Not as bad as some of the negative reviews make it out to be, not nearly as good as the positive reviews say it is.Atmosphere was very nice. The restaurant itself is very pretty and clean.Soup dumplings were decent. Lamen was okay, pickled ginger in the soup was a miss. Nothing was bad, but not something I'd go out of my way to get again.
I so badly wanted to like this places food. Iv been getting the Teas that they offer every day this last week. Ramen bar upstairs and Teas downstairs. But today I said I’d try the food and oh, how disappointed I am. First the bun sandwiches were completely saturated in sauce and the pork was just fat no meat on the pork. AT ALL.. Iv had pork buns before and this just made me sick. See photos below. I couldn’t even eat them. I also got the spicy wontons and they were good but while eating those and the buns I couldn’t enjoy the food. I should have listened to the food reviews before ordering food. Just wanted to see for myself.Other than that the teas they offer are absolutely delicious. A great refreshing treat for the warmer weather.
For this review, the food by itself was worth 2 stars, but the experience brought the rating down to 1. To start with, the food. I don’t think I have had a negative experience with any ramen place in DC, but I guess there is a first time for everything. All the marketing states something to the effect of “it’s not just ramen, its lamen!”. Well maybe that just stands for lame ramen as cheap microwave noodles are better. I ordered the “signature” and the broth had no flavor, the noodles were way too soft, and the ingredients list was inaccurate on the menu. I have no idea why they would put SO MUCH GINGER in the food. I struggled to finish the noodles and only did so because I has starving.Now, onto the experience. First, they had no service to speak of and just used some app/QR ordering service. This would not have been a problem, but the service they used had service charges in addition to a default tip - an ordering system should complement your service not replace it and still charge more money.DC has a vaccination mandate for dining in, which had been in effect for almost a week when I went. No one checked vaccine cards or even asked about it. Not only that, but a staff member in a red shirt did not have a mask in any capacity. I thought she had one off to grab a drink of water, but no, I never saw her put one on at any point when she was handling or preparing food or walking through the restaurant floor.
ramen/lamen was really bad not gonna lie. the poke nachos were alright. however, i think there’s too much mayo sauce. i got the soybean tempura lamen in which the description said miso soup. needless to say, there was no miso flavor. the tempura AND the noodles were very soggy. my friend has the reren signature lamen and at least the broth was a little better. but honestly, who puts kale, carrot slices, brussels sprouts in ramen???? overall, i do not recommend.
If you are looking for a good bowl of ramen, this is not the place. It’s not ramen, more like strangely flavored noodle soup.Let’s start with the pros:1. Good dining environment2. Egg was deliciousCons:1. Soup base was way off2. Pork belly had no flavor3. Noodles were soggy and had strange texture4. Strange veggie combo coming along with the dish5. Russell spouts were undercookedWon’t come back again.
Lovely restaurant with a cool vibe and style. Cucumber salad was an absolute fave and we enjoyed everything we ordered. I also liked how we could order everything through our phone + how quickly everything came out.
Ramen is not so good. Just like a pho…..
Really good food. I hope I have the opportunity to try other dishes.
Great taste and very convenient shopping experience..
I’ve been in town 7 days and this has been my #1 eating experience. The staff was incredibly friendly and the food was great. I got the Reren spicy cold noodles and the soup dumplings and was impressed on both. Medium spicy was perfect for the noodles