Orenchi Beyond: San Francisco

Located at the edge of the mission, Orenchi Beyond is a trendy restaurant serving up somewhat under-whelming bowls of ramen. The focus of this place seems to be more on the aesthetics than on the food. It’s not that the ramen is bad, far from it, but with so many amazing options in San Francisco, I think you can find better elsewhere. This is also one of the more expensive ramen locations, at $13 a bowl without any add ons. As my boyfriend noted, it also had smaller portions than some of the other ramen places we’ve eaten.

Orenchi Ramen

Beyond Ramen

The Orenchi Ramen is served with pork belly, a seasoned egg, green onion, bamboo shoot, mushroom and dried seaweed. I did enjoy that the ramen had a generous serving of bamboo shoot and mushrooms. The egg was perfectly cooked although not very seasoned. What was lacking with this dish was the depth of flavor in the broth. It just wasn’t mouth watering delicious. I enjoyed the Beyond Ramen more and it came with pork belly, green onion, bamboo shoot, dried seaweed, fried garlic and mizuna. The broth was much more flavorful in the Beyond Ramen. Although, still, it just didn’t have that, I can’t stop slurping it up flavor. Also, I am a strong believer that ramen should always have an egg with it so, for $1.50, I added it on, bringing the bowl to almost $15. They also wouldn’t allow me to substitute the pork shoulder for the pork belly. Something about the chef being offended. Not really a big deal to me but for people who like to customize their ramen somewhat, this isn’t really the place to do it.

I did like how you could see all the ramen being prepared. I’m a big fan of seeing into kitchens. We didn’t have to wait long for a bar seat but we seemed to sneak in right before the rush because there were about 5 parties waiting to be sat as we were leaving. They have a sort of make-shift, outdoor bar where you can order drinks and some appetizers while waiting for a table. I thought that was a pretty smart idea. I’m not much for long waits without at least a beer, so this would be a major plus for me. All in all, a visually appealing restaurant with decent ramen. Not the best but definitely not bad. I’d probably come back again if I wanted to take an out of town friend to a cool kid place.

174 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94103

 

 

The Spice Jar

The Spice Jar is one of those restaurants that I just keep coming back to. Tucked away on a quiet corner in the mission district of San Francisco, this little gem serves up a pretty decent bowl of ramen.

The go to dish here is the spicy sesame miso ramen, with ground chicken, chopped chives, garlic and a hearty broth. With just the right amount of spice (I do like a little bite to my ramen!) I always find myself slurping up every last drop. Although, this may not be the best nor most authentic ramen I’ve ever had, what it lacks, is more than made up for with service and atmosphere.

The Spice Jar is a super cozy restaurant with lots of natural lighting and big windows. The owners are two of the sweetest people and really make you feel like you’ve been invited into their home for a meal. There’s a two-seater bar space which, I think, is the best seat in the house, and you can stare out the window to people watch as you slurp up the yumminess. Add a cup of Ozeki Nigori sake or their refreshing mint ginger lemonade and I promise, you will be back again and again. Another plus, although the restaurant oozes class and decor, the prices are incredibly reasonable. At $11 a bowl and $5 for many of the appetizers, you can eat here for two and keep it under $30. You may experience a bit of a wait, since the restaurant is rather small but I’ve never waited more than 25 minutes for a table. And even if I had, I honestly wouldn’t mind.

2500 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110 

 415.829.3668