Compared to other ramen restaurants, Ippudo has the advantage of a very cool-looking dining room, a much larger menu, and the ability to seat reasonably large groups of people. In other words, it’s perfect for when there are a few of you hankering after some noodles, but you want to make an evening of it without being shoehorned around a tiny table like you would be at Bone Daddies or Kanada-Ya. The noodles are good, and they have things like dumplings and pork buns on the menu as well as options for non-meat eaters. It’s still no bookings, but at least the wait is usually fairly short.