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Super casual feel, but the food is next level. Really generous portions, staff is attentive and service is remarkably quick. I got the crispy chicken rice bowl, and it made me wish I didn't have a bus to catch because it was so delicious and filling but I couldn't take a box with me!! Make sure you load up on the garlic flakes, it's a perfect complement to the peppery chicken. I'll be back soon!
We were at the waterworks to buy my kiddo a pair of shoes and stopped in here on a whim. I wasn't expecting much, as it looks pretty low key from the outside, but I was blown away. Service was very friendly from the moment we walked in the door. The vibe inside is pretty casual, nothing fancy or overly hip like many of the other ramen restaurants in the area. We were seated promptly and given the menus and some water. The menu is divided into several sections. We started with seaweed salad and pork gyoza. The gyoza in particular were so yummy - very crispy and delicious, though I wish there had been more dipping sauce included. My daughter, a dumpling aficionado, said they were her favorite she's had from a restaurant. I ordered the black garlic ramen, my husband ordered the chicken katsu curry ramen, and my daughter ordered the chicken and rice bowl. We all enjoyed our meals and were remarking about how delicious everything was! My ramen in particular was so creamy and flavorful and hit the spot - one of the best bowls of ramen I've had in awhile though I'm always down to keep doing more research. As a bonus, we thought the prices were reasonable, especially in combination with the portion sizes. We all went home with leftovers!
I've been to Japan and think the atmosphere is larger but similar to places there. For the US, it is a bit of a fast food type ambience, good if you're not dressed for one of the nicer restaurants in Fox chapel. Service was quick and good, although my poke bowl came first and my vegetable gyoza appetizer came second. I only gave 4 stars instead of 5 on the poke bowl protein being cut so thin compared to poke bowls I have had before, but I've never had a list of about 30 toppings to choose from. If you're hungry for a poke bowl, I don't think another place around here is a better option. The vegetable gyozas were some of the most flavorful I've had and the dumpling sauce is really a delicious one. I might come back for the gyoza alone. I bet the other gyozas are equally delicious with the sauce and filling quality of the vegetable ones.
It's pretty yummy! Hidden in the Waterworks of all places. Service was not particularly attentive; young man playing on his phone half the time. Food was decent albeit a little pricey. I'll say it's a good alternative to the chain restaurants here. I would definitely go back though.
Good: 4/5 glad this place existed when we were crazing Japanese food. If you're in a pinch and are craving poke bowls or ramen this is your place. No frills and lots of options. Not the most memorable but it's as good as it's going to get for Asian food in Pittsburgh Ambiance: it's loud and there's larger tables in the very front and very back. Otherwise it's little booths by the wall. Things echo so don't expect the most privacy here Service: 3.75/5 pretty attentive depending on where you sit. I think it's harder to be noticed consistently if you're sitting in the back. I recommend being prepared and asking for what you need up front so you get it. Else you'll end up walking up front and asking.
We love that there are finally Japanese restaurants coming around the area. They are one of our favorite kinds of food. We ordered the chicken karrage as an appetizer. It could have been a tad more crispy but there was still plenty of crunch and flavor. The sauce went well with it too. I wasn't a huge fan of my ramen. It wasn't really spicy and the noddles were just off but the rest of the soup came together. The chicken katsu with it was amazing. Extra crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I really liked the curry rice as well. The curry was just right and they used the same chicken. We ended up taking some home and finished the chicken that night. The inside was decorated really cute with the umbrellas on the ceiling and it was extra clean. Friendly and helpful staff. We'll be back for all the chicken!
I got the black garlic Ramen, the pork bun appetizer, and a mango Boba. The pork bun appetizer was very good. I liked the spicy house sauce, it complimented the sweetness and saltiness of the pork. The Ramen was good, the pork was very savory, the egg was cooked perfectly. The broth was also very savory however, just a little bit too salty for my personal taste. The black garlic flavor is the little thing that helps elevate the flavor of the dish. Overall a very good Ramen place. I would definitely come back. Ramen was $16, pork bun $8, boba $6. Food: 7.3 Staff/service: 7.0 Overall: 7.2/10
Immediately this place was a lot of fun to enter into. The automated ramen bowl greeted us in the front, then the girl at the desk. Then the guy at the other front counter. We felt thoroughly welcomed! We loved all the Naruto art in the back room but I would prefer if it was decorated even more! Pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed this place! The mango boba milk tea was perfect and not too sweet. I got the black garlic ramen and asked for it to be medium spicy and it was amazingly tasty! I would totally get it again. We also ordered the pork buns which were fresh and hot the spot. The women's bathroom location in the back was kinda scary.
This place does a nice job with ramen - flavorful broth, meat is well seasoned, and noodles are cooked just right. The server was very nice, and service was pretty quick too. Only regret is I told them somewhere between medium and spicy for the noodle, and it didn't come out very spicy. But otherwise this llce IA great! Don't forget to do a Boba tea for dessert.
I was craving some delicious poke and I remember passing this restaurant after working at UPMC St. Margaret's. So this time I decided to stop by for a quick bite and wow, I fell in love with the place! Very nice and clean restaurant and the staff were very friendly, professional, and fast to serve you. When I was seated, within about 2 minutes of me being there the waiter arrived at my table asking for my drink and if I had any questions about the menu. Luckily I've ordered Poke before so I just ordered my water and got right to building my own poke bowl. It only took a few minutes to make the bowl and while I was waiting I noticed that they had blind covers with paintings from Hokusai! One of my absolute favorite pieces by this artist is The Great Wave and I was staring at it right next to me! My bowl arrived quickly and wow did it look amazing! (See the delicious picture) Once I mixed it all together, The flavors from the smoked salmon and spicy tuna mixed with the sauces, veggies, and rice just was absolutely delicious! Payment was a breeze with the handheld that they have - they also use the handheld device to take your order. I cannot wait to go back here to try the rest of the menu!! I'm thinking it might be the ramen that I try next!
Well, it's always tough finding good Japanese food in the Pittsburgh area but we found a gem at the Zen Ramen & Poke! The chicken karaage is very good and I highly recommend it. I first got a taste of chicken karaage when I visited Hawaii in 2022 and this is the first place I found that has it. I've made it before but nothing beats a well cooked restaurant version. The main meal I decided on is the always delicious chicken Katsu curry. They have different spice levels which is nice as some other restaurants in the area don't offer that, it's just regular mild curry. The portion sizes were great, everything was fresh and the price just right! Overall, I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some good Japanese food. The service is great as well.
What to say and where to start. I guess we can start on their ramen, whenever it came out it looked absolutely delectable... I unfortunately cannot say the same for the taste. IT TASTED LIKE BAND-AIDS! I got the boba and I wish I could say it covered up the nauseating taste of band-aid flavored ramen. What was meant to be a nice dinner with the fam turned into an utter disappointment. I'm ashamed I even paid for it, I went home and HURLED. Save yourself.
First time coming here and I'm eager to go again! I got a build your own poke bowl with raw salmon, onions, avocado & poke sauce. Each topping is $1.50 so I didn't want to go overboard but I do wish they gave more of some of the ingredients. The avocado and salmon I understand but I think I should have been given more red onion than the 6 slivers I was given. Also got a strawberry milk boba tea and a side of vegetable gyoza steamed. The veggie gyoza was my favorite part of The meal I'm not sure what sauce they give with that but it was so good. The waiter was extremely kind and patient with me figuring out what to order. The inside dining room Is very nice and cozy. Like I said -- can't wait to try it again! read more
6 months ago
I am not a big ramen girl. But I wasn't feeling great so my friend said it would cure me. The spring rolls were good but I have had better, I feel they were lacking filling. The pan fried chicken was good. My friend really enjoyed his. It was not busy so we sat down right away. read more
2 months ago
Super casual feel, but the food is next level. Really generous portions, staff is attentive and service is remarkably quick. I got the crispy chicken rice bowl, and it made me wish I didn't have a bus to catch because it was so delicious and filling but I couldn't take a box with me!! Make sure you load up on the garlic flakes, it's a perfect complement to the peppery chicken. I'll be back soon! read more
2 years ago
We were at the waterworks to buy my kiddo a pair of shoes and stopped in here on a whim. I wasn't expecting much, as it looks pretty low key from the outside, but I was blown away. Service was very friendly from the moment we walked in the door. The vibe inside is pretty casual, nothing fancy or overly hip like many of the other ramen restaurants in the area. We were seated promptly and given the menus and some water. The menu is divided into several sections. We started with seaweed salad and pork gyoza. The gyoza in particular were so yummy - very crispy and delicious, though I wish there had been more dipping sauce included. My daughter, a dumpling aficionado, said they were her favorite she's had from a restaurant. I ordered the black garlic ramen, my husband ordered the chicken katsu curry ramen, and my daughter ordered the chicken and rice bowl. We all enjoyed our meals and were remarking about how delicious everything was! My ramen in particular was so creamy and flavorful and hit the spot - one of the best bowls of ramen I've had in awhile though I'm always down to keep doing more research. As a bonus, we thought the prices were reasonable, especially in combination with the portion sizes. We all went home with leftovers! read more
9 months ago
3 months ago
9 months ago
I've been to Japan and think the atmosphere is larger but similar to places there. For the US, it is a bit of a fast food type ambience, good if you're not dressed for one of the nicer restaurants in Fox chapel. Service was quick and good, although my poke bowl came first and my vegetable gyoza appetizer came second. I only gave 4 stars instead of 5 on the poke bowl protein being cut so thin compared to poke bowls I have had before, but I've never had a list of about 30 toppings to choose from. If you're hungry for a poke bowl, I don't think another place around here is a better option. The vegetable gyozas were some of the most flavorful I've had and the dumpling sauce is really a delicious one. I might come back for the gyoza alone. I bet the other gyozas are equally delicious with the sauce and filling quality of the vegetable ones. read more
It's pretty yummy! Hidden in the Waterworks of all places. Service was not particularly attentive; young man playing on his phone half the time. Food was decent albeit a little pricey. I'll say it's a good alternative to the chain restaurants here. I would definitely go back though. read more
2 years ago
Good: 4/5 glad this place existed when we were crazing Japanese food. If you're in a pinch and are craving poke bowls or ramen this is your place. No frills and lots of options. Not the most memorable but it's as good as it's going to get for Asian food in Pittsburgh Ambiance: it's loud and there's larger tables in the very front and very back. Otherwise it's little booths by the wall. Things echo so don't expect the most privacy here Service: 3.75/5 pretty attentive depending on where you sit. I think it's harder to be noticed consistently if you're sitting in the back. I recommend being prepared and asking for what you need up front so you get it. Else you'll end up walking up front and asking. read more
1 year ago
We love that there are finally Japanese restaurants coming around the area. They are one of our favorite kinds of food. We ordered the chicken karrage as an appetizer. It could have been a tad more crispy but there was still plenty of crunch and flavor. The sauce went well with it too. I wasn't a huge fan of my ramen. It wasn't really spicy and the noddles were just off but the rest of the soup came together. The chicken katsu with it was amazing. Extra crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I really liked the curry rice as well. The curry was just right and they used the same chicken. We ended up taking some home and finished the chicken that night. The inside was decorated really cute with the umbrellas on the ceiling and it was extra clean. Friendly and helpful staff. We'll be back for all the chicken! read more
7 months ago
This restaurant is horrible. The food made me very sick. I got food poisoning and it cost me a day of work. They need to be shut down. No one should visit this restaurant. read more
8 months ago
3 years ago
I got the black garlic Ramen, the pork bun appetizer, and a mango Boba. The pork bun appetizer was very good. I liked the spicy house sauce, it complimented the sweetness and saltiness of the pork. The Ramen was good, the pork was very savory, the egg was cooked perfectly. The broth was also very savory however, just a little bit too salty for my personal taste. The black garlic flavor is the little thing that helps elevate the flavor of the dish. Overall a very good Ramen place. I would definitely come back. Ramen was $16, pork bun $8, boba $6. Food: 7.3 Staff/service: 7.0 Overall: 7.2/10 read more
3 years ago
Immediately this place was a lot of fun to enter into. The automated ramen bowl greeted us in the front, then the girl at the desk. Then the guy at the other front counter. We felt thoroughly welcomed! We loved all the Naruto art in the back room but I would prefer if it was decorated even more! Pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed this place! The mango boba milk tea was perfect and not too sweet. I got the black garlic ramen and asked for it to be medium spicy and it was amazingly tasty! I would totally get it again. We also ordered the pork buns which were fresh and hot the spot. The women's bathroom location in the back was kinda scary. read more
2 years ago
This place does a nice job with ramen - flavorful broth, meat is well seasoned, and noodles are cooked just right. The server was very nice, and service was pretty quick too. Only regret is I told them somewhere between medium and spicy for the noodle, and it didn't come out very spicy. But otherwise this llce IA great! Don't forget to do a Boba tea for dessert. read more
8 months ago
1 year ago
3 years ago
I was craving some delicious poke and I remember passing this restaurant after working at UPMC St. Margaret's. So this time I decided to stop by for a quick bite and wow, I fell in love with the place! Very nice and clean restaurant and the staff were very friendly, professional, and fast to serve you. When I was seated, within about 2 minutes of me being there the waiter arrived at my table asking for my drink and if I had any questions about the menu. Luckily I've ordered Poke before so I just ordered my water and got right to building my own poke bowl. It only took a few minutes to make the bowl and while I was waiting I noticed that they had blind covers with paintings from Hokusai! One of my absolute favorite pieces by this artist is The Great Wave and I was staring at it right next to me! My bowl arrived quickly and wow did it look amazing! (See the delicious picture) Once I mixed it all together, The flavors from the smoked salmon and spicy tuna mixed with the sauces, veggies, and rice just was absolutely delicious! Payment was a breeze with the handheld that they have - they also use the handheld device to take your order. I cannot wait to go back here to try the rest of the menu!! I'm thinking it might be the ramen that I try next! read more
3 years ago
Well, it's always tough finding good Japanese food in the Pittsburgh area but we found a gem at the Zen Ramen & Poke! The chicken karaage is very good and I highly recommend it. I first got a taste of chicken karaage when I visited Hawaii in 2022 and this is the first place I found that has it. I've made it before but nothing beats a well cooked restaurant version. The main meal I decided on is the always delicious chicken Katsu curry. They have different spice levels which is nice as some other restaurants in the area don't offer that, it's just regular mild curry. The portion sizes were great, everything was fresh and the price just right! Overall, I highly recommend this place if you're looking for some good Japanese food. The service is great as well. read more
1 year ago
What to say and where to start. I guess we can start on their ramen, whenever it came out it looked absolutely delectable... I unfortunately cannot say the same for the taste. IT TASTED LIKE BAND-AIDS! I got the boba and I wish I could say it covered up the nauseating taste of band-aid flavored ramen. What was meant to be a nice dinner with the fam turned into an utter disappointment. I'm ashamed I even paid for it, I went home and HURLED. Save yourself. read more
First time visiting and we ordered food for take out. I got the tonkotsu ramen pork broth bowl. The pork and marinated soy egg was delicious!! The pork pieces were the perfect amount of fatty. The noodles were standard, and the broth was decent. We also tried the crab rangoons, but sadly they were not that good. it was a bit too sweet and underfried in my opinion. I could see myself ordering ramen here again in the future. read more
3 years ago
One of the things that struck me as interesting from Ramen Danbo in Seattle is their noodles. The Ramen didn't have the typical Ramen noodle, but these were white thinner noodles and were pretty good. When I came back to Pittsburgh, I had been trying to find places that have it. By chance I got an e-mail from Yelp about Ramen restaurants in Pittsburgh and decided to take a look and found Zen Ramen & Poke. After looking through the menu and pictures, I noticed they had the same kind of noodles as Ramen Danbo did and decided I needed to give them a try. I got the black garlic ramen and it was pretty good. The pork and bamboo were pretty tender. Noodles were great as well. They have quite a few add-ons as well, similar to Ramen Bar if you want to load up your soup. I would come back and try other soups! Staff is nice and service is pretty fast. read more
3 years ago
A significant step up from other ramen focused restaurants in the greater Pittsburgh region that I've tried so far (however, I still need to better explore the Squirrel Hill and CMU areas). The broth was delicious. The ingredients were plentiful and also perfectly complemented the ramen. Noodles were the right doneness with a nice texture. I left very satisfied and planning my next visit. read more
3 years ago
This is my go to for Ramen 1.5 hour drive and so worth it every time!! Staff is great if you aren't as versed in ramen they are great at guiding you to a great selection!! read more
1 year ago
2 years ago
Delicious ramen and a nice variety of bubble tea. On my quest to find all of the Robin places in Pittsburgh I came across Zen Ramen and Poke. It's located in Aspinwall off of Freeport Road. It chose a build your own Ramen bowl, which had a great selection of add-ons to choose from as well as a brown sugar bubble tea. The Ramen was served in a pork broth & had that classic flavor that I'm used to. The soup came out hot with noodles that had the perfect texture. I would definitely recommend it as a place to visit in the future. read more
2 years ago
Food is always SO BOMB, I love the Black Garlic Ramen - I literally crave it. The rice bowls are also fantastic, I've had the NY Steak & also the Chicken. Bao is pretty good too! I really love the Thai Milk Tea Boba, today I tried the Taro for the first time and am questioning why I was so nervous to try it before - it's DELICOUS! The service is always so great, everyone is so friendly and happy. The inside of the restaurant is super cute and very clean. Absolutely love coming here! read more
A friend of mine loves Boba tea and we happened to be in the area today looking for a place to grab lunch. We reviewed a few places on yelp and chose this location based on the positive reviews. We were seated promptly upon walking in and ordered boba teas and appetizers right away. There was nice music playing and it was very clean. Our waitress was very happy as was everyone ( the cook and the food runner too). We both ordered a poke bowl. Food was delicious and served with little wait time. My only complaint was that we weren't sure where we were heading next and it seemed like they didn't want us "sitting around" even though there were many open tables and not too many customers. read more
My wife and I came here on a recent Friday night. When you walk in, you see a large counter area that leads you to believe that they do only takeout, but never fear, they also have a full-service restaurant area with a good amount of seating available. With ramen and poke in the name of the restaurant, we naturally ordered ramen and poke! The chicken shoyu ramen was top-notch. The broth was rich and flavorful. The chicken was almost crunchy even though it was sitting in broth. They weren't stingy with the ingredients either - it was a perfect combination of broth, noodles, chicken and veggies. As for the poke, it was all "build your own". I personally would prefer that they have a few pre-selected combinations available, but they didn't. Might I suggest Paul's Poke, which is what we created. Raw salmon and tempura shrimp over brown rice with cucumbers, scallions, carrots and peanuts. Served with the poke sauce. It was delicious! Once again, the ratio of ingredients was perfect. Next time I might get two raw fishes, just because I think the raw fish blends better with the rest of the ingredients but my wife would probably disagree. We also got two milk teas. My wife got the taro and I got the matcha. I sometimes find those drinks to be too sweet for me, so I was pleased that I was able to order my matcha with half sugar. It was perfect. Finally, I wanted to make a special commendation to the staff. Both when we walked into the restaurant and when we left, EVERY employee at the restaurant took a moment to acknowledge us with a "hello" or "welcome" or "thank you for coming". They made us feel special and I really appreciated that. read more
2 years ago
My son brought me here for lunch today. We love exploring Asian restaurants. We love ramen specifically, as I had traveled all over Southeast Asia before he was born. The food we had today reminded me of my traveling days. We had the chicken katsu curry ramen (minus the bamboo shoots), the purple yam tempura, "takoyaki", and a yellow-tail and white tuna poke bowl. We also had a coconut boba, and a mango yogurt boba. The service was amazing. The waiter was able to prepare my mango boba with minimal sweetness, and my katsu curry with extra heat. He was very accommodating to my son's questions about the menu. The restaurant is so beautiful inside, and everyone was so pleasant. We will be back often. The food was amazing. Worth the 40 minute drive!! read more
We stumbled upon this place at the Waterworks next door to the hibachi restaurant and we sampled several things. The purple tempura sweet potato are basically tempura sweet potato fries. They come out with a decent sized portion and a sweet chili sauce for dipping. I'm not a huge tempura, or sweet potato fan, but I thought they were cooked well and tasted pretty good. The Chicken Katsu was decent. It's not something I'd likely order again, but the chicken was cooked well and stayed pretty juicy. They come out with Katsu Sauce, which appears to be something akin to Oyster Sauce. The Pork Bun was my favorite item. They come out on a bun that looked like it might overpower everything else, but it was deceptively light. The pork was juicy and it went really well with a house sauce, lettuce, and cucumber, and I really liked the contrasting flavors on it. It was just some different flavors that I'm not used to and they really worked well in my opinion. I had the NY Steak ramen bowl which I enjoyed. Again, it just consisted of a lot of flavors that aren't common to me and that really added to the dish. The dish had cubed up pieces of steak that was lean and cooked well, and it also came with bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, scallions, a fish cake, and what was advertised as a soft-boiled egg, but it was hard cooked and an overall solid dish. I really like poke bowls and I got one to take home. I went with yellow-fin tuna, but they have a pretty big list of options for protein, they I offer several types of rice, and they offer quite a few sauce choices and optional add-ons. The only thing I'd change is that I wasn't a fan of the poke sauce as it appeared like it was an oyster sauce base and I'm just not a fan. The staff was friendly and the shop appeared to be pretty clean. We definitely enjoyed the meal and plan on going back to try some of their other dishes and to get the Pork Buns again. read more
1 year ago
3 years ago
Went back for round 2 and it was delicious! I got the Black Garlic Ramen and the flavors were exquisite and unlike any other Ramen I've tried. Absolutely loved it. My family members got the Shoyu Chicken Ramen and Chicken Katsu Curry ramen and also enjoyed their meals. We also tried the Tempura Purple Seeet Potato and it was so yummy we got a second order. We finished out meal with bubble tea for dessert. Yum! I work in Oakland and tried their sister location and definitely prefer this location! read more
3 years ago
Have been twice now and tried both poke and ramen. Excellent service, food and atmosphere. read more
1 year ago
3 years ago
The food is good. Can be better tho. The atmosphere is nice and the service is great. They also have dimsum and bubble tea. read more
2 years ago
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