Obento

Great place to drop by, especially when it’s cold outside. The ramen was good enough to get us warm! Staff was very friendly and helpful!

Obento for lunch is great! The bibimbop is fantastic. It has lots of fresh seasonal veggies and choice of delicious protein, and a soup. Can’t beat that for $ 10!

I’ve eaten at Obento twice now, and I’ll probably eat there again. I think they find a good balance between speed, quality, and price. I appreciate that they have items on the menu that nod toward actual Japanese dishes (such as Kare and Tonkatsu), rather than the myriad Asian fast-​food places that serve endless riffs on greasy stir-​fry. I think the biggest challenge for Obento lies within the concept itself: good Japanese food must be fresh and use high quality ingredients — the simplicity of the cuisine encourages these aspects to shine. However, fast-​casual restaurants emphasize speed and value. That said, I think they are doing the best they can. If you work downtown and need a break from the burger-​pizza-​burrito-​sandwich onslaught of 16^th Street, give Obento a shot.

I come here too often for lunch, but I like it that much. The pork buns is probably my favorite thing on the menu. They offer a verity of item to choose from along with a healthy alternative. I do love that the side items very per day. It makes it interesting if you’re an adventurous eater. I’ve brought a bento box into work with me and every commented on how good it smelled. Everyone had a bento box in the office the next day. I think that should speak for itself.

Ok for a quick stop, chicken teriyaki was just. So-​so; aside from the scant sauce no flavor in the meat. Edamame was way past its prime; tough and stringy.

I’m literally writing this as I am having lunch here for the first time. It’s that good. Wonderful employees, fast service and good food! Try the Lychee bubble tea, you won’t regret it.

Their food is awesome! Good for small stomach people. I can finish a bento myself. Bubble tea is awesome!!!

This is not like the bento I get in Hawaii, but it’s okay if you’re looking for a relatively healthy lunch. I had the bulgogi box. I was expecting way more food for the $ 9 I paid. The meat itself was nothing special. It needed more seasoning. Also, they’re kind of stingy with the rice. The gyoza was yummy though.
I think next time I’ll try their boba drinks.

Got the vegetable bibimbap because the photo on the wall looked good. What I got was NOT anything like the photo. What I got was basically spring mix over rice with a few pieces of cooked egg. To pay $ 8 for a minimally put together salad and rice is overpriced to say the least and a diservice to authentic Korean cuisine.

This place is quaint. Slightly American-​ized Japanese food, but it’s one of the cheaper places on the 16^th St Mall. Boba tea is sub-​par, but still more refreshing than a tea or soda on a hot day. Their bento boxes are huge, however. Split one between two people if you aren’t ravenously hungry.
I’ve ordered the chicken buns the last two times, which have come out lukewarm each time. The chicken they use is that weird processed-​and-​put-​back-​together stuff (like you find at subway). Good, but nowhere near healthy.

I think the food here is okay, and prices good fit the location. Service might be an issue, as the person taking orders messed up on 2 of the 3 items I ordered. I will never understand why people who take orders do not repeat the order back. Seems like a very basic concept, especially if there is any sort of confusion during the ordering process.

The silver haired girl was extremely rude when my friend and I walked in. She saw us walk in, sighed, and rolled her eyes before she slowly made her way to the register. We only wanted a boba drink, but as we were looking and deciding on the flavors, she kept making these faces and tapping her fingers as if we were the biggest nuisance to her and holding up a line, which was funny because we were the only ones in the store.
We finally ordered our flavors only to find that they only have one size that is way too big. When we got the bill, $ 9 and some change for two drinks that were poorly made and not even a spoonful of over-​cooked boba pearls at the bottom of our cups. The second she handed me back my card, she ran to the back to talk to the gentleman working in the back. After a few sips, we had to throw our drinks out, they were horrible.
This girl was very rude, did not greet us, she treated us like we were wasting her time, didn’t send us off with a smile or «come back again», and drinks are over-​priced and poorly made.
I’m very picky about customer service. If a place doesn’t taste very good, I’ll give them a second chance because everyone has an off day, however, there is no excuse for bad customer service. Please train your employees how to conduct themselves around customers. For that reason, I will not be back.

The bubble tea was pretty good! I had a chai tea one. The spicy tuna roll was ok… the salmon roll tasted funny and I didn’t finish it. I told the cashier there but all she said is oh I will let the cook know. For what it was it was too pricey. I think better sushi can be found elsewhere. I was disappointed. The presentation was great but the food itself not good. The bubble tea is the only thing worth it in my opinion.

Bulgogi Bento box was sooo good. Perfect for a quick break, loved the combination of the food here.
Didn’t expect to eat something good in this place.
I am not picky when it comes to food. So I guess thats why I liked their food from the first bite to the last.

I’m kind of obsessed with everything boba, so this review might be a little harsh for the run of the mill boba drinker. My SIL and I stopped by yesterday afternoon because I’ve been craving boba like none other lately. I knew it was risky to chance a boba stop at 16^th Street, but I let my craving get the best of me.
For the good part, the silver haired employee was friendly, and I felt welcome from the moment I walked inside. The interior is clean and warm (which is nice because I’m a wimp when it comes to cold). And the menu is easy to read and understand. On the flip side, the boba itself was sub par. I ordered the taro, and my first sip was sickly sweet. I’m not used to having such sugary boba even when I order the snow version. That’s another thing, my SIL ordered the green tea, and we were both expecting the milk tea versions, rather than the snow version. That’s entirely our own faults for not paying attention, but the selection is more limited than I was hoping for. My tastes skew Asian when I stop by Asian places, so I end up rating lower than others might. This place might be okay in a pinch, but I’m still looking for my boba paradise.

Food sucked. The Bibimbap was not even close to a bibimbap. It just had lettuce, carrots, cucumbers (should be zucchini), green peppers.
Wife had Katsudon Bento, tiny portion of pork, and the rice noodles were mushy and fishy.
Won’t be back.

I was at a convention and wanted to get something on the cheaper side in Downtown Denver. I came across Obento, thinking that it would be pretty good for a fast food Japanese restaurant.
When I came in, I thought the place was really cute and tidy. Perfect atmosphere! It was really casual, which is a nice change from all the expensive restaurants around 16^th Street.
I looked over the menu, and decided I wanted the tonkatsu donburi (pork cutlet rice bowl). I grew up in Hawaii, and this is always a go-​to favorite. When I ordered, the cashier seemed confused about what I said. I guess I should have used the English name… It was really funny watching her reaction, especially because the menu uses the Japanese names for the dishes.
I got my tonkatsu, and it was okay. I didn’t realize it would have a chicken katsu sauce on top instead of the sweet donburi sauce that I am used to. It didn’t have an egg on top either. It came with vegetables/​salad, which I did not expect.
I would give this place another try, just because the food wasn’t bad. I think I’ll try their sushi next time.

If you’re ever walking down 16^th Street Mall and want something other than soda and/​or beer, this is the place to go. Their boba tea drinks are a little better than OK but nothing to blow me out of the water. Service with a smile and good energy are present. I wouldn’t pay just shy of $ 5 for boba but I understand the pricing since this place is right on the mall.
The restaurant is small and quaint. When I went, it was quiet with no customers on a Friday evening. They close earlier than other shops. If the owners here have ever been to Asia or Cali, the night life is where you get a lot of your business. I hope they do something about that. I don’t know how many times I thought of chicken teriyaki past 10PM as well as boba!

Moved to Denver three weeks ago and I was missing boba so much! My friend and I trudged through the snow to look for a boba place and found this Japanese restaurant. I ordered a Milk Tea while she had a Thai Tea. I was quite shocked when I saw the milk tea since it was literally white and wasn’t the chocolate-​y brown color that I had in the Bay Area.
The pearls were ok. nothing special to rave about. The place wasn’t the cleanest as well. Oh well, as long as I have my fix, I am totally fine with it. I will still look for new boba places though.
Oh, and the boba was not worth $ 4.50. The ones in the Bay Area were twice its size and flavor, and only $ 3. This was totally not worth it but beggars can’t be choosers…:(

Any bubble tea enthusiasts — avoid this place.
The cashier was nice enough to let us exchange flavors and the Thai tea which was a lot better than the milk flavor.