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Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
Mon-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
"Words cannot express how much I love this place. Go to sushi samba if you're looking for gimmicky fusiony "inventive" sushi. This is back…" read more »
One of my favorite Ramen places in the city. Unlike Ippudo, another one of my personal favorite, Minca is a traditional noodle store and reminds me of the ones I used to visit in Tokyo after work. There is no fancy decoration, just good ramen, and do they make good ramen!
To me, a good ramen needs a flavorful broth and noodle done at the perfect tenderness. My favorite broth at Minca is their tonkotsu (prok bone) which is rich and flavorful, but not overpowering. The noodle, which is thicker than the one at Ippudo, is just right. I am always wary of thick ramen noodles, because they might to be rushed (soft on the outside and hard on the inside) or overcooked (which tastes like bad udon), but that is not the case there.
Overall, I would recommend all ramen fans to Minca, especially you are a traditionalist.
Note: this place is hard to find, be sure to have the address (or the maps on your blackberry, iPhone, nexus one, palm, or which other smart phone there is in this world) ready before you visit.
On a winters day, Minca is the perfect place to duck into out of the cold. This hole-in-the-wall place is easy to miss until you realize that it's completely packed. What really makes me a fan of Minca is that (although it's far from the nearest subway station) there's a much shorter wait time than Momofuku or Ippudo. It's slightly cheaper as well, which isn't a bad thing.
The home-made pork dumplings were yummy and worth a try. Nothing special, but still delicious.
The ramen is amazingly foodgasmic. It's like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book of ramen! Choose your broth base. Do you go down the soy sauce or the spicy path? Open the door to thick noodles or run away to thin noodles? So many decisions to make! I got the #3 - Basic (pork base; salt and roast garlic flavor) with thin noodles, and I'd rate it as good as Ippudo, although the broth is a bit strong in flavor.
It's CASH ONLY, so come prepared.
After oodles of Ippudo and Sapporo East and Setegaya, I sought to add another regular ramen spot to my noodle-slurping repertoire. Minca is now the fourth addition to my ramen rotation, and it ranks right up there with some of the best shops in Manhattan.
How it flew under my radar for so long is anyone's guess, but after entering the tiny, hole-in-the-wall shop on 5th, it's become my preferred destination for noodles. The soup is rich, garlicky and perfectly salted, the noodles (you can choose thin, thick or wavy) are plentiful, dense and the pork is tender and bursting with flavor, adding to the overall taste of the broth with its melt-in-your-mouth texture.
At $9.50 a bowl, it's certainly not the cheapest ramen to be had. In comparison to the above-mentioned places, it's middle ground in terms of price...on par with Sapporo East, a bit pricier than Setegaya, but a much better deal than Ippudo. I know everyone raves and swears by Ippudo, but I vibe more with the less-fancy atmosphere and price points at Minca. One guy behind the counter, two or three other employees who are friendly and prompt with service; it's a cozy, no-fuss environment where you can be left to enjoy your soup. I think that is how ramen was meant to be eaten.
To happily appease my beverage cravings, they serve Coca-Cola in glass bottles. They also serve beer, for you alkies.
It's me.. not you..
I'm not big fan of ramen, so my 3 stars is equivalent of ramen fan's 4.5. just want to set an exception here.
However I always remember you, but you brought me a warm meal on a super snowstorm night.
The place isn't too big, staff were very friendly, while we were waiting, they served us warm tea to keep us warm. It's not a bad place.
CASH ONLY from what i remember
Whoa, so good, choose your broth, and your noodle... And take a swim in these awesome flavors. My favorite part is the pork belly, the (#14 I think) "combination" gives you a very big fatty piece of pork belly, it turns into liquid in your mouth.
I'm basically going to use Ippudo as my comparision since I've never been to Japan...
This place doesn't have the frou frou chicky dark environment that Ippudo has. They also don't have the white waiters screaming Japanese at you when you walk in.. So it's missing that Disney factor.
But we did sit at the bar and watch the guys make our ramen, we also came in and sat down right away on a Friday night. Ippudo has at least an hour wait. This place none... good thing or bad thing...
The portions were more generous than Ippudo, more pork belly too... They are less expensive as well... The broth was just as savory, the noodles however were not as good, but they were still very decent, but not as good as ippudo. Sorry. Will I come back Minca? Hell yes, it's cheaper, much faster, so good, and did I mention more pork belly! You can grow your own pork belly if you come here enough!
Minca, the savior of my late night craving for ramen in the alphabet city.
I dont really remember the day i was there, i only knew it was cold, dark, and the how i craved ramen.
I was satisfied.
We were there 15 mins before closing, and i was prepared to be hush out of the spot but we were greeted by the kindest waitress with the most beautiful smile i have ever seen, "welcome" she said, and i was in heaven.
Must be the crave factor, and i was also extremely hungry.
After came back down to earth, i realized Minca is actually pretty compact, however that does not mean they only have 3 items on the menu.
PIcked my soup base, noodle, and some extra desired morsel, and this time, heaven came in a bowl.
It was Good. So good that i ate half of my friend's experimental ramen after chow down mine where he had to order another one.
Pro: Not crowded (must be the alphabet city magic. who would WANT to go pass Ave A?) Thick soup base with tons of flavor (some might find it too powering) Friendly staff and fast service.
con: pricey but understandable. A bit salty at times.
PS: Hard to find parking (good luck) and easy to miss the spot if not paying attention. (its in the middle of the block)
Gaa gaa hoo laa laaa
I go Goo Goo Gaa Gaa for Minca
The following line might have been repeated over and over in many reviews but i just gotta say it again.
Best bowl of Miso Ramen I've had in New York and I think the difference is within the broth. Instead with the usual Ramen broth with blobs of unappetizing oil bubbles floating on top, the ramen at Minca has a rich homogeneous broth made of pork and chicken. The noodles also comes in whole wheat ,thick and curvy. I tried the curvy yellow ones and i can tell you it does have really good texture.
It was well worth braving through 5 blocks in the treacherous wind But that ain't gonna stop me .
You will see me dressed as a tubby snowman coming back !!!!!!!!!
NOTE:
-Cash only( there is an ATM next door)
- Just like any other Ramen bars there are limited tables
I really liked Minca. The service was top notch and the ramen was good. The next time I go, I am definitely going to try the Teksumen, but I went with the pork ramen and really enjoyed it. Definitely a place I will visit again when I am having the ramen munchies.
A solid ramen spot in the hinterland of East Village. I fail to understand why it is not more popular than it is -- especially on cold days! The place is kind of small, but I love their open kitchen. Sitting at the bar, I was afforded a direct view of the chef preparing my food. Having that closeness to what I eat goes a long way for me.
I opted for the spicy miso ramen with chicken and pork broth. Just delicious! The broth was very good and had nuance. The noodles were decent, and the add-ins were generally flavorful. It was exactly what I needed to warm up, and I was surprised that it exceeded my expectations. Recommend.
So good...so simple...so fast!
The noodles are fresh and al dente. The broth is something that will have you wishing you knew all its secrets. The toppings are simplistic and I wouldn't want it any other way. Minus 1 star for the price point. It was $12.50 for miso ramen and nothing else included.
I would never have found Minca on my own unless someone had walked me out there... it's not exactly East Village (even though Alphabet City is part of the E. Village, it's not the part I think of when I think of E. VIllage)
Thick noodles. Chewy pork pieces. Lovely half boiled soy sauce egg. Rich salty hot broth.
Gyoza - I'd pass, not that great.
Otherwise, excellent food and a good experience!
How brave were we to have trekked through the snow to hit up Minca for some stomach warming ramen :) ..Yum! Their Minca Sio was really good!
The vibe of this place was very comfortable to me the minute I walked in....very calming and open. I like an open kitchen and watch the cooks do their magic!
The broth was just right and the ingredient were very good :)
I also tried their supposedly "#1 Ramen in Tokyo" where it was basically a dry noodle and you dip it in a warm pork and soy sauce based dipping sauce. The sauce was so flavorful! I liked it a lot! Yum!
I would come back over and over again, I really doubt I'll ever get sick of Minca's ramen @_@ !
One drawback...cash only ;0...but it's cheaper than momofuku and ippudo with less of a wait...and for me, I'd chose Minca just for that reason. :)
Cute, very charming place. Small, no lines. Quiet section of Alphabet City. Cute staff. The noodle texture was perfect, the toppings delicious. However, the ramen broth was just too thick...in mouth feel and in seasoning level. The seasoning was delicious at first, but halfway through the bowl, we were on salt overload. We spent the rest of the day trying to re-hydrate, trying to cure ourselves of our salt-induced cotton mouths...which then resulted in our salt-water-bloated bellies.
This place is supposed to be #3 according to some 2009 "King of the Bowl Ratings" (http://Rameniac.com). Let me tell you, it was the most PERFECT soup I ever had. The broth was flavorful and the noodles plentiful. I loved the mushrooms, corn, and the other special treats in the soup. The fried tofu was cooked to perfection. I eat my soup with this spoon/fork I bought at the MoMa store. best.invention.ever.
BeHappyNYC!
First of all, I'm no ramen connoisseur. I basically don't know what I'm talking about, but I do know tasty food when I see/taste it. And I only ate the (only) vegetarian entree. But, that aside, here's what I thought:
I ordered the vegetarian ramen, and it was fine, nothing to write home about. It wasn't the most flavorful Japanese-style broth I've had, but it certainly wasn't bad. The noodles were tasty, but I found myself distracted by the shredded iceberg lettuce and corn kernels that're in there. The $33 bill for two (huge) veggie ramens and a small sake to share seemed a bit much, considering, but those noodles and that tofu were yummy, and there was just so much in that bowl.
Tasty, though, and just what the doctor ordered on a cold December night. If I could have those noodles in a more miso-y base, and with less lettuce/corn, I'd've been in heaven.
So, vegetarians and vegan, if you're in the area, swing by for some totally decent vegetarian ramen, but I'd try to ask for a different base or less lettuce/corn and more tofu.
I love rich, unctuous, luxurious foods. Scratch that, I actually love food in general but this place falls into the rich unctuous category.
Place is small and not good for groups and even a table of four is a little hard to come by. Sometimes the wait can exceed 20 minutes. It is worth it to wait though.
This is rich and flavorful type ramen, not the light and clear brothy type. I always say to people when i am taking them here that "If you are expecting light then we should go somewhere else." Even the Shoyu and chicken broth feel like there is something extra in there giving it more density.
Ohh is it good though. For me the Sliced Pork belly is awesome but i would also understand if someone said that it was too fatty, but you could always trim off the fat part.
Number 3 with thick noodles is what i usually order and with a beansprout salad to start.
As good as Ramen gets.
We came here on a cold day for some ramen to warm us up. It did! We were sweating by the time we were done.
I had a vegetarian ramen and my boyfriend had a pork broth ramen. We both liked ours. I liked the ramen noodle more than the broth because the salt/msg level was still a bit low for me. The ambiance was cool - cute and cramped. The waiters and the cooks were attentive.
Overall, I like this place and would definitely come back because it has a good combination of yummy ramen and great service.
It's raining outside and I'm craving broth-y noodles of the japanese variety, so I'm reviewing this place, where I once escaped the snow for a hot bowl.
The noodles were a good firmness and the other nibbles were yummy. However, the 'minca' broth wasn't quite right (and left a lingering aftertaste). Also, we had to wait a while ... outside ... in the cold.
Pretty good, but there's better.
Rayfil W. had it very clear when he heard me crying about "I like sweet corn grains but not in my ramen".. .. "You are so picky" he said, and take those out from my bowl in a failed try to me like the ramen. Now I know that corn grain can be a regular topping in ramen but still... I knew I didn't like it with the first look. Unfortunately, looks like I was right and he wasn't since at the end he didn't like his Basic Pork Broth with thick noodles as well.
I was really excited when I could finally head up to Minca after to hear so many good things about it; some of them from Shyge, a Japanese friend back in Tokyo now, who thinks that the ramen at Minca is really good. "The taste of broth is very sophisticated (but I felt a bit lack of salt). Probably they don't use artificial seasoning" is what he told me when I asked him.
Said this, I have to admit that maybe I'm that picky and that as I said before personal preferences play a main role when we are judging ramen. I didn't like my Spicy Vegetable Miso Ramen-vege with fried tofu and thick noodles.
I didn't like it at all. The noodles had the right texture, but not better than the ones at Ippudo or Menchanko-Tei. Actually, Ippudo reach perfection in terms of noodle texture. The broth had the right spiciness, a little too greasy to me and I use to like more delicate. It looks like if David Chang and Menchanko-Tei.. even Ippudo work more in the broth resulting in a complex combination of ingredients perfectly melted that brings you an elaborate and delicate broth, amazing in flavor as well and not easy to discern; in contrast with the simple Minca's broth, independently that it could be very rich and heavy in flavor for the use of pork and fat. I find Minca noodles and broth quite standard and not the best I had. My main complain is however about the toppings. The few pieces of tofu, as they said in their description, are fried but it was really deep fried and so too dry...The few corn grains that I ate didn't tasted very well and it didn't match with the soup. I didn't like the cabbage pieces as well. The black mushrooms was just a few and there wasn't scallions. In general I founded the topping pretty poor in quality and amount.
It was a cold snowing afternoon on December 31st, 2009. The place is small and cozy I wouldn't recommend groups bigger than 4-6 if you wanna seat together. The staff was friendly, but I missed water a tea refilling several times during our lunch. It was half empty and we could stay in for almost 2 hours. I'll not reject future invites to Minca since to me a disagree review with 70% of Yelpers that rate it as 4 or 5 mean; and also this is based in just 2 broths. But ending this year I'll keep proclaiming Menchanko-Tei at 45th street as the best and more sophisticated noodle soup and Ramen among the ones I tried, which includes the most popular ones except for Menkui-Tei, my next destination. And even not being a fan of all the Ramen that Ippudo offers I can't other than recognize that they are the best at East Village.
I braved the cold & went to Minca for lunch today. I've been there plenty of times before, but I'll recount my most recent visit.
The place was busy, but not packed so my bother & I snagged a table (I'm not a huge fan of sitting at the counters, I find the seats to be slightly uncomfortable). We were immediately greeted by cups of warm barley tea (amazing stuff!) & water.
We started with the pork gyoza which are made in house (if you go early/during lunch during the week, you can normally see the staff making them in the table at the back). I really like the gyoza here, the pork filling is delicious & the dipping sauce isreally good. I do, however tend to add a little hot sauce to mine.
I always mix up the Minca & the Basic soup broths. I made the mistake of ordering the Basic which is really garlicky & honestly for my plate lacks the saltiness/flavor of the Minca. Trust me when I say that I won't make this mistake again. The pork loin is really fatty which is a major plus for me & I really enjoy the soy-infused hard boiled egg.
The service is always great here (it's a pretty small space), our water & tea cups never went empty. The price is right too. $10 for my bowl of ramen that I barely finished. I know there are a lot of ramen options in the 'hood, but with winter setting upon us, I suggest you try out Minca.
If you're a fellow ramen chaser, I will give you my rating in the following code:
Rai Rai Ken- 5th
Menchanko 55- between 4th and 5th
Setagaya- 4th
Santoka (NJ)- 3rd
Minca- 2nd
Ippudo- 1st
For the rest of you, Minca is a must-try. Their pork and chicken broth (found in the minca ramen dish, among others) is fantastic, with a multi-dimensional flavor that the pork-only broth lacks. The pork-only broth, however, has the full fatty creaminess that you might be looking for on a cold winter's day. I recommend the shoyu if you're doing the pork broth.
The pork slices were also delicious, with a tenderness and fattiness that is in constant danger of disintegrating into the nether murkiness of the broth if you nibble them. Do as I say, not as I do: 1) take pork slice 2) shove pork into mouth. Granted, you will only have two to shove into your mouth and then it's done. No more oink.
We also tried the homemade pork gyozas. These were beauties to behold. Delicately thin-skinned with the right crispiness on the outside. Juicy porkiness on the inside. Yum.
The only thing that I didn't really care for here were the paintings. They're bizarre as hell.
The ramen hunt continues..........
On a...not particularly cold nor rainy day, Bon T and I (not braving rain or hail) dropped by to minca for a steaming bowl of ramen...not for the weather, not to feel warm and fuzzy....just simply because we read some yelp reviews and felt like it.
The pork in the ramen is slightly different from what I expected - its a thicker chunk and not really what I would consider "char siu", a more thinly sliced piece of fatty delicious-ness...this chunk of pork was equally tasty and did not disappoint at all. Between the two of us, we got one steaming bowl of ramen and one dipping ramen. The choice of noodles weren't my favorite, however, I was a sucker for that pork broth complete with ungodly amounts of garlic. Bon T wanted to die about half way.
I, on the other hand, welcomed the garlic infused broth and finished the bowl with a huge grin. Ahhhhh, garlic breath.
This is a great little ramen place. I was surprised that we were able to get in right away for a party of 2 considering that when I went to Ippudo the wait was 1.5 hrs even though the place was 10x's larger! So that right away made it nice in my book. The place itself is quite small and fits about maybe 20 costumers at a time. This was fine with me because that's how most of the ramen places were when I visited Japan a year and a half ago.
I ordered the spicy miso ramen which was $12. The ramen was delicious and had great spice and taste to it. It was a very nice size portion as well.
The waitress was very nice to us and the staff overwall was very friendly and always refilling our water and tea. This is a solid ramen joint to go to if you don't want to wait for Ippudo!
Put on your jammies my dear friends, because winter has returned. A time of year where the playful tunes from Ice Cream truck's slowly dissipate into the background;when the thought of outdoor seating would make you imagine what suicide is like.
But does that mean the fun must stop? Not if you're a New Yorker ;) Fetch those winter boots out the closet and put on your fluffy mittens, tis the season for hot and steamy!
Hug your favorite buddy to help you march through the chilly winds, navigate across the slippery asphalt planes and sky scraped valleys, and you'll find yourself a warm restaurant that offers to melt your icy winter heart.
Step inside as the warm air embraces your neck. The intoxicating aroma from the kitchen gently plays with your tingly red nose, and you'll soon find yourself pulling up a chair.
Sitting near the kitchen, you are once greeted by the chef, and twice by the mouthwatering aroma permeating off the soups. A bowl of Ramen at your chest. Oh love, heart beats through my chest like a freight train.
Runny nose don't bother, time seems to slow as you slurp on the noodles. Like a Niagara of noodle threads waving across the glistening broth. Chopsticks wild in the air, cheeks red with excitement.
What else can I say?
Just try to remember, in wintertime
when you walk into this restaurant,
that tingly feeling you get,
that's ramen love baby ;)
4.5 stars
+3 food
+1 Service
+1 Decor
-0.5 atmosphere (kinda messy feel)
p.s. Everyone has different tastes, but jeez... complaining that the broth was too light? Did you guys live near a salt lake or something? Jesus...
I would have to give a 3.5 stars acutally just because althought it is yummy, I've had ramen just as good if not a little better.
People: mix crwod
Food/Drinks:
Kimchi -- good quality restaurant kimchi
gyoza -- good
Pork & chicken Broth Minca w/ thin noodles (noodles are awesome), i can taste the roasted garlic in the broth! yahhhh....(that's if you get that combo)
gotta get the BEER! :) sopporo of course
Price: $-$$
Service: polite, attentive, good service
Ambiance: hustle hustle...tight space and lots going on!
Groups: not ideal for big groups, the space is ultra tight....3 max in a group.
Would I come back? yes! it's a cool spot, good food, decent price, if you don't mind the wait...it gets packed quick!
Went for the first time this past Monday. I have spent 3 of the past 5 years living in northern Japan, and have eaten a lot of ramen. This also makes me totally biased towards the type of ramen I am used to (namely, ramen from Sapporo and Asahikawa)
Broth: 3
I ordered the "Minca" ramen, which was a shoyu base. It was fairly hefty, cloudy, and very garlicky. It tasted good, but just wasn't my style.
Noodles: 2
I had a momentary lapse of reason and ordered the futomen as opposed to the chijire-men (wavy noodles on their menu). Once again, not my style, and since I really don't know what *good* futomen should taste like, I can't really judge them. I ordered an extra serving of the wavy noodles, which were too chewy/doughy for me. I tend to like them very eggy, with an almost transparent quality to them; I also really like my noodles to have a lot of "spring" to them. These noodles were not what I was looking for.
Toppings:3
There was nothing out of the ordinary.
The charshu was pretty good, but it was COLD at first! Big pet-peeve of mine.
Gyoza: 3
The gyoza were good, but I was bummed that I couldn't make my own sauce. The dish of sauce I was given was so deep and so full that whenever I dipped a dumpling into it, it ended up overflowing.
All in everything was average; not bad, but not really matching my tastes. I will try the lighter broths the next time I go.
I *heart* Minca.
A suggestion from a local (thanks Mari H.!) brought me to Minca. It is not the easiest hole-in-the-wall to find. In fact, it's kind of out of the way. Which means it's not for tourists, yay! Everywhere I go (and I go everywhere) I try to blend in with the locals, so Minca fulfilled this need.
I got the pork gyoza and spicy miso ramen. I was impressed by the softness of the skin on the gyoza. Perfectly crunchy on the top, and translucent and just slightly chewy on the bottom. The filling was good, but it really could use a bit more flavor. The spicy miso ramen was very good. I like the ramen because it has a bite to it. The broth was flavorful without being too overpowering. And the pork was cooked perfectly. I was enamored by the cook taking a torch to brown the pork. Oh my. I got weak in the knees when I saw that pork slice browning nicely.
After I finished, the place got busy so I waited a bit for my check to come. Got into a short conversation with one of the cooks and I asked if they made their own ramen noodle. Irony upon irony, he said no. They got their noodle from California. Must. Find. Actual ramen factory here! Oh well, I'm still a fan anyway.
Came here with two of my new friends after reading some reviews on Yelp and was very pleasantly surprised. I have never walked that far east (alphabet city is FAR) for ramen so I would really have a fit if it wasn't good.
I order the Minca Sio and my two friends, who are really new to Japanese food, randomly pointed to the Wahoo and Tsukemen. The Wahoo was received very well (she ate everything except was afraid to eat the seaweed - really really newbies) but the friend who ordered Tsukemen had NO idea that the broth and noodles were separated so it was fun watching them eat. However, they both said that their food was quite good.
My Minca Sio was delicious and the broth tasted just the right amount of salty (I have complained that Ippudo's was a bit too heavy for me). The pork was not overcooked - still tender and very tasty. I definitely will come back here and will bring friends too!
Excellent ramen. We had a Basic, a Spicy Basic, and whatever the salt one is, and some kimchi. All great. Cute place, too.
A different bowl of Ramen. The broth was like a light beef broth, not the usual rich salty soup I'm used to in Ramen. Noodles were thinner like Chinese egg noodles or shrimp egg noodles if you ever had those. Char Siew tasted like slow cooked pork tenderloins. Very tender and falls apart.
It was different. Not my idea of what ramen should be but it was an OK bowl of noodles.
The gyoza was rather bland and skin much too soft.
I eat a lot of ramen. This place is right below Setagaya, in my book.
The broth is good, but a bit too oily sometimes.
The noodles are standard and tasty, but the egg flavor could be coaxed out a little more (a la Momofuku), though that is a personal preference.
Service is good.
the fabulous minca! ole!
it was so good on wednesday night that i came back again on thursday night just to eat the exact same extraordinary and simple meal again, and experience the joy of exposing another friend, and then on friday convincing someone else to go there. minca is, for me, the top of the top.
but you already know that, after all, 180 reviews, four star average... and counting. it would take weeks to fit all those reviewers into this tiny place, with a capacity of what, 12? has every patron written a yelp review?
there was an old sergeant bilko tv episode where they discovered a hole in the wall restaurant in the bad part of town that had a house special that looked forbiddingly like slop but was so extraordinarily delicious it drove the whole platoon absolutely nuts. bilko of course wants to steal it so the platoon can have it every day, so they devise a bunch of ridiculous schemes that get nowhere because the kitchen is wise to this. finally they impersonate health inspectors, only to find it ready-made and merely ladled out on order. back in suburbia everyone has a good laugh and says gosh darn it and ok kids it's past your bedtime and break out the nightcaps and darvon, honey where's my cheese...
i digress.
for the record, my meal of choice was pork broth, shoyu flavor, thick noodles and extra charshu (aka pork). the broth was rich, complex, full flavored and thick like cream. it was a revelation.
unfortunately the word broth conjures frail old ladies with teaspoons and napkins, sipping away, and thus totally inappropriate in this context, but broth is what they call it and so broth it is.
the pork was sliced heartily, well roasted and tender, with little rounds of fat that explode with flavor and melt in your mouth. the sheet of nori can be held back until halfway through the meal, then eaten all at once by itself in a single mouthful, it's like a wave of ocean washing everything away for a moment, then back to charshu heaven. it's a big bowl and very filling on its own.
trendy and cool minca may be to some, and the server there does love surreal asian horror flicks, but maybe that rep is due more to scarcity than anything else. minca offers an utter lack of pretension that feels absolutely comfortable and is simultaneously a relic of a better past.
so wear your worst clothes, mess up your dirty hair, take off your jewels, labels, paint and stink, and just squeeze in and chow down on a cold rainy night. it's east village the way the east village used to be, post crack, pre-boutique, and in my dreams.
may the best of times never die.
salut, minca!
I went here a few months ago and I have to say I thought it was pretty good. It's just a little hole in the wall that took me awhile to find. There was some construction going on and I kept walking on the wrong block. Minca is simple, not trendy, but more of a casual place when you're on the go. The waitress was really friendly and the food was very good quality for ramen and quite tasty. Try the miso ramen. The only thing I probably wouldn't get again is a soda. It comes in the tiniest of bottles.
Thanks to winter rolling in, finally time for some ramen. First one in NYC! Delicious. We had the miso ramen and the spicy miso. Both are good. Definitely recommend if you like miso at all. Bit thicker than stuff I've had before but still great. I was definitely not cold after downing a bowl here. In fact, I was sweating bullets. Sexy time!
I'm writing a review with a docked star based on how **ASS CRAZY** it was to find this place. I was seriously annoyed and about to give up and go back to Ippudo for the 30000000000000000000 hour wait...really..
However, I'm glad we finally found it after 30 minutes of searching. It's not really close to many sub lines, but I can say that the friends were not lying and the ramen was pretty tasty. I had the gyoza and minca sio, and was pleasantly surprised even though they messed up my order (originally ordered the regular minca).
Minca Sio (Garlic) Broth: Normally I'd just get the tonkatsu, but since the companions highly suggested the minco sio, the waiter decided to have me try that instead of the regular minca. :)
I'm glad, because i don't think I would have liked the regular minca. The sio had a very nice, not overpowering garlic taste - just right, i would say. Not too salty either, which is sometimes what happens some ramen broths... :(
Meat!: Very good. Cooked just right so that there's a good balance in the fat and the meat. I hate it when its overcooked and the fat is pretty much dissolved into the soup - what's the point of eating it if there's no fatty part!?
Noodles: I really liked the chewiness of my ramen, and thought it was on par with some of the better places i've had back home. Hopefully, the ramen is cooked this exact way every time! :)
Overall Size: Just right. Not too big, not too small. Just right! :)
Gyoza: Good, but I'm used to making my own, so they didn't turn out to be that special for me, unfortunately....
Overall, minca didn't disappoint. I thought that they were on comparable grounds to Santa Ramen here in the bay, but definitely better than Himawari. I would definitely come to try the other varieties next time I'm in town! I would say, come here instead of Ippudo just because of that ridiculous wait. If you decide to come, take a cab and save yourself some unnecessary anguish. Four stars!
Mr. hates this place so I use any excuse to drag friends and out of towners here for a meal. I always order the spicy miso. But my out of town friends find it odd that we would eat ramen in a restaurant. Not that I don't eat it all the time at home anyway, but I definitely can't make it this good on my own!
Night before Thanksgiving, I was craving some ramen... Looked on Yelp for the closest spot to my apartment and found one on 5th street! I've been to plenty of ramen spots in the city, and this one is by far my favorite! Its so intimate, and if you sit at the ramen bar, the chefs pay extra special attention to you too! I didn't know what to order the first time, so I asked the waitress for her opnion. They had a special Tokyo Miso ramen. It made my mouth water watching the chefs prepare it. The entree had cold Japanese vegetables with a soft boiled egg and two large slices of fatty pork. The miso sauce was on the side in a small bowl that you could either pour into the cold ramen noodles or just leave to dip on the side. I wonder how much sodium is in it? LOL Definitely worth checking out and becoming a regular there!
A little bit out of the way and tucked into a dark corner of the East Village lies a gem of a ramen spot. It's tiny, with only a few tables and bar seats, but the ramen makes it all worthwhile. +1 for no wait; my friend and I were seated right away on a Saturday night. I ordered the Shoyu ramen at $9.50 a bowl. (+1 for the price) About 15 minutes later, we receive our orders, piping hot and delicious. Broth was rich and perfectly seasoned - unlike Ippudo's broth, which became increasingly salty near the bottom, this broth was evenly flavored throughout. Yum! Oh, and the pork belly? I'm salivating right now just thinking about it. The servings are larger than the token piece at Ippudo, and the pork disintegrated on contact with the tongue. Awesome. +2 for flavor. The noodles were a bit chewier than I would have liked, but the taste and the price of the whole bowl more than made up for it. I wish I lived closer to the East side! But mark my words, for that pork belly - this is one journey I'll gladly make again.
Maybe since leaving a terrible and dark place in my life I've been eating out too much. This would explain both why my rents at thanksgiving told me I need to go to the gym more and why I'm getting sick of some of my favorite things (pork belly, ramen, ceviche, etc.). Maybe I've lost my idealism here but Minca is just another ramen place. Its fine. Its no Ippudo and its not instant Maruchan either. I actually quite liked the gyoza my partner not so much. The ramen itself was cthe right consistency, the broths were not as complex as some have claimed, the char-su not as well prepared as you'd hope for. The place is kinda cute, kinda normal and I liked the tunes and the friendliness of the staff but I wouldn't head far out of your way unless you're wacky for ramen.
Considering accessibility, price, food, and service, I think Minca is my favorite ramen place in New York. My boyfriend and I ordered the Miso Ramen and Spicy Miso Ramen. The broth is flavorful and light while Ippudo's broth tastes heavier. The char-su pork is probably the best I've had. They're cut just a bit thicker so that you can taste the pork fat melt in your mouth..yummm. Although I think Ippudo's ramen is better, I would skip the 1.5 hr wait and go to Minca any day.
This place also makes me feel like I'm in Hawaii..where there are small family owned ramen places everywhere playing island/reggae music.
Happy Hour!
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
now serving on sundays!
Neighborhood: East Village
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
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