I ate ramen at the new Susuru Ramen on Green Street

Champaign’s newest ramen bar Susuru Ramen opened today, February 21st on Green Street between Mid Summer Lounge and Cracked! / Dee Dee’s Beef. Here’s a look at the new Campustown restaurant.

The new Susuru Ramen dining room. — Alyssa Buckley

Susuru Ramen has a bright ramen-themed mural in the dining room. The tables mostly seat two people, but there were a few for four.

Two metal cups with very hot tea and steam rising from the cups. — Alyssa Buckley

A server sat us a table and quickly returned with menus and complimentary hot barley tea. The tea was very, very hot and required patience before it was cool enough to sip, but it had a nice flavor.

Tonkotsu ramen with chashu, corn, bamboo, green onions, and a full egg from Susuru Ramen on Green Street in Champaign. — Alyssa Buckley

Since Susuru Ramen is primarily a ramen bar, I ordered the tonkotsu ramen ($14). The ramen had chashu (pork belly), menma (fermented bamboo shoots), kikurage (wood ear mushrooms), narutomaki (fish cake), corn, green onions, chili threads, ramen noodles, and an unsliced soft-boiled egg with a gooey yolk. This was pretty delicious. The broth was mild with a wonderful depth of flavor and a nice earthiness, and there was chili oil on the table to kick up the spice tableside. Those pork belly slices in the ramen were so tender and had a smokiness that tasted amazing.

A red bento box of chicken katsu with tamago, salad, egg rolls, and fish cakes. — Alyssa Buckley

My husband ordered the chicken katsu bento box ($16), which had full tray of lunch: fried chicken, steamed rice, spring rolls, fish cakes, tamago, and a side salad of lettuce, purple cabbage, and carrots. Sliced into strips, the dark meat chicken had an airy tempura batter. I was surprised that there was no katsu sauce to go with, but the fried chicken tasted fine dipped in the square of spicy mayo. The salad’s dressing was savory with ginger and nutty flavors plus a little sour, too. Filled with carrots and cabbage, the small spring rolls were piping hot and tasted great. The three thick sticks of egg had a soft and fluffy texture, and the fish cakes had juicy chopped white fish under the thin, crispy outer layer.

Because the sign on the restaurant reads “Sushi-Bento-Ramen Bar,” we also ordered a sushi roll.

Six pieces of a spicy tuna roll. — Alyssa Buckley

Susuru Ramen’s sushi list was short, and so picking one was easy. We ordered the spicy tuna ($6), which was served alongside lots of pink pickled ginger and a ball of wasabi. The spicy tuna roll was good: packed with a lot of raw tuna and not rolled too tightly.

The new Japanese restaurant is now open seven days a week. Check out the full menu.