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| - Noodle time! I came for noodles and I was not disappointed.
I'll admit that I came here for ramen and accidentally ordered not-ramen. What's more, I didn't immediately realize that the Udon noodles I ordered actually came as soba noodles ... I'll have to update my review once I've tried the ramen properly, but in the meantime, I'll comment on the noodles anyway! NB that the ramen is not listed in their menu but rather on signs on the wall and chopstick tins; the Japanese soup on the menu is *not* ramen.
Vegetarian options here are fairly good; the ramen broth is vegan, and while the other soup broths are omnivore-only, they'll switch out meat for tofu in any of the other dishes. My partner got vegetarian ramen which came with copious amounts of noodles plus mushrooms, corn, green onion, and a tasty egg that had been marinated in a slightly sweet sauce. The broth was a coconut-tahini broth that was rich like you'd expect from ramen, but had a Thai vibe. I ended up eating a lot of his noodles and they were tasty!
My Japanese noodle soup came with a bunch of veggies including mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots, in a shiitake mushroom broth with bonito flakes. I liked the broth but there was something a bit off about it ... possibly the bonito (which I don't especially like), or the fact that it wasn't the ramen broth I was initially expecting. Nevertheless, a decent value at $12 including tax/tip.
We also had vegetarian spring rolls which were pretty good, and dessert including crème brûlé (great) and lychees in syrup (mediocre).
I'm not usually a big décor woman but I was a big fan of the décor here as it created a nice, cozy Japanese vibe (including the tiny space).
Overall I had a four-star experience but I will mention that some of the cons listed in other reviews are legit: it's not the best or most ramen-y ramen you'll find in town, and it is pretty small and crowded (we went on a Thursday evening).
As for those reviews casting aspersions on the chefs for their Euro ethnic background, this seems more to do with hipster anxieties about how "authentic" something is being indicative of, or more important than, its quality. (Presumably they'd find the food better if it was cooked by people with authentic Asian DNA.) An interesting, and in this context ironic, factoid: the restaurant's namesake is a 1985 Japanese comedy film about a(n ethnically Japanese) woman, Tampopo, who owns a struggling ramen restaurant and must learn how to make good ramen noodles.
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