Food -
Koshi Ramen Bar is, of course, a place to get ramen. You can get the usual bevy of soup bases here such as tonkotsu, miso, and shoyu, as well as veggie, black garlic, chicken, and seafood. It's quite a vast selection! Being me, I've already decided I'm a tonkotsu guy, so I go for it on my visit. After selecting the type of ramen you would like you can apply heat to it. Select from four levels of spiciness to get the exact taste you want. I went for the medium spice and I felt it was exactly a medium level!
If you'd like other toppings for the ramen you can go ahead and select more items. Most of the extras like corn are a dollar more, but getting more pork is two bucks as is extra ramen noodles. I'm a big fan of the ability to really customize the your ramen bowl, so this is a great feature!
Aside from the ramen, there is a nice selection of appetizers on the menu. Many of these starters are dishes common to ramen places. You'll find chicken karaage, gyoza, and tempura but also things like lumpia, spam masubi, and even grilled whole squid. The pricing on the appetizers range from around four dollars to eight.
Finally, if you're not in the noodle mood, you can get one of the three rice bowls that are offered. There's chashu and chicken which are pretty par for the course... but there's also unagi on the menu as well! For those of you not in the know, unagi is eel! And it is quite delicious! I didn't get a chance to try the unagi here at Koshi, but I would very much like to in a future visit.
On a negative note, on this particular visit to Koshi, I found that the egg and chashu were a bit cold in my ramen bowl. It was kind of a shock to feel that temperature as I was eating. The two items seemed to be fully cooked so I'm not sure why they had that temperature. This is something I'll have to pay close attention to the next time.
Service/Atmosphere -
The servers at Koshi Ramen Bar are extremely friendly. I felt that the worker who took my order up front was being very nice. I appreciate the effort to make me feel welcome in the restaurant. It certainly does make the entire experience better.
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated. The color tones and wall art give the place a modern look that is very inviting. You can tell that some thoughtful design went into creating the dining atmosphere here.
Price -
The ramen bowls are around $10 each - actually a little more. Adding an appetizer and a drink is going to get you near the $20 range. I'd say that if you're on a budget and want to get filled up, this may not be the place for you as every extra thing will be more money out of your wallet.
Special Tips and Recommendations -
Be wise when adding things to your bowl of ramen. At one to two dollars each for extras, the price of just a bowl of ramen can get pretty high pretty fast. Like I mentioned in the price category of this review, make sure you tabulate everything you select and make sure you're willing to pay it!
Bottom Line -
Koshi Ramen Bar is a great add to the restaurants in Natomas. I'd happily come here for a ramen fix. The service is friendly and the restaurant is nicely furnished. I had a minor issue with my food on this visit, but I don't think it's par for the course. I'm looking forward to the next go-around!
Letter Grade
B+
Koshi is located to the right of the movie theater in Natomas.
Medium spicy ramen.
Nice piece of wood!
No comments:
Post a Comment