Jonny M.
Yelp
Slowly working our way through the never ending list of ramen spots. Heard great things about Afuri through our Japanese local friend. They're known for their yuzu (citrus) broth. Incredibly popular with a dozen locations in Tokyo alone. Heck, they've even got a branch out in Portland.
We dropped in on a Monday evening (around 6:45pm) and just beat the dinner rush. For once, we didn't have to wait! Although, don't fret, the line moves quickly. There's 16 seats at the U-shaped ramen bar. The staff speak excellent English (one waitress was singing along to an Ed Sheeran song). It's straightforward to order (with pictures and English labelling) but you can ask the staff for help if you need it.
There's no menu. Just go straight to the vending machine to order. 12 ramen options; basically ramen (shio, shoyu, spicy), tsukemen and vegan. First place I've seen that had a pure vegetarian option. It's pricey (¥1,350) but it exists! When you sit down, they'll ask you how you want your noodles (firm, always), what meat you want (chashu, kakuni pork or sous vide chicken) and chi-yu you prefer (tanrei or maroaji).
- Regular yuzu tsuyu tsukemen (¥1,060 for 150g) - chicken & dashi based sweet dipping tare, yuzu, half nitamago, sous vide chicken, mizuna, menma and nori. The regular was the smallest size of tsukemen we had all trip. Highly recommend to upgrade to the large for an extra ¥180 (¥1,240 for 300g). Broth was light and refreshing; I know, odd saying that for a tsukemen but that yuzu flavour really shines through. Noodles were thick, bouncy (we got them hard) and the sous vide chicken was excellent.
- Yuzu shio ramen (¥980) - same broth and toppings except we went with their chashu cooked over charcoal. Nice smokey flavour but it could have been a bit more tender. The portion size was better and came in a thin noodle style. Broth was addictively good; we drank it all up.
Definitely worth a try! I was ready for round 2 after devouring our bowls. 4.5 stars.