Iso Iso Ramen & Boba

Located at 5835 Samet Drive at the Palladium Shopping Center in High Point, Iso Iso Ramen & Boba offers Japanese cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11-9 Sunday-Thursday and 11-10 Friday and Saturday. Online ordering is available.

 

High Point’s newest ramen spot is potentially also its best. At the very least, Iso Iso is the best equipped for dine-in. Décor is more than just functional here: the dark brick and woodwork is sleek and modern. Moreover, Iso Iso seemed to be well-staffed with folks who seemed to enjoy working there. A restaurant’s opening weeks can be stressful, and the absence of hangdog expressions or abject panic bodes well.

 

Iso Iso’s menu features Japanese apps, rice bowls, ramen, and boba teas. The latter two can be customized with add-ons and toppings. Whether you are a vegetarian or craving salty meat, like spicy or prefer mild, you should be able to find something here.

 

For our first visit, my wife and I split an order of Chashu Buns and a Tonkatsu Ramen (to which we added black garlic oil). Our food came out quickly, and the ramen was a plentiful portion. At $17, it was not the cheapest in town, but the execution made it worthwhile. The broth was rich, and flavorful, and the black garlic oil added another dimension that we didn’t realize we were missing. Toppings included pork belly, a marinated egg, mushrooms, bamboo, corn, and scallion, and they didn’t skimp on any of them. The Chashu Buns – good balance of refreshing and salty, excellent sauce – were a winning choice as well.

 

Boba/ramen/poke shops are no longer the novelty that they once were, but even in an increasingly competitive market, Iso Iso has the combination of fast and friendly service and well-executed food needed to make a name for itself. Here’s hoping it doesn’t tail off.