Boxer Ramen

Food was decent. I love the vegetarian ramen - it is on the sweet side, due to the coconut milk and maeploy curry paste but I really enjoy it. We sat at the bar seats in front of the entrance and where they prepare all of the to go orders. After having dropped off our mains, our server never came back. Never quality checked. There were multiple people right in front of us for at least 15 minutes after we have finished eating, and we had to ask for the check and to go boxes for our leftovers. Having been a server for many years, I know how challenging it can be - but this service was well below subpar. Perhaps it was a fluke, and we caught them on an off night. I will go back but if the service is the same, I will definitely take my business elsewhere. There are a lot of ramen restaurants in Portland to choose from.

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.

QUICK VERDICT: The Rolls Royce of Ramen! I remember when this place first opened up there was a line all the way down one side of the block! I love that we have an anantgaurde restaurant on Alberta. Unbeatable atmosphere! If you want to impress someone? Look no further. Presentation? Absolutely gorgeous! 😃. Great place for friends and couples. The whole experience is an event in itself, absolutely go here! They also passed the late night test and honor their 9 P.M. close time WITH APLOMB! SERVICE TIME FROM ORDER TO ENTRE WAS LESS THAN 5 min! 😲 WHOA!!!! Gentlemen? If you want to impress? Look no further. What's really going to blow your mind? This experience cost me less than $50! Whatever the wait, it's worth it. 5 stars indeed!

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.

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.