Sakuramen

AMAZING RAMEN. I definitely didn’t have any expectations for ramen in DC, but on whim, I decided to give Sakuramen a try and what a wonderful decision it was.
The inside is quaint, with colorful traditional paintings all along the walls, and all your favorite 2015 EDM hits blasting in the background. I got the Gojiramen with a spicy level 3 (I love spicy foods, but considering I recently got some teeth pulled out, I thought I’d take it easy), and it was SO GOOD that it has to be written in caps.
Seasoned soft boiled eggs were a perfect addition to the subtle spice of the refreshingly savory broth, and the thin noodles were just the right texture. Every ingredient wonderfully complimented each other, and despite the black holes in my mouth forcing me to eat at the pace of a slug, I powered through because it was just /​that/​good.
My friend got the Shoki Bowl and thought it was incredible as well!
Service was also A+, it’s definitely one of those restaurants where your water never gets to the halfway mark because they are constantly refilling your glass! Do note that this restaurant has some Korean-​fusion influences, which are more pronounced in certain dishes (e.g. Chosun ramen, kimchi, bulgogi buns, etc.) than others. Just keep that in mind if you’re a Japanese ramen purist!
I will definitely come back the next time I come to DC!

I’ll never go back.
I used to like this place until we waited in line for 30 minutes to advance to the front of the line, just to watch the rude guy with the goatee split our table for four to seat two tables of two which arrived 20 minutes after us. Arrogant, terrible service. Never again.
Not recommended.

This is my favorite ramen spot around the DC area, nothing compares to NYC ramen though! I don’t remember what I usually get but its one of the most popular bowls! The pork buns are okay in my opinion.

This establishment is located underground, in the Adams Morgan area. A place with many bars, many shenanigans, and a few good food places. Its a bit of hike from the nearest metro, so if you don’t mind the heavy humidity during the summer, a walk is about 20 min. Parking is tough as its limited and gets crowded easily, so I recommend a über or taxi.
It’s been a long journey trying to find a ramen shop here in the DMV area. I’ve tried many, and though filling, not always fulfilling. When someone told me about «a great ramen place», I was skeptical. However after my first experience here, I can say I have my DC spot for ramen (cue angelic singing)! Each occasion dining here has been on par with one another, as the service and quality is consistent. The most recent trip being a date night. It was a short walk from the DuPont area and arriving there around 9, there were seats! This establishment is fairly popular, so expect a wait. They don’t take reservations, and work off the «first come, first serve» mentality.
I want to start off by saying this is a fusion restaurant, so for those looking for an authentic Japanese ramen shop experience, this won’t be the place to find it. Though it will come, hopefully sooner than later, you will be disappointed if you’re searching for a particular flavor. If you’re super hungry, start off with the Chasu Pork buns! Meat is tender and presented well in a soft bun, I thoroughly enjoyed this as a starter. As for ramen, I like a kick to my food so I naturally chose Tonkatsu Red, and Spicy Miso. Tonkatsu broth was flavored well, and had a good spice level. I certainly can go hotter, but that might have taken away from the flavors. The porkbelly used was tender, and my favorite was tasting the garlic and mushroom. Miso is a bit saltier, but more options for spice level. For this one I went all in and got maximum spice (10). It burned so good, and had to get a carbonated drink to help ease that burn. Surprisingly the side of kimchi (very well prepared with a nice crunch to it) help cut the spice a bit. Noodles for both is not overly or under cooked. Order an extra side of noodles if your famished, and a soft boiled egg for added richness.
Service is friendly, prompt, and efficient. I will be coming back to try the other noodle dishes, or when I feel like getting some more spice in my life. Happy eating!

Again, my wife and I are huge fans of ramen and we haven’t found a place where the ramen is as good as my wife’s. One of our best friends recommended this place and it did not disappoint.
My wife, our friend, and I went here on a Sunday night after a day of drinking. So I was snoozing a bit and the servers kept checking in on me to make sure I was okay. (Sorry about that guys.)
This place got four stars because the wait for the ramen was a bit too long. The place wasn’t that busy and we were seated right away as well as there were more empty tables behind us.
When we finally got their food, Ohmygosh. I might’ve been drinking but I remember thinking that this ramen was amazing! I would’ve finished it all if I had been a little bit more sober, but I can’t wait to go back. My wife even loved it and is now planning when to go back. I couldn’t tell you what I ordered, but everything about it was amazing. I can’t believe it took us so long to try this place out.
Side note: my wife says the dumplings are to die for. I’m coming back to order that so I can also remember.

My favorite Ramen joint of all time, and will always be! I remember when I first had their Ramen, and I was initially not sold. But I am glad that I made regular visits despite my first meh encounter, because either their ramen grew onto me or the food quality improved over time. Spicy Miso Ramen is my go-​to, where you can choose the spicyness from 0 – 10. But I would never recommend anyone to venture out to anything +7, unless you like to torture yourself. Not only do I love their Ramen, I love their buns as well! Honestly, the buns definitely give it off that the place is run by Koreans, with bulgogi and spicy pork as toppings. But these Korean-​style marinated meats go surprisingly well with the buns. Overall, the food here hits the spot everytime, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a decent Ramen place in DC.

tl;dr Best ramen shop we’ve tried in DC. Go here for fewer crowds, better service, and better food than that place on H Street.
After a long day of errands, my fiancé and I made our way to Sakuramen. We arrived around 6:30 on a Saturday and were surprised by at less than 15 minute wait. One con: there’s no sign in system, just a line at the door, and a few people definitely cut all the rest standing out in the rain. Call those jerks out!
Once we got inside, service was fast and efficient. He got the shoki bowl, I got the mild tonkotsu. Both broths were a bit salty, but flavorful, and the noodles were firm and chewy. Portion size was perfect for one hungry person. We split the spicy pork buns, which were balanced nicely with lettuce and green onion, and I got a hot ginger tea to ward off the cold (actually spicy! but a little too sweet — ask for less sugar if you don’t want a dessert).
Regarding the spice rating system, we were given the option of 1 – 10. We chose 4, and as people who prefer medium most places, found it to be milder than expected. Have fun!

I waited about 15 minutes to get a seat at Sakuramen. By the time I had gotten a seat, the line had doubled in length! Hence, I surely thought the ramen would knock my socks off. Sadly, my socks stayed on.
The food here isn’t the best; in terms of ramen places, Sakuramen is on the lower scale of quality. First, the noodles were too chewy, but that wasn’t the main detractor. Instead, it was the overly fatty and rich bland broth.
Not only was the food sub-​par, but the service wasn’t that great either. My waiters (there were so many people running around I couldn’t tell who my waiter was) completely neglected to give me any water for the entire time I was there. They also messed up my order by forgetting one of my ordered items.

Ok I’m sold. Honestly wasn’t expecting much since DC doesn’t seem to do ramen all that well (except for Toki), but Sakuramen was delicious and I will be back.
The buns — $ 8 for two, decent price and size, bursting with flavor. The buns themselves are soft, and my only complaint is that they were some bites that were a little chewy. But didn’t take away from the overall bite. The spicy pork was seriously good and honestly I wasn’t going to order them but very glad I did. The flavors were amazing and the scallion set it off. Also tried the chashu (pork belly) bun — the chashu itself had great flavor, but for me it wasn’t enough for the bun. However, still delicious.
The ramen
Tonkotsu red (spicy) — I enjoyed this, the flavor was pretty good and had decent heat. The pork belly is cooked perfectly and so perfect for the ramen. Noodles are good, mushrooms are good.
Shoki — this was absolutely delicious. The broth was so good and there was so much meat in here it was perfect. Again, the chashu is done really well and compliments the ramen. The bulgogi is a little out of place in the ramen, but I really liked all the bulgogi at the bottom of the bowl once I finished my noodles. I will definitely be back for this ramen it was so good.
The service was good, water was refilled often, didn’t have to wait too long for food or to order. Was seated immediately but the restaurant was full at lunch time on Friday. Also, the chef came to our table after we finished and thanked us for coming in and having clean bowls at the end of it. All in all a great meal

I came back with some friends, proudly introducing this restaurant as the best Ramen in town but the experience was not perfect. My friends and I chose spices level 4(what I did last time) and the broth was almost inedible, amazingly good but too spicy, compared to what I had last time. So I think the spice level at the restaurant is not consistent, which is not a good thing. The staff is very attentive and nice, which made the experience a little better. Also they had the music very loud. We had to yell at each other to talk.

Solid ramen with good portions. The prices are slightly lower than other ramen places in town. I ordered the spicy miso with extra bamboo shoots. The noodles were just ever so slightly thicker than I preferred but the flavorful broth made up for it. The space is small so if you have a large group you may end up waiting 15 min or so just for the center table to clear. Love their music blasting too– such a cool and hip atmosphere!

Went here cause of good reviews on Unilocal.
Extremely busy on a Wednesday night at 7. Friendly service. Restaurant is in the basement of a building
We ordered 4 appetizers and 4 ramens. Appetizers were delicious but ramen were too too salty that we couldn’t even taste the food. The table next to us said the same thing. We won’t be going here again.
I’m seeing a trend with all ramen restaurants I eat at… The ramen is too salty and lacks flavor, unlike Phở at Vietnamese.

I love their kimchi ramen — it’s really the perfect broth. Their noodles could be a little thicker (they have a thicker noodle option but there’s barely a difference between their thin and thick), but overall, I love the ramen here — maybe even going as far to say that it’s now my favorite ramen place in DC for the food & price. Toki Underground’s ramen is still amazing (especially their pork belly chasu) but that place is so far away and pricey if you add a few Sapporos to your check. But Sakuramen is really inexpensive and the flavor is there. And definitely not as salty as Daikaya, which is another reason why I prefer Sakuramen.
Only con is that they do not serve alcohol…

SO, I’ve been on the hunt for good ramen places in the DC area — and it’s been harder than I expected. While this one comes pretty high on my list and I’ll probably pay another visit soon, I wouldn’t say it’s top-​notch.
The Shoki bowl seemed almost too good to be true — bolgi and pork in one bowl?! How could I say no? Well, I didn’t say no and ordered the Shoki bowl. All the elements of the dish were fantastic. The meat was tasty, the nori and egg were great, and the noodles were nice & silky. BUT the bulgogi was too strong of a taste and overwhelmed any earthiness and aroma the broth could have had. Every bite tasted like the bulgogi-​flavored broth — which wasn’t bad bad (and some people may actually love that flavor), but it wasn’t what I want in my ramen.
My +1 got a more traditional Gojiramen bowl and I loved it. The broth was light, earthy and savory while still humbly highlighting the other components of the bowl. I believe the flavors married well in this bowl, vs. the Shoki bowl.
The pork belly buns are great, the kimchi was tangy but small-​portioned, and the green tea ice cream mochi dessert was yummy (almost seemed like it was from Trader Joes.).
Overall, it is a solid place — one that I liked enough to want to re-​visit! :)

I’m on a hunt for the best ramen in the DMV. and I thought Sakuramen fell short. It was just lackluster. It’s housed in a rowhouse in Adams Morgan (so parking is tough!), and there’s an upstairs seating area and downstairs seating area, which are oddly not attached inside… so we entered at the bottom level and awkwardly stood there for forever without being acknowledged, before a waiter told us to go back outside and up the stairs to the top level. The bottom level had a funky vibe with old school hip hop playing, which I kind of liked… but upstairs was like a completely different restaurant! Much more plain with ALL slow jams playing. So awkward (think Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight).
I got the tonkatsu (pork broth) which came with Berkshire pork belly chashu and kikurage (Woodear mushrooms). I guess I didn’t read carefully, but I typically assume all ramen bowls come with a soft-​boiled egg… I was seriously HORRIFIED to find that these don’t! You have to order that separately. I wish I’d noticed that. I did, however, order a side of kimchi, which was actually really good tangy kimchi and added some flavor to my broth. Otherwise, I just was not impressed. The broth was pretty bland. Chashu was tender though! Also, i DO like that you can really control how spicy you want your broth — They let you pick on a spicy scale of 1 to 10. I probably should have gone spicier for more flavor, but really you shouldn’t have to add spice to get over the blandness of a dish…

I came here on a Sunday afternoon with a couple of friends. Sakuramen is a place, easy to miss as it is hidden in the streets of Adams Motgan. The place is small and can feel cramped. When we got there around 3pm on a cold Sunday, it was fairly busy, possibly because of the dreary weather, it was a ramen day. I can see this place being really cramped and busy during «peak hours»
Place: Sakuramen is small, cozy and can be a little cramped but as the name says, it is a ramen bar so to me it’s a fine establishment for a ramen bar.
Menu: For appetizers, they have a few choices of steamed buns and dumplings. Their ramen choices range from $ 11-​$ 15. My friends got the tonkotsu red, which can be ordered on a spicy level of 1 – 10. The staff told us that a spicy level of 3 is siracha spicy. One of my friend got the tonkotsu red ramen spicy level 7 and the there friend got spicy level 10! I played it safe and got tonkotsu mild. I enjoyed my ramen and tried the broth from level 7, and was it spicy! Didn’t try level 10. Both of my friends enjoyed their spicy broth as did I with my mild broth.
Ambiance: it is small and cozy. There is a big communal table in the middle and people are seated as seats empty and people come and go. People were in and out and seats were quickly filled. When you think of a ramen bar, Sakuramen gives you the ramen bar image.
Ramen wasn’t all that exceptional so I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back but if you are in the area and want ramen, stop by.

Along with Toki & Daikaya, Sakuramen has become one of my favorite places to eat Ramen.
Hidden in the streets of Adams Morgan, it’s very easy to miss. The inside is very small but definitely charming. What sets Sakuramen apart from the others is their wide selection of Ramen flavors. From the Tonkotsu red to the meaty Shoki, every bowl has their own personality and specific flavor. Usually Ramen shops stick to one or two popular flavors but Sakuramen does a very good job at making all of them unique and tasty. Make sure to come at the right time b/​c seating can be very limited.
For all you Ramen lovers, D.C. is the place to be if you want the absolute best! :)

It was a cold Valentines Day and my hubby was out of town for work. You know what that means… I was sat immediately. It was beautiful. Me and my New York Times and the waiter’s incredible EDM music. I got the TONKOTSU Red with a very mild spice grade. It was phenomenal. Loved the mushrooms and the smoky oil drops they put into it. Loved it.
Tip: If you would like to follow the music that is pumping during your meal just ask. I did and am now following the waiters amazing playlist on Spotufy

Went here on Valentine’s Day, and thankfully it was only about a 10-​minute wait (we arrived at around 5:45 and they opened up the upstairs dining area shortly thereafter).
My friend and I ordered the spicy pork buns to start, and I got the Shoki bowl (pork belly, bulgogi, egg, nori) with a fireball on the side so I could make it spicier, while he got the Spicy Miso bowl. A word to the wise: you can select a spice level between 1 and 10, and according to our waiter, what most people think of as «medium spicy» is a 2 or 3.
We both loved the pork buns; they were some of the best I’ve had personally, and I highly recommend them. After that, it was a strangely long wait (maybe 15 minutes but felt like longer) before our ramen arrived. But we both agreed it was worth the wait. The Shoki bowl was killer — probably the best ramen I’ve ever had, though I’ve never been to Toki. The pork belly in particular was delicious, and not too fatty like at some places. My friend got a 4-​level spicy for his Spicy Miso bowl, and he looked like he was crying while he ate it but he said he really liked it.
We spent about $ 25 each including tip, which I thought was a good value based on the quality of the food.
My only complaints are the wait time between dishes, and that the music they were playing didn’t really ‘go’ with the cuisine. But otherwise, I’m really glad I tried Sakuramen and will definitely be back.

One thing that I love about Sakuramen is that they have both a vegetarian option and options with chicken broth (I don’t eat pork or beef). One con is that all of their non-​vegetarian ramens only offer pork or beef as their protein. To be fair, I didn’t ask if I could substitute for tofu.
As someone who prefers to eat vegetarian, I tried their famous vegetarian Sakuramen ramen. If you like soy sauce, I think you’ll really like this. Unfortunately, I don’t like soy sauce, so I was not a big fan of the broth. I felt it was much too salty and left a heavy flavor. However, everything in the ramen was good. I really liked the texture of the noodles, and the corn and mushrooms tasted good.
I’d certainly be happy to try another one of their ramens and raise my review.

Bön rapport qualité prix, mais rien d’exceptionnel. L’ambiance est sympa, très bon service