I want to preface this by saying it was delicious, the service was incredible, and the atmosphere on a Friday night is lively and fun.I just can't give it 5 stars in confidence because the lychee cocktail made me incredibly, acutely ill. I was keeling over in stomach pain and retching bile within an hour of drinking it.This sucks because it was absolutely delectable and I would drink it again, lol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Willam Feipel
Their food was phenomenal. The chicken gyosa are the best we've ever had. We Especially loved that macha taramisu. A great bustling urban location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza
Daphne Torseth
zen box never disappoints :-)i frequent here often! the staff are so friendly.i highly recommend the koibito for a yummy cocktail. my favorite is the chicken karaage bento box, it comes with everything and i’m always wanting seconds.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paige Stauske
We randomly stopped in here and it knocked our socks off! The atmosphere is fun, casual, and very Japanese inspired. The menu has many different items, such as shareable Japanese style street food and their infamous ramen.We ordered the ABURI SALMON (cold, smoked salmon), CHICKEN KARAAGE (tempura friend chicken with a delicious dipping sauce) and the grilled beef short rib. We also shared a bowl of TORI TANTANMEN ramen, which had a creamy like, very mild peanut butter taste. It was the best ramen I have ever had.For 2 people, this was a lot of food and was very affordable!!They also have many sake and Japanese whiskey options, which we tried and they did not disappoint!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tori Tantanmen
Francesco Zamponi
Excellent food and nice atmosphere
Jacob Aufderheide
Place is always packed. Some of the best Ramen I've had anywhere. This place is what inspired me to start cooking it from scratch myself. The heritage pork bone ramen is a must try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julia Jenneman
Yum. Yakisoba and Japanese comfort food ftw!Parking: Parking garages are within walking distance. On street parking can be tricky, but get there early and you'll probably find something.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza, Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Edamame with House-Blended Sea Salt
Stephanie H.
I've had really great experiences at Zen Box. Their happy hour is great, and they have vegetarian options if that's something you are looking for. The place does fill up pretty quickly, but sitting at the bar is always an option and I enjoyed the ambiance. My favorite items are the potato salad and the bento meals.
Tyler Schreifels
Ordered a bento box and an order of ramen. The ramen didn't come in the order and what food we did receive was not good. The miso soup tasted unlike any miso I've ever had and not in a good way.Extra add-ons were included in the order and none of those were anywhere to be found.Considering the amount of food that was received and the $100+ dollar price tag, the people that run this restaurant should be ashamed to offer this as a representation of their service. Definitely will not order from here again.
Food: 2
Service: 1
Brandon Butcher
The food was delicious, but few options for those with a sensitive stomach. Otherwise 5*!Dietary restrictions: Spice is very irritating to my bowels. When I asked if something was spicy, was told “not really” which I should know better. I tried a friends dish with “no spice” and it was still irritating to my GI tract.
The service and atmosphere were great. The seaweed salad and vegetables gyoza were relly good. The only reason I give this 3 stars is because the ramen broth didn’t have much flavor. It was almost hot water and spices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Seaweed Salad
Andrea Bryan
Awesome spot!! We got seated promptly, our server was so pleasant and helpful, and of course the food and drinks were fantastic! Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza, Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Green Tea Tiramisu
JC 52
First time here. Food was great. Service was quick and amazing. Food was timely and fresh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wyatt Fairbanks
First of all, good luck showing up while they’re open. The hours seem to change every week.Second of all, the prices here are insane considering the minuscule portions and low quality of food. I got the karaage sandwich and takoyaki, and both were among the worst renditions of these dishes I’ve ever had.The karaage chicken was the highlight, but it was underseasoned and bland. The garnishes of the sandwich were alright, but didn’t really complement the flavors very well in my opinion. On top of that, the sandwich was one of those trend ones where they don’t bother slicing the chicken or doing anything to make the sandwich small enough to bite easily. Makes for great instagram photos but a miserable eating experience.The takoyaki is what truly inspired me to write this review. Tako is Japanese for octopus, and yaki is Japanese for cooking, especially frying. Takoyaki is meant to be a ball of octopus meat and some garnishes fried in batter into a ball, then often garnished on top of that. What Zen Box sold me was a ball of nothing. There was no meat inside, just a white goop that tasted of nothing. If there was octopus in there, it had the consistency of yogurt, which is nothing like the octopus meat I’ve had before.How do you screw up a ball of fried meat? The dish is an Osaka staple going back to the 1930s. It’s genuinely not difficult to make.Overall, this place is such a letdown. Amazing location, great appearance and vibe, wonderful staff, but the food is just not even remotely worth the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Marta Bergevin-smith
Cozy dinner spot to hit on your way to a play at the Guthrie. Must try their short ribs and tonkotsu ramen.
I want to preface this by saying it was delicious, the service was incredible, and the atmosphere on a Friday night is lively and fun.I just can't give it 5 stars in confidence because the lychee cocktail made me incredibly, acutely ill. I was keeling over in stomach pain and retching bile within an hour of drinking it.This sucks because it was absolutely delectable and I would drink it again, lol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Their food was phenomenal. The chicken gyosa are the best we've ever had. We Especially loved that macha taramisu. A great bustling urban location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza
zen box never disappoints :-)i frequent here often! the staff are so friendly.i highly recommend the koibito for a yummy cocktail. my favorite is the chicken karaage bento box, it comes with everything and i’m always wanting seconds.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We randomly stopped in here and it knocked our socks off! The atmosphere is fun, casual, and very Japanese inspired. The menu has many different items, such as shareable Japanese style street food and their infamous ramen.We ordered the ABURI SALMON (cold, smoked salmon), CHICKEN KARAAGE (tempura friend chicken with a delicious dipping sauce) and the grilled beef short rib. We also shared a bowl of TORI TANTANMEN ramen, which had a creamy like, very mild peanut butter taste. It was the best ramen I have ever had.For 2 people, this was a lot of food and was very affordable!!They also have many sake and Japanese whiskey options, which we tried and they did not disappoint!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tori Tantanmen
Excellent food and nice atmosphere
Place is always packed. Some of the best Ramen I've had anywhere. This place is what inspired me to start cooking it from scratch myself. The heritage pork bone ramen is a must try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yum. Yakisoba and Japanese comfort food ftw!Parking: Parking garages are within walking distance. On street parking can be tricky, but get there early and you'll probably find something.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza, Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Edamame with House-Blended Sea Salt
I've had really great experiences at Zen Box. Their happy hour is great, and they have vegetarian options if that's something you are looking for. The place does fill up pretty quickly, but sitting at the bar is always an option and I enjoyed the ambiance. My favorite items are the potato salad and the bento meals.
Ordered a bento box and an order of ramen. The ramen didn't come in the order and what food we did receive was not good. The miso soup tasted unlike any miso I've ever had and not in a good way.Extra add-ons were included in the order and none of those were anywhere to be found.Considering the amount of food that was received and the $100+ dollar price tag, the people that run this restaurant should be ashamed to offer this as a representation of their service. Definitely will not order from here again.
Food: 2
Service: 1
The food was delicious, but few options for those with a sensitive stomach. Otherwise 5*!Dietary restrictions: Spice is very irritating to my bowels. When I asked if something was spicy, was told “not really” which I should know better. I tried a friends dish with “no spice” and it was still irritating to my GI tract.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The service and atmosphere were great. The seaweed salad and vegetables gyoza were relly good. The only reason I give this 3 stars is because the ramen broth didn’t have much flavor. It was almost hot water and spices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Seaweed Salad
Awesome spot!! We got seated promptly, our server was so pleasant and helpful, and of course the food and drinks were fantastic! Will definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza, Age Gyoza Chicken or Veggie, Green Tea Tiramisu
First time here. Food was great. Service was quick and amazing. Food was timely and fresh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First of all, good luck showing up while they’re open. The hours seem to change every week.Second of all, the prices here are insane considering the minuscule portions and low quality of food. I got the karaage sandwich and takoyaki, and both were among the worst renditions of these dishes I’ve ever had.The karaage chicken was the highlight, but it was underseasoned and bland. The garnishes of the sandwich were alright, but didn’t really complement the flavors very well in my opinion. On top of that, the sandwich was one of those trend ones where they don’t bother slicing the chicken or doing anything to make the sandwich small enough to bite easily. Makes for great instagram photos but a miserable eating experience.The takoyaki is what truly inspired me to write this review. Tako is Japanese for octopus, and yaki is Japanese for cooking, especially frying. Takoyaki is meant to be a ball of octopus meat and some garnishes fried in batter into a ball, then often garnished on top of that. What Zen Box sold me was a ball of nothing. There was no meat inside, just a white goop that tasted of nothing. If there was octopus in there, it had the consistency of yogurt, which is nothing like the octopus meat I’ve had before.How do you screw up a ball of fried meat? The dish is an Osaka staple going back to the 1930s. It’s genuinely not difficult to make.Overall, this place is such a letdown. Amazing location, great appearance and vibe, wonderful staff, but the food is just not even remotely worth the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Cozy dinner spot to hit on your way to a play at the Guthrie. Must try their short ribs and tonkotsu ramen.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza