Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

time_man21 t1_j9vxieb wrote

The best is probably Daikaya, although downstairs isn't the sort of place you'd linger. Upstairs is beautiful but IIRC only has ramen on Fridays.

I've also really enjoyed Toki Underground on H street. And if you're coming from the Maryland side you could always stop early on one of your trips and hit Ren's Ramen in Wheaton.

And congratulations to your wife!

32

krispissedoffersonn t1_j9vxtxk wrote

I like most of the local shops for different reasons, but I think Menya Hosaki has the highest quality bowl. house made noodles make a big difference. just my two cents

53

Common-Carpenter-984 t1_j9w0mj4 wrote

Toki Underground is a vibe. Very tight seating inside but I still I’d say it’s a great date night spot. Maybe call and see if you can reserve seats at the bar? Menya Hosaki is also incredible but a smaller menu and only open a few days a week with no reservations.

11

AdmiralDolphin11 t1_j9w0p81 wrote

My favorite ramen dish is at Sakkuramen but best overall is probably Toki Underground

18

Sentence_Electrical t1_j9w0pts wrote

I haven't been to them all, but my favorite so far is Menya Hosaki in Petworth. They unfortunately have weird hours and the wait-list fills up fast, but if you can get seats it's incredible. Daikaya is also a good option.

11

overnighttoast t1_j9w0skl wrote

Rens Ramen in Wheaton is the most authentic to me (studied abroad in japan). I don't actually care for much of the ramen IN DC, Daikaya did not impress me but I only went when it first opened. I prefer Akira in Rockville or Stamina in Bethesda to it, but again Rens is the best imo. Oh actually they opened an Akira in Adam's Moegan so I would recommend that!

15

IAmTerdFergusson t1_j9w17pu wrote

Best I've had is Toki Underground.

Also good: Daikaya, Chaplin's

2

Magister_Leon t1_j9w1m1x wrote

Menya Hosaki has gotten rave reviews from my friend circle.

5

adequatefiber t1_j9w22ji wrote

I liked Haikan's ramen better than Toki, but both are decent. Music is slightly loud in toki and it may be hard to hear your wife but it's a fun vibe. Haikan is slightly better for a date imo if yall want to be able to take things at a relaxed pace. Haikan is also close to 930 club if yall wanna catch a show afterward. Both Haikan and Toki have really good cocktails!

Haikan and Daikaya are both owned by the same people right? Is Daikaya any better than Haikan? Im open to what yall think. Ps if you do Daikaya OP, they don't take reservations last time I checked. Their attached izakaya restaurant (upstairs) DOES take reservations and has other tasty goodies.

Making it at home could be a fun couples activity if nothing sparks your interest? c:

I'll be honest with you, my boyfriend is a Japanese man from LA that goes to Japan every few years... and his take on Toki / Haikan was "it scratches the itch but I'm not wowed". My friend that grew up here adores Haikan. YMMV.

6

akiranoel t1_j9w727h wrote

Daikaya or Menya Hosaki are great. You can't do reservations at Daikaya, it's walk-ins only and it can be a bit tight esp if it's just the two of you bc they'll seat you at a bar like table so you sit side by side. For Menya Hosaki, you can't do reservations either but when the restaurant opens you can add your name to the waiting list. That one might be a little more spacious but they have a 90 minute dining limit.

Daikaya is a Sapporo style of ramen meaning its broth is made with chicken, pork, and beef. Oh and Menya Hosaki is only opened Wednesday - Friday in the evenings, but open for lunch on Tuesdays.

10

p_yth t1_j9waese wrote

Honestly nothing beats microwavable ramen

−2

Soft-Tangelo-6884 t1_j9was85 wrote

I don’t eat pork, so I really like the chicken broth ones at Bantam King, along with their Japanese fried chicken.

12

tubbz8771 t1_j9wc37p wrote

Not for a birthday meal setting but Island Sushi in Solomons has great ramen

1

peacenwaves t1_j9wcce2 wrote

Reren is pretty good, although its Lamen not Ramen.

Daikaya is very good too although a bit salty.

2

CardiologistLast4032 t1_j9wg5c9 wrote

I love Bantam King. Also their fried chicken dish with the drippings drizzled over some rice. I think they are owned by the same people as Dakaiya.

4

vanzeppelin t1_j9wgm0h wrote

Toki Underground. Have had others, but nothing tastes quite like TU. So good. The curry ramen with some pork belly added in is my favorite bowl in the DMV area

5

AllTheBandwidth t1_j9wji2d wrote

Man I must have had the worst luck of all time at Daikaya. The broth tasted like dirty dish water and the pork had 0 flavor. Like if they came over and apologized because there had been some freak mistake, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Worst bowl of ramen I’ve probably ever had.

I know I should give it another shot because everyone seems to like it, but hard to get motivated.

Sakuramen was pretty solid. I liked Toki for the vibe, the ramen was decent.

2

Which-Inspection735 t1_j9wjy0w wrote

Really enjoy Daikaya. One day I’ll be able to take down an entire bowl of super spicy miso

1

mkg4169 t1_j9wk5fk wrote

I really don’t think you can go wrong with the main DC places — Menya Hosaki, Daikaya, Toki Underground, and Haikan (haven’t been to Sakuramen or some of the other places mentioned). I would personally rank their quality in that order, but if you’re going in for a birthday dinner you may want to think more about the location and what you want to do in addition to ramen. Haikan is close to the Shaw/U Street and a lot of great bars and nightlife, and Daikaya is in Penn Quarter/Chinatown which has a lot going on as well — these two places are also pretty close to Metro stops. Toki is on H Street which has a lot of bars but maybe isnt as appealing to out of towners, and Menya is a bit further out with fewer bars and nightlife options around — these two places are less close to Metro.

This is all to say that if you’re looking to make a day or night out of your trip to town, you may want to think about the neighborhood as well.

1

Slainte71 t1_j9wl33s wrote

Sakuramen hands down! Great buns, too.

1

iidesune t1_j9wlekr wrote

I feel like this question is asked here on a monthly basis

0

d_hor t1_j9wmxpx wrote

menya hosaki really is the only correct answer here

1

jofijk t1_j9wnxqw wrote

Replying to adequatefiber (#1,979,634)

Daikaya is owned by the same restaurant group as Haikan. The menus and concepts are different though. The ramen bases at both spots are different as are the noodles.

I used to work for the company and because of that am definitely biased but even if they don’t offer some of the most popular styles of ramen (because they don’t match the concepts) their noodles are top tier. Each restaurant has a specific spec that is produced specifically for them by Nishiyama. If I’m getting ramen in DC it’s at one of the Daikaya spots (haikan, bantam king, Hatoba) or Menya Hosaki

2

Particular_Car_8908 t1_j9wpala wrote

I would say daikaya for everything broth- spicy/miso, shoyu, soyu ramen. Not hatoba, not bantam, not haikan. I said what i said. Menya for handcrafted noodles— soba, tan tan, and everything under the moon. Those are two different things. Jinya (yes its a chain, but I’ve worked there and gone to Japan soo- still agree if you want random apps.) DO NOT GO TO CHAPLINS- DO NOT GO TO AKIRA for an experience.

2

churner-burner t1_j9wqt3c wrote

Toki. It's different from Japanese ramen but it's quite good.

1

Soft-Tangelo-6884 t1_j9wqx49 wrote

Replying to OrtizDupri (#1,983,907)

I haven’t been in person in a while, because I just haven’t had a reason to go downtown. They used to make this white chocolate mochi bar and it was SO good. It’s not on their delivery menu, and I have gotten it delivered, but maybe it’s available in person.

1