Ramen Republic

I’ve been here a handful of times. I typically get the miso w/​tofu. Ramen Republic is good all the way around. The food is good, the prices are good, and the atmosphere is good. When I say «good», I mean it. It’s just that nothing is great. There isn’t anything particularly remarkable about the place.
I recommend for quick lunch alone or with a close friend, but don’t expect to impress anyone by treating them here. I like it and I even recommend it, but it’s nothing special.

My boyfriend and I always come here when we are craving asian food. It’s a neat little creative place where a college students dream food is served in an actual sit down restaurant.
The cashiers are always friendly, and they have great promotions and coupons they hand out.
Very good! get the garlic broth, ramen noodles, and pork.

I really like this place. I just wish it were cooler most months here in TX because I don’t have a taste for the noodles in the spring and summer months or at least it is hard to persuade my husband. I used to get coupons that did not really help much. I hope that they hang in there, keep fresh ingredients, and continue on regardless of the narrow minded patrons who think this is more than what it is.

Ok, so the reviews for this place are very mixed. Some have had good experiences, some not so great. Now I know this is not authentic, but an Americanized version of a ramen house. But for what it is, I have enjoyed this place.
I have had the ramen, the udon, the phở and even some of the cold salads (which are great)
I really like the veggie bar, where you can add most anything from broccoli, carrots, cilantro to the various sauces and of course some siracha.
The place itself is nice and I appreciate the local artwork hanging on the walls. Plus with all the small restaurants popping up on and off Denton Square, there is hard not to find something good to eat.
Enjoy.

I know this place has gotten some pretty whatever reviews, and I can see why, but as a vegetarian that loves udon and was stopping in Denton for the weekend: this place was awesome!
I built my own bowl (you choose a noodle, a broth, and a protein — pretty standard) which probably would have been a two-​star review if that was where it ended. But the great thing about Ramen Republic is that they have this veggie bar with an impressive selection of veggies to top your noodles with. Seriously, everything: carrots, broccoli, cilantro, celery, corn, spinach, jalapeño, tomato, cucumber, onion — the list goes on and on.
Basically, if you’re looking for something super authentic, this probably isn’t it. Otherwise, it’s pretty yummy.

I had great service walking in off the street. I ordered the large miso ramen bowl with marinated tofu. The broth was tasty, the tofu was fricken’ tasty, but the ramen noodles were just different, not what I was expecting. I’ve had good ramen in LA’s Little Toyko, but these noodles were thicker, almost spaghetti-​like.
However, I liked the veggie bar that you could use to add corn, peppers, bean sprouts, limes, etc. to your bowl. I do want to go back soon to try the udon noodles and their stir fry noodles.

customer service: 5 stars
The workers are friendly, funny and they’re actually helpful if you’re a new comer to this place.
Food: 2 stars.
It’s nothing to die for, nothing I couldn’t have made myself, and nothing special.
*note* If you aren’t big on Asian food, you’ll like it.
Food comes out very quickly for those of you going in extra hungry — i’ll give that good credit.
it’s like 5 dollars for ramen + the drink — not worth it.

My wife and I have tried Ramen Republic twice and both times have been a big disappointment. To start with, they have a very limited selection of beers (about 4 to 6) and nothing common. If you have a favorite niche microbrew and they just happen to carry that brand then good for you. If you want a mass produced light beer of any brewer– «Sorry, we don’t have that.» As a matter of fact that was the theme of the night.
The older gentleman working the register had the attitude that he genuinely would rather be removing porcupine quills from his ass cheeks than help us. A word of advice if you ignore this review and go here– For the love of God, follow the order of the menu on the wall or you will be found in great contempt! I got out of order and felt the sting of bland scorn.
Me: «Uh… I guess I’ll have the shrimp.»
HappyPants: «~SIGH!~ Which noodle would you like?»
Me: «Oh, ramen is fine.»
HappyPants: «NOW… would you like shrimp?»
Me: «Yes please. And a side order of smarmy attitude would be fantastic.»
Those apathetic sighs were prevalent with each question we posed. Real toughies like, «Are these your only beers? Are you out of chopsticks? Water chestnuts? How about bean sprouts…» His painful response each time was, «Nah, we’re out. They didn’t have any on the truck.» What truck? Why am I hearing about your truck problems? Are you aware you’re less than 2 miles from a huge Kroger and that water chestnuts, bean sprouts and CHOPSTICKS are fairly integral components of a ramen noodle experience? (To be fair they did get us some chopsticks from somewhere)
Speaking of experience… the veggie and sauce bar you’re supposed to use to build your ramen bowl was filthy. Not just the bar, the bottles and anything near them had food or sauce caked on them. Take some pride in your work people. If this is what the customer-​facing sections of your restaurant look like I am terrified of what is happening where I can’t see. Also, the whole restaurant is just boring. There don’t have a TV and I don’t remember music. The place is always empty when we’ve been there or walked by to go to any of the good restaurants nearby.
And if this weren’t enough, it’s expensive. It was $ 25 for the two of us for two bowls and two soft drinks. I got a large ramen bowl with garlic beef broth and added shrimp. My wife got the large angel hair pasta and tenderloin in garlic beef broth. Once we doctored it up the flavor wasn’t that bad.
But bottom line, it’s not worth it.

I’ve had the pork soup #1 and the Pad Thai and both dishes lack flavor in general. I’d elaborate and describe the two dishes, but there’s not much to describe when there isn’t much flavor.
I’ll still drive to Carrolton to Phở Pasteur II before I’ll eat here again.

A new favorite. We were heading to Fuzzys taco (which is very good) and saw this place. It is ten times better than PeiWei. Noodle Soup is like I had in China except more meat and noodles (Americanized).
The girl at the register was very helpful and they will make changes from the menu. Place is very clean as well.

Ramen Republic… I wish I liked you more.
The ginger-​whatever broth was mildly tasteless. The Basil is in fact not Thai Basil but Italian Basil, which is really odd for Asian-​style soup.
On the positive side, the roast pork was pretty darn good. It went really well with peas and corn and the other non-​Asian ingredients I added after I was dissatisfied with my original bowl.
Basically, if you want to remake Japanese ramen or Vietnamese phở here, you’re going to eat something mediocre. If you want to make something more American/​European, then you’re in luck, there are tasty options, but I think my problems arose from assuming the Japanese theme implied more than it did.
It WAS cheapish for the big bowl of soup, though.

Aww poor Ramen Republic. It is so hard to write a bad review for this place because I really want it to be successful. The owner is so nice it is such a shame that the food is just, well… not that impressive.
The first place where Ramen Republic is failing is getting college kids to pay $ 5 for a bowl of ramen. I know when I think ramen, I think cheap. So even though I’d happily pay $ 5 for a bowl of Phở, I just can’t get past the mental block of thinking of ramen as cheap. But also, it just isn’t that amazing.
The inside of the place is nice and they serve sake which I like. I just don’t see this place lasting more than another year or two without some kind of a menu change. Ramen Republic is not bad food, it’s just not good either.

This place is nice, local, and pretty basic. I like the concept, and love noodle bowls. I liked the simple choices, and add your own veggie bar. The siracha to spice it up is good, but be careful with the ground Thai red chili, that addition made me cry while I was eating.
But, a good addition to Denton’s choices for dining. I also like that it is a healthier option than fast food. Give it a try, especially after a night out having fun. The only thing I did not like was that it tasted like they soaked the tofu in soy sauce– so that ingredient was a little salty. I still finished all of those pieces.
I hope they add some kind of appetizers soon, spring rolls or edamame would be a nice addition.

It was delicious, simple as that. I’ve been to Japan and while it may not be described as «authentic Japanese,» it was pretty damn good and, if done properly, could yield a fairly good recreation of a Japanese ramen soup. More importantly, though, it tasted good! I don’t really care what ethnicity my food is, as long as it’s good. You can create your own dishes and make some pretty good results.
We talked to the owner for quite a while and he’s planning to add more options (especially broths, we recommended he get some more traditional Japanese ones, which he said he was working on) as they expand the menu. He and the rest of the staff were also quite helpful and friendly and made it a pleasant experience.
I also *really* recommend the yogurt afterwards. It was a perfect balance of tart and sweet and was just generally quite excellent.
Also, the restaurant serves japanese beer and some pretty good sake.
I very much enjoyed it and plan to be back many times.

I will start off by saying that this place is completely Americanized and not authentic at all. But hey, it’s Denton, what else should you expect?
If you are looking for a reasonably priced and quick meal that is semi-​Asian inspired, you’ll be fine. If you want deliciously flavored, authentic ramen noodles with fish kamaboko floating around at the top, don’t bother.
Broth: Pretty basic. Nothing especially delicious.
Meat: Tender but does not seemed seasoned like it is supposed to be. Just tastes like the meat
Noodles: Udon is not thick and chewy, it is more flat and «normal» noodle like. Some sort of cheaper udon alternative. The other noodles are fine.
Extras: not an excessive amount of options. The mushrooms are the same used on pizzas and salad but are raw, so they end up tasting more earthy than like the soup. They have no enoki or shitake mushrooms. And some other basic stuff like spinach, but the quantities you receive are pretty small.
Seasonings: For added flavor and spice, they have some typical seasonings such as sriracha and soy sauce.
Drinks: Izzie soda and a few Japanese beers.
Staff: friendly and helpful.

Meh. Pretty good price.
If you aren’t too into your noodles being «authentic» (I have no idea what this actually means) then you will probably like it as a cheap, filling meal. It’s a build your own noodle place, simple as that. You pick the broth, protein and noodle.
With the other dirty names in the area (Fuzzy’s, Roosters, and Hot Box) they could have really done something with the «noodle» name. Shame.

I should’ve known better than to try a Ramen place in Denton. Now I wasn’t expecting a 5 star Ramen joint but if your restaurant is named «Ramen Republic», at least tickle our fancy and serve actual RAMEN noodles.
I know I may sound harsh but I was just disappointed and a bit deceived. The broth was plain jane and had no evidence of a fatty, rich broth that Ramen is usually served in. The cubed chicken chunks didn’t help either. Although I did like the concept of an all-​you-​can-​pile on veggie bar, it still couldn’t make up for the lack of taste, texture, and quality.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled with West coast Ramen noodles in Japan Town but this just doesn’t do justice to real Ramen. I hope consumers don’t think this is legit Ramen because they are definitely missing out.
2 stars for attempting to open up a Ramen restaurant in Denton. Props.

Let me begin by saying the staff was super-​nice and attentive. The owner walked around helping people navigate the menu and ensure their experience was top notch.
The goal of the owner is a healthy restaurant so sodas are off the menu. Your options are a variety of teas and Izzie.
Everything about this place is great… except the ramen. As James L. said, ramen noodles have been confused with spaghetti noodles. I’m not wanting the packaged stuff, but genuine ramen with the thickness, flavor and texture of real ramen (check out the wikipedia entry if you don’t know what I’m talking about). They also serve soba and udon so I’m pretty sure those noodles must be the right ones?
I had the beef broth versus chicken or vegetarian. I chose naked chicken as my protein, but god it was tough and flavorless. I mean I chose «naked» so I expected plain chicken but jeez this was chore to eat.
Next, soup components. Want basil? mushrooms? spinach? expect to pay 50 cents each. Holy crap. The complimentary toppings range from the more traditional: green onions, daikon, to the Campbells soup: corn and celery.
I put a lot of sriracha and hoisin but it still wasn’t super flavorful. I loved my Izzie but it was $ 2.35 for the small four-​pack bottle.
I think I’ll just stick with phở shops until American restaurants and diners begin to appreciate Japanese cuisine beyond sushi.
The owner is really trying, so I feel bad writing this review. I meditated for a few days before I decided to pull the review-​trigger.

I’ve been meaning to review this since the second day of opening… My friends and I saw the sign and thought, «cool, I hope it’s good.» It’s in a pretty nice location where traffic doesn’t own you, so definitely a plus.
The store is pretty nice looking too, but that may be because it’s still new. At least it looks clean and inviting with the large windows. The manager and staff members were super cool (+1 star!).
Concept is simple:
1. choose your broth
2. choose your noodle type
3. choose your meat/​tofu
4. choose your extras (veggies, etc.)
—there’s also a complimentary bar of simple veggie-​like garnishes that you can toss in, like green onions.
Well, I did not expect this place to have amazing ramen nor did I expect it to have real ramen, but I definitely expected a good attempt at ramen. I choose the chicken ginger broth, ramen noodles, spicy chicken, and that’s it. I thought, simplicity should be key.
Campbell’s chicken noodle soup… that costs $ 5. That’s EXACTLY what it tasted like. I can handle light tasting dishes, so I wasn’t expecting a flurry of flavors, but this just made me incredibly sad. I was hoping to cry enough into my soup to make it more flavorful.
I tried a couple of other broths and meats too (I don’t like to review on just one thing) and they were equally as disappointing.
Again, I want to emphasize that I’m not basing this on the expectation that it should taste just like ramen, but … it’s very sad ramen. Also, the noodles were definitely not RAMEN noodles, but more like a spaghetti noodle. Perhaps they were actual ramen noodles, and if that’s the case, then dude, what happened to Ramen.
*Edit* If you’re wondering why I and several others have complained about this… you have to know that this place has the name of «Ramen.» It’s like going to an In-​N-​Out Burger and them serving you a heaping pile of a deli sandwich when you ordered a burger. Sure, it’s meat and lettuce between bread and it may even taste good, but it’s not a burger.

Service was top notch, very reasonable prices, good food, free wine, and the most amazing new desert concoction. Makes for a 5 star experience.
Decided to go based on a whim while watching Itchi the Killer. The manager in charge said there would be a free prize since I made the haul from dallas. It was worth it. This isn’t your typical instant ramen this is the actual ramen that the instant stuff emulates. REAL ramen is like phở it takes hours to prep the broth which is why most people do not bother making it.
Definitely check it out.