Oshima Ramen Of America Inc

Doesn't Recommend

diggisty

Joined 4 years ago

Gross. We decided to try this place after it was featured in 5280 Mag and it is NOT GOOD. It is VERY VERY dirty. So dirty that after a few bites of my food I got too grossed out to even finish. I ordered the chicken noodle bowl and my friend's comment was "how do they even get chicken to look like that?". It is WAY overpriced too. It is just gross, the food is gross, the establishment is gross, just GROSS. We ended up leaving after about 3 bites and going somewhere else for dinner.

I hate to write such a bad review for a family owned business but hopefully they will make improvements and figure out a way to succeed. I wish zero stars was an option.

Doesn't Recommend

CSMobileUser

Joined 5 years ago

Tasty but lacks.. I don't know how authentic the ramen is but I think it's way over priced for ramen noodles and the service is aweful! I was barely aknowledged when I entered and I felt like was intruding. The food was tasty but I won't go back.

Doesn't Recommend

maverick2000

Joined 5 years ago

two stars b/c you feign authenticity. Let me start off by saying the food is actually okay at Oshima. Not great, but good enough that I have gone back more than once. Also, the very existence of a ramen joint in the denver area is meaningful and worthwhile (even if it slightly misses the mark).

I gave Oshima two stars simply because it goes so far out of its way to claim authenticity, but falls woefully short. Although the shoyu and miso soup bases are average, the noodles themselves--the supposed stars of the show--are just lame. Ramen noodles are supposed to be yellow, curly and firm, like a bad blonde's perm job. Oshima's noodles are white, straight, thin and soggy, like my grandma's hair just out of the shower (damn you, Oshima, for that visual!). Also, while egg is often included, a pelo-style egg soaked in sugar and five spice powder is just not japanese.

Similarly, the gyoza are definitely tasty but are not really gyoza (prepared the way they are in ramen shops in Japan). Gyoza may come stuck together, but they do not have a unibody construction with a shared wrapper for multiple pieces. And speaking of the wrapper, they are supposed to be thin and melt in your mouth--Oshima's are thick and just plain chewy. Luckily, they do get the part right about the bottom being slightly charred and crispy.

The previous poster who claims to have lived briefly in Japan either is stretching the truth, or doesn't know food well enough to have paid attention (sorry, dude). I'll admit that I have only spent a few weeks in Japan, but I am a hard-core foodie/cook and ramen fan, and I ended almost every drunken night in a ramen joint taking mental notes. Also, I took my Japanese girlfriend here over Christmas (who grew up in Yokohoma, but lived as a young adult in Tokyo), and she was horrified. The noodle shops in LA and San Francisco have no problem re-creating Japanese ramen shops. I'm glad Oshima has tried to do it in Denver, but they need to try a little harder to get it right.

Recommends

linguarum

Joined 5 years ago

Decent for Denver. Very homey cafe, and good noodles at a good price. Most of the Japanese people in town, including my wife, aren't fans. But of course, they're used to ramen restaurants in Japan. For Denver, it's pretty much the only ramen you're going to get, except for the 17-cent packages at Safeway.

Doesn't Recommend

6654

Joined 4 years ago

What a joke!!. I guess the owner/manager couldn't succeed in Japan so he came here to open lousy ramen restaurant that caters to clueless gringos? I'm here to tell you that ramen shouldn't taste that bad as Oshimas!! If you have a chance can you go to Japan someday. If that's out of your budget, then just go to Downtown LA ( Japan Town) or any of ramen joints in So. Cal. You will know the difference immediately. If you still disagree, do you see any Japanese customers go to Oshima ramen??

Recommends

OLY82

Joined 4 years ago

Best Japanese food in America. This place is perfect. The only reason anyone should go here is to taste the food. The noodles are like nothing I have ever tasted. So full of flavor, and stretchy, which makes them perfect for wrapping up the broth. I eat here at least once a week and it is one of my favorite places to eat in Denver.

Recommends

mcslabs

Joined 5 years ago

Best Ramen in US. I used to live in Japan for a while so I was really excited to find this place. I have been going there for the last few years and the food has always been great.

It isn't the cleanest place in the world but it is not as bad as some of these reviews would make you think. The gyoza that people are complaining about is actually really good. I just think it is differnet than the stuff people are used to. It is not the same stuff you get at some fancy asian chain restaurant, it is the real stuff like you would get in Japan.

If you like authentic asian food give it a try.

Recommends

BoulderDiner

Joined 5 years ago

Great Ramen. What is up with all the "dirty restaurant!" reviews? I haven't been to Oshima in a couple of years, since moving to Boulder, but I remember it as a terrific place to get a bowl of ramen and I really miss going there. I think some of these people must've been expecting a fancy restaurant or something. Look, Oshima is a little hole-in-the-wall noodle bar. But it has tasty, authentic ramen, and is clean enough. Highly recommended, and don't worry about these "dirty" reviews. Just don't expect anything fancy.

Doesn't Recommend

TravelNutty

Joined 5 years ago

Needs a thourough scubbing!. I was embarrassed by the filth...everything is coated with a layer of grease/grime.

A better meal can be savored at any of the Vietnamese Pho restaurants popping

up all around the Metro area...

Doesn't Recommend

misskea

Joined 5 years ago

Terrible. Dirty, dirty, dirty! I hate to think of what our food was prepared on! One worker (sitting at a table in the front of the restaurant) was prepping the gyoza with her bare hands while eating. I have been to restaurants all over the world and this is the most unsanitary by far. Can someone get this place inspected?