Arashi Ramen
Recommended by: Nobody. Arashi Ramen was a participant in our Battle of Seattle Ramen post.
Description on Arashi Ramen’s website: The essence of ramen is in the soup, out signature Tonkatsu(pork bone) soup is handcrafted by master chef Daisuke Ueda with premium ingredients simmered over 16 hours.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 5401 20th Ave NW, Seattle WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Black Garlic Ramen(Salt based, pork belly chashu, seasoned egg, bean sprouts, green onion, fried onion, black garlic oil), Arashi Ramen(Salt based, 3 pork belly chashu, seaweed, seasoned egg, beansprouts, green onion, Honey Garlic Kaarage(Japanese fried chicken with our special honey garlic sauce), Spicy Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, Asahi Dry Beer
Comments: Arashi Ramen first started out in Tukwila and opened a branch in Ballard in March of 2016. Since then, we’ve come to Arashi Ramen whenever we have a ramen hankering and in the Ballard area. Just a warning, if it’s crowded, it’ll be difficult to get a table for a party of more than 4. There are only 6 stools along the front window counter. There’s also 6 solo wooden stools along a narrow counter. There’s also a long wooden bench with individual tables that can be pushed together for parties of more than 2, but you’ll have to wait for two of these tables to open up simultaneously. Most of the tables are accompanied by traditional small wooden stools that some might find uncomfortable, but were fine for us.
Arashi Ramen specializes in Tokotsu style ramen, which is known for boiling and simmering pork marrow or pork bones for long amounts of time anywhere from 12-16 hours. This typically leads to a cloudy flavorful broth. Arashi Ramen has the three basic broths of Shio, Shoyu and Miso, but also have variations such as Tantan, Arashi Ramen(appears to be Shio Ramen with more pork belly chashu) and Black Garlic Ramen.
We started with the honey garlic kaarage, which can be hit or miss if not cooked correctly, but it was nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside as it should be. The Arashi Ramen was a bit on the salty side, but the black garlic ramen was the star here. I was expecting the garlic to be overpowering, but the garlic oil is very subtle and tasty. And I don’t recall seeing this in any other ramen place, but the spoons provided are the abnormally long and the exact angle that allows you to scoop up every drop of soup.
Overall, we like Arashi Ramen. We like the ambiance although the space is on the small side. It’s easy to find parking. The service is quick and most importantly the ramen is very good. We’d rate Arashi Ramen in our top 5 ramen places in Seattle after Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Ramen Danbo and Kizuki Ramen.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.5
Bang for the Buck: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
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- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Eavesdropping Convos:
Server recommendations to visit in the future:
Related:
- What Visitors Think of Seattle – Japan(36 F)
- Hokkaido Ramen Santouka – Best Ramen in Seattle
- Battle of the Seattle Ramen Restaurants
- Fremont Bowl