OSAKA ENGINE RAMEN

Maybe we ordered the wrong thing but i doubt it as there are only three main ramen dishes- 1-3 with no accommodations. Maybe gluten or vegan options are better. I believe what happened to our ramen was that the green onions were past their due. And they really dumped a lot of these bad green onions in our ramen. It tasted awful. The taste permeated the rest and i know a lot about food and cooking so i tried to work past it and can tell without those green onions that maybe the food would be ok. Anyone who cooks knows that if green onions are old and get slimy the taste will take over the food and in a bad way. And both my son and i had upset stomachs afterwards. A shame because we were looking forward to it. Also as ramen goes it was one of the more expensive ramen dishes we had whilst in Japan.

Difficult review to write. The service is extremely good - the bar and waiting staff are very attentive, try their very best to speak English and have a very positive attitude. Ignore others who say it feels “over the top”, it’s certainly nothing compared to the sometimes extreme and fake service you feel in America where your tip is everything. They have clearly invested in making the location feel ‘cool’ or at least a little upmarket. So the layout is clean, funky and slightly late 1980s/early 90s. The problem is the food. The ramen is slightly below average at best. The prices are 50% more than a bowl of ramen at any other place within 500m (I checked), and the restaurant is proactively tourist/foreigner friendly - so the ‘tourist trap’ vibe is set. Everything on the menu comes as a gluten free or vegetarian option - and from feedback I heard in the restaurant, the standard is high if you are celiac or don’t eat meat. If you don’t fit into one of these two categories, you must ignore the “best ramen I’ve ever had” reviews - they honestly have no idea what they are talking about. If you are looking for authentic ramen, definitely go elsewhere.

Came back for a second night of dinner at Engine ramen. This place is extraordinary and is very good at catering for dietary requirements. We had a gluten free and vegetarian and had no issues at all ordering from the menu. There were multiple choices for us to choose from, but we tried the Zesty Vegan Ramen, Miso Gluten free ramen, and the fried dumplings and everything was 10/10. So flavourful and delicious! On top of the culinary experience the staff were extremely kind and welcoming! They all spoke very good English and were lovely to chat with. Is the best ramen and restaurant atmospheres we’ve had in our trip to Japan!