Toki Underground is located in the hipster neighborhood of H Street Northeast in Washington, DC.

The name “Toki Underground” is a little bit of a misnomer, given that the restaurant is located at the top of a narrow flight of stairs. The sign on the door is easy to miss, which gives it a bit of a speakeasy feel. But Toki Underground was one the first ramen joint in DC, so there’s no need to worry about anyone forgetting it. We went on a cold weekday night, and still needed to wait for around 45 minutes to get a table.

Irina:

Toki Underground on H Street was a pleasant surprise! The place is small, but well decorated (mistletoe, lights, and a scratching post tree). The service was very good and the selections were nice – although very pork-centric. I loved the sake-cauliflower bun and I also had the Fried Chicken Tan Tan Mien — which I would describe as complex and sophisticated in flavor. It had a lot going on (daikon, egg, cilantro, crispy friend chicken bits) and was rich and creamy (more sauce-like than broth-like). I think overall, I prefer the ramen from the first place we went to last month, but the unusual flavors were all very gourmet! 4/5 for creativity and flavor.

Grace:

When we walked into Toki Underground, the first thing our server asked us was whether or not we had any food allergies or dietary restrictions. As someone with multiple food allergies, I was pleasantly surprised that our server mentioned it so quickly and had such in-depth knowledge of each menu item. I ordered the kimchi ramen, because the kimchi here was vegan. Many kimchis contain shellfish, so it was nice knowing that the kimchi here was safe for me to eat. The ramen was tasty, but it was also less traditional than some of the other ramen places in the area. The pork was shredded rather than the traditional strips of pork belly, which made it harder to eat with chopsticks. It was so small and soft that it worked better to pick up with the spoon. And the vegetables seemed a bit more California than Japan.

I was also highly amused that the table was decorated with the Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars) manga. If you haven’t read it or watched the anime, it’s a story about cooking battles, and it’s delightful.

Overall, I’ll give Toki Underground props for excellent service, creative food, and fun decor. But I’ve heard so much about the ramen there over the years and can’t help but feel that it’s a bit overrated for what it is.

Erin:

The first thing I noticed about Toki Underground was its size, which is tiny. The restaurant seems almost more like a long hallway than a room, with lots of seating against the wall and a few tables. As Grace mentioned, the restaurant’s decor is funky and very H street appropriate (read: hipster). Our waiter was great – attentive and was able to answer all of our questions about the menu. I chose the Toki Classic, which came with shredded pork in a tonkotsu broth. I also opted to add Toki Endorphin Sauce for some spice. I very much enjoyed the perfectly cooked noodles and the ability to add the spicy sauce myself, so that I can regulate my own levels of spiciness (I of course dumped the whole thing in). The broth was tasty, but lacked some of the depth of the broth at Hanabi. I also liked that they added some crunchy vegetables into their soup – it gave a nice variety of texture, even though I didn’t feel it was necessarily authentic. On the downside, I did not like their pork. I’m not a fan of pulled pork in general, but in this soup it lacked the fat and flavor that chasu or other pork belly provides. All in all, I think this is a good bet for a modern take on ramen. 

• Ramen: 4/5
• Ambiance: 5/5
• Service: 5/5
• Cleanliness: 5/5