Great food & great people! I’m pregnant and the staff was great at making menu accommodations to fit my dietary needs! I was very impressed by the variety of dishes in their menu. Quick service, delicious food, friendly staff, what more could you ask for? We sat at the sushi bar & Dylan made us delicious food & gave us some wonderful local recommendations!
Great place to try something new. Specials menu is superb. High quality food. A bit slow kitchen, we spent slightly over 1h hour with order of ramen and robata selection
Ramen and Sake!! Delicious menu & great atmosphere.
I wasn't expecting Afuri to be as packed as it was on a Wednesday night, even during the peak time window (7:00ish pm) in which we arrived. Getting a table looked like it would be a bit of a wait, but fortunately, the bar was open, and full service, so we sidled up and grabbed a menu. The bartenders present were friendly, and addressed us immediately, stating they would give us a little time to figure out our order.Unfortunately, they seemingly forgot about our existence for almost 15 minutes, passing back and forth in front of us without checking back in to take our order. I considered flagging one down, but they were quite busy with mixing and restocking, and I was morbidly curious to see how long it would take them to make eye contact and realize that we were still here. Once they did, things got moving as they should; we placed our shared order of Tonkotsu Tantanmen ramen, karaage, buta gyoza, and housemade tofu. My inquiry about a side bowl of miso soup was rebuffed, as they apparently do not serve it here, which is truly tragic - it's my absolute favorite Japanese staple dish, and I thought it was ubiquitous. Sadly, I was mistaken.All of our dishes began rolling out to us back to back, buta gyoza and karaage first, with the Tonkotsu ramen and tofu not far behind them. Shared between us, my wife and I had different perceptions of almost each dish, yet all of them positive. I thoroughly enjoyed the flaky, crispy, sweet, smoky and salty combination of flavors that came packed into the gyoza, each with its own potent signature, none overpowering the other.The karaage, consisting of knuckles of dark thigh meat fried in thick breading, drizzled in lemon juice and dipped in an egg salad dressing with a flavor reminiscent of coleslaw, was both delicious and incredibly filling. My lone critique was that the quantity of dressing was not sufficient for such a mighty undertaking, as there was a lot of breaded real estate to cover. I also secretly wanted to take another order home, just to try dipping them in some sort of hot sauce, as I think they would pair exquisitely with a less sophisticated slathering.The housemade tofu was a welcome surprise. With a presentation and texture more similar to custard than the standard brick you find in most grocers, we both felt that we were being treated to a savory dessert, ahead of our main course. It was smooth, creamy, with a carefully orchestrated symphony of sweet, salty and umami elements. Dishes like this, for those uninitiated with Japanese cuisine, can often be striking, unfamiliar, and occasionally off-putting to the western palate, but pure Tengoku (Heaven!) for my wife and I. It was easily the star dish of the night!I only lightly sampled by wife's Tonkotsu Tantanmen ramen, but combined with her feedback, and apparent rapture, are enough for me to sing its praises as well. Lightly spicy, with robust pork, soy and miso flavors, it's sure to strike a resonant note with any fan of true Japanese ramen (not that boxed nonsense), traditional or otherwise.Other than the service flub at the beginning, which I am sure was an isolated incident, and thus I'm unconcerned with it, everything about our experience at Afuri is what I would expect from a Japanese establishment: excellence. The philosophy of "kaizen", or continual improvement in search of perfection, is alive and well here. It's no wonder there wasn't an empty table in the house on a snowy, icy Wednesday evening in December!Afuri could only be bettered by the addition of an onsen out back, so we could dine and drink sake in warmth and comfort, while snow falls around us. Well, that, and having miso soup on their menu. I mean, for real...you can't be a Japanese place without miso soup, and I'm pretty sure any Shogun, Emperor or Prime Minister you ask would agree with me!
Nice people, excellent food
Excellent food! Tonkatsu ramen, karaage, and house tofu were all great. Got the yuzu cocktail as well, and it was delicious.
Sat at the bar because there was a wait and I am so glad we did! Our service was top notch even though we had to wait a little longer for our entree . Our food was excellent and tasted quite fresh. I would absolutely go back... And sit at the bar again.
Really tasty ramen and hype ambience with upbeat music and lively crowd. Met my work friends (in-person!) for the first time and this place was perfect for it. Fun place and great eats. Would definitely come back again.
The staff here is super friendly and quick to take orders. If you're doing takeout in addition to eating, be sure to let the server know. It's a fancier ramen and sushi place right on the east side with great selection of food. Try the ramen and stick around for a dessert.
Nice environment. Nice staffs. We ordered Strawberry Calpico, Karaage, Yuzu Shio and Yuzu Ratan Ramen. Looks and tastes pretty good! Except the fruity Yuzu flavor in Yuzu Shio ramen is a little too strong.