IKA RAMEN & IZAKAYA
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Benson
Upscale ramen & casual Japanese classics
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Date Night; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Steam Buns; Spicy Miso Ramen; Tonkotsu Ramen
The term “ramen” tends to conjure memories of college, when undergrads with little income resorted to the salty noodle and broth dish because it was dirt cheap and readily available in the local supermarket. About a dollar and a few minutes in the microwave were all that separated a poor college student from a sustaining meal.
But traditional ramen is much more sophisticated and complex. The dish, which consists of Chinese noodles in a meat-based broth accompanied with meat and vegetables, has been a Japanese staple for a few hundred years. And now it’s having its moment.
And if you have to get in on the trend, there’s no better place in Omaha than Ika Ramen & Izakaya (or its sister restaurant, Ika San, in Downtown Omaha).
Located in a thin restaurant just off Maple St., Ika has a modern, borderline hipster atmosphere. Guests seat themselves and order from a menu filled with different broth and protein combinations. If ramen isn’t your thing, there are several varieties of poke bowl, Donburi dishes (sticky rice bowls), and a host of tempting appetizers.
The star of the appetizer menu is the Steam Buns, which can be ordered with pork belly, lamb belly, fried chicken, or shredded pork. The pork belly option is tremendous, as the steam buns are the perfect pillowy device, a soft carriage for the salty, fatty pork belly inside.
The dish is rounded out with a slightly spicy mayo and pickled vegetables. My only complaint was the size; each order comes with just two buns, and they’re only about three bites apiece. The flavor is tremendous, but it leaves one wanting more, especially at $6 for two buns.
Another option is the Gyoza, pan-fried dumplings that can be ordered with pork, shrimp, or vegetables. Though the dumpling could be filled more thoroughly, the pan-fry adds a nice crisp to the dumplings’ undersides.
The star of the menu are the ramen bowls. Ika offers 11 options with a variety of broths, proteins, vegetables, and more. Among the most popular is the Tonkatsu Ramen, a combination of rich pork broth, char siu pork, garlic, picked veggies, and tree ear mushrooms. As it should be, the salty broth is far and away the star of the dish. The creamy liquid has a solid pork flavor and is so tasty that one is tempted to simply drink it once the rest of the dish is consumed. Everything else complements the broth nicely, created a well-composed dish.
The Kimchi Ramen (pictured in the header photo) is similar, replacing the ginger with kimchi, which is spicy fermented cabbage (which sounds gross, but trust me, it’s delicious). It also features a spicy pork broth that brings a good deal more heat than the Tonkotsu.
The chicken broth in the Spicy Miso Ramen is rich and has good spice without hitting you over the head with the heat. But the real highlight is the gochujang sausage, which adds a touch of sweetness to the savory ground meat. This mixes perfectly with the slippery, glossy noodles.
Much as I enjoy the ramen, I actually find myself ordering the Donburi entrees more often. And that’s not a knock on the restaurant’s namesake, but an acknowledgement of how delicious these rice bowls are.
The rice is the key element. Ika uses a sticky rice that serves two key purposes: first, it binds together different elements to create cohesive bites, pulling the protein and vegetables together. It’s also quite tasty, adding just a touch of sweetness.
The bowls, which can be ordered with pork belly, chicken, tuna, or carne asada, are massive. I’ve found that the rice bowls at many restaurants suffer from a severe ratio imbalance: there’s far more starch than other elements. Not so at Ika. The rice is balanced by healthy amounts of meat and pickled vegetables, ensuring you get even bites throughout the meal.
The service is friendly and helpful, which is key for ramen newcomers, as the menu can be a bit difficult to understand. Seating is somewhat limited and the restaurant can fill up quickly.
If you want to give elevated ramen a try, Ika is the place to do it. The meals are delicious, and all the broths are so delicious I’d drink them out of a glass.