Toki Underground is one of the TOP ramen shops in Washington D.C.. I’ve heard so many great things, but I’ve also heard the wait can be up to 2+ hours. We went on a Friday at 11:30…probably not the most optimal time if you’re looking to avoid the wait, but we were craving ramen! The wait was about 1.5 hours and they setup a text message so that you’ll receive a text 5 minutes before they are ready for you. There’s not much to do around there and the neighborhood is slightly shady , but there are a few bars and places where you can grab a small bite (ha!) while you wait. We decided to hang out at a nearby Bagel shop and bar: Bullfrog Bagel.
1.5 hours later…
Limited Seating, but cool decor!
Fried Chicken Steamed Buns. Japanese Mayo. Sweet Chili Sauce. Seasonal Pickles. Herbs.
Special: Chicken Wings in a Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glaze.
Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi Infusion. Pulled Pork. Greens. Sous vide egg. Kimchi. Pickled Ginger.
For appetizers we had the Fried Chicken Banh Baos and Special Vietnamese Chicken Wings. The sides were great and made great bar food, but the ramen definitely was the highlight of it all…
I really enjoyed the depth and richness of the broth. There was more to this soup than a bowl of broth and noodles. I could taste the time and effort that was put in to create these multi-dimensional flavors. There were hints of ginger that I would occasionally taste with every other bite. Very refreshing. A unique feature was the sous vide egg. The egg is cracked perfectly poached into your bowl. If you request an extra egg, you can actually crack it into your bowl yourself. Instead of a normal hard-boiled egg, you get a soft-poached burst of yolky goodness into your ramen bowl!
Was it worth the wait? I’d say so! The wait can be definitely long, but I’ve had friends who have been seated immediately. I hear Tuesday through Thursdays are the slower days in case you don’t have 2 hours to wait.
Rating: 4.5/5 spoons
