Oisa Ramen Slurp & Go and Tiki Rock Bar Are Opening in Downtown Boston

Moe Kuroki of Oisa Ramen. / Photo via Caroline Hubert Videography

Ramen lover and self-taught chef Moe Kuroki has made good on her promise to open a small brick-and-mortar for her pop-up Oisa Ramen. A 12-seat, weekday slurp shop opens for lunch on Monday, Jan. 15, taking over some space inside the former Place nightclub in downtown Boston. Also on track to open there: Tiki Rock Bar, a craft cocktail bar with sushi and complementary snacks.

“This is a big and exciting new step for Oisa Ramen,” says Kuroki, a MassArt grad and Brookline resident. The native of Fukuoka, Japan, started deconstructing the noodle bowls of her youth while pregnant with her first child, she previously told Boston.

“I needed to have something to feel at home, and ramen, my favorite hometown food, became a craving. So, I decided to make my own,” she said.

After popping up around Boston at places like Snappy Ramen, Shōjō, Juliet, and Brassica Kitchen, where Oisa had a regular residency this past year, Kuroki has nailed down a vegan-friendly smoky shoyu ramen, as well as tonkotsu (pork bone), and tsuke-men (dipping-style) ramen.

All three noodle bowls will be on the menu at Oisa Ramen Slurp & Go, along with donburi (rice bowls) topped with beef, marinated fish, or vegetables to-go. There will be a few beers to pair with the food, but it’s meant to be a quick in-and-out lunch option for the downtown crowd, Kuroki says. It will be open from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday, to start.

Tiki Rock Bar will take over adjacent space at the Place, with its own entrance, dining room, and menu. The new concept is from Christopher Straub, a veteran of Hyatt Hotels. Straub most recently opened New York’s five-star hotel, the Park Hyatt; and was also part of the opening teams at the Shop and the Bar Downstairs (NYC), Cure Bar and Bistro (Washington, D.C.), and the reopened NoMi Kitchen (Chicago).

“I have a strong passion for food and beverage and this is a concept that I came up with after some careful thought,” Straub says.

The tiki-style bar will offer well-balanced drinks made with fresh-squeezed juices, house-made syrups, and over-the-top garnishes. Reinvented tiki classics, like crab Rangoon, sushi, and other pan-Asian street food will complement the bar program. A full entertainment license will allow for live music certain nights, Straub adds.

“We will be utilizing highest quality ingredients in both our food and cocktails but at the same time we will be having fun with it,” he says.

Both concepts are currently under construction. Stay tuned for more details Tiki Rock Bar and on Oisa Ramen Slurp & Go, and in the meantime, follow Kuroki’s pop-up ramen shop on Facebook and Instagram.

Oisa Ramen Slurp & Go, coming soon to 2 Broad St., Boston, oisaramen.com.

This story was updated Monday, Jan. 8, to reflect an opening date for Oisa Ramen Slurp & Go.