive; young man playing on his phone half the time. Food was decent albeit a little pricey. I'll say it's a good alternative to the chain restaurants here. I would definitely go back though.
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Tiffanie T.
Feb 14, 2025
Good: 4/5 glad this place existed when we were crazing Japanese food. If you're in a pinch and are craving poke bowls or ramen this is your place. No frills and lots of options. Not the most memorable but it's as good as it's going to get for Asian food in PittsburghAmbiance: it's loud and there's larger tables in the very front and very back. Otherwise it's little booths by the wall. Things echo so don't expect the most privacy here Service: 3.75/5 pretty attentive depending on where you sit. I think it's harder to be noticed consistently if you're sitting in the back. I recommend being prepared and asking for what you need up front so you get it. Else you'll end up walking up front and asking.
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Jenee S.
Mar 4, 2024
We love that there are finally Japanese restaurants coming around the area. They are one of our favorite kinds of food.We ordered the chicken karrage as an appetizer. It could have been a tad more crispy but there was still plenty of crunch and flavor. The sauce went well with it too.I wasn't a huge fan of my ramen. It wasn't really spicy and the noddles were just off but the rest of the soup came together. The chicken katsu with it was amazing. Extra crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I really liked the curry rice as well. The curry was just right and they used the same chicken.We ended up taking some home and finished the chicken that night.The inside was decorated really cute with the umbrellas on the ceiling and it was extra clean. Friendly and helpful staff. We'll be back for all the chicken!
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Menghai T.
Nov 24, 2023
I got the black garlic Ramen, the pork bun appetizer, and a mango Boba. The pork bun appetizer was very good. I liked the spicy house sauce, it complimented the sweetness and saltiness of the pork. The Ramen was good, the pork was very savory, the egg was cooked perfectly. The broth was also very savory however, just a little bit too salty for my personal taste. The black garlic flavor is the little thing that helps elevate the flavor of the dish. Overall a very good Ramen place. I would definitely come back. Ramen was $16, pork bun $8, boba $6. Food: 7.3Staff/service: 7.0Overall: 7.2/10
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Michael B.
Jun 16, 2024
This place does a nice job with ramen - flavorful broth, meat is well seasoned, and noodles are cooked just right. The server was very nice, and service was pretty quick too. Only regret is I told them somewhere between medium and spicy for the noodle, and it didn't come out very spicy. But otherwise this llce IA great! Don't forget to do a Boba tea for dessert.
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Jenn G.
Oct 21, 2023
Immediately this place was a lot of fun to enter into. The automated ramen bowl greeted us in the front, then the girl at the desk. Then the guy at the other front counter. We felt thoroughly welcomed!We loved all the Naruto art in the back room but I would prefer if it was decorated even more!Pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed this place! The mango boba milk tea was perfect and not too sweet. I got the black garlic ramen and asked for it to be medium spicy and it was amazingly tasty! I would totally get it again. We also ordered the pork buns which were fresh and hot the spot. The women's bathroom location in the back was kinda scary.
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Cesca D.
Jan 13, 2024
A friend of mine loves Boba tea and we happened to be in the area today looking for a place to grab lunch. We reviewed a few places on yelp and chose this location based on the positive reviews. We were seated promptly upon walking in and ordered boba teas and appetizers right away. There was nice music playing and it was very clean. Our waitress was very happy as was everyone ( the cook and the food runner too). We both ordered a poke bowl. Food was delicious and served with little wait time. My only complaint was that we weren't sure where we were heading next and it seemed like they didn't want us "sitting around" even though there were many open tables and not too many customers.
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Mike C.
Mar 23, 2024
One of the things that struck me as interesting from Ramen Danbo in Seattle is their noodles. The Ramen didn't have the typical Ramen noodle, but these were white thinner noodles and were pretty good. When I came back to Pittsburgh, I had been trying to find places that have it.By chance I got an e-mail from Yelp about Ramen restaurants in Pittsburgh and decided to take a look and found Zen Ramen & Poke. After looking through the menu and pictures, I noticed they had the same kind of noodles as Ramen Danbo did and decided I needed to give them a try.I got the black garlic ramen and it was pretty good. The pork and bamboo were pretty tender. Noodles were great as well. They have quite a few add-ons as well, similar to Ramen Bar if you want to load up your soup. I would come back and try other soups!Staff is nice and service is pretty fast.
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Jimmy S.
Feb 21, 2024
Well, it's always tough finding good Japanese food in the Pittsburgh area but we found a gem at the Zen Ramen & Poke!The chicken karaage is very good and I highly recommend it. I first got a taste of chicken karaage when I visited Hawaii in 2022 and this is the first place I found that has it. I've made it before but nothing beats a well cooked restaurant version.The main meal I decided on is the always delicious chicken Katsu curry. They have different spice levels which is nice as some other restaurants in the area don't offer that, it's just regular mild curry. The portion sizes were great, everything was fresh and the price just right!Overall, I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some good Japanese food. The service is great as well.
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