Dashi

We left feeling underwhelmed by the entire experience. The restaurant was extremely loud—it felt overstimulating and made it hard to focus on conversation or enjoy the meal. While the decor itself is nicely done, the atmosphere was far from relaxing. We ordered a variety of dishes: tonkatsu ramen (gluten-free with rice noodles and no soy egg), fried dumplings, pork buns, skewered chicken hearts, grilled edamame (without togarashi), vegetable tempura, and matcha gelato. The ramen was disappointing—it tasted only of salty pork, with no depth or nuance. The broth had potential, but the dish as a whole didn’t come together. The dumplings were fine but forgettable. The pork buns were dry and lacking in flavor, and the dish felt incomplete. I didn’t try the chicken hearts myself, but they were tiny—smaller than grapes—and looked overcooked and dry. Each skewer had only three small pieces. The edamame was actually enjoyable. The grilled preparation gave it a great smoky flavor that stood out. The tempura, however, was overly greasy and made up mostly of okra, which no one at our table cared for. That dish, like a few others, went mostly untouched. The matcha gelato was good if you’re into matcha—light and not overly sweet. Service was okay. Our server never gave her name and initially entered the wrong item (vegetable ramen instead of tempura), then left both on the bill. She did correct it and was friendly. We also couldn’t help but notice there weren’t any Asian chefs or diners during our visit, which felt telling for a restaurant serving Japanese food. Overall, the food lacked flavor, the vibe was overwhelming, and we wouldn’t return.

Fantastic ramen, gluten free noodles were yummy. Cauliflower is next level! Musubi was nostalgic, used to live in Hawaii and it took me back. Love the vibe! Everything we had was yummy!