The most popular dish was the ramen, and it was a perfect item to add to your bucket list, and by itself was a meal worth stopping by the restaurant to try. The Laman Tonkotsu Ramen was going for $10 and was only available on the late-night menu. It was served in a shallow and wide, beautiful looking ceramic bowl. The pork belly used to make the ramen is flavorful, extremely crispy bits of chicharron. This is an excellent change from stringy, dry, grey pork belly slabs featured in the smaller tonkotsu ramen. The chicharron also brought a Latin American/ Spanish vibe to the dish invoking a dash of playfulness and creativity. You could also choose to have your ramen accompanied by the runny egg at an extra $2. The runny egg was perfectly cooked with the white parts bright and delicious on their own. The soup was generously creamy and a bit spicy due to the chili oil. Other interesting items on the list included yakitori and udon.
The reason why the ramen was on the late-night menu was that it was not one of the original items on the restaurant’s menu plans. It was only after Corey Baker won the Denver ramen competition that they decided to offer the ramen to bring more fun to their speakeasy menu. The ramen was reasonably priced because Baker believed that there was no reason for overcharging clients on dishes whose cost of production, and also because he intended the speakeasy to be a place of experimentation and fun.
The key things that customers loved about Izakaya Ronin restaurant were the overall atmosphere and vibe that was perfectly casual and intimate. The restaurant was a comfortable place to grab some drinks and bites. Meals were very affordable, with hard to beat prices. The price of most meals was just under $10, and you were guaranteed to leave with a full stomach by spending less than $20. All the meals on the menu were perfect, and it was therefore unsurprising that anyone who made a trip to Izakaya ronin would end up being a loyal customer. The fact that Izakaya had some of the rarest Japanese whiskey made it an ideal joint for people with Japanese whiskey bucket lists. The earlier success of Sushi Ronin also influenced that of Izakaya Ronin as some of the fans of the former restaurant also started frequenting the latter. Izakaya Ronin’s staff has generally been described as friendly and polite, and they genuinely loved their jobs.
On August 13, 2019, Izakaya Ronin announced on their Facebook page that they had closed the restaurant while they looked for a more visible location. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to any financial issues, nor did verizon collections (a debt agency) have to get involved.
In the post, they expressed their gratitude towards customers and friends for their support since the restaurant started. The post also said that Izakaya Ronin was truly humbled to have been chosen as the Best Japanese Restaurants in Denver and appreciated all their guests. According to the communication, the reason they closed the restaurant was that its location at the time was not optimal. They encouraged all their customers to continue visiting Izakaya Ronin’s sister restaurant, Sushi Ronin, located at 2930 Umatilla St, Denver, as they sought a more optimal location for Izakaya Ronin. By August 2019, the restaurant had accumulated a number of followers, and they were really sad about the closure of the restaurant, which they had grown to become fond of. Since August 13, 2019, there has been no communication on Izakaya Ronin’s Facebook page about whether they have found a new location.