Rakkan Ramen

This place is awesome. Great service and food all around. Will definitely be coming back.

The ramen here is above par. The noodles seem to be made in house and have incredible texture and flavor. The miso broth is packed with richness. I appreciated that the ramen wasn't over complicated, just a few classic toppings (I added some extra egg). The service was also wonderful, everyone was super kind and friendly. The restaurant itself has a great atmosphere, clean and modern.

This may make sense to those who are of my generation and perhaps even older; have you ever experienced wanting a good old fashioned simple and greasy hamburger or cheeseburger but have found it difficult to find one? Too many places you go, they have created 'gourmet' burgers with 'inspiration' from various places. While these are good/decent, you just want your good, old, original, simple hamburger! That out of the way, imagine the same for Japanese food. I'm not a Japanese cuisine specialist by any means however I do know some flavors since I grew up in Tokyo. I so miss the tori no karaage (chicken karaage) but everywhere I have been to (not too many to be fair), it's way too Americanized which is ok but come on, someone's got to have authentic or close to authentic chicken karaage.I honestly gave up on Japanese food (Japanese curry rice, ramen, chicken karaage and takoyaki) in the US till I came across Rakkan Ramen.The founder, Ryohei Ito brought the idea of Rakkan Ramen with one goal in mind; bring authentic Japanese food to the world. Is the chicken karaage exactly how I remember having it in Tokyo growing up or on my various trips back there? I'd say 98% yes. The 2% is probably the type of chicken available here, the oils, water, etc. No nonsense specially made aolis drizzled on top and topped with tiny things to make it pretty; Rakkan Ramen's chicken karaage is as close as it gets to what you get in Japan.So let's get on with it. It was about 2 or 3 months ago, a friend and I visited Rakkan Ramen based on reviews and I figured let's check it out.You enter and you are transported to Japan with the word, Irrashaimase coming out of the staff's mouth within the first 2 seconds that you enter the door. OMG. I AM LOVING IT SO FAR.We are seated way back in the corner (which I don't mind. I'm an introvert anyway). We ordered the takoyaki which was outstanding. We also ordered a side of the chicken karaage (which I have already described above).We each ordered a ramen. I ordered the Amber. The broth was a BOMB. While vegan, the flavor profile it had was so Japanese and outstanding. The seasoned egg was PERFECTLY done. The bamboo shoots, hmmmm, that crunch in your mouth and lastly the chachu (grilled pork). The chachu I will say I've had better at other spots in the US. The actual noodles too I think there are spots that have better ones. Overall, this ramen HIT THE SPOT and I felt like I found a JACKPOT.Fast forward a while later, I went in solo for a lunch special on a Friday afternoon and ordered the Pearl ramen AND of course, my chicken karaage. The karaage again was exactly how it was the first time I had it. The ramen too was so amazing. Salty (not too salty but just right) and truly umami. One additional thing I wish Rakkan would do is to start adding wakame. This is the wet/soft seaweed that is a common ingredient across Japan in ramen, udon and miso soups. I have yet to come across a Japanese restaurant in the US that serves wakame (again, I have probably tried at most 50 Japanese restaurants in the US and I know there are thousands)I am so glad to have found this place. Now that I'm back, I plan on having my ramen fix every other week for a Friday lunch.

It gets harder and harder to write reviews for ramen places, I'm not really WOWed anymore the way I used to be every time I have ramen but it doesn't mean it's not good or enjoyable, I think perhaps I'm too desensitized to it? Like rakkan was yummy and I finished my bowl plus extra noodles, I got the spicy quartz ramen, but it wasn't particularly unique or special, but solidly delicious. I do wish the ramen had more toppings, it had crispy garlic, bamboo shoots, green onions, pork, and egg. It's not the best ramen I've had in Chicago tbh but it's solid. Ugh I feel like I'm not doing a great job of describing it but say you want a big bowl of ramen after a tough climbing session during winter? Rakkan is the place for you! Don't forget to give other restaurants in the argyle strip some love though, there are many sparkling gems along the whole street. Ugh idk, long Chris what do you think?Flavorful, I like the pork, I like the texture of the noodles, toppings were good (shrugs)I think so too long Chris, I think so too

This is a nice little ramen shop on the less busy side of town. It's quiet inside but the ambiance is nice enough for a casual date night. We were seated very quickly and our waiter was very attentive. We all enjoyed our ramen and the chicken bao buns were to die for.

Finally got to try Rakkan Ramen for the first time and it was super yummy! The Quartz ramen was creamy and flavorful (but it tasted bette when cold strangely lol), the karaage was crispy and flakey!, we got shrimp shumai and takoyaki as an appetizer and they were flavorful and well presented. The service was great and the food came out SUPER fast. Can't wait to drop by and try more of their ramen flavors!

Great late night spot option if you're in the area. They close at 11pm on Fridays (can't speak for the entire weekend but Friday for sure). Their appetizers were our favorite ! Probably some of the most delectable dumplings I've had in a while. Their pork buns were good too, but were a little on the cold side (not surprising considering were there an hour before closing). The ramen itself was tasty. Great broth of umami flavors. We weren't the biggest fan of their noodles. They are a different style and look to be more thin and wheat like than the usual. It wasn't bad just not our first choice of noodle. Excellent service with a clean and spacious restaurant!

We came on a Friday night, the restaurant doesn't look is like much from the outside but inside it is a long narrow and deep restaurant with a Japanese vibe of exposed wood everywhere. They seated us immediately, it was not crowded but there were a few people already there. They handed us menus and brought us water. The menu has a nice selection of vegan dishes available. We ordered two Japanese beers to drink and ordered Steamed Spicy Vegan Gyoza appetizer to split. I chose the Spicy Garnet Vegan ramen and my partner had Quartz Ramen with Pork. After about 5 mins they brought the gyozas out but they were not what we ordered so we sent them back and about 5 mins later they brought the correct gyozas. We both thought the gyozas were amazingly good. Our ramens came out while we were eating our appetizer. The ramens looked great. But ramen was not very good. It was not the Spicy version that I ordered. However they had chili paste/oil, on the table, so I just added it instead of sending it back. The ramen broth lacked richness and was too waterish. It also needed more noodles and more toppings. We have had the same dish in Japan and in Atlanta but this was the worst version we have had so far. My partner said his ramen was good. Overall, service was not great, the food was OK, the space was OK, but not much character. Order appetizers and skip ramen.

Solid spot, but I wouldn't get again for ramen, as it can't touch Kameya. I did like the different kinds of bases you can get, but would rather have a good miso. I did enjoy the chicken bun and dumplings quite a bit.

Was really in the mood for some ramen after the weather in Chicago started to dip in temps. Came here on a weekend around early dinner time and was seated immediately. Service was nice and the space is clean and a pretty casual vibe. Ordered the takoyaki which I feel like is always solid and a bit hard to mess up at most Japanese spots. A nice appetizer. As for the ramen itself, I ordered the spicy garnet which I liked. Definitely interesting that all the broths are vegan which is great for all those non-meat eaters. Really impressed with how strong the umami flavor. I still think meat broth (pork, beef, even chicken/fish) is generally more intense and rich than this, but I was not mad at all with this. I'd definitely come back again if I'm in the area and in the mood for ramen. Definitely a spot I'd recommend for vegetarians/vegans. Also some interesting specials that I might check out down the road.