The Clever Koi

Went here with my family recently. Great atmosphere, a little loud for conversation with the high volume music. Service was great! We got the Ahi chips which had amazing flavor, defiantly the winner of the meal! Also got the Pork Ramen– was just good… In my opinion not worth returning for dinner with many other great restaurants in the area.

After months of wanting to go here, my girlfriend and I finally made the trip to Phoenix to try Clever Koi. The ambiance and overall decoration of the restaurant is modern and hip with a little asian flare. There is also outdoor seating with heat lamps for the colder months.
But the point of this review is to express how much I loved their food! We started with the kung pao wings that was super crispy and delicious as well as the steamed buns. The steamed buns were my favorite part of the meal because the pork belly was so crispy and tender, which complimented the soft bun. We both got ramen (lemonpepper chicken and pork) and they were both one if not the best ramen in the valley. The pork broth is super rich and flavorful with a good size portion. But my favorite of the two was the lemonpepper chicken, this may sound different than your typical pork/​miso ramen, but it works amazingly.
Overall Clever Koi is one of the premier places in Phoenix to go to. My recommendation is to go during happy hour if you’re trying to snag some deals ($ 8 pork ramen, $ 5 wings)

I went with a friend and got the kung pao chicken wings ($ 5 happy hour from 3 – 6 daily), pork ramen, lemon pepper chicken ramen, and two steamed buns with pork belly. The only negative thing I would have to say about Clever Koi is that the steamed buns were $ 4 each and they aren’t very big. I honestly thought it was worth it though, because the crunchy top of the pork belly mixed with the delicious flavor of the sauce and meat were the perfect combination. The pork ramen was a steal from the happy hour menu as well for only $ 8 as opposed to $ 13.50. The broth was incredibly flavorful, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the kimchi. I thought the other ramen dish was also a 5 star, as the chicken was crunchy throughout the whole meal and the broth was nice and light. I was surprised when we weren’t overly stuffed after, but I would still recommend this restaurant to everyone who wants to try some new exotic flavors and is okay with spending a little extra money. The service was very fast and friendly and the atmosphere was enjoyable. All in all, I love Clever Koi and I’m definitely coming back.

To the point–
We were only given the build your own meal menu. I’ve never been there before, so I’m not sure if that’s the lunch option only or what. You can build your own ramen, rice bowl and one other thing I can’t remember. I had ramen. Ramen starts at $ 5. Meat option (no matter what you choose is $ 3). I subtracted 1 star bc I only got 2 pieces of pork belly. Where as, if you order steak for your ramen, you get a generous amount. I’m confused? $ 3 for 2 pieces of pork belly is a little steep. Pork belly was absolutely delicious and I wish I could’ve had more. Veggies were $ 1 each. Sides were extra $.50 like egg, kimchi, etc. How is a side of egg $.50 but like a couple of julienned carrot is $ 1? Oh. I didn’t order the carrots, but oh well. Now the broth, it’s alright. I’ve had better at a ramen place in Tempe, but both can’t compare to my ramen place in Chicago, but that’s besides the point. I felt as if it was a little bland. Could’ve been slightly richer (for pork broth). The steak and lemongrass chicken were delicious though.
I ordered 1 appetizer. I can’t remember the name, but it was fried, had Sriracha and kimchi. It was delicious.
The drinks that were brought out to other customers looked soooo good, but I didn’t order any. Customer service was great as well. Server was attentive. Establishment was very clean, including the bathroom.
Basically –2 bc some of the pricing didn’t make any sense and flavoring of broth. Would I come again? Of course. I tend to give a place another try, unless service was absolutely herrendous.

One of my favorite places to go eat. Ive been there couple of times with work folks for lunch and with the fam for lunch as well.
They have really good service and the food is always fresh and tastes amazing.
Some of the best food i’ve had in Phoenix

Eat here immediately. Pork Ramen, hallelujah!

Our first time here and the place hit the trifecta: nice ambiance, great service, and delicious food. We tried the pork buns (amazingly delicious with tender pork belly), chicken and waffles bun (I really enjoyed but my wife wasn’t a huge fan), pig face dumplings (a little heavy on the Sriracha but very good and on a bed of delicious and fresh kimchi), the pork Ramen (not surprisingly one of their more popular dishes, was very delicious), and the lemon pepper chicken Ramen (my wife loved this crispy chicken ramen).
Overall we are very pleased that I hope to come back sometime.

I like this Asian fusion place. It is a small casual dining place that specializes noodles. For appetizer I ordered the pig face wontons which came with Kimchee garnish. It was a super combination of texture and the taste was superb. I tried the cold soba noodles with Kimchee and tofu. Soba noodles had to be one of the best I’ve ever had. Tofu had a unique flavor and I was taken aback. It still was good, just different. Service was good as well. I recommend!

This is my second time at The Clever Koi! A friend introduced this to us for her anniversary dinner. When I first thought of it, the food was going to be okay. But I thought wrong!
The first time around I ordered soft shell steamed bun, tasted AMAZING! From what I remembered it was fried and what made it amazing was their sauce that came with the steamed bun. I also ordered their top orders which was the pork belly ramen. Again, the flavor was amazing!!! The pork is crispy, it comes with egg, and kimchee and of course the ramen.
The second time I visited, I ordered their pork steamed bun, again their sauce and how the pork is cooked makes it the best! And for my meal I ordered their seafood ramen soup. Their noodle is more of a udon soup rather than ramen but still tasted good! The seafood inside the soup was fresh, not over cooked either. The best part of going to this place is their service. They are quick to serve and will take good care of you especially Mike whom does a nice job making sure you are taken care of. Good job, Mike, the cooks, and the owners who thought of putting their own twist to Asian style cooking!

We have been to The Clever Koi several times. So, this review really is overdue.
We both really like the massaman udon, tandoori chicken, edamame fritters, calamari, Peking duck, and pig face dumplings here, and the mixed drinks are yummy, too.
I really like the Negroni and Sidecar, but the boyfriend usually just sticks with a beer.
The service is really good, and the space is open, clean, and welcoming.
The prices are pretty reasonable, too.

My Husband and I went for our last date night before baby at the Clever Koi back in August. In fact, it was the night before Baby Boy arrived (not due to the food I assure you). The inside of the restaurant is very modern, a bit tight, so the tables are somewhat close together, but it really is well done. The patio looked nice as well, but we opted to sit inside due to the heat and the fact I was carrying a fully «cooked» baby.
Anyway, on to the food… everything was delicious and unique. I don’t think I’ve ever had food quite like the Clever Koi. The Hubs and I shared a noodle bowl and some small plates. As I recall, the noodle bowl was very spicy, so that was slightly tough for me, but the Hubs thought it was amazing. The small plates we had were so good, pig face dumplings were top notch.
Can’t wait to get back to the Clever Koi at some point, hopefully soon. This is a «hot spot» and the food surely backs up the hype.

So disappointing!
We started off with the calamari fries and steamers. The calamari fries were okay, but the batter didn’t have much flavor/​seasoning. There was also no lemon or dipping sauce with them. Some sauce was drizzled on top, but overall they tasted plain.
The steamers looked incredible and i really wanted to like them but they were SO SALTY. All i could taste was salt. I wasn’t able to get past the saltiness of the dish.
We then ordered two steamed buns — pork belly and chicken and waffles. The first thing i noticed was how small they were! My boyfriend could finish one in two bites. And for $ 4 each you’d think you’d get just a little more. The pork belly one was decent, but the chicken and waffles wasn’t so good. The chicken was dry and the waffle bun was soggy and fell apart while you were eating it. The most confusing part of the plate was that it came with a side of dipping sauce? It was way unnecessary and didn’t fit with either steamed bun we ordered.
Lastly, we thought we’d try the scallop dumplings. Also looked pretty good when they came out, but were also extremely disappointing. I don’t know what was in them, but it did NOT taste like scallops, or even seafood. The filling was dry and the closest thing it tasted like was chicken. The sauce on it was confusing. Did not meld well at all. I don’t know what kind of flavors they were shooting for, but it was a complete miss.
Our meal after tip was over $ 60 (including drinks). We left hungry and unsatisfied. The atmosphere was awesome and we were excited to try someplace new, but unfortunately we will not be coming back.

Went there directly from airport because I read a nice review in WSJ. I’m a big ramen fan having eaten it for years throughout Asia and especially while living in Tokyo.
Like most other Asian or ethnic food in AZ, it was run by the local hipsters. I again was the only Asian in the place. Not a knock, just always feels weird for me. Alone, I chose the counter, and ordered the local IPA and was served my ramen with pork belly soon after. It was hearty and good, albeit small. The girl at the counter was very nice, as well as the bearded beer guy. I would return again for lunch.

I’m at the Clever Koi at least once a month. It always seems to hit the spot. My favorite is the chow mein with loads of toppings including the kim chi. The shrimp is large and always grilled to perfection. The housemade siracha are delicious. The pig face dumplings are out of this world with the right amount of spicy, salty, and all around flavor. The chicken and waffle bun made my eyes roll in ecstasy. (yes! It was that good)
The service is always friendly, attentive, and professional.
I love love love this restaurant!

Well fed and slightly buzzed…
I have given this place three times to disappoint me and they have failed, miserably, all three times. This place just rocks. I have had the seafood pot which was out of this world, the chicken pot which killed it with the jelly, and tonight I found my signature dish and cocktail the kimchi rice bowl with chicken and shrimp with the «word is bond» martini… kicked my ass in flavor, portion, and buzz potential. All thanks to Alexandria with the on point recommendations. This place is a great date night or a cool spot to come chill with that special someone. You simply must go and go again. #newloyalcustomer

Coming from a woman to loves Asian fusion and ramen, I thoroughly enjoyed this spot. Only problem was the service which was VERY slow! Read my pro and con list for more info:
Pros:
–The Asian-​fusion food is delicious and healthy for the most part. I got vegetarian ramen noodles with tofu, which I loved and would order again!
–Very modern and trendy atmosphere
–Wonderful feng shui — the light, decorations, and greenery uplift me
–Convenient parking
–Reasonable prices
Cons:
–Service was slow and unapproachable
–Food took very long
–Very busy during lunch — was hard to get a table, be served, and get our food

I’m a little torn on this place. My fiancée really enjoyed it, but to me it was ok. I am a little bias cause I do come from a Asian family and we owned a family restaurant, so this Asian fusion is a little confusing to me. The place had a nice environment and «trendy» but it’s still all about the food. I thought for the prices of the food, they sure do give very small portions. If I told my parent’s I paid over 14.00 for ramen, they would probably slap me! I much rather have a big bowl of Phở that costs me 8 bucks, than the ramen that I had at Clever Koi. I ordered the Pork Ramen, which had two peices of pork belly, an egg, and some veggies, with very little ramen. The good thing is most of the food was flavorful and delicious, but just very small portions.
The service was good, we sat in the patio, cause inside seating was over 45 minutes long! So we sat outside with another couple. We split couple of appetizzers and buns, and each order a ramen dish. With couple of drinks, the bill came out to over 120.00.
The sad part is when we left, I told my lady I am still hungry, not just a little but a lot. I felt I could eat another meal, so on the way home we stopped and picked up a Sonoran Dog and called it a night.
Overall, this place was pretty good and had flavorful food, but for those prices, I rather go somewhere else.

Fab lunch here this week. Started with the chicken & Waffle (steamed bun style/​taco) hot, fresh right off the stove. Also I sampled the pork belly bun – YUM
Lunch was a bowl of ramen $ 5 then you add your add-​ins egg, pork belly, Bok Choy w/​many other options as well.
Overall everything from the service to the food was very good. I want to try some cocktails one evening in the near future.

Excellent meal and very nice ambiance. My fiancé and I ate on the patio. We started with a special grilled octopus appetizer which was good. He had the wood grilled octopus. That was amazing! Such a wonderful broth, and the seasonings were delicious.
He also had an old fashioned which was made well.
For dinner I had the seasonal vegetable plate. The yams were perfect. He had the pork ramen with gluten free noodles. This is wonderful for him with his gluten allergy.
For dessert I had the chocolate pudding. I really did not care for it at all, too sweet and not much flavor.
Overall, a wonderful place. We will go back!

Missed happy hour by five minutes, but food was still good. The portion size was okkkk… and you can tell something technical was done to simple foods to bring out the flavors.
Soft crab bun was tasty but I couldn’t get over the appearance of the crab in the bun…
Duck bun was good. Would come again just for that.
Veggie plate was well seasoned but… $ 10!
Ramen was flavorful.