Reviews Butamaru Ramen & Izakaya

I love the gyoza. I tried the set meal for lunch. The price is reasonable. Ebi mayo is good too. The place is not crowded so its a good place to bring friends even during rush hours.

The place to go for great ramen! Their ramen is so tasty and pork was so tender and perfectly cooked. Loved the gyoza and spicy crunchy shrimp appetizer too.

Great food & nice cozy place to hang out to after our badminton games.

Definitely one of the best ramen bars in the country! The broth and the noodles are as close as you can get to the real deal! 👍👌

Had the Spicy Tantanmen. Soup was rich tasting. Chose the noodles to be firm and didnt disappoint. Will definitely come back for more.

Amazing ramen!! �� the staff are very friendly and accommodating too..good job!

Finally, closer to my place! Excellent ramen, will definitely bring my friends. :D

Me and my wife love the Curry Tantanmen and Curry Gyoza, a must in every visit!

Looking for a place to eat around Ortigas Technopoint late at night, and came across Butamaru.

They're more of a ramen place, but was happy to find other items on the menu like appetizers and rice bowls.

I ordered the Tori Ten Don which is tempura style chicken in sauce.

I loved that the chicken was very flavorful and was perfectly balanced. My only issue with the dish was that it had a heap load of spring onions, which I think the dish could have done without, but other than that, I really enjoyed my meal. For P290, I think the meal was affordable and enjoyable.

Also, serving time may take a while so I hope they can improve on that in the future.

Wouldn't mind coming back again to try their other food.

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5

This has been our go to place for an evening snack with my wifey since this branch opened. Our most regular order is a Tantan mien and gyoza on the side.

Love their ramen! We go here for our shirataki ramen fix and we love it! Always recommended in this side of town. The staff is really nice and accommodating. The lady manager is rude which is a shame.

We tried eating here for the first time with my food buddy last valentine's day. What I loved most with them compare to the other ramen restaurant is that they offer shiratake noodles, a low carb noodles, so you can splurge eating your ramen without the guilt feeling of eating too much carbs. I tried the red ramen and spicy miso to my friend. Though, the ramen is not so spicy as what we are expecting, we still liked the taste. The thick broth and the roasted pork passed our standards. We had also availed their promo for valentine's day which is free gyoza. We will definitely coming back..

#freebiesalert you can have free gyoza when you order two ramen from @butamaruortigas 😋 check it out with your date tonight ♥️ #foodtodaywithdorainortigas #taraletseat #ramenlover #foodlover #foodblogger #foodie #butamaru #wheninortigas #ortigasfoodcrawl #zomatoph

Very comfortable and small ramen bar. It's a very nice place to dine with one or two more extra people with you, or maybe even 3. But having a large group can be difficult. I visited the place with my girlfriend and we ordered the Gyoza, Truly Gyoza, Shoyu, and Tsukemen. Out of the 2 Gyoza's we ordered, we only enjoyed the plain one. The truffle Gyoza comes with some cream like sauce and wasn't as appealing to us. The noodles of the ramen were also fine, however, I did experience some noodles that were stuck together instead of being separated by each strand. I do understand that Tsukemen noodles are a bit stickier sometimes because it's not served in a bowl of soup,but this was a bit too much. The Chashu pork and egg were a nice touch, and so was the dipping broth. I personally didn't get to try the Shoyu ramen but the feedback I got was that it was good, but nothing mind blowing. The service overall was good, but there weren't much people to begin with during my visit, so it may depend on the number of people dining. I am definitely going to try it out again on another lazy Sunday lunch.

[Shoyu Ramen]

Rich, creamy and heavy tonkotsu broth that heavily tastes of pork and marrow.
My guess is that the broth is cooked for extended hours to achieve that kind of rich flavor.

What caught my attention was the chasiu. It's solid enough that I was able to arrange it for this shot, but the moment i cut a portion, the chopsticks went right through like hot knife through butter, and it actually disintegrates in your mouth.

Everything hit the mark.
We ordered Shoyu, Miso and Spicy Miso Butter Ramen, Original Gyoza, Buta bara and Beef cubes.

A very good alternative to Mendokoro if you don't feel like waiting in line for hours on end.

A more than decent Ramen House tucked away inside the Ortigas Home Depot. No long lines, No outrageous wait time. Kinda hard to find though as it is right around the corner after Starbucks. Quite literally, a hidden gem. 😁

🍜Tantanmen - has just the right amount of heat. A little on the garlicky sesame side which really gets your appetite going. Breaking the tamago adds a creamy texture.

Oh and of course, dunk some white rice in the leftover soup after finishing off the noodles for a nice ending. 😍👍

Nov 2017- I've tried a lot of ramen restaurants here in Metro Manila and this is so far the best one that I've tasted. The meat is tender and the food was served very hot. You MUST TRY their Okonomiyaki - so delicious and tasty.

The staff who assisted us was very accommodating and friendly.

We're hungry to try their other Ramen flavors so we will definitely come back!

We were so hungry I forgot to take the photo of the grilled shiitake mushrooms!

I enjoyed the ramen in this joint. I liked the shoyu more than what I ordered, the spicy miso butter ramen. Because of that, I will recommend that if it is your first time, pick from the ones that are recommended.

My son enjoyed the tacos a lot. I was happy with the gyoza as well.

Will go back one of these days.

ambiance 8/10
Food 9/10
Service 10/10
Visited this butamaru to try ramen noodles,
You must try their gyu kushi and syoyu ramen.
Our tummy Satisfied hehe.

This is another authentic ramen that you should not miss if you are a ramen lover. The broth is so rich that you feel a warmth at the first slurp of the soup. It is on the saltier side though compared to other ramen players. Perhaps because the broth is boiled for 16 hours to bring out the taste. How's that for richness and authenticity. The pork is tender and tastes really good. And the noodles? Perfectly cooked with perfect firmness. One of my favorite ramen houses to go to if I feel a craving for the real one.

If not many people about this place, they should. If you enjoy Ramen Yushoken / Mendokoro, get your noodles soft and it's almost in the same league. The Shoyu was excellent.

4th place to check out for our ramen-venture, we found ourselves in Ortigas to try out Butamaru.

This place is situated next to my old work place and I was so excited to see how everything looked now. From what used to be a line of bars and food stalls, is now this building with (surprisingly) a lot of amazing food establishments.

We got here in the afternoon. The first floor of the restaurant was already full and we were asked to sit at the bar. We noticed that they had a second floor but we're told that it's closed. Didn't bother asking why but it's inconvenient to not be able to sit on a chair and table properly without people having to pass through where you're seated. We didn't want to exhaust ourselves with getting better seats so we sat by the bar and ordered our food.

▪️Tantanmen: LOVED this bowl. I opted for mild and it had a nice kick to it along with this nutty broth. This was my first tantanmen bowl ever and it was great!

▪️Kaisen: Got to try some of my bf's seafood ramen and, this was quite nice. The broth wasn't strong, it was light and smooth plus they don't go light on the seafood.

▪️Curry Gyoza: I don't have gyoza a lot and this one did not disappoint. The filling was very flavorful, I did not share my serving lol

▪️Toriten: Being the biggest fried chicken fanatic I know, i'm giving this two thumbs up. Crunchy, nicely coated, fried chicken and they're pretty big chunks too. I'd come back for this!

▪️Black Sesame and Green Matcha Ice cream: Both weren't very sweet but, you can taste how real the flavors tasted. Perfect to end your meal.

This place now prolly tops my ramen place list. I hear they just opened and, they're off to a great start. They're also not as pricey as other ramen shops so you can enjoy delicious ramen without breaking the bank. Isn't that great?!

November 9, 2017
After coming from the audition in Quezon City, we decided to not go home anymore, given the traffic. We decided to just have an early dinner in one of the ramen places near where we DJ. The boyfie and I decided to have a big bowl each of Tantanmen (Php360), to complement the rather wet weather that night. We also ordered a side of Gyoza (Php140) for good measure. Since we are both suckers for good ramen, and what we had was quite good, I gave the place props for taste. A bit pricey yeah, but it was worth the experience.

Ramen is one of my favorite comfort food and I've been keeping track of the best restaurants that offer the best ramen. Sometimes, my husband and I are going out to find more restaurants that can satisfy my cravings for ramen. Pop up ramen houses and some supermarkets offer their own versions of ramen, but I still prefer my ramen to be cooked with fresh ingredients and freshly made noodles that brings out the authentic taste in ramen and makes your experience more delightful.

Although I was skeptical at first, I fell in love with the Hakata-Style that Butamaru offers when we visted their very first branch in Alabang earlier this year. Those big round and soft noodles and lighter broth offers a unique experience compared to other Ramen places here in manila. With their new branch in Ortigas, they want to offer an Izayaka experience, which was inspired by the very festive Japanese gastropub atmosphere. The Izayaka style for the uninitiated is a type of Japanese restaurant bar where in they offer relatively inexpensive dishes and snacks coupled with some liquor.

Butamaru from Alabang is now here in Pasig and right in my office building too! I feel so lucky. Have been there twice already and love their food.

On the first visit I tried 2 appetizers, Curry Gyoza and Spicy Tuna Tacos. The gyoza was really good - aburi chasu in a thin flour wrapper that's crispy in parts. As you bite into them the flavors enhanced by the curry paste envelop your tastebuds. The tacos were good too with a fantastic medley of flavors from the different ingredients.

On the second visit I tried the Curry Tantanmen. It's somewhat spicy (quite manageable) with the curry flavor accentuating the taste. The broth is rich but not heavy and the noodles have a good bite.

Good resto serving great food

2nd update: Butamaru never ceases to amaze.

I had Kimchi Chasu Tacos - arguably the tastiest tacos in the metro. Soft, grilled Chasu with spicy kimchi. Explosion of flavors in each bite

Kani Ramen Salad is great! Insta-worthy dish and lovely flavors. Veggies and shredded kani with cold noodles in an amazing fish-roe dressing. Very filling and, yet, healthy

From the outside, Butamaru impresses with its avant garde Japanese decor – colourful Japanese photographs boldly framed on its walls (at the second floor), half curtains, simplistic wooden high stools and the allure of sensual mood lighting. One thing consumers really liked about the entire Izakaya and Ramen experience was how the well-furbished dining setting seemed to whisk one away to a nice, glowing part of Tokyo.

If one were to peek under the half-curtains, one would find that the counter setting immediately transports one to another sakura-and-sake-filled world. Much like many of the eateries in Japan, the bar seating at Butamaru is contained in a tight but not claustrophobia-inducing space and within full view of the food connoisseurs preparing the dishes.

We adored how the snug insides of the restaurant made us feel somewhat nostalgic about an old retro movie that we’ve seen from years ago and it was nice to see how even from within the restaurant, which is separate from the bar-seating area, one could still get a clear view of the Butamaru chefs at work.

While the restaurant is a tad bit small, it is very cozy and well-furnished down to the T where the walls are decorated in colourful collages of familiar Japanese scenes and it has lovely retro Japanese designs.

Before we were served our first meal of the night, we were given a tray of exquisitely-handmade gyoza. Needless to say we were thrilled!

It was such a typical Japanese dish or appetizer as Butamaru’s Fresh Handmade Gyoza which was not too shabby. While we usually prefer my gyoza crispy, we could appreciate the particular way Butamaru’s gyozas are made.

They have a doughy outer skin which had a tad bit of crispiness at some parts and the insides were stuffed with a minced pork filling robust with flavour. And just for that extra oomph, these pan-fried dumplings go nicely with the side of soya sauce.

We also tried their Katsu Gyozayaki. We adored this dish to bits, with the fusion and marriage of three of our Japanese favourites: Katsu, Takoyaki and Gyoza—all into one dish and served in a ball shape. It was delightfully crunchy and deliciously good.

Two appetizers that were a standout and worth mentioning were Kimchi Chashu Tacos and Spicy Tuna Tacos. It was mainly because of how dynamically the flavours of the different ingredients on top of the mini handmade tacos they serve at Butamaru. 

The three different ramens namely Shio, Shoyu and Miso based steamy soups were also fantastic. The springy noodles which are brought in specially from Japan went beautifully with the tender pieces of chargrilled slices of pork and perfectly went well with bonito flakes.

Another reason why we loved their Tsukemen Ramen (Dipping Noodle Soup) is that the soup had a nice homemade essence which did not taste like the typical msg-filled instant noodles soup. For all those reasons and more, we definitely recommend this dish to any thinking of patronizing Butamaru!





FOOD, LIFESTYLE

Butamaru Ortigas Food Review: Good Ramen and Other Japanese Comfort Foods

8 HOURS AGO by VANCE MADRID



From the outside, Butamaru impresses with its avant garde Japanese decor – colourful Japanese photographs boldly framed on its walls (at the second floor), half curtains, simplistic wooden high stools and the allure of sensual mood lighting. One thing consumers really liked about the entire Izakaya and Ramen experience was how the well-furbished dining setting seemed to whisk one away to a nice, glowing part of Tokyo.



If one were to peek under the half-curtains, one would find that the counter setting immediately transports one to another sakura-and-sake-filled world. Much like many of the eateries in Japan, the bar seating at Butamaru is contained in a tight but not claustrophobia-inducing space and within full view of the food connoisseurs preparing the dishes.



We adored how the snug insides of the restaurant made us feel somewhat nostalgic about an old retro movie that we’ve seen from years ago and it was nice to see how even from within the restaurant, which is separate from the bar-seating area, one could still get a clear view of the Butamaru chefs at work.

While the restaurant is a tad bit small, it is very cozy and well-furnished down to the T where the walls are decorated in colourful collages of familiar Japanese scenes and it has lovely retro Japanese designs.

Before we were served our first meal of the night, we were given a tray of exquisitely-handmade gyoza. Needless to say we were thrilled!



It was such a typical Japanese dish or appetizer as Butamaru’s Fresh Handmade Gyoza which was not too shabby. While we usually prefer my gyoza crispy, we could appreciate the particular way Butamaru’s gyozas are made.

They have a doughy outer skin which had a tad bit of crispiness at some parts and the insides were stuffed with a minced pork filling robust with flavour. And just for that extra oomph, these pan-fried dumplings go nicely with the side of soya sauce.



We also tried their Katsu Gyozayaki. We adored this dish to bits, with the fusion and marriage of three of our Japanese favourites: Katsu, Takoyaki and Gyoza—all into one dish and served in a ball shape. It was delightfully crunchy and deliciously good.



 Two appetizers that were a standout and worth mentioning were Kimchi Chashu Tacos and Spicy Tuna Tacos. It was mainly because of how dynamically the flavours of the different ingredients on top of the mini handmade tacos they serve at Butamaru. 



The three different ramens namely Shio, Shoyu and Miso based steamy soups were also fantastic. The springy noodles which are brought in specially from Japan went beautifully with the tender pieces of chargrilled slices of pork and perfectly went well with bonito flakes.

Another reason why we loved their Tsukemen Ramen (Dipping Noodle Soup) is that the soup had a nice homemade essence which did not taste like the typical msg-filled instant noodles soup. For all those reasons and more, we definitely recommend this dish to any thinking of patronizing Butamaru!



Butamaru’s wagyu beef kushi was incredibly fatty, well-seasoned, generously-peppered and just very flavorful overall. While it may be one of the most pricey Yakitori picks, we think it is worth it to simply spoil yourself and try it with no regrets there. The meat was chewy and it was very well-marinated.

Yakitori options are reasonably priced. The Torikawa or Chicken Skin is rather affordable and something I would definitely pick on an ordinary budget. The chicken skin was crispy, fatty and very savoury.

The light pink slices of skewered pork belly were surprisingly tender and just a little tough around the edges. The subtle saltiness of the meat was quite delightful.

As we were slowly feeding off the breaded ebi, the final dish of the night was delivered to our table. We were served a generous portion of Hiyashi Chuka Ramen and though we were all stuffed, we promptly dug in to this very opulent dish. Coupled with little bits of ikura that burst with sapor in our mouths and refreshing shreds of cucumber, the cold ramen tasted heavenly.

We really do recommend those who appreciate a good Japanese meal and a dose of sake to visit Butamaru at least once to see for yourself what we mean when we say that they did a fantastic job with creating a fantastic Japanese-tic atmosphere and serving scrumptious dishes.

Butamaru Ortigas is located at the G/F Ortigas Technopoint One (Upper Deck Building), Ortigas Home Depot, Ortigas, Pasig M-Th, Sun: 11AM-12MN; F-Sat: 11AM-1AM.