• Alex Springer

I like to imagine the experience that I'm after as I peruse menus online. Sometimes, I want a stoic, unyielding restaurant that challenges my dining sensibilities and makes me question what I know about dining culture. Other times, I want a high-energy restaurant that makes you feel welcome regardless of the energy you bring to the premises. During my visit to UT Craft Ramen in Midvale, I thought of the places in between—those who take menus seriously while consistently treating their patrons like valued regulars.

UT Craft Ramen represents a slight westward expansion for owners Kenichi Ota and Hiroyuki Kawashima, whose KC Craft Ramen opened in Kansas City back in 2023. It had a decent debut and has built up a modest cult following, which generated enough momentum to expand. It's definitely not a bad time to bring a ramen venture into Utah. We're having our own little ramen-aissance at the moment, and out-of-state brands that aren't pushing Nashville hot chicken are a welcome sight.

The restaurant is right across the street from the Sandy Cinemark in Union Heights, and it's completely adorable. Its entrance doubles as a market where you can snag soft drinks, Japanese candies and even anime collectibles. The whole space has big-time anime vibes; a huge banner of the characters Luffy and Naruto eating ramen together overlooks the dining room. Ordering is on the fast-casual side of things—all orders are placed at the register up front before taking your seats in the dining area.

I was with my wife and daughter during our visit, so we started with a few appetizers. The chicken karaage ($8.98) is always a favorite during our ramen sojourns, and I also ordered a pork bun ($6) for good measure. UT Craft Ramen boasts two preparations of karaage—the original preparation of fried chicken, or the pepper chicken that is doused in a sweet and spicy sauce. Both variations are excellent ways to kick off a meal, as the crispy exterior texture gives way to piping hot, juicy chicken. The mayo and spicy mayo that comes with the karaage offer some nice, tangy creaminess to the mix, and you should definitely spritz the plate with lemon juice from the provided wedge for best results.

Pork buns that are served in a folded pocket of steamed dough are a definite weakness of mine. The variations at UT Craft Ramen have the sentiment "I heart UT" branded into the dough—a nice touch, I must admit—and are served with a crispy pork cutlet, shredded cabbage and mayo. It's a very respectable bun that borrows the same pleasant crispness from the karaage and plenty of richness from the mayo. These also come in orders of two ($11), but if you're planning on diving into a bowl of ramen, I'd suggest sticking with just one, as they're pretty monstrous.

My wife ordered the creamy chicken ramen ($13.98) and I went with the UT Red ($13.98). These will be familiar options for local ramen fans, but I do think UT Craft Ramen has the chops to hang with our own heavy hitters. The creamy chicken ramen was a huge success due to its broth game. Chicken ramen often gets overlooked for the more souped-up flavors of tonkotsu, but this chicken broth is prepared with the same richness and depth of flavor.

The UT Red is the restaurant's version of a chili oil tonkotsu, and it's served with a trademark dab of red hot chili paste. The chashu pork was thin, tender and decadent, as were the jammy eggs, which may be my favorite part of any ramen dish. It's definitely got a kick to it—there were more than a few times that my overenthusiastic slurping sent spritzes of chili oil right to the back of my throat. The noodles in both ramen dishes are also great; they're made in-house and possess the proper elasticity and heft to be the backbone of each bowl.

Lately, my daughter has become quite the ramen fan, and the team here did a great job at making her feel welcome. She likes her ramen simple, and UT Craft Ramen has a kid's ramen bowl ($10.98) with chicken broth that she thoroughly enjoyed. Again, the chicken broth here is extremely rich and flavorful. I know that taking your kid out to eat sometimes gets a little bit of the side eye, but that totally wasn't the case here—they took good care of the kiddo.

Based on my experience at UT Craft Ramen, it's the kind of place that has a lot of what I'm after in a ramen joint. I thought the service was extremely friendly and attentive, and the anime vibes show that it's not taking its concept too seriously. This attitude doesn't carry over into the kitchen, however—everything was meticulously prepped and gorgeously flavored. It's definitely a worthy entrant in Utah's ramen revitalization.