Katsumi - Laredo

Best Ramen I've tried in Laredo. The broth is super flavorful (it's made of chicken and pork, except for the veggie one). Ramen is very well served. They even have a Veggie one which is extremely delicious. The appetizers are also very tasty, recently they introduced some chicken wings with unique flavors, haven't tried them but look very good. The place is not so big and a lot of people come to this place so expect to wait around 30-45 min to be seated (specially on cold days), although the wait is more than worth. We ordered the Spicy Naruto (if you like spicy food this is a great option, they also offer, for extra charge, a super spicy bomb which you can throw in any ramen, but that's made of habanero and other hot chillis so if you are not used to a lot of spiciness, don't ask for it), and the Tori Man Ramen is made of chicken (which is a good option for those who are not into spiciness) which is very good as well. As appetizer we went for the Kakuni Bao which is basically a bun with pork belly, some veggies and a sauce (a little spicy) and it's very tasty, we liked it a lot.

The restaurant need to change its hours to reflect the time it’s actually openI arrive 40 minutes before closing (which I figured should be enough time to be served and eat) and the lady at the front sees my truck parking and decides to turn off the “OPEN” sign and lock the door as we’re making our way inBecause of work I have an extremely busy scheduleThe last time I arrive to try to eat there, it was about 10 minutes past opening and there was already a line out the door..at the time I was trying to grab food before a session with a client but the wait took way too long so I had to leaveLast time I try to eat here :

Food is mediocre and service is horrible. They are not family friendly nor accommodating to guests. If you are a paying customer they will gladly turn you away.

The waitress was very rude and denied me and my friends service for no good reason! The waitress claimed it was because our party was too big so We offered to split the party to accommodate for there lack of space and come at different times because we really wanted to try there food. The she kept changing the amount of people they where accepting and wasn't trying to work with us at all In the end she denied all of us service and we had waited outside in the cold. 100% not worth it

As someone who grew up on the east coast and was exposed to a lot of cultural diversity, one of the biggest hurdles I've had to face since moving to Laredo is a severe lack of non-Mexican or non-Tex-Mex based restaurants in the area. And of those few restaurants advertising foods from other cultures, my experience has been that they usually end up tweaking the recepie a bit and put in a regional touch to their dishes. While the food still ends up being delicious in its own right most of the time, I can't help but feel misled and ultimately still craving the unaltered version of the food that the restaurant was originally advertising to serve.Enter Katsumi. It's a nice, quaint little hole-in-the-wall establishment that offers a refreshing option of difference in an area that is highly saturated with a pretty monogamous choice of meal options. The ramen is very delicious and brings a refreshing taste of authenticity that brings me back to home. There are several options in respect to broth and meat options (veggies too). They have several Japanese drinks and beverages to try too which is really neat.Honestly, the only thing that is mildly frustrating is the wait times due to capacity, partially because of the size of the establishment and partially because of responsible Covid protocols.Either way, its worth a try and I highly recommend it to those locals who want to try something new and possibly out of their comfort zone.