We enjoyed this restaurant for a friends rehearsal dinner. The pre dinner popcorn was a cute touch, and every thing that followed, from the drinks to dessert was delicious and reasonably priced. read more

The ten ten ramen was the bomb. It comes with ground sesame seeds so it kind of tasted like a peanut stew. It was really hearty and thick. The noodles and cabbage were good too. I wish it had more veggies. They gave us a habenero sauce when we asked for something spicy to add to our ramen, which didn't blend well. How could they not have a red chili hot sauce here? The cocktails and dessert were really good as well. read more

Maddie is the best!! The whiskey infused dumplings are the bomb. Can't forget about the vagabond! First time having ramen and I am a fan!!

Loved the ramen, cocktails, and ambiance. Great service as well. A bit loud on a Saturday night but still had a fun vibe, good for date night or out with friends. read more

Excellent! Going back tonight. Happy to see that menu options has increased. When we went the service was great and the food too. We sat outside and enjoyed ourselves. read more

Nice place to unwind and or start the night off right. Drinks are amazing they exotic drinks and they pair very nice with the salty style Japanese Ramin. Oh and this place can handle small or big groups. There's a upstairs area as well. Try the popcorn for sure its in the front. read more

I liked the place. I was tired as all get out and demoralized from my Wolverines having played even more poorly than expected just before I went there, so this review won't be quite so extensive as my usual ones. We three walk-ins sat upstairs by the bar on a late Saturday afternoon. In understand they're planning to turn the upstairs into a separate bar, but at this writing, it's still part of the greater restaurant. The place was clean, with the modern black, grey, and silver decor that I'm always a huge fan of. It was a muted bustle, and I can't recall any music playing, so conversation was no problem. In any case, we got recommended some cocktails. I had a Tom Collins variation that I very much liked. I also had The Chaplin ramen dish, which was pretty good. My two companions seemed similarly satisfied with their choices of ramen and cocktail. The broth was pretty great for all three of us. My only quibbles with the ramen were that the pork belly and the noodles were both overcooked for my liking. My ramen-enthusiast Japanese friend agreed with me on the noodles. I'll definitely be back to Chaplin's. As it stands, they lose one star for the duel problems of the ramen discussed above and for being about two dollars overpriced on both the drinks and the ramen dishes. My total bill was thereabout $35 for ramen, drink, and tip. Outlook: The bar would be a good place for a first date and beyond, I think. My stance is that I'll only eat ramen or other similarly hot and potentially sloppy foods with familiar acquaintances that I'm not trying to impress, though, so on that note, the restaurant would be a good place for a later date. At 5 pm, the dress was come as you are. Nothing pretentious about this place. read more

Great concept and extremely well priced happy hour! Love the patio and dog friendly! Cream cheese wontons to die for!!!!

Ugh. I'm NOT coming back! I was not sure where the host stand was because no one came to greet us. My friend and I stood near a podium but there was no one there. We decided not to move in case the hostess finally came back to the crowded entrance. Which she did after a long, confusing five mins - with no apologies for the wait. I was waiting to come here for a long while and I was extremely disappointed in everything! The server took 10 minutes to greet us, 15 minutes to get our drink after we ordered and the food was so under seasoned and boring, not that the server ever cared to come back to check. The busperson actually circled around more than the server. The only time we saw him again was to drop off the check and pick up the check. My cocktail was still full, but he didn't care that I didn't like it. HORRIBLE experience. read more

Amazing ramen bowls ( prefer the spiciness of the tan tan men) The dumplings shooters are a good way to start the night

I'm not sure about a restaurant representing Tokyo / Shanghai in the 1920's named Chaplin being a good description (for some reason I just think about one asian country plotting to annihilate another with some random white dude screaming "oriental" while it's happening). Regardless, I like the decor. They have a good staff with good drinks and the food here is good...very good in some cases. They seem to take their time with the ramen because the flavor is really quality. The appetizers (Japanese chicken) are real good too. Can't complain. One of my faves in a city that is finally putting up restaurants to get excited about. read more

Had a great meal here on a Friday night. Food was excellent, nice happy hour, and the service was generally good, although there was definitely the sense that the server didn't want you to linger at the table so it could be turned. Both upstairs and downstairs are good spaces, and it appears they have some awesome options for large groups. Recommend the restaurant highly for the neighborhood. read more

First time eating here and it was hmm mmm good I had the Chaplin A.S.S spicy but so good!!!' You gotta check this place out

Chaplin ass is the best ramen I have ever tasted, and they have 15$ blue label shots!

Jake always makes our drinks spot on and even on a busy night we haven't had to wait too long for our drinks. It has a speakeasy feel to the place. What we really wish they would change about this place is the food. It's "Asian" cuisine if you can even call it that. Actually, they claim its Japanese but it is more like overpriced Chinese take out. I know you don't go to a bar for the food as much as the drinks but let's say you skip the food here, the strong smell of vinegar can be unappealing when you're sitting by the bar and the kitchen door opens up. read more

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the bartenders were great. I ordered the Chaplin A..S.S. and it was very tasty. Looking forward to going back and trying rest of the items on the menu :) read more

The food was rediculously amazing. My brother and I split the Chaplin buns app. And also the Chaplin A.S.S. ramen. They kindly split the ramen into two bowls for us, the service was excellent, and what more is there to say??? It's a shame we're going on a food crawl, because I would've fought a hoard of starved bears for this bahn mi. Honestly everything here is delicious, we joked about licking the bowls clean. 100/100 read more

A decent ramen bar in the Mt Vernon/Shaw neighbourhood. Fun place to hang out at, will be back! The noodles were good but the drinks here rock! read more

One of my most favorite places in the District to get ramen! The Chaplin A.S.S. is to die for, and honestly the only ramen I have personally tried off the menu because it was too good to go back after the first time I tried it! Wonderful happy hour (including weekends)- 1/2 wines, who isn't a fan of that?! Wonderful atmosphere and overall a great place to dine in. read more

Really good ramen and creative and tasty drinks! Great place for date night or catching up with friends. The service was great and wait wasn't too long. Definitely will return! read more

I am frequent visitor of chaplains. I really enjoy their Ramen and other food options. The staff is always very friendly and atmosphere always lively. I've never had to wait longer than 30 minutes to dine. Chaplains is always a great option when you're craving ramen and don't want a long wait read more

Came here before a show at the Kennedy Center. Place has been getting great raves so we decided to check it out. Total Ramen place, but looks like you were in a high end Americana restaurant. Definitely not a knock, place is hip and delivers what is on the menu. Drinks were superb, worth also just a place for drinks. Oh back to Ramen! Place delivers. Waiter was very helpful in deciding what we would like. Would go again and again. read more

We had a fun time here on Valentine's Day but they refused to refund us the $30 deposit. After five phone calls - too busy, too loud, manager not there, etc. - the manager, Guillermo Roa, hung up on me and told me to call my credit card company to dispute the charge because I could not remember the date on which I had paid the deposit. His behavior was entirely unprofessional. read more

I eat here once a week. If they delivered I'd have it seven days a week. Definitely my favorite ramen thus far in DC. I highly recommend the Chaplin A.S.S read more

Absolutely a terrible night. Parked right across the street from Chaplins, on 9th and my car got broken into. Windows smashed. Literally doors away from Chaplins. We ate there, big party, food was fine. Great place to be.. but to have this happen and better yet, what did Chaplins do when I told them about it the next day when I called? Oh that sucks, no remorse or accountability whatsoever. Great customer service eh? Pathetic read more

It was just ok.. The food was pretty good but the service was awful- I hope you don't get Alem. Never refilled water once and forgot drink orders and dessert order as well. I had to go downstairs to ask him for our drink. Never apologized and really ruined my night and I usually could care less just handle the basics!!!! Won't go back! read more

For the area, the ramen at Chaplin's hits the spot. The broth is definitely on point. And for those of us who live and die for good Ajitsuke Tamago (marinated soft boiled egg), I highly recommend spending the extra $2 for the 'Stamina Egg,' which is an add-on available for all of the ramen soups. But one (critical) element I found was lacking in both my bowl of soup and my friends was the ramen noodle itself. I'm not sure which ramen noodle supplier Chaplin's uses, but in my opinion, they need to change it. And change it pronto. The noodles were, at best, ok. They weren't soggy like you'd expect from a pack of instant ramen noodles. But they weren't great. The noodles were dense -- almost gummy in texture. Difficult to eat with a pair of chopsticks, and definitely not slurpable (unless you're a slurping pro, which many in the neighborhood might be. But we won't go there.) We (my friend and I) prefer the noodles at Sakuramen ten-fold. Maybe twenty-fold. But, overall, it's nice to have a decent ramen place in Shaw. And the ambience in the restaurant is cool, the wait staff is great, and the overall experience was solid. read more

Had dinner here after opting out of an hour wait at Daikaya (at 9 pm on a Sunday night, come on)! The 1920s/30s atmosphere made it fun, with art deco décor, servers in suspenders and a giant projection of a Charlie Chapin movie playing on the wall. Seasoned popcorn is a nice touch while you wait for a table. Our food was really good - I had the Tan Tan Men, which had a strong peanut flavor to the sauce, and also tried the Chaplin A.S.S. , which had a lighter coconut broth. We also tried the fried pot stickers with a shot of whisky inside! If you like whiskey, you'll most likely be obsessed. I don't, but I appreciated the novelty of the dish. Only complaint was that our server (who was otherwise really friendly and cool) forgot our cocktails and brought them with dinner. Would've been nice to enjoy them while soaking up the atmosphere as we waited for our food. read more

I've been to Chaplin's several times for dinner and cocktails. I'm a huge fan of their ramens and the crab wontons. And the bartenders seriously know their stuff. The cocktail list is fun and cool and will totally appeal to anyone's pallet. And if for some reason you don't like the cocktail list, the bartenders can whip you up something yummy, no problem. I recently had a party in their upstairs space, and can I say how amazing it was?!? Everyone at Chaplin's was great to work with and were so helpful in making the event happen. (Shout out to Armin for answering all my emails!) They let me decorate the space, bring in a DJ and the room totally felt VIP. Chad was an amazing bartender and he made some fab drinks all night for guests. I really recommend this place if you're looking for a fun space to throw a party. read more

Liked it! I'm NOT a ramen expert but theirs was yummy. Try the sesame ramen. Happy hour 4-7pm specials a pretty good value.

Love the ambiance, especially the patio! Drinks are refreshing, creative and definitely on the stronger side (even during happy hour!). In my opinion as well as my friend who was dining with me, (she has lived in Japan), the ramen here is just OK, maybe its because I am comparing it to Sakuramen... Chaplin's broth just did not have the depth of flavor that I think is essential for a bowl of ramen. Otherwise we liked this place and will go back for drinks and the patio and maybe order something else. read more

Quality proprietary cocktails, nice staff, very good ramen and decent beer menu. The dumplings can be a bit hit or miss, so read the whole item description. The venue is hip, but not in your face, and with the quality of food and halfway decent prices, it's a good spot to pull up for downtown ramen and dumplings. read more

4.5 stars for food. 2 stars for service. Are you willing to accept bad service for good food? That's the question. Though the chef is not Japanese, he was clearly trained in Japan-- the flavors are really authentic, whether for the ramen (the highlight here) or the desserts. Whoever is working the kitchen is excellent. I can't really think of complaints there. The service is reliably poor. Pretentious employees who have no coordinated service plan or protocol, chatting with each other or hanging out instead of providing efficient service. I've seen one of the managerial folks (especially the big dude) hang out in the back playing on his phone instead of attending to the packed venue. There were multiple tables around us trying to get the check, and one or two waiters were running around. Every time I've been there, even on a leisurely day, it takes forever to get any waiter or waitress's attention because the workload isn't properly managed, the core employees couldn't give a rat's a**, and there's no plan in place. The waiters aren't sufficiently trained, either. A waiter said that all the ramen broth was chicken-based, but the menu clearly stated "tonkotsu" (unfortunately misspelled as tonkatsu, which refers to fried pork), pork-based broth, on some of the items. I don't think the managers of this place care about service, though, so I guess it comes down to the initial question: Are you willing to accept bad service for good food? read more

I was drawn to the restaurant by a solid happy hour deal and the outdoor patio on a nice fall evening. The cocktails I ordered (particularly the one with beet foam...don't remember the name) were good, but the service and food left a lot to be desired. The waiter got our order wrong, and it took a while for it to be corrected. It also took a very long time for us to get the check after we were done. The wakame salad we ordered was just mediocre, as was the pork shumai. The Chaplin bun was the best thing we ordered. read more

The ramen here is to die for - some of the best stuff I've had. If you like a bit of spice, get the Chaplin A. S. S. If not, get the Chaplin. You won't regret it! read more

It's a really cool place with great cocktails and amazing appetizers (the crispy tofu buns as well as the pork version) but the Ramen just wasn't as good as I'd expected. Maybe I ordered the wrong one (the Chaplin) but there wasn't enough going on besides the broth and noodles, which were both solid. I prefer Daikaya's and Toki's ramen. Also, the host/checking in situation seems unnecessarily annoying and stressful. Even when there is a short line it takes a while to get noticed and at the very least acknowledged, even when you have a reservation. Besides that the staff are very friendly. read more

Monday after Snowzilla: Cocktails, appetizers and ramen were pretty delicious. The ramen broth was very tasty, though there were barely any vegetables or meat to speak of in the bowl. The worst part, the service was so slow. After waiting for over an hour and a half for our entrees, I mentioned this to our waiter. Though he admitted it took a long time for us to get our cocktails and food, it was also due to the fact that we got appetizers that everything took so long. He said we could get one free desert for 5 people but no money off. Those are the situations where waiters need to feel comfortable going to their manager and managers need to be receptive and willing to at least come over to the table and hear the complaints of well paying and well typing customers. read more

Stumbled in here one night by accident, I've been back 4 other times now. Some of the best cocktails I've had in DC. Great atmosphere! I ate there for the first time last weekend, and I was certainly not disappointed. Be warned.... the spicy stamina Ramen bowl is HOT! Just an FYI, this place gets busy on weekends, so if you're planning on stopping by for dinner, you may want to call for reservations. read more

Service was great as was the atmosphere. We sat indoor but outdoor was popular as well. We enjoyed the dumplings and a few of the cocktails we tried. However when it came to the caliber of the ramen this locale did not meet our standards. The broth was basic. We tried a one Chaplin and one Stamina Spicy they all lacked the complex richness we have come to love from some of DCs finer ramen spots. Great on a whim not so much if your seeking a great ramen experience or have a savvy pallet. read more

Quote from my nine years old son: "The owner is nice, the waitress is nice, the food is good, and the ice cream is good and it's kid friendly" Great place for families, perfect for kids, my children gobbled up the shrimp dumplings and the Ramen noodles. Perfect for a date night, great ambience! read more