Very good experience. The staff was very attentive. The food was really good. I got the spicy garlic ramen. Wish it was hotter but, my tolerance is pretty high. I even got the "suicide spicy paste" to add it in. Eh, medium heat at best. But it was really good. The buns we're really good too. I'd go back for sure.
Great pork buns and really excellent ramen bowls, with friendly & top-notch service. Hands down the best place to warmup on a cold day in Wicker Park.
This place is much better then Strings, which is good but they are too expensive for the amount of ramen you get which does not seem like much. This place hooks you up with a ramen bowl that will fill you up. And the buns are really good too, I would suggest getting only one if you are getting ramen too cause the buns are loaded with goodies and are filling if you end up eating more then one. The only thing I did not like is the lighting was too dark for me but the food makes me not mind that at all. I plan on coming back again.
A must for Chicagoans and tourists. U will not be disappointed. Been here many times and no band experiences. If you attend on Saturday night expect a line. But it worth the wait ...the sticky buns are a necessity for life and the ramen is like butter.
My favorite fusion ramen, well..my favorite ramen in the world!!! No joke
The broth is the best!! I'm craving it right now just thinking about it. And to have gluten-free ramen after years without (as a celiac) is incredible. So very good!
Great atmosphere, Awesome food and great price!
best ramen noodle. the pork belly just melt in your mouth
Nancy Ann Zajac Sanchez
+5
Our first time here and it was a very pleasant experience! Staff was very helpful in guiding us to choose a nice selection for us all to try! The food was delicious and service was excellent! Wish we had a place like this close to home! Thanks !
I live in Ireland now and this is the first place I come to when I'm home. No other ramen compares.
Best noodles yet. Cool ambient, good crowd, good beer.
If I could give 7 stars, I would. I go here every time I visit Chicago and have never been disappointed. I love love LOVE Oiistar!!!
My parents and I can't stop coming here! Absolutely amazing! There is great music, gluten free options, and has a great edgy yet environmental feel to it. Oii loved it!
William Neidecker-Gonzales
+5
All I can say is wow - was not prepared for the size of the pork buns and ramen bowl. The quality was amazing and this is definitely in my top 3 ramen for Chicago.
Server recommended the spicy garlic shoyumen which was the most popular. I started off with the berkshire pork bun which was huge and one of the best pork buns I’ve ever had. Then tried the ramen - broth had a great numbing spiciness to it, pork melted in your mouth and the two pieces of pork you got were enormous. I couldn’t finish the whole bowl and was stuffed. Had room for dessert though and got the crème brûlée which was delicious.
Went here for the first time tonight! I am a fan of ramen and so suprised I hadn’t tried this place yet. Easily best ramen in chicago! It was so flavorful and delish! I will be coming back !!
Oiistar offers decent ramen with generous portions. For starters, their pork belly bun was delicious and quite filling. We tried the Paitan Shio Ramen and Musclemen. The broth was phenomenal, especially the Musclemen with a unique blend of clam flavor with Tonkotsu, although we found the hakata noodle’s texture lacking in chewiness—possibly also overcooked. In our future visits, we will likely opt for the wavy noodles instead.
Very fun time there. It really shows a difference when the staff care about your experience.
The food was great and I really enjoyed the bao buns surprisingly.
Probably one of the best ramens I’ve tried in Chicago and my Japanese friend concurs. I forget what everyone got (I think I should start keeping track given that I write reviews) but I had the miso garlic coz I’m a sucker for garlic and the broth was so flavorful and rich and the meat was very tender. I think a couple of my friends got the shoyu one and they really liked it too. We came in about an hour before close on a Sunday, and they seemed a bit understaffed and the service wasn’t that great (mostly because it was slow, the people were very nice). Would absolutely recommend though!
Okay hear me out— I am a pho girl, never ramen. But this place?!? This is the first time I’ve ever devoured a bowl of ramen and enjoyed every last bit. I got the roasted garlic ramen and broth was rich and savory, super flavorful, the pork belly just fell apart. I inhaled this bowl, I can’t believe we’ve been going to the place up the street the whole time. I got the shrimp tempura bun to start off with the sweet Thai chili sauce and pickled fennel — YUM. This will be our go to ramen spot. A bit pricier but very good. We got the bao donut for dessert— bleh, not worth it. Everything else was excellent.
Excellent ramen! I ordered the #3 which I believe is the tonkotsu style and spicy. I thought the spicy level was just right, not too hot but neither bland.
The pork they add to the ramen is extremely flavorful and of appropriate size for the ramen, same for the noodles.
I only wish the beer was served in a cold beer mug like the one they use for the cutlery, other ramen places do this too.
The shrimp bun was also very tasty.
Don’t miss this place!
My friend recommended their spicy ramens and I got the Oiimen Classic with hakata style noodles. I am almost embarrassingly snobby about ramen but this was pretty good and the pork belly is so rich. I have been here before and tried their baos and don't recommend, but was pleasantly surprised by their ramen. It is pricey but the portions are also huge (at least 2 servings for me).
Qiistar is a fantastic ramen restaurant in Chicago. We thoroughly enjoyed their ramen and buns. I highly recommend trying their Berkshire Pork Belly Bun; it is incredibly flavorful, and the pork belly inside is tender and perfectly complemented by the sauce. We had the pleasure of trying two of their ramen dishes: the Paitan Shio with Wha-Da-Hac Spicy Ramen and the Chickmen. Both were exceptionally rich and delicious. Personally, I was particularly fond of the ramen with chicken; the vegetable broth was incredibly tasty and paired perfectly with all the ingredients.
Quite possibly the best ramen I've had in my life. I started off with their tuna appetizer and Mashed bun. The tuna was amazing, coupled with the egg and sauces. The Mashed bun was so delicious I wanted to order another. The ramen was delicious, light, and creamy with just the right amount of ingredients. Ordered an extra egg. The restaurant is small but designed beautifully. Staff is friendly and on top of refills. Will come back to try the rest of the menu.
I finally got to try this place out today. I enjoyed the food. I ordered the #3 which was the classic Paitan Shio with the Fukuoka Roasted Garlic, I believe. The broth, veggies, seasoned egg, and chashu (husband tested for me as I am not a fan) were great! The noodles, however, were soggy which is why I dinged a star. Usually noodles are a bit more aldente so they cook with the hot broth.
The atmosphere was good but a little noisy esp from our neighbors. It got hard to talk in there. The waitstaff was nice but I felt forgotten at times.
Dark but cozy interior with a bar. Didn’t try the drinks but the ramen is absolutely incredible. Tried the Oiimen tonkotsu and it was unbelievably rich and creamy with huge, melt in your mouth chunks of pork belly. Will come back to taste the rest of the ramen. Surprisingly wasn’t overcrowded on a Friday evening.
Went here with friends and had a lovely dinner. We definitely ate too much but we wanted to try so many things! There was a large variety of Ramen styles to choose from (maybe a bit too many, deciding was hard) but our server was very helpful in making a decision.
We got three buns as appetizers and they were very filling but delicious. I got the garlic shoyu ramen and really enjoyed it! Delicious food overall.
The restaurant is quite small and the atmosphere is nice but the chairs are a bit uncomfortable. We were fine overall but something to take into consideration.
Fantastic ramen at a decent price point($20-30). Expect a long wait for this place if you are going during peak hours. The location isn’t very big but they get your food out very quickly so they are able to move people in and out.
Ramen was top notch, we got the classic and the umami as well as some bao buns to boot. Definitely a bucket list ramen place to try.
We were driving and spontaneously decided to try this place. Thank God there was no wait for us. It seems like this place is packed and you might have to wait to get seated. The ramen was delicious. But what I really enjoyed was the buns! The pork on the pork bun was big and juicy. I felt like this bun had a good price value. the tonkatsu bun was good and interesting. I liked how they put a lot of cabbages on top but wish there was more meat on the bun. The sambal chicken was hot and freshly cooked. The sauce was spicy and was good. Went really well with beer. I would come back here to eat again
Oiistar never disappoints. My favorite ramen spot in chicago! The ramen is super seasoned and delicious. They have delicious pork belly. Not that dry or fatty pork belly you get at other places. The drinks are delicious and the dimly lit interior really sets the vibe.
This visit it tried an assortment of the buns. I had duck, chicken and pork belly. The pork belly was my favorite. The duck was really good. Great flavor profile. Wasn’t really able to pick these buns up and eat them by hand. They were stuffed and I used a knife and fork.
The crème brûlée was delicious and the perfect size for a little bit of sweetness after a meal.
The only downside is the seating: the chairs are just blocks with no back support so just a heads up.
However... This is the best ramen I've had in the city so far. Broth was delicious and comforting, noodles had a nice bite to them, the pork within was juicy and arguably the best part to the bowl. Service was pretty good and there isn't too long of a wait for the food to come out. It can get pretty packed depending on the time you go but it's a nice spot for a date or a food outing with friends.
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