I am giving 3 stars. I battled with this one for a number of reasons. The service was great. It's a small place, not many tables. There were a number of people enjoying their food. The saki was delish! We had cold saki and sipped. It was really good.
The ramen? I guess it just wasn't my thing. I know not giving a better rating because it wasn't my favorite is a bit lame but honestly, I didn't love it. Mind you, I am not familiar with authentic ramen. I love pho but this wasn't pho, it was ramen.
I skipped apps because I wanted to make sure I had room for my soup. Only, something about the fermented bamboo shoots threw me off a bit I think. The pork tasted good and even though it was fatty and the stock was fatty it was the bamboo that had a moldy taste... I get it, it's fermented, I like fermented foods, just not bamboo apparently.
I know shouldn't strike Nishikawa for my flavor palate but I am, sort of. I was surprised how disappointed I was after reading such great reviews. So, if you know you love ramen, maybe this is your jam? If you aren't certain, maybe don't go with the Nishikawa ramen bowl and try to have something with not as much in It?
I would recommend it if I ever heard anyone ask for suggestions but otherwise, it was a good effort on my part to try something new.