Reviews Boxer Ramen

Best Ramen experience to date in Portland. I came with my daughter and we loved the ambiance. There was ample seating on a Friday night. We sat along the bar area. Staff was attentive and very friendly and welcoming. I'm not sure what's on the pot stickers but we loved them so much we ordered them twice. The crunch combined with flavor was out of this world. The hand rolls were a fun surprise and the Ramen had an amazing broth. We will for sure return.

Boxer Ramen is one of the most authentic ramen experiences in the Portland area. Sure, they flirt with some ingredients that reactionary ramen ronin would balk at, on occasion, but the end result is something that is both traditional and trendsetting. On this particular Wednesday night visit, I rounded up the fam and we headed off to check out the new Alberta location. It was busy, bustling, but not bursting, allowing us the choice of inside or outside dining. We chose the latter seating option, as it was a warm spring evening (the first of the year), and placed our order: a couple of cocktails for Mom and Dad (the Cherry Blossom and the Osaka Old Fashioned), okonomiyaki tots, a salmon avocado hand roll, two bowls of Spicy Red Miso, and one Tonkotsu Skio to split between the two older boys; our newborn son would have to gaze upon us in envy, while draining his bottle of decidedly less tasty milk. My wife and I are no strangers to the Spicy Red Miso; in our humble opinion, it's the best thing on the menu, and the best ramen in the city (we've yet to be proved wrong, although Baka Umai makes a similar bowl that nips at its heels!). It's spicy, yes, but not offensively so - it hits all the right piquant notes without burning out your taste buds. It's also oily (in a good way), savory, salty and unequivocally superb! It's so good, in fact, there's very little hope of us ever ordering anything else here, so it was nice that we were able to sample the Tonkotsu Shio as well, as even two young boys couldn't tackle the entire thing between them! It's probably the closest thing on the menu to a truly "traditional", baseline noodle bowl you'd order at a 10-seater ramen bar in a Tokyo back alley, ran by a surly soba-slinging Samurai who communicates only in grunts, nods, and the occasional "Irrashaimase!". The Osaka Old Fashioned was one of the best iterations of the cocktail I've ever had (Japanese whisky is something else, man!): lighter and sweeter than a traditional, but still packing a heavy punch. My wife's Cherry Blossom was tart and sweet, but just enough of both, carefully balanced; elegant, one might say. Our oldest devoured his salmon and avocado hand roll in two bites, so I can't comment much on it, but considering it was consumed by the particularly primitive palate of a picky pre-teen, I'd say that constitutes a glowing recommendation. And lastly, the okonomiyaki tots, other than for a want of more spicy sauce, were a crispy, crunchy, salty, umami snack that I could eat all day, every day. As for the service, our slightly-aloof server, a tall, ponytailed gentleman with an exceptional memory, was attentive and efficient from start to finish, and all of our dishes arrived at our table with startling alacrity, back to back, with hardly any pause: drinks, appetizers, mains, done. Only in the wait for the check was there any noticeable gap in service, and even then, it was only because we were eager to get out and enjoy the the first sunny spring sunset of the year. Japan may be the Land of the Rising Sun, but here in Portland, the best ramen is served when it is setting.

Confession we had way more food than potstickers that were pictured!!! The honey walnut shrimp was the perfect mixture of sweet and savory.

Great service, they were really friendly and attentive. Bright, well-located spot right on Alberta, could be fancy or casual depending on what you feel like. You could meet someone here for a nice dinner or a quick lunch. We had two ramens, one spicy and one regular. The spicy one was perfectly spicy, and my kid loved the regular. This is your classic style ramen, and it was all good but the BROTH was next level. We were both literally drinking it out of the bowl at the end, it was so good.

Solid tonkotsu ramen with tender and flavorful pork belly atop decent noodles. Dish loses a star for the poached egg instead of soft boiled - no other ramen place does this for a reason. Edamame was nothing special but if you are craving the dish and like sweet chili with a bit of heat you'll be satisfied. Prices are reasonable, and the waitstaff will find their groove with more time.

I’ve never had ramen before and it was a good experience. I’ve decided ramen isn’t my thing but this was a good little restaurant to try out. We got the Tonkatsu-shio and the Spicy Miso. Both were good. The bowls are pretty huge, I recommend sharing a bowl. We also go the Tots appetizer. That was decent although I don’t think I’d get it again. There’s not a lot of room in the restaurant so go in small groups (like 4-5 max).

It literally took me 15 minutes to find this place because of my stupidity. There's a decent-sized window sign that faces Alberta and even a sandwich board-type sign out front but I kept walking right by it - even did a loop around the neighborhood because Google Maps made it look like Boxer Ramen was tucked behind the street-lined businesses. I'm from Vegas so was doing the tourist thing and busy being distracted by and pointing at everything - especially the gigantic crowd at Salt & Straw directly across the street. Anyway, the entrance to Boxer Ramen is tucked between two buildings in a Diagon Alley kind of way. As we stood in the alley, my daughter and I heard Michael Jackson's "Beat It" blaring out the door and it made me hesitate for a second as I wondered if this place would be legit. Once inside, we were immediately greeted and seated. The kitchen and food prep area spans the back wall of the building with nine stools directly in front of it. There are three tables along the window and three two-seater tables outside. The plywood finish of the walls and tables worked well with the overall feel of the place. The menu itself is simple and has all the classics with some twists - like the okonomiyaki in tot form. We ordered the Wakame Salad and two of the Spicy Red Miso ramens. The salad was out in a flash and the ramens weren't too far behind. The salad was good - basically what you'd expect. The ramen was really good. Right off the bat, there's a lot going on: generous amounts of both sliced and cubed pork belly, the poached egg, generous amount of scallions, the noodles, and the deliciously-flavored broth. Everything worked well together - the gochujang/miso combo is brilliant! There's a reason Boxer Ramen has a 4.4 treating with over 400 reviews; here's my 5 stars.