Location of restaurant and the interior was great. Atmosphere was perfect. Casual, but still very nice. Prices are reasonable. Food was so amazing. Absolutely loved it.The only thing we didnt like was the alcoholic drinks we ordered. We really didnt like the first one, but they were kind enough to understand and took it off our bill. The second drink we tried was much better. Definitely requires a particular taste.Highly recommend for anyone wanting to experience soon authentic ramen.

My children love Dashi. They were able to eat here again today after waiting almost a year and a half because of covid. They missed this place!!!

The restaurant on the second floor was cozy. I love the atmosphere here. All three of us here,but only me ordered the food.The Ramen noodles was yummy. I thought it was the Udon noodles, but it was egg noodles. I like egg noodles better because I do not feel super full after eating them. They dont have Sushi or Sashimi right now,only Ramen noodles.

Ordered two bowls. The first bowl lacked flavor. The other was very, very salty. The broth tastes like salted water! Just no flavor (unless you count salt as flavor). But nice place, atmosphere and friendly staff!

First of all: I am leaving one star review as ZERO is not available. We are in town for our son who is a student at Duke. We made a reservation for 4 people at Dashi and were really looking to nice family dinner. Turns out they don’t consider us, the unvaccinated, human beings and they shut their doors on us. How we, Americans, the land of the free and brave, could even allow such discrimination and violation of human rights. Dashi refused us and our 2 children food tonight. This is no longer America. We clearly live in communist China now, with exception of a handful of States. We are from Florida and we are NOT used to such a suppression thanks to our Governor Ron DeSantis. God bless him.

The tonkotsu broth has a wonderful hint of char that goes extraordinarily well with the pork jowl bacon. The pork jowl bun was was the highlight of our meal. The rich melt in your mouth fat paired with a fresh steamed bun and just a hint of pickled vegetables resulted in an amazing bite. Extensive bourbon selection and an admirable sake list. Well definitely be returning.

Tasty Ramen with quick pick up time on a weekend night

Really nice ramen in a relaxed atmosphere. They did have a modest selection of vegetarian dishes, which tasted great, and the meat options were good too (according to my dinner companions). The cocktails were fun, and the staff were friendly. A great start for a night out downtown!

The food here was good, and worth the wait. The staff was very kind and helpful in explaining what the Japanese drinks are like.We went in a group of 5 people, and there are only 2 tables that can seat groups of 4 or 5 at once. So you might have to wait for a long while. Call ahead to reserve. We waited for about an hour to finally get our tables.

Requiring private health information to dine. Disgusting and discriminate business should shut its doors! Liberal lunacy at its worst!

I had high expectations for this place but unfortunately I was very disappointed. I ordered the vegetarian ramen and it was super salty. The waitress was kind enough to bring unseasoned broth but even then it was extremely salty. I could barely eat half the bowl and felt sick. The waitress offered me an add-on after giving my order without telling me that it cost extra. Ultimately, I paid way too much for a dish I did not enjoy. The only thing I liked about the place was the interior design.

A Durham must! The ramen is so good and well priced! There is only one vegetarian option but I’m sure it would be good. The appetizers and house-made drinks were delicious, as well! Seating can be a bit limited but when we went on a weekday night there was no wait although a large group might have a harder time. Overall, a fantastic experience!

The drinks were good but the food needs more seasoning or at least have some hot sauce options.

I love Dashi! The food, service, vibe is amazing. Extensive drink list and the best ramen in Durham in my opinion!

Best ramen I’ve had in a long time, not since I lived in Japan.

Holy smokes, the food is amazing. We did the omasake dinner with sake pairing, and cant wait to do it again. Every dish was exquisite and the pairings were perfect. Ive posted the menu from our experience, but please understand that it is not set menu.

We love this place and have gone here a number of times. Great atmosphere, spectacular food, good drinks. It is a unique experience a d so fun to be able to watch the chefs. Highly recommend.

Bruh, I took the leftover BROTH to go.

I hate to put negative reviews but they need to improve.We ordered two ramens, vegetarian and chicken and both were salty and the noodles undercooked and sticky.We left half of it, and felt sick the whole evening!Also the edamame were oily.The only saving grace was their ambience.

Never fails to delight. Excellent ramen. Great service

This is easily my favorite place to get ramen. Ive tried all over NC but this is by far the most authentic tasting ramen!

I was there yesterday with my family. Love the atmosphere and vibes. Restroom is good. The food is exotic. I have traveled many parts of the world. Here exotic means the taste is very subjective. Only my daughter loved her order. I tried their catfish side which was very bland. I love their condiments tray. Excellent service. I would not go back for a second time. I recommend trying it for the first time and make your own opinion. Reasonable price.

A very nice Japanese styled restaurant with a simple menu but everything is good. We went with a party of six for dinner. It was about 40 minute wait but well worth it. There is also an upstairs bar which serves great drinks and the same great menu offerings. We will definitely come back.

Excellent environment, experience, service, and food. If you have an hour or two to spend in Durham, you should spend that time eating here.

We really wanted to love this place. Unfortunately the Shio ramen and Tonkatsu ramen were overly salty. It was absolutely inedible. We did let the waitstaff know.Now I am reading the other reviews and see the same commentary. Disappointing that they are not making changes based on feedback.

Great small bites and Ramen was absolutely amazing. Just make sure to leave room as super easy to fill out before you get there. The drinks and whiskey collection up top is amazing. Try have a few bottles of Wellers so hurry in to get a dram or two of it.

High quality food and an authentic Izakaya experience. Bartender was very nice and there was a LARGE selection of alcohol.

Pho and sides good. Atmosphere was comfortable earlier on, after it got a little more populated we left. To close for comfort.

Food was good but totally rude service. We showed up 45 minutes before closing with a reservation but the door was locked. When we walked in the host and cook were visibly annoyed at us and we were hurried the whole time.

The ramen was overpriced and not my favorite. The cocktails were good though, although also pricey.

EXTREMELY SALTY!!! Ordered two ramen, kimchi, and buns. All of them were salty!!! We left without finishing half of them. After 30 mins, I was still hungry but I had not appetite. I also felt sick and wanted to throw up

Ambiance is good but Shio and Vegetarian ramen was too salty and undercooked.Left the food but felt upset stomach whole night.

Two words. Spice butter. Wow this place is amazing. Tonkotsu was amazing... Steam buns amazing... edamame is amazing and I cant wait to dive deeper into the menu.

Fantastic Ramen and drinks. Always seem to meet great people here as well!

I dislike leaving negative reviews for small businesses, but there has to be something done about that vegetarian ramen broth. As it stands, it tastes very one-dimensional and way too salty-- almost like a bowl of soy sauce. It also should at least have an egg or tofu or something given the price. I have only eaten here twice but have heard from others that the quality has declined as well. Hoping to give Dashi another chance if they change the veg ramen recipe or maybe add a pescatarian option.

Great service. I ordered to go at peak dinner time and was leaving, food in hand, not even 15 minutes after. Definitely going back again!

Service was fabulous. I loved how it was an open kitchen so you could see your meal being prepared. The food was delicious. We will definitely be back!!

The inside of the restaurant has a nice vibe and the staff is great. Food was okay so we wouldnt pick this place again, but wouldnt say no if invited there.

Saw the high ratings and great reviews so we came here for dinner. I ordered the tonkotsu, but the soup tasted weird. Probably because of the huge amount of pickled onions?

Ive been coming here for years. Went last Friday and here was my experience:1. We arrive to be seated, only 4 diners inside. the person at the door tells me to wait for him to handle a pickup order. He goes out and doesnt come back, still handling this takeout order. Finally asked someone else to seat us.2. I order the kimchi, edamame and pork buns for appetizer. I get cabbage kimchi enough for 4 with an overwhelming amount of sauce. Couldnt eat it. I turn to the edamame which was always my favorite here at Dashi is the grilled edamame but today i get slimy cold edamame. I ask what happened and this new waiter gives me a look like what am i talking about, grilled edamame??? The pork buns were very good.3. So then Im ordering Ramen i ask for the curry broth and i get another look from the waiter dude seemingly saying WTH? this isnt an Indian restaurant. I ask why the very few options and the answer is its summertime. So again looking forward to the Ramen and yet again another disappointment. We get this over salted, almost condensed broth. Thank God they still have the grilled avocado.4. In conclusion, spent $80 for the two of us and all we enjoyed was the pork buns. We drank lots of water then had to go elsewhere for dinner.

Staff could have been friendlier.Food was very Americanized. If you are born and raised in America you will like it.However like every other Asian American on here:The noodles are pasta style noodles (similar to angel hair pasta) and are literally swimming in warm water (no flavor as pork belly is not cooked correctly** or you can’t get the same cuts of pork belly in us??*** whatever the reason it was not what I was hoping for.The soup itself is clearly not prepared days before. The watery sauce they have your noodles is is just that. Water.Not to owners: if your going to open a Japanese restaurant and claim all this stuff about the food. Please understand you’ll probably attract a lot of Asian clients. Please make better ramen 🍜 bc what you are serving is only catering to one client: American.Hmart or minglings grocery stores have better and more authentic dishes than this place.Of course my American coworkers suggested this place. Like I said if you grew up in America you’ll probably love it.

Delicious! My wife & I got the “at home kit” today for the Tonkotsu & Shoyu Ramen. Instructions were simple & the ramen was great (see pics)! We’re so glad that Dashi is open now.

Very yummy comfort food. I loved the baby squid yakisoba! It wasnt too over overpowering sweet and had a perfect balance. Will definitely have to go back some time and enjoy a big bowl of ramen. Their alcohol selection was also very nice.

Amazing!!! Sweet Sweet Ramen! This place is just amazing! But be prepare to wait. But trust me it is worth your time!

Absolutely fabulous, all around! Ramen bowl is perfectly constructed and incredibly flavorful, vegan option available, the octopus salad was super fresh and interesting! Have been here twice now and very impressed both times! Love the ambience as well. Perfect date spot!

Great bowl of ramen in NC! GREAT JOB GUYS!

Good atmosphere but overall “okay” food. Nice plating but the foods are of less taste. A bit salty and less flavor in the soup. I didn’t like the pickled vegetables in tonkotsu ramen - i see the intention but it kinda ruined/covered that unique tonkotsu flavor. The eggs in ramen were WAY above salty that I couldn’t eat after the first bite. Donburi’s beefs were too difficult to chew. Karaage was the best out of all we ordered but I would still give 7/10 for it at best... we ordered dessert (green tea pound cake and miso caramel ice cream) but the ice cream came melted - clear indication that the server was not attentive. Her service overall was disappointing. In summary, disappointed and it didnt really draw me to make me feel like I want to come back for their food. Looking good but taste not matching the look. Tried much better ramen at a similar (or cheaper) price before

Absolutely amazing service and food!!

Nice place to visit. The taste isn’t that authentic.

The small plates are my personal favorite, try the KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower) for a great appetizer. We also love the Ramen there when its cold outside!I prefer the upstairs for dining and a great view, and the bartenders are always very friendly. This is a great place to start a night out in Durham!

Great authentic food. Can wait to go back and have some delicious ramen again!

Slightly better-than-average as far as Japanese style Ramen goes. I also enjoyed the tendon crackers. Very friendly service. I would like to see them offer a spicy Ramen with a rich broth base preferably. The Tonkatsu was decent but bland. The pork belly was overcooked and burnt and the noodles were overcooked. Good broth. Perfect egg.

Great staff, great food! Meats on skew were pretty delicious. They have a huge variety of local and import beers. I had Miso Ramen. It was delicious but it was too spicy. I had a hard time to finish it. Not sure spicy level was mentioned on the menu but I was not expecting that much spice.

I have an Asian friend from Boston who came down and went to Dashi with me. He told me they dont have anything even close to it in Boston - its that good. I love to sit at the bar with a bottle of sake (from their extensive selection) and a hot bowl of ramen while I watch the guys prepare it and watch all the patrons enjoy it. This is a real gem in downtown Durham. If you get the chance - GO and ask for an extra soy egg. Theyre delicious.

Great broth and noodles in this authentically styled ramen house. Not cheap, though. We spent $50 for lunch for 3.

Relaxing atmosphere, friendly knowledgeable staff and superb food... EXTREMELY FILLING

Be prepared for flavor upon flavor. These dishes are thoughtful and surprising. Staff is equally prepared and eager to excite. Extremely pleased with the experience.

Dashi is a very hip and happening local spot that serves an authentic Japanese Izakaya/Ramen menu. By the taste of the ramen broth one (trained palate) can tells there is definitely time and dedication into the craft.Pro:Authentic MenuGood selection, across various dietary preferenceTasty cocktailsTasty noodle and brothEnjoyable atmosphereCon:Wait time(oh my god the wait time for the dishes to arrive at the Izakaya upstairs is ridiculous!)

Got take out from here, staff was very nice and the broth was really hot (stayed pretty warm for the 15min drive home), online ordering was easy. Had the tonkotsu ramen and the miso ramen, both broths were just salty, no real defining flavor other than that.

Absolutely incredible restaurant! Highly recommend to everyone and more!The ramen is delicious and there was a lot of attention put into it. The prices are around the same for any normal trendy restaurant in Durham, but the price for Dashi is actually worthwhile.The decor is very interesting and the waitstaff is attentive. Truly incredible. If youre ever in the area and are hungry, dont be afraid to stop by!

To me, this is the gold standard by which I rate all other ramen restaurants. Their small plates are equally delicious.

I had the MAZEMEN with a side of tofu. The pork meatballs are absolutely fantastic but the rest of the dish was disappointing, our waiter had to be reminded of drinks, sides and my friends dish. The restaurant had one other table and two waiters so it wasn’t presently busy. My friend had the MISO, said it was alright, a little lukewarm, and we had to wait for it. Both dishes had beautiful presentation.I have been here 5-7 times, The menu hasn’t really changed much. Increasingly lackluster service and the food tasted really mild. Probably won’t return.

Great menu options for both food and drinks. I love Ramen but unfortunately I picked a fish that was very meaty so I wasnt a fan but the starters were great. Love the ambiance and the upstairs dining.

The ramen was pretty good, but the meat in it wasnt very flavorful. The octopus hush puppies were great and had little streamers that moved, which was awesome and weird. The tempura was mostly mushrooms that were way too chewy, one paper thin sweet potato, and two leaves (?). The pickle plate had carrots, which were smoky and delightful... daikon, which didnt really taste pickled... and excellent kimchi. Most unremarkable was the lamb belly buns... definatly dont bother. Drinks are small ish and not compelling.

My husband and I went to Dashi last night. The Ramen was excellent! The music was great and the sake was even better! Lightening was little to dim but ur eyes adjust.

Second to none! Food is phenomenal. Yes, phenomenal. Ingredients are fresh and mostly sourced locally. Even though they were busy, we didnt have to wait long for anything. Definitely coming back soon!

Tasty. Really enjoyed my time here. Go for the mazemen

This place is delicious! They have great heat lamps roaring and felt very comfy eating outside on the cold night. The broth also helped! Would definitely recommend.

A lot of times a place like this, with its beautiful dishes, deserves a picture to show off the craftsmanship that they put into it. But with Dashi it’s just not possible. Every time I go I order and before I can take a picture I’m diving face first into its gloriousness!!! So I give you the only picture that really captures my experience here every time. I give you an empty bowl. Thanks Dashi for being great! I would rate it higher if I could.

Delicious food, great sake options, and a wonderful ambiance. I didnt go up to the izakaya, but Ive heard its also great.

I really enjoyed my meal. My one gripe is the cost $15 for what is objectively a large bowl of soup with noodle and stuff is quite steep. But in context they are cooking broth for long periods of time. Its highly fortified and concentrated. That takes time, energy and effort. So you must give credit where its due. BTW if they offer you something pickled... TAKE IT! This is good eats

Yesterday was my first visit to Dashi and my first thought was: This place looks great! The atmosphere is very vivid. Be prepared to wait about an hour or make a reservation. The service could have improved a bit and the miso ramen was a bit salty but I still recommend this restaurant. Its very likely Ill come back.

Perfect for a weeknight solo dinner🙌🏾

Yummy. Yummy, yummy, yummy. Especially the soy eggs, I must have the recipe!

Fantastic selection of ramen. Got the tonkatsu. Even though I wasnt into the pickled onions or mustard greens, the broth made it amazing. Cant wait to try the others.

Great food and atmosphere!

Ramen was cold ($17 tonkotsu Ramen-very under developed broth), miso ($5) was cold WAY too salty and ludicrously small, the beef tataki ($18) taste like a dessert, not a good pairing for meat at all. Something that did surprise me is the chicken karaage, which would have probably been fantastic if it wasnt for the fact that it was cold and served with somewhat pickled vegetables that were mostly soggy and flavorless. (I wont even mention the awful dipping sauce they give with the dish. Ew just ew.)Okay sake selection (weirdly served in wine glasses), nice location, good decor, but legitimately the worst service Ive ever had at any restaurant in all of North Carolina.Especially considering the price.Pretty much ignored for most of the meal having to flag down different waiters and waitresses just to get a drink or to order food. We had to flag down three different people and wait 45 minutes just to get the check. The homemade Ginger ale is more similar to a ginger beer but not fizzy enough and not strong enough however, the flavor is there, it is good. The thing I really cant get over is cold food and everything we got came to us cold. Especially considering the wait, unacceptable.My favorite thing was the ginger beer and the ice cream that reminded me of dulce de leche that came with the vaguely green tea cake (but the cake was dry and gritty) the whole experience left much to be desired. Also splitting the restaurant into two sections (upstairs and downstairs, with two separate entrances)only makes it weirdly confusing. Bathrooms were very clean. Im not a person to complain about parking when a restaurant is downtown. Downtown parking is always so-so.If youre looking for a really good ramen I would suggest going to Carolina Sushi and Roll. Much better service run by Mom and Pop and fantastic consistent food. (And for the people who complain about parking theres always parking lol) Long story short skip this place. Unless you like cold food and being constantly ignored.*****UPDATE*****After going back again a year later (dragged by my friend group of out-of-towners), unsurprisingly, things havent changed. The only thing thats different is now not only is my food cold but its also salty.These people need to go eat real ramen so theyll know how to make it right.I highly suggest going to Tonbo, or (as I said a year ago) Carolina sushi and roll.I will not be back again.

The ramen noodles were good, but the miso ramen broth was not as good as other places.

Ramen was ridiculously over salted, and when I sent them a complaint email they just ignored it

Great place for an awesome night out.. Special date, girls night, family, best friends... Whoever youre hanging with, this is definitely an option to consider!!

For dine in, its great! For take out during COVID-19...another story. I am not a fan of how they are packing ramen to-go orders. Ive stopped ordering ramen to-go from there because the way they package it nerfs the quality. They cram all the ingredients into the bowl and then squish them with a smaller bowl of broth. The past two times Ive gotten ramen the beautiful noodles were crushed into an amorphous blob. Untangling the surviving noodles is difficult enough if they get cold, but there isnt enough broth to help either. I think it would be better to layer the noodles and toppings in the bowl the way they would for dine-in and pack the broth separately. Maybe Ill try the frozen kits for now instead!

Great home cooked selection. The green tea ice cream and pound cake and also the chocolate sesame ice cream are highly recommended.

Wow! What an experience! I felt like I was in Japan. The noodles were so tasty; and the broth too. I cant wait to try theyre dumplings on Tuesdays.

Broth is mostly salty, missing some flavors, and served barely warm.

This place was okay. We got the chicken skewers, they were slightly more charred than either of us would have liked it to be.We got the tonkatsu ramen with extra noodles which wasnt bad, but nothing spectacular. The broth was decent, but felt that it should have been creamier and richer.The miso ramen was also good, surprised to see actual small pieces of sweet potatoes in the broth, I thought it was going to be tempura. I also wished they had given us more than 1 slice of pork belly.Overall this place is okay, comparing this place to other ramen shops I have had, it is not the best. Kind of pricey, but definitely want to come back and check out their izakaya and other food items.

From all the previous reviews and beautiful pictures, I imagined it to be very delicious. However, I was disappointed. They do have good service and perfectly soft boiled eggs. But everything in the Tonkatsu Ramen I ordered is way too salty that I cannot even taste the pork flavor in the soup. The noodles are not really the original kind of ramen noodle. And the price is so unreasonably high.

We loved this spot. Its really dimly lit, which I personally love. (Ive only been to the second floor so far) The cocktails are really nice and it looked like they have a pretty massive whiskey selection. The ramen bowls were SO good. The egg was probably my favorite part since it was cooked spot on. Super friendly bar staff, too. Well be back!

What a quaint, incredibly busy spot in downtown Durham! Fabulous ramen! I had the Tantan, nice a spicy - the way a woman and my ramen should be 😉. Exquisite service Colleen and she mustve been taking care of half the restaurant. She has the most captivating eye.... But I digress... Back to Dashi...... If you like ramen, you must try this place, even if you learn the hard way like I did to not wear a light colored shirt that shows how messy you eat ramen with chopsticks! Doh!Seriously wonderful place to go. Great drink menu too!

Despite how busy they were on a Monday afternoon, the food came out very quickly! Our waitress was very kind and informative. The food was well prepared as well. The noodles were a great texture and the broth was delicious. I really liked the catfish kamaboko. We got the miso and the shoyu ramen. We also got the pork belly bun, since it was a special for the night.

Sooooo Good. Great food! Great service! Tonksohu with crispy pork is heaven! Popcorn is a must try! Wings, pork skins, kfc cauliflower and drinks all on point legit was my favorite bar in RDU before COVID and they do serve to go cocktails. Anton who gave this place less than 5 stars is a hater period!

My current favorite dinner spot in Durham. It is so hard to find gluten-free ramen out anywhere, and i thoroughly enjoyed not having to make it myself. You can add grilled avocado to your bowl. Do it.

Went here with my husband and we both really enjoyed it. He started trying to read the anime wallpaper. The takoyaki hushpuppies were very good!

Ramen was barely warm less than 4 mins after picking it up. Chicken in ramen was bland. The chicken wings were really salty. I feel like the ramen wouldve been better in a dine in setting.

This ramen was super savory and delicious! It was a ton of food and very reasonable price. I am only taking off a star because Ive seen other ramen places with way more meat options. However I would absolutely go back here and the service was great!

I went with the Mazemen. It was very tasty and a good sized portion. This dish has more heat than they probably advertise. It was pretty spicy, but in a good way, but might be too much for those who are not good with heat. I enjoyed going with a brothless ramen bowl. Highly recommend this place, very nice

First time visit and was pretty good. A little pricey but I may come back again. Cant remember the name of what I had but here is the picture.

Fantastic! Some people are complaining that it comes in a lot of different containers for take out but thats how you keep ramen fresh and not soggy! Lovely flavor, fresh ingredients, and great service. Highly recommend.

Best ramen in Durham. They have a surprising take on edamame that will blow your mind with its deliciousness. 10/10 recommend.

I hadnt had Dashi ramen in a while and recently ordered one of the frozen kits. I had the Tonkotsu and it was excellent. The cooking instructions were perfect and it resulted in a delicious bowl of ramen. Highly recommended.

I am perhaps spoiled by ramen in NYC and D. C. I was not sad because of my awesome company and their homemade ginger ale but, I wasnt thrilled either. I will try a few more dishes before I write it off because I think my choice to put one key ingredient on the side impacted the experience. I super regret asking for chili butter on the side. It belongs in the dish. The pork in the dish was tasty. Not too salty and not dry thankfully.They were also exceptionally busy when I dropped in solo. It was a 45 minute wait for others but, I managed to get a seat atvthe bar quickly. The space is beautiful, small and dimly lit on the lower level. I didnt make it upstairs this time for drinks. I will be back. On the lowel level there are wooden booth and a nice bar where you can watch them prepare the food.