Tonbo Ramen

"We really wanted to like this place, as there was a lot of good but a few things just held it back.. The atmosphere was great, nice lighting and mood, clean, and happy they accepted reservations because it was certainly busy. The appetizers were very good, we had the cucumber salad, dumplings, and pork buns and we were pleased with each, very flavorful. Now the not so great.. the service was VERY slow. To get the service going you had to specifically try to catch their attention on their way by to flag them down. When you asked for something very simple (like soy sauce (which should have been available anyway)) you had to ask 2-3x because they forget/are too busy. Also, the mixed cocktails were watered down/very weak. The sake was good though, since served straight. I enjoyed the duck ramen, there was fair proportion of everything in it and tasty. However, the tonkatsu ramen was almost flavorless and came with only one slice of meat and no veggies. Overall it was a fine place, if the service improves it would be a much better experience."

"I tried several ramen spots while in Raleigh and this one has a very different flavor with the tonkotsu broth than the others. The atmosphere is nice on the inside. The service was fine. Nothing exceptional but your needs are pretty much met and it’s a bit laid back. Takeaways on the food: Mac and cheese bites are one of my favorite things here. Wonderful take on a classic food. The ramen wasn’t my favorite. I’m not sure what they do differently but the flavor is not what I expect from this particular ramen. All of the ingredients were good. All appeared fresh and the noodles were cooked well. But the flavor of the broth, which I feel is the best part was not my favorite. I could eat it but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I did add a chili bomb, used half of it but I didn’t notice too much of a difference with it. Overall the few other ramen spots I tried placed above this locations ramen."

"Went on a less busy late Sunday evening. Parking is limited, so walked a block. At this moment parking is free on weekends in certain areas in down for certain time periods. We didn't have to wait. Server promptly showed our table and brought the water. I saw the menu QR code on the napkin holder, my suggestion is to have few paper copies too, as their are older people and non tech savvy people too present sometimes in the clientele, which was actually very diverse as per my observation. Not a frilly and fancy place, with couple of interesting art pieces and hand written menu, which is actually a delight. Our server Anna was very efficient and polite and super busy. The drink was average, poured from readymade jars with least imagination of combinations possible. Sweet tea is unavailable, which is pretty common in South and can be store bought too like their other drinks. The food came and it was so deliocious. I like the range of their vegetarian/vegan options and I think they are willing to customize a bit too, if not too tedious. We had a sweet corn and a Tuna dish....loved the taste, presentation and their peculiar dishes. Amount was just okay, not the leftovers kind. For a pretty non descript place this is a must visit spot for foodies and fans of healthy options."

"Food was delish. Tonkatsu Ramen has a phenomenal broth. The dumplings could have been steamed a little longer, and the pork was light on substance, but the overall package was satisfying. The Tuna Poke bowl was a big hit with my dinner partner. Service was slow, but this due to there being only one server for the whole lower floor. The seats are rock hard. Overall atmosphere is chill. Recommend."

"Took my wife here on a date night to give it a try. The server was great, drinks came out fast! We ordered the life’s a beach drinks which was very good almost like an elevated pina colada. We ordered several things to try but have to say the best thing we had out of everything was the spicy miso wings. Those may have been one of the best wings I’ve had in a while. The other food was good but I expected a little better for over $100 bill. Definitely worth going here though and everything was still good. Water stays on your table so you don’t have to ever worry about a refill. Very fast service. Only giving it a 4 out of 5 since the wings were my favorite out of all the things we tried, great place though and cool atmosphere!"