my boyfriend and i went here for our first date over 2 years ago and we have been coming back ever…read moresince! the portions are generous, and extremely yummy :-) the staff are always friendly and the last time we went there was an issue with the bill that they fixed no problem! i'm always excited to come back here and get ramen

Five Stars -- A Must‑Try in Downtown Salem!…read more My wife and I stopped by Akai Ramen yesterday, and this spot absolutely delivered. We ordered the shrimp fried rice, hot gemai tea, cucumbers, fresh salad, and the seafood ramen -- every single dish came out flavorful, balanced, and clearly made with care. The portions were generous, and the prices were surprisingly reasonable for the quality. The service was immaculate from start to finish. Friendly, attentive, and genuinely welcoming -- the kind of hospitality that makes you want to come back before you've even left. The decor is clean and modern with plenty of seating, creating a relaxed atmosphere perfect for a date, a family meal, or a quick bite. Yes, you do have to pay for parking in downtown Salem, but once you're inside, the food, the vibe, and the service make it more than worth it. If you're anywhere near Salem, I highly recommend stopping by. Akai Ramen is doing everything right -- great food, great people, great experience. Five stars all day.

We miss Sada! Not quite the same but still tasty…read more.. Sada roll - first time trying tempura mahi mahi in a sushi roll and it was great! Nice ponzu sauce with it that accented the roll nicely. 4 stars. Avocado cucumber roll - kiddo approved! Nice bite size maki roll. 5 stars. Hamachi roll - chopped up hamachi with green onion. Not super fresh but still good. 3 stars. Teriyaki salmon bento box - definitely the deal to get! Loved the real crab in the California roll and the large tempura pieces - shrimp, carrot, kabocha, broccoli and zucchini. No rice but came with miso soup. The salmon was a little over cooked but still good. 4 stars. Not sure if Sada is still around but hopefully we'll get to enjoy his food again someday!

It's been a long time since being here. Came to pick up…read moresome togo lunch. The place is still cute and nice, the staff is very friendly and nice, the food is still great. So there is no reason one should not come here to get your sushi needs meet..

Food in this place is always AMAZING and one of the best places in 3 counties for Sushi…read more We dropped in 7:29 on a Thursday night and it was packed as usual. Brought my daughter here after shopping at a local dress shop. That's on a another review itself You want great sushi this is the place

I would say overall it's a 3.5…read more Staff: very friendly and checked on us numerous times Environment: It was the same as usual but it's nice and also it was once a library! Food: We ordered 2 lunch sets that's available M-F. 1. California roll: it's made with real crab meat and they gave a hearty amount of it 2. Salmon roll: made with fresh salmon and thick cuts but the downside was that the rice was very warm which made everything inside warm. Having warm raw salmon didn't sit well with me 3. Tempura and sashimi set. The sashimi was fine, not warm so that was good! There were three kinds of fish, too. The tempura was nice and good portions. The downside was the salad dressing and the dipping sauce for the tempura: it was extra salty for me that I couldn't finish my salad. I started dabbing a bit of the sauce with the tempura though I personally would like to have it more saucy but it was too salty. Overall, it was okay. Just the warmth of the raw fish and the extra salty sauces were personally concerning.

Beer served here…read more Sake 5/5: We selected 2 tasting flights with the assistance of our server. Both were amazing and introduced us to some delicious flavors. Shrimp Tempura Roll 5/5: Yum!!!!! Spicy Miso Ramen 5/5: We added the Chicken Katsu which was wonderful by itself!!! The broth was rich and flavorful, house made noodles were perfect. We added some chili sauce and really kicked up the heat! Facility 5/5: Tables are warm and intimate, especially the second floor. Service 5/5: Our server Nan was fantastic and sooo much fun! She 100% added to the amazing experience!!

We stopped by before a concert at the Wonder Ballroom on a Saturday evening. There was a line out…read morethe door and we put our names down. There were two parties ahead of us but we were seated in about 30 minutes. It seemed like they were understaffed or maybe the priority was the party in the other room. Once we were seated, we put in our order right away. The service was very kind but definitely very busy! It just took 45 minutes to get the curry udon. And then my partner's order didn't show up, so we suspected they forgot about it. It took another 20 minutes for his poke bowl to come. The food was decent but the wait time clouds that judgement.

Food was good, service was good and Gavin was great! Ambiance was good and their hours are great!read more

I give this a hachi out of hachi in my book! Basically a 10/10 with some minor notes. We felt so…read morelucky coming in on a Friday night with no reservations. There were large groups of people lining outside but we put our name down on the iPad and got seated within 10 ish mins! Scoreee. This is your sign to be patient cause this Izakaya is so worth the wait! Price point for quality was chefs kiss. You don't really get fresh sushi like this anywhere with reasonable prices! Im taking 5 PCs of otoro sashimi for $25?! Speechless! We outdid ourselves and ordered like 3 rounds of sushi for the three of us and bill came out to $200 ish with drinks! Really easy to do since they had such an extensive menu with just about everything from appetizers, tapas sashimi, hand rolls, nigiri, fried items, sushi ROLLS, ramen/noodles, and skewers! Highlights were definitely the: -otoro (5 pcs ~$25) -salmon medley (salmon belly and 3 other cuts) -scallop nigiri -karaage (5 pcs for $8.99) *pro tip to add their house negi sauce $1 or spicy mayo $0.50 -agedashi tofu (fried tofu) -wagyu beef skewer $8.50 -citrus YTG roll ($15) so refreshing with hamachi (yellowtail), tempura flakes, and a house jalapeño ponzu sauce ! (Apologies for the lack of photos lol. We got too excited since the food kept coming out soo quick we couldn't keep up lol) We also ordered the uni and volcano roll! I might try for the Alaskan roll next time considering it was hard to identify the scallops in the baked roll but still kinda tasty if you're into the warm baked rolls! I was unfortunately really wanting to taste the scallops! Overall we had a great time! Service was nice and attentive! The drinks were really affordable and generous too! My brother in law ordered a chu hi and it came in this huge mug for $14 with an option of refill for ~$7! Such a deal! Arigatou, Hachi!

We rate this place as more traditionally Japanese than you might expect in Portland. Tables and…read morechairs are very comfortable and well spaced. We haven't eaten here in a while and never in the summer. In the darker, cooler months this is a place that entertains a packed, loud, happy crowd. The food is really good, lots of choice, the service is equally on point. So, a great evening on our cold dark winters. We dropped in last week, so July. Same range of food, maybe fewer items but what we had was more than fine. The service was personable, helpful and the food was delicious. But way, way quieter - turns out Summer is their slow time, more like a neighborhood place and less like party central. We enjoy both, but the slower months allows more focus on the menu. And there might be something not to your taste but given the range you will find a dish that you will enjoy. So, pick your adventure, we like both and you will be happy with the food, the ambiance and the service either way.

A very cool and fun spot! They were playing 80's new wave music and the air conditioning was…read morepumping on a hot summer day. Service was prompt and friendly. It happened to be happy hour so I got a mixed poke bowl and a glass of white wine and thoroughly enjoyed my experience. The fish in the poke bowl was a mix of buttery hamachi, tuna and salmon. The fish tasted fresh. I loved how the rice was perfectly cooked and seasoned. They added tobiko, perfectly ripe avocado, seaweed salad and greens.

Amazing people, amazing food, amazing environment. Super nice and friendly. Great ramen!read more

Food- quality is excellent and made to order. The pork is rich in soy, slight garlic and a hint of…read moreginger flavors. Rice was fluffy and soaked in the pork juices. Also had the tempura plate as well. Perfectly fried to a nice crunchy texture with a good possibly yuzu soy dipping sauce. All this washed down with a cold and crisp glass of Asahi beer. Ramen - very tasty. Service - attentive, but not atrusive. Cleanliness- japanese level Parking - plenty Ambiance- modern and simple

My friend used to live in the area and was surprised there was a new ramen shop in the…read moreneighborhood. She asked if I would be interested in trying it, and I was game, of course! We arrived on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and there were already some customers, but overall it was not busy. The staff greeted us right away and took us to our booth. The ladies were very accommodating with my friend's toddler by helping us get a child seat, a kid's drink, and a cute set of Peppa Pig training chopsticks. Needless to say, the kid loved it. One thing worth mentioning is their decoration. It's definitely meant to be maximally decorated with cuteness. On their feature wall, they had floor-to-ceiling shelves displaying Dragon Ball figurines. The rest of the restaurant was decorated with a lot of cute cat decorations. Also, there's no way you would miss the moving ramen advertising light box as it pulls the noodles up and down, grabbing your full attention. Seriously, I could stare at that machine for days. We ordered a black garlic ramen, miso ramen, and a chicken stir-fried noodle, and liked them all. The black garlic ramen has a layer of black garlic oil on top, making it look much darker and intimidating. To our surprise, the garlic flavor was subtle, so it was easy to eat. My miso ramen had a rich broth with two generous portions of chashu, with various toppings including corn, bamboo, wood ear mushrooms, and green onion. I had no problem finishing the entire bowl. We also got a bowl of stir-fried chicken noodles, and it was very generously portioned and tasted good. It was savory with a bit of sweetness. It was a big hit with my friend's toddler, as she kept asking for more. Overall, we liked this ramen shop. Not only does it have good food, it also has fun decorations to keep your eyes busy. If you are in the area and craving some ramen, we would recommend Muteki Ramen and Izakaya!

The service was great. We were the only ones there and it took the waitress a little while to check…read moreon us but she was always friendly. The ambiance is pretty quiet and private where you can enjoy your food. We got the spicy wontons, friend rice, and spicy miso soup. The rice was really good. The spicy wonton sauce was delicious. The miso soup had flavor but I do wish it had more toppings.

Update tried more and had delicious Poke Bowl great service and modern ambiance. Tried the potatoes…read moreCriquettes which were super yummy.

3 words: Ramen. Was. Amazing. Love love love! The waitress was super sweet, provided great service…read moreand the ambiance was very calm and welcoming. We will definitely be back to try more of their menu options!

I haven't been here in a long time. It was once a favorite for late night food. I just heard they…read morestarted serving breakfast and I had to check it out. Currently they're doing this Friday-Sunday 7am-10am or until sold out. It is limited to 30 servings per day. It is delicious and healthy. This day it was your choice of fish and it comes with rice, pickled cucumber & plum, miso soup, savory rolled omelet, and another choice of side. The "addictive bell pepper" is excellent as well as the burdock root choice. Service was friendly and attentive and ambiance is simple and inviting, just as I remembered. Love this new memory and experience. This was my favorite thing I did all day and I will definitely be back :)

Back at Yuzu and it did not disappoint. Just a heads up:…read moreyou'll want to get there right when they open because they fill up fast. It's also kind of hidden in the corner. I actually missed it the first time and thought I had the wrong location haha. The squid was really good with a nice chewy texture, and they fry it so well here, crispy on the outside without feeling greasy. The karaage might honestly be one of the best. Super crispy and fresh on the outside, while staying juicy and tender inside. I got the Kakuni Ramen and really enjoyed it. I love the type of noodles they use, nice and bouncy with great texture. The tonkotsu broth was rich, flavorful, and well seasoned without being overwhelming. I appreciated the greens that helped cut through the richness and balance the bowl. The pork was a highlight: both the thin slices and the thick kakuni pork belly on top were delicious. The pork belly was incredibly tender and well marinated! My only small complaint is that I wish it came with an egg!