Zen Ramen And Sushi - Berryville

Went for lunch, midweek. Have traveled extensively to Japan, always looking for stateside places that serve a great authentic Ramen. Parking is along the main street outside, you will need change, parking meters take a quarter for an hour time. Cozy inside, but small, only 3 booths and a Sushi Bar with about 8 seats. Probably can get crowded, we sat at the sushi bar as the booths were full. Quaint atmosphere, extremely polite hostess, offered us a booth after previous customers were finished and had left. The service was excellent. Menu has a lot of options, actually way more other items than just Ramen. Good selection of appetizers, sushi, rice bowls, and Ramen. My wife ordered a couple different sushi, but as I was looking for Ramen, decided to go with the Tonkotsu. Have found that you can usually tell a decent Ramen spot from the quality of their Tonkotsu, as it takes a long cook time to get that perfect creamy umami pork broth. The sushi was excellent, fresh, and with a nice simple presentation. Another thing I have found is you can tell quality sushi not only from the flavor, but also from the extras. Cheap sushi mills often include bland pickled ginger and watered down wasabi, but not herethe sliced ginger and wasabi were excellentthe ginger was fresh, sweet and hot, and the wasabi was fresh and thick! The Tonkotsu ramen was very good! The size is also perfect, typical Japanese Ramen house size. Others have described the bowls as “huge”, but they are actually not, just a normal size Ramen bowl, which yes, is bigger than a plain bowl of American style soups. If you order more than just one appetizer in addition to Ramen, you will probably have too much food. The broth was flavorful, milky white, and the toppings perfect, fresh and flavorful. Another item I always look for to see the quality of the Ramen is the Tamago egg, which should be just cooked enough to be done yet soft yoke (it was), as well as a flavorful, lightly brown exterior which indicates after cooking, it has been marinated in a flavorful broth (which it was)very pleased! The Ramen included a piece of Chashu Pork (marinated braised pork belly), which again is another indicator of good Ramen. The pork was very good, flavorful, and perfectly cooked! My only observation about the Ramen was the broth was very thin, which made me question if it was actually a homemade broth that usually takes 10-12 hours to make, or maybe possibly from a pre-made, but good paste. Asked the hostess, she said they make the broth there. The only dissatisfaction with the experience was my wife went to the restroom and came back and told me about how awkward it was to use. Small, which is normally not an issue, but a full sized sink was located right over the commodehave to be a contortionist or very limbergood luck. Also there were old bolts protruding from the wall where something had been removed, and the paper towel dispenser mounted extremely high on the walla child could not reach it. Need to spend a little effort to update the restroom. Unfortunately left an impression on my wife who is normally not picky. Was very pleased with the outing, other than the women’s bathroom which lowered the overall experience a bit. Will definitely go back to try the other ramen styles. Would I go backyes! Would I recommendyes!

Sushi was so good and people were so friendly Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4

Love all of the food here! It's amazing! I love this Ramen bar! 10/10 Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

I tried this place for the first time over the weekend and SHEESH, the sushi here is good y’all. Highly recommend. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4 Recommended dishes: Volcano Roll

Great tasting food! Take my money Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5