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October 2023 by Ed H.
Pretty tasty chain ramen joint well located in Madison and staffed by non-Japanese East Asians. We stopped by for lunch on a game day when most of the usual places had huge lines, it seems Strings Ramen wasn't in people's game day plans, which is fine. Wasn't super hungry so just got the Tonkotsu Kura Buta (Pork Belly) ramen. It was served in a decent sized bowl and generally nicely hot. The broth was really good, a fairly deep complex and very tasty Tonkotsu broth, surprisingly good for a chain place. The Chasu was a nice thick slice of pork, also very tasty. There were some decent additional toppings, a piece of Nori, a soft boiled egg, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo, sesame seeds and scallion. These toppings were all pretty good but the egg was cold, it most definitely was boiled before and came out of the refrigerator. This was bit of a dissappointing note to an otherwise very good bowl of ramen. One other thing I didn't appreciate was the several mentions in the menu of how China influenced ramen or served as an ancestor to the development of ramen in Japan. While there is some truth to this, it seemed unnecessary and distracted from the focus on ramen, which is a Japanese dish. Lets just focus on the ramen and different styles of Japanese ramen.Overall the service was good, the ramen was good, the place is clean and would go again.
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October 2023 by Hannah C.
rAAAAAAAAAAH OMFG THIS PLACE IS INCREDIBLE.. MADISON i had 0 expectations for ramen but strings blew me away. so yummy, such a good pricepoint in my opinion, and super nice staff and so cozy!! cant wait to come back for more in the cold winter months
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September 2023 by Heather M.
Have gone a couple of times and it is consistently delicious. The pork belly is always a great choice. Love the regular and the pork ramen.
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July 2023 by Bao N.
If I have to pick a ramen place in town this will always be my pick. The atmosphere is lively with many patrons and music going. The service was great but the servers some times lack the knowledge of the food items. This isn't an issue normally but the food that are offered were very specific, such as tonkotsu ramen or rice dishes, so I would have expected the servers to know their food. The food were great no matter which one we chose. All items had a unique taste to them, even if you get the same ramen but with different toppings. It was also a little funny in that they have a ramen with some of the world hottest peppers. Appetizer were great in taste but not in size if you are planning on sharing appetizers. There are multiple tables for you to sit down with long tables for groups and smaller tables along the walls for single or pairs. The downside is the size of the location made it a little too close to the tables adjacent to you. You would also have to wait a few minutes depending on the time you eat because there are sometimes line out the door, proving how popular this place is. Overall the restaurant is a must go for ramen lovers. The only thing holding the restaurant back is the size of the place but the wait is worth it.
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July 2023 by Marla S.
Damn good ramen. The toppings are perfect, and they offer different level "spice bombs" for the more adventurous pallet. That way you can enjoy a good miso, but still get in the kick.
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July 2023 by Neha B.
We dined in on a weekend and we were seated lol okay right away. I enjoyed reading the history of ramen and guide to eating ramen on their menu. I got the Vegetarian Hell Ramen Level 2 and it wasn't as spicy, so I added some Onikasu (red spice) that was provided on each table. My husband got a level 3, and that was spicy! The broth was very flavorful and I liked the toppings as well. This is easily one of my favorite ramen places in the area. Pro tip: If you are unsure about the spice level for your Hell Ramen, then level down on your spice and add Onikasu (red spice) on the table to bring the spice level to your liking.
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June 2023 by Google user
Beware. All these sites for cars have been updated by the company and they have eliminated most of their cars in the area. Dont waste your 25 non-refundable application fee. You will find there are now only 3 cars in a 6 mile radius of the Capital. Failure to update their maps and contradictory information provided by customer service, blamed on failure for all representatives to have these updates, demonstrates the company lacks the adequate infrastructure to do the job and serve their customers. So disappointing. A viable Community Car rental is so needed and appropriate for a city like Madison. **This is a dated review. The program has been revamped and that deserves recognition. Please see more up to date reviews. I have not used the new service. E.G.
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April 2023 by Davina R.
OMG! wow was I blown away with this place! From the outside it really doesn't look like much, and it's a smaller restaurant when you walk inside; but hot dang the food is soooo delicious!! I ordered the Hell Fire Level 2 ramen, pork dumplings and green tea mochi ice cream all togo. You get 6 large gyoza dumplings and the flavor of the hell fire broth was sooooo good! Spicy but still in a flavorful way! The staff was soooo helpful in helping me pick my items, it being my first time here and were super friendly and patient with me. And everything they suggested was delicious! The togo containers were strong, sturdy and MICROWAVEABLE for leftovers. They even put my mochi in a bag of ice so it didn't melt when I walked to my hotel! 12/10 would recommend this place and return again my next madison visit!!
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February 2023 by Trista W.
Solid! Menu is very simple in design, yet informative in structure. (Japanese words/kanji are explained in parenthesis.) My only "complaint" is that my extra order ajitama was served separately. Please slice and serve the ramen, puuuhhhhleeeaase. I went middle of the week and middle of the day; I found meter parking out front for 30min ($1, card or coin).I'll be back!
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February 2023 by Khaum L.
Food was ok. The Ramen and takoyaki were good to the pallets. The rice bowls however were very salty. Wayy too much soy sauce. The location in Chicago is a lot better.
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January 2023 by Gregory G.
Authentic and efficient, friendly service and excellent, home cook Ramen! My son picked sty perfect place on this cool day! Fresh veggies and tasting ingredients make this place a go-to for fresh cuisine. Delicious
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December 2022 by Sam C.
I was frozen to my core. I am warm and happy and full. So savory. So well made. I'll be back.
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November 2022 by Doinb L.
Food: The broth was not as good as before. I will go to the ramen restaurant on the other side of the street next time. Service: I usually don't complain about service. But it was a really bad experience yesterday. The white guy in white was very rude and unprofessional. 1. Rude: The waiter asked us if we were ready to pay the bill when my friend still had an egg and 1/4 of noodles left in his bowl. It was not a very busy Saturday lunch time compared to a usual dinner time. I live one block away so I know what a busy time for this place looks like. Actually, I think we only spent about like 5-10mins to finish the ramen. I don' understand why he did not want to give us 2 more min( 7-11 mins in total ) for a bowl of ramen. 2. Unprofessional: I asked him if I could use Apple Pay after he asked me if I was ready for check. He said yes. Then when I was about to pay, he said they don't use Apple Pay. 3. Unprofessional: When the ramen was just put on to the table and I just tasted the broth, he came to us and asked if everything was OK. And he said to the person on the other table," How is your ummm~, I don't know what that is actually. How is the appetizer?" 4. Unprofessional: He asked us if we wanted to split the bill and he could split the "appetizer" for us. But we did not order an "appetizer". We had an extra bowl of noodles. I thought an extra noodle might be considered as an "appetizer" in this place. So I said yes. Then he came back and went like, " oh, you did not order an appetizer." If you can't remember the order, why not go ahead and look at it before coming to us for check?
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October 2022 by MaryDan H.
Had a taste for Ramen, so we sought out Strings Ramen near State Street on Francis. First impressions: very clean and pleasantly greeted at the door. The menu was large but organized. Our server gave us a quick tutorial on the menu offerings, for which we were appreciative. We ordered an appetizer of Shrimp Gyoza. The Gyoza arrived surprisingly fast. The order included six freshly boiled plump and fresh dumplings with ponzu sauce. Perfect for 2 or 3 diners to share. Our two entrees arrived quickly as well. My husband tried the Miso Ramen Kura Buta Loin. The smooth and tasty miso broth was full of corn, scallions, bean sprouts, ramen, and pork loin slices. He thoroughly enjoyed his dish. I tried the Vegetable Yaki Soba, which was stir-fried noodles and vegetables with two perfectly fried eggs on top with a side of dashi broth. This dish was perfection to me! It truly filled my ramen craving with its array of mushrooms, broccoli, bean sprouts, etc. The slightly runny eggs acted as the frosting on the cake. This dish was heavenly.
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October 2022 by Alyssa S.
Edamame- holy spicy!!!! Chicken gyoza- Spicy The cat rice, miso Turkey, shoyu kuro buta loin, and miso kuro buta Loin we're all amazing. Plenty of food. And not super spicy. Portions of the edamame were inedible due to The spicy seasoning! And was very difficult to eat the chicken gyoza due to the spice.
