Raku

Very authentic Japanese place with a very tasty food! Not a big space but feels great!

This place has good raamen! In fact, it’s the only place in Noord-​Holland (since it’s just outside of Amstelveen, in Uithoorn) where they have good raamen!
The first time I went here the miso broth was on the salty side. Last time it was perfect. The noodles are traditional Japanese raamen noodles, the broth is based on chicken and not pork, they have both shoyu and miso broths and they even offer a lunch menu deal with a slightly smaller sized bowl of raamen with cha shu (roasted pork) and a side of rice, some pork gyoza and a small salad. All that for € 12 (check the pictures).
This place is NOT operated by Chinese people like nearly all Japanese restaurants in Amsterdam! No, this place is operated by Japanese people who actually know what they’re doing. They are open from 12 – 2 PM for lunch and I’ve only been here for lunch and not yet for dinner so I cannot say much about that.
It’s not a huge place but it’s always filled with actually Japanese people and the occasional Korean people. This should mean a lot because it indicates that Japanese people approve of this place!
I recently decided to not eat pork anymore, so finding the right raamen last time proved a bit lacking in choice. There seemed to be two raamen that didn’t have pork but the one I ordered deceived me! I ordered the raamen called «spicy leek» (€ 11). No mention of pork or any other protein but the fact that all broth is based on chicken. It didn’t come with a few slices of roasted pork. Instead it came with small chunks of lean roasted pork sprinkled all over my bowl. Not a problem since I don’t refrain from eating pork based on religious reasons so my food was not «tainted» in my eyes. I just removed the pork, gave it to my happy carnivorous friend and everyone was happy again! Just good to know for all ya’ll health conscious people who want to eat here. Tell them «no pork», beforehand.
If I don’t feel like traveling all the way to Dusseldorf for a decent bowl of raamen, I’ll just come here again next time! Definitely good raamen and only 15 – 20 minutes away from Amsterdam by motorbike/​car.

Without a doubt the ramen here is the best, it even outshines ramen in japan. The iberico pork belly is the most succulent, the broth is the most well rounded flavour. Had the miso broth. You can add toppings as shown on the recipe. I usually come here from work and then it takes a two hour ride, but it is well worth it.

Small family run restaurant, but just excellent food. I highly recommend the Iberico pork.

Great little restaurant. Good food, good service, nice folks. Small but neat. Lots of japanese customers on weekdays and at lunch, if that’s not a compliment I don’t know what is :). Book a table and try it out!