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"This will be my regular ramen spot," said North Andover resident Alex Ura about Akita Ramen, which opened on Thursday, March 23 at its location on Main Street in Andover.
Ura and his wife arrived 20 minutes after the restaurant opened its doors on the day of its soft launch. He had kept his eye on the restaurant's progress since seeing a sign in the building's window months ago.
Akita Ramen's opening day offered excited patrons a limited menu, but Ura said everything he ordered was excellent.
The eatery offers a variety of appetizers, including kurobuta sausage, kani croquettes, pork buns, and chicken karaage.
The chicken karaage, a boneless chicken appetizer served with Akita‘s ponzu sauce, was crisp and juicy, Ura said.
Akita Ramen, which makes its own tonkotsu broth from scratch, stays true to its name with a selection of ramen dishes, including black garlic tonkotsu ramen, spicy miso ramen, yuzu shio ramen, and spicy tonkotsu shio ramen.
Both Ura and his wife ordered the spicy tonkotsu shio ramen.
"It was super packed with noodles," Ura said. "Sometimes I think places skimp on noodles, but this was packed. There's a ton of meat on it. I do prefer pork belly, they have what I believe is called chashu pork, which is still good. There's a ton of it, much more than other ramens you would get."
"The broth was really really tasty, sometimes I feel like when you get to the bottom of the broth it can get gritty almost, but this was super good super smooth," Ura added.
The restaurant has a hip vibe, Ura said, with a mural of an akita, fish, and bowls of ramen covering one wall.
Diners just have to pull out their phones to get their food. A simple scan of a QR code on each table allows patrons to select their choices, place orders, and pay, all without getting up from their chairs.
Friendly wait staff are available to answer questions from customers and to deliver hot bowls of ramen or rice dishes.
Only a five minute drive from downtown, the location is convenient for Ura.
When asked if the new eatery was a good addition to Andover's restaurant scene, Ura offered an enthusiastic yes.
"One billion percent," he said. "I’ve been asking for this crap for three years now. There’s so many pizza spots or sub spots, it’s kind of boring. We have some good stuff, but everything's pretty much status quo."
To visit the restaurant's website and see the full menu, click here.
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