Tengu Denver

Having lived in Japan before, I really struggled finding even a decent ramen place that didn't charge an arm and a leg for their namesake dish. Domo does a really good bowl of ramen, but is too pricey, and any other restaurants I've been to have only been "meh" while charging similarly exorbitant prices to Domo. Tengu gets ramen mostly right, but has a couple drawbacks that keeps it from getting five stars. To start, the green tea was very good. Potent and with the distinct bit of skunkiness I've come to expect from quality Japanese green tea, it's definitely worth getting a cup, but make sure they've got a fresh batch - my first cup or two came out lukewarm. I got the #1, and the ramen itself was was overall very good. The noodles were of a nice chewy consistency, and were just right. The broth was flavorful, and not too salty (a drawback I've noticed at other ramen joints), but similar to my first cups of green tea, didn't come out as hot as I want it to. While certainly not cold, I prefer my ramen to come out piping hot as was typical in Japan. There was a good amount of spice in the broth, which is atypical of ramen in Japan, but something that I usually achieved with spice powder when I was there, so I can't complain too much about that. The veggies were fresh, and while the pork was cubed as opposed to sliced as I was accustomed to in Japan, it was tender and flavorful. My nitpicks are with the temperature of the food and tea that came out, and while very good for the US, I still felt something was lacking compared to the ramen I had in Japan. At $10 a bowl, the price is about right, and certainly the best bang for your ramen buck I've found Stateside. I'll definitely be back.

I have been here a couple of times and both times the ramen was spot on. I've been searching for good ramen since my favorite spot in aurora closed and now I've found one.. I also got to check out the Izakaya downstairs which is awesome. This place is all about good food and vibe, two things Denver needs. Ignore the ignorant reviews on yelp, you're curry dish was too oily? Have you ever had curry? The building doesn't have 10 flatscreeen TVs and crappy pub food? Boohoo. Sorry Denver, your lack of vibe is getting old.

This is the sweetest hidden gem in RiNo! Awesome ramen, and the basement hangout is off the charts cool. Order a pitcher of cocktails which can be saki based and out of this world. Have some food and enjoy the awesome atmosphere. Oh and did I mention that everything on the menu is between $5-$10. Do yourself a favor and go meet the cool staff and let them show you what a great place this off the grid place is.

Very good ramen with a great balance of flavor! Not the easiest place to find, but solid.

Ramen the way it should be. Exceptional staff.