Oka Ramen 3

After coming back from Pikes Peak via COG Railway from 22F to 80F degree weather, we were mentally and physically exhausted. Especially when we were dressed in warm thermo hiking attire with snow boots.

We were craving ramen and spotted this Japanese joint the day before and decided to come in today. Upon entry, the dated Black and white interior screams at you.

We got greeted, seated and water came out
instantly but taking our order was about 10 minutes because only one person was working and she was handling the party next to us.

We shared Miso ramen under the lunch special. You can pick your choice of protein and we got pork belly. It came out with 4 small slices of pork belly that was still hard and chewy. It would be best to cook it longer to get the feeling of being melted in your mouth with all the fat. The broth is soy based so it's light and savory.

We also got the Crispy cod fish bento lunch box. The bento came with miso soup, salad, rice, 2 piece gyoza, and 1 egg roll. The description said fried rice and 4 California roll but we didn't get any of that.

The crispy cod was like panko breaded and deep fried. The egg rolls was mainly carrots but flavorful.

Came here expecting the same great food at Oka 2, but it didn't meet that level of ramen. It seemed a bit watered down here.

Got the vegan ramen and it was good, just didn't meet expectations, assuming it would be the same as Oka 2.

Service was good though, great spot and wasn't busy.

I have been on an extreme ramen kick. This place, soothed me like the savage hungry beast I was entering here. Very nice server, 7pm on a Friday (busy) we were greeted and served promptly. My only complaint is: I ate a lot of ramen because it was super good and actually hurt myself lol. This ramen is good. Funny enough, I'd put it top 3 I've had in Colorado. Really tasty, lots of choices. I actually got a "broth less" ramen, my spouse ordered the kimchi ramen, also had a some Gyoza chicken. Both ramen orders great, full of veggies, good ingredients. Good job OKA!

The only reason I'm not giving one star is because the order was to go. Our meal came with a miso soup and house salad which they left off the order. The shrimp teriyaki was extremely too salty. My husband ordered the chicken katsu and it was overcooked. How do you mess up crab Rangoons? They were so hard they were inedible. The shrimp shumai were the best thing we got so I was happy we ordered at least one ok item.
A very disappointing meal. We will not eat at this restaurant or order to go again.

This was a good ramen place especially for being in a small town like Manitou Springs. We got takeout because of COVID-19 regulations.

The Kimchi Ramen was really flavorful, but it did get pretty spicy as you kept eating, so just be aware of that. The House Special was my personal favorite. The broth and steak in it were really tasty. The Miso Tonkotsu Ramen was okay. It was pretty peppery but somehow a little bland at the same time. It wasn't bad, but I would probably go for one of their other ramens if I went again.

The staff was friendly and we got our ramen in a timely manner.

Bad food, terrible service, and false advertisement. Literally anything you hoped and dreamed for in a Ramen restaurant.... DIES here. You have ONE person doing EVERYTHING. And she resting bitch face, is putting it lightly with the treatment she gives her customer.

Today was the second time we had been in, and everything was gross. For $13 a bowl, you can do better yourself.

I'm really shocked this place has such a high rating. We were there for lunch around 12:30 with only 2 other tables there. I understand it's hard to find employees to work during COVID but obviously the lady in the front of the house couldn't handle just 3 tables. We were seated and never came back yo take order. After a good 15 minutes I decided to walk up to her to order.
Normally this alone would just made me give low rating but I understand it's pandemic and willing to overlook. Back to the food.
We ordered:
Kid's Chicken teriyaki (2/5)- literally just chicken on top of white rice, no sauce or side vegetables. We asked for extra sauce but it didn't really help much. My son had maybe 4-5 bites and quit. That's a bad sign.

Chicken katsu curry (3/5)- I was having a hard time trying to order pork katsu instead of chicken but after few exchange with the server who's clueless on the menu I decided chicken was just fine. That piece of chicken was so thin and dried as a bone. Yes, I know it's fried chicken but I cook this at home all the time and it's never dry like that. The curry flavor is weak like when you buy Japanese curry cubes from your local supermarket. Side vegetables are just as tasteless as vegetables themselves. No seasonings we're added.

We sat there long enough to observe the party of 5 begging to pay for the meals they haven't received since it took too long and they were about to miss the Pikes Peak train ride. A party of 2 that were sitting there for literally 30 minutes and the servers didn't try to go take orders. The guy had to go to order asking to take the order.

Overall, DON'T DO IT!!

Casual place with great food. we stopped back after riding the Cog rail to pikes peak - i had the shrimp
Tempura bowl, was really good. Have a good kids menu too.

I ordered a to go order of the tonkotsu ramen with prok belly. The presentation of the to go dish was top notch! And the broth was still burning hot when I was pouring it in. The taste was one of the better ones I have had. No complaints!
Although, the physical store could get a little modern update, and the tree in the front of the store kinda ruins the storefront aesthetics.

Taste - 10/10
Food presentation - 10/10
Freshness - 10/10
Store - 5/10

Over $50 for a bowl of ramen, fried chicken patty with rice, and a couple cokes? We wanted to love this place but can't justify the pricing for the food quality and quantity. Sure, the ramen was pretty, but there were no memorable moments. Well, maybe the dirty dishes pushcart that was so close to the table you could smell the tinny gray of the water the used utensils sat in.

If we visit again, we will skip the $3 sodas, pass on the katsu that was undersauced and lacked crispness, and maybe just get a couple basic ramen. I realize it's a ramen joint but that can't be the only measure of success, can it?