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1st Ave-14th St (L)
Astor Place (6)
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 4:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 4:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sun. 4:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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I believe I'm on a crazed mission to find the best ramen. Subconsciously anyways.
After a great happy hour buzz, we walked from west village to east village, starved for delicious ramen. Setagaya did not disappoint. Between 3 girls, we shared a dinner special and one additional ramen. The shio cha syu men was an excellent choice, the broth is much lighter than miso broth, yet it wasn't bland. It had a hint of sweetness to it. Very refreshing for ramen broth. The gyozas were good, but not really outstanding, they weren't really crispy enough for my liking. The other ramen we ordered (R4?) was a dipping ramen, and the broth is flavorful and much heavier than the shio. I loved loved loved the noodles for this. It's slightly thicker and more chewy than traditional ramen.
After sobering up, we trekked to st marks to get our drink on (again). On wednesday.
People thought this was:
- overall rating: 3.5
- not the best ramen you can find in the city, but decent enough for the price, minus the wait of other neighboring ramen restaurants
- unlike its sister restaurant on st marks (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, being fairly new and all), this Ramen Setagaya offers a slightly larger menu and alcoholic beverages
- filling without being overwhelming portions
- cash only
- pleasant staff
People thought this was:
This review is about mediocrity. I appreciate mediocrity, because if not for that, you have no basis for comparison to places that are in fact really good to excellent. I've been to several mediocre ramen places in the city now, and one stellar one. I don't think I need to mention which is the stellar one. It's amazingly popular, and for good reason. You know it already even if you don't think you know it. For the rest of you two, its name begins with an I_____.
Let me describe the ways in which this place is not like I_____. Setagaya appears to specialize in salt ramen, one of my favorite types of ramen. Here, you have an option of adding extra pork or extra noodles or getting the noodles cold with a hot dipping broth. Simple, right? Considering that this is their specialty and they were saucy enough to charge over 10 bucks per bowl, I was thinking this would be really good. [Note: I did not Yelp this before coming here- it was one of those nights spent wandering around the village with another starving buddy. Don't pay the price! Yelp first.]
When it comes to ramen, the broth means everything to me, because it seasons and texturizes everything else that's in the bowl. Then comes the pork. It has to have the right ratio of low meat to medium/high fat. If it's too lean, the broth suffers and so does the meat (as in not soft enough). If it's too fatty...well...let's say I haven't met a pork in ramen that is too fatty yet! The ramen noodles on the other hand could be handmade, made in China, blessed by Buddhist monks, I really don't care. Just as long as it's not that supermarket crap that sells for a quarter. Here, the broth tickled my tastebuds with saltiness, but it lacked richness and complexity. The pork slices were slightly better, but they couldn't salvage the disappointment from the broth. There were I think only two slices. This is not the place for you if you're anemic. My only opinion on the noodles is that they were filling.
I'm still on the hunt for an alternative to I____ for when I can't get in. (Average of half the time.) Minca is next on my list. Ever onward and upward for my ramen fix!
People thought this was:
Ramen in New York is like having NY Pizza in Tokyo. You may actually find a place that is good, but nothing quite like the real thing. Alright, that was probably a bad analogy considering how the Japanese like to put weird toppings on their pizzas. Any ramen aficionado will tell you the stock (soup) is the most important part of the ramen. And boy the soup at Setagaya does not disappoint, though maybe it's just me they tend to be inconsistent.
I love the perfectly balanced salt ramen broth and the noodles to me are just right on the spectrum between springy and chewy. Did you know there was such a spectrum? The pork is unbelievably tender. The menu's a little confusing to neophytes but the waitstaff was very careful to explain the differences among the broths.
People thought this was:
Here's why I prefer Setagaya over Ippudo. The ramen's better, the portions are bigger, and the wait is much, much shorter. I forget the name of the ramen I always get, but it's basically the dry noodles w/ the pork on the side. It is delicious!
People thought this was:
Small little boutique looking spot. The food is very flavorful!! The waitress was very friendly. My friends and I didn't have to wait long for our food to arrive and the menu was pretty simple. I ordered some ramen noodles. When I come back to NYC I'll definitely hit this spot up again
I come here whenever I get my Ramen craving. It's a simple, clean, and no nonsense Ramen bar - just how I like it. I get the Shio Ramen with extra noodle (A must if you're a guy). The imported Noodle is fresh. Broth is tasty and does not give you dry mouth afterwards. The pork melts in your mouth. Finally, for me, the tea egg is the highlight of the meal. The yolk is a textural delight and packed with flavors. It's their trademark and have not had a better egg anywhere else. And btw, this location is a tad less expensive than the other Ramen Setagayas
I used to live here, then I moved away, and my stomach began to hate me. So I came back to visit and went on a hunt for Asian food and stumbled upon this. It was a good find.
It's decently priced, big portions and delicious, especially on a cold, rainy fall day, like today. I had the Shio Ramen dinner special. It really hit the spot. If that wasn't enough, we ordered some green tea mochi ice cream. Now THAT is a dinner.
I really like this place because I'm big on the broth when it comes to ramen... and I like the broth here better than I do at Ippudo. No, I'm not an idiot. Yes, I have taste buds.
People thought this was:
I'll never forget my first time.
First Ramen bowl in my entire life and it was at Setagaya. A rainy evening, 9 months ago during a dinner hosted by Todd N. with a group of people trying to find out which is the best Ramen in the city.
Is Ramen Setagaya the best one? I can't tell you. I don't know. As I mention for Ippudo, among the good ones, I think Ramen is all about "personal taste".
BUT I know Setagaya is excellent:
I do like noodles, and I love soups... but I don't use to eat meat... neither pork, I don't like food with strong flavor.. imagine too pork-ish... and definitely I don't eat greasy food...
However, I finished my Ramen bowl.
You want more? is cheap, big bowl for around $12 and the back room Sake bar is the perfect complement after this Ramen.... or is this Ramen the perfect complement after a good dose of Sake?
Either way.....
People thought this was:
The gyoza are delicious, the shio ramen is good but not incredible. Noodles are solid but the broth is rather weak compared to someplace like Menkui-Tei. The pork slices, however, deserve special commendation; they are cooked to tender juicy perfection.
Exactly what I needed after drinking on a sailboat, drinking at a bar, eating questionable spaghetti and meatballs, and sharing two bottles of sake among friends and colleagues.
What I remember most vividly about the pork ramen here wasn't the meat itself - although it was salty and meltingly tender. It wasn't the chewy ramen noodles with a hefty bite to them. It was the shiny bubbles of fat floating along the top of the broth. Those pearlescent little pockets of lightly greasy joy that let you know... "Yes, you need this. Considering how much you drank, this is -exactly- what's best for you right this very moment."
This stuff ain't cheap, either. I got the ramen soup with extra pork. I'm not sure how much extra it was, because I think mine only had two or three slices in it. But it still ran an easy $12. For just a smidge more, you could have the wonder of Momofuku's pork neck ramen.
But Ramen Setagaya offers some seriously near-instant gratification. And when you're sloshed, in the East Village, and it's late at night... this just fits the bill.
People thought this was:
Awful. Just awful. I went with the BBQ Pork Ramen and was SEVERELY disappointed. Easily the worst Ramen I've ever had. I've had some bland Ramen dishes before, but this literally had NO taste or flavor and just felt like a tasteless slime in my mouth. I like a spicy ramen, the hotter the better, and they don't offer one, which was fine. But the dish that I was served had less taste than pasta with butter on it. I'm in shock at how bad it was. At least let it have that Ramen saltiness that this dish was definitely lacking. I literally couldn't get enough of the spicy powder out of the jar and had to unscrew the top to dump it into my dish. STILL, it was bland. The pork was lousy as well. Aside from the piece of cartilage i bit into, it was fatty and gross. Even the gyoza, which is seemingly impossible to screw up, was pretty lousy. If you like decent food, avoid at all costs. I try not to miss with meals, especially dinner. But it was a great big swing and a miss with this place tonight. For shame, Ramen Setagaya. For shame.
People thought this was:
I had heard good things about this Ramen place from my Japanese friends and had decided that I was going to eat here on my next visit to NY. My friend and I went to eat lunch here after his Samurai Sword performance for the NYC Fringe Fest.
I ordered the shio chaashu tsukemen (the salt roasted pork dip noodles) and my friend ordered the shio chaashumen (the salt roasted noodles). I tasted a bit of the shio chaashumen and it had a very clear yet deep flavor to it. The chaashu (roasted pork) looked very fatty and tasty and would be a fantastic complement to the light salt-based soup.
My tsukemen was also very tasty. I actually preferred the al dente and firm texture for the my tsukemen noodles over the noodles for the hot noodles. The soup for the tsukemen was a little heavier than the soup for the hot noodles, but the katsuodashi (bonito flake-based soup) cut well through any heaviness that would have overpowered the dish. Though I'm not a big fan of fish-based ramen soups (mostly niboshi-based soups), this one had very subtle flavors and tasted very pleasant.
I also saw another customer order a shoyu ramen, and that looked very tasty as well. It looked slightly on the oily/heavy side, but again, if they use katsuodashi to cut the heaviness, then I think the shoyu ramen would also be a good bet.
Both ramens were 11.50 each. Pretty expensive for a bowl of ramen, but I guess that's what you get in NY.
Overall, ok ramen.
I only eat one type of Ramen. It comes from a tiny box of a shop on Hereford Street in Boston, MA. After the first time my boyfriend brought me there and taught me to love how Ramen, good authentic Ramen, it was hard to slurp up noodles any where else.
But here I was, behind the back of my beloved Mentai, happily chowing down on a piping hot bowl of ramen noodles at some shop in NYC that I'd previously never heard of and never would have remembered had I not written the name down.
The broth was not too salty, the noodles were substantial and the pork was tender. And after many, many sips of sake at Decibel, Setagaya filled my belly, rocked my gently to sleep with the sweet song of food coma and I awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and without the slightest trace of a my sake-loving activities from the previous evening.
Quick and cheap, filling and satisfying, there's really no reason not to give it a try.
People thought this was:
Setagaya is a famous ramen chain restaurant in Japan around the Tokyo area. I guess they've decided to invade NY, since I see them alomost everywhere at an Asian district now.
What made Setagaya famous is their Shio (salt broth) ramen. It is pretty good, but not top-tier level. For shio ramen though, this place is probably the best (or the only place that has it?) in the US. The shoyu (soy sauce broth) ramen and the tsukemen (dip ramen) is pretty good as well.
No. Wow. What? The only reason why this place is getting more than one star is because this is the first place my boyfriend and I ate at and it's a pretty funny story.
Other than that, I got some big bowl of noodles with a separate small bowl of broth. That shit was SO salty - I think I might've drank more water at that sitting than my whole entire life. I was NOT happy. My boyfriend didn't like his ramen either. We had mochi afterwards, which was nothing special. I happen to think that it's pretty expensive for ramen, but...oh well. :(
I'm a Top Ramen gal. Mostly I eat the stuff cooked with tofu and cut up veggies thrown in to the broth. Sometimes I've been known to empty the salt packet into the wrapper and crunch on the raw ramen. And on special occasions when I was sick I'd cook up the ramen, drain the water and fry it with eggs, veggies and that savory powder till it turned into mushy delicious comfort food.
Since moving to NYC I've noticed people respect the ramen. They consider it Best of Yelp worthy and compare restaurants...even paying $13 instead of a buck for four. Needless to say, I'm critical.
So when my friends dragged me to Setagaya after Cafe Mogador proved impossible it took a few drinks at Blue & Gold to soften me up to the idea. A popular chain in Japan, I came with two people who'd lived there and knew how to order what I like to call "fancy ramen" in a restaurant. So the dinner special runs about $12.95 for a big bowl of ramen with pig butt slices, and eggs, veggies, sprouty things etc. Also came with an order of little gyoza...fried and crispy. It was love at first bite ... noodles cooked perfectly and much stronger than the average ramen noodle. Everything was delish and I slurped my way into a food coma. Really. It was Saturday night and half of our group had to go home to bed. Talk about comfort food.
I'm still not sure if my love for ramen extends to spending $13 for it on a regular basis but if you are a "fancy ramen" aficionado this should do the trick!
People thought this was:
I went to the St. Mark's location before I went to this one, and I'm not sure I could tell you if one's better than the other. However, I can tell you that both are pretty darn excellent. They brag about their top-quality ingredients all over the walls (the best sea salt in Japan, soy sauce made for the imperial family) and play a japanese news story about the founder competing in a ramen competition on the tv, but all that matters to me is that the soup was excellent. I was quite the ramen addict when I was in Japan, so I think I'm a decent judge of quality ramen.
Of all the places I've tried in NY, Setagaya is hands-down the best (though it still can't touch Jyangara in Tokyo). Ippudo is all hype and decor, but the toppings are almost nonexistent and the broth is just typical. I like that they give you the option here of adding toppings like they would in Japan. (The hard-boiled egg, wood mushrooms and extra bamboo shoots are always my picks.) I think Setagaya is as close to the genuine Japanese experience as you can get without going to Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ and eating in their food court (that is definitely the BEST ramen in the NYC area). They also have pretty good gyoza.
People thought this was:
I don't know why so many Setagaya opened recently. Not so okay. I've been to one in Union sq, and one in E.V. Both servers were awful. They were so busy talking to the cook behind or watching TV or something. Noodle were too greasy and very salty soup. I wish they take out the corn from one of the soup. That was gross.
I would say it's momofuku-esque, but a tad bit authentic. The noodles are a big greasier, the pork a bit saltier... but it's right for the price, and absolutely delicious. They're also super fast, which is always nice.
I feel like the health department closed them recently, which worried me, but I saw it open again the other day, so maybe everything is a-okay.
Also, the bar in the back is supposed to be pretty bangin...
People thought this was:
Been coming here for a while now, and for a chain it's not that bad. Good quantity, cheap prices. Not the best, but will get you full.
Came here last Friday, and love that theres never a wait, but always packed. We got D2 which gets you the combo of shio ramen with a side of oyako don, gyoza or curry rice. Its only a few bucks more for the sides-- totally worth it. Well the gyoza and curry are...my date had the oyako don...and it was grounded chicken instead of the normal breaded chicken that Im used to. Anyways, the ramen was okay, broth was okay and they gave big portions of pork (lots of fat though).
Will always come back even if its not my favorite spot.
The place you can eat salt-based & miso Ramen. I guess this is the original place in NYC, right?
I like shio-ramen & shio-tsukemen A LOT. Give 4 stars for taste.
Only thing I was pissed and wanted to put 3 stars is that they are sometime not great service & attitude when busy...? I don't know, but sometime, not always.
People thought this was:
I am sorry Ramen Setagaya on 1st Ave, you are no longer my favorite Ramen bar in town...
your broth is somehow less flavorful than I remembered it to be a year ago.
although I do rather like the the wider noodles you have in your sister restaurant on St. Marks~
People thought this was:
My new favorite ramen place in town~
Their ramen selection may be limited but I just adore their Shio…
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This is supposed to be the best ramen in NYC? I'd rather make ramen myself.
I love ramen. When I was growing up I would eat it for breakfast, when I was sick and whenever I wanted to make something quick. I would throw veggies in, cook it in chicken broth, add seaweed, an egg, wontons, dumplings, crab meat and some scallions.
But here it's about or over $10 for a bowl of ramen? Hell No. The ramen at setagaya is bland, the noodles are too thin and the toppings are non-existent. The only tasty part was the pork which had a good ratio of lean meat to fat. They have a bunch of sauces and stuff to add in but it still didn't hide the fact that the ramen itself was blah. The curry rice was a bit better. The staff is very friendly. Cash only.
People thought this was:
Definitely not the best!
The broth was very bland and the portions are small. I did not feel like I was scarfing down a bowl of good fatty broth of ramen, rather I had felt like I was eating a bowl of chinese noodles.
If this place got back me later and said "We are actually a Chinese noodle house" then I would have given them an extra star.
No good. Won't be back.
People thought this was:
3.5 Stars
We were in NY this weekend and one of the friends we met up with asked what I wanted to eat and I replied, "Ramen!" My friend raised an eyebrow and said, "Ramen? In this weather?!" She didn't understand that in DC, I can count the number of places that serve ramen on one hand. And out of those places, there's only 1 or 2 that makes an adequate bowl, by DC standards. So please, ramen shop owners, open a ramen noodle shop in DC so we don't have to travel 4 hours on the crazy Chinatown bus to get a taste of what we can't have.
Anyway, we arrived around 5:30pm or so on Friday afternoon and were able to get a seat immediately. This place specializes in shio (salt) ramen and recently added miso ramen to their menu. As there were like 4 or 5 variations of shio ramen listed, we asked our server to tell us the differences between them, and she explained them but kind of steered us toward the original shio. A bowl of shio ramen will set you back $9.50 excluding tax and tip (also, this place is cash only). I have to say that this ramen was pretty good. Noodles were nice and chewy and the broth wasn't overly salty. The pork slices weren't dry, and the soft boiled egg was like my favorite topping. We also ordered the gyoza which were good but not great--not really worth reordering if we frequent this joint again.
Price-wise, on par with what DC charges for ramen. Taste-wise, better than what I've personally experienced, but it is not an out-of-this-world taste. It gets points for good service and ambiance.
Nothing special. Overpriced (but what in Manhattan isn't?) mediocre noodles. But it did hit the spot on a chilly NYC evening. It was pretty crowded too so I guess their popularity is semi warranted.
This is by far the best ramen I have had. I haven't been to a few of the other places mentioned in the other reviews, so do take that into consideration.
Walking down the block, my friend and I were looking for a place to eat, and this suited our fancy. I'm really glad we stopped here.
The gyoza was perfect. It had the perfect crispness which highlighted it. The pork in my ramen had the right amount of fat and meat that made it melt in your mouth. The noodles in-and-of themselves were perfect for my dish; I don't think they could possibly have been better.
The prices are cheap, too, but make sure you bring cash. If you're in the area, definitely check it out.
People thought this was:
Here there thing. I'm asian, i've been making ramen since i started cooking (and not just following the package), and i gotta say this has got to be the poorest value eatery in the whole NYC. If you go here consistently you are crazy. The broth is good, the pork is nice, the noodles aren't too soft, but Shoot......
i live around the block you can pay me 5 or 6 and i'll make you the same thing with poached eggs, bok choy, thin slices of beef, mung beans, scallion etc....and still come out profitable and it will be equally if not more delicious....I shake my head at how they charge people so much and how it is always packed...
What's the deal? Is crunchy ramen noodle IN?!
Where was my memo?
I don't know if it is b/c I'm not Japanese or fine tuned in the art of ramen noodles but this place was NOT worth the hype OR moola.
I feel like even as a drunk college kid half stumbling into her room at 5 am- I could have made ramen better than that.
The soup was oily, the ramen was crunchy and the pork belly reminded me how much I HATED fat (read my Ippudo entry).
I gave it a 2 star because objectively speaking I think my problem may be that I keep comparing everything to Ippudo's style of Ramen and then disappointed when it's not.
I didn't think the broth was too salty (they probably fixed it since everyone complained about it) but I just felt like I drank a tank of oil. It wasn't worth it because the broth wasn't savory!
The egg was good but I'm not paying $10 for a bowl of ramen just for a decent egg. It came with a few slices of very well-marinated mushrooms and some drippy pieces of seaweed.
My friend got the bbq pork deluxe. Which was essentially linguine-type noodles, served cold with a tiny bowl of soup.
The seating is cramped and the service isn't great.
Needless to say neither one of us will come back.
The best thing in that place was probably the cold Sapporo.
Oh p.s. if you are a ramen connisseur and this really is the way great ramen is supposed to taste then please let me know. Seriously. I'd really appreciate some good ramen schoolin' ;)
People thought this was:
I got R7 the dippping noodles with the pork. Hmmm... is the noodles and the broth suppose to a tad on the colder side? Idk the broth tasted good but everything was not warm. Maybe it suppose to be like that, but it's not my cup of tea. The pork was really tasty but if your afraid of alot of fat you best not get this dish. I like pork and the fat =D. I also got the meat gyoza. That was really great, it was the thins skin typed and the soy sauce was light. I'm no expert on gyoza but it was really great!
The service was good and the place was nice. It seemed like a traditional quickie ramen spot taht you could find in japan. Also I love the food channel they have on the television screen! Very fun to watch even though I have no idea what they are saying.
So sorry ramen here is okay.. I expected better from what my sister and bro-in law told me. Maybe it was just a bad order. I love ramen so i'm def gonna give this place another chance. Everything else was great (service, decor, the way the ramen makers great people and say goodbye =D)
I do have to tell them to do something about the door. It lets a terrible draft in when you sit near the entrance. I'll be back!!!
People thought this was:
i've tried momofuku and rai rai ken, but this joint is my favorite when it comes to ramen. i really like the pork they put in the soup. there's something about it... it's so tender and has the perfect amount of fat.
ramen's a personal thing, though, it seems. so you just have to try for yourself.
oh, and the gyoza is good.
I'm more of a fan of shoyu ramen, but Setagaya's shio ramen totally won me over!!! Firm springy thin noodles, tender charsiu, menma, seaweed, crisp shreds of green onion, creamy soft-boiled egg in a clear refreshing broth. Friggin' delicious! The gyoza was also pretty good.
Service was alright, a little bit of attitude though.
People thought this was:
Not impressed with the overall market strategy of "assarikei" broth (light oil content) and claiming the usage of Mongolian rock salt in their "shio" broth. This is highly doubtful being a quarter Mongolian descent myself. Mongolian rock salt comes from Ulaanbaatar, the captial of Mongolia, the long transport is not an easy task. Not only is it an expensive trip but a camel is also required to get the rare jewel. I ordered the shio-ramen, similiar to Minca's ramen except the broth contains a scallop powdered base. Other than the flavorful pork chashu, the ramen tastes like any other chain. It does not have the old-fashioned, home-made consistency I was expecting. Not only is the place small but it has only four tables with a counter bar at the kitchen base. Not worth the hassle of the trip and crowded long lines for a seat.
3.5 rounded up. I've been to Momofuku, Saporo and Ippudo, and while Ippudo makes the best bowl of ramen I've ever had, none of the above establishments have Setagaya's combination of price, always available seating, and food quality.
The space is deceptively larger than it seems, you'll never have to wait. Your fellow patrons are a mix of everything the city has to offer (unlike, say Momofuku's thick crowd of hipster doofuses. I kid. I kid because I love. OK, I'm not kidding). And for what amounts to a bowl of soup and noodles, the price is right.
Everything I've had at Setagaya was tasty, but it comes with the caveat that when dining here, I always let my companero order for me, so I can't personally give highlights as I have no specifics as to what I'm eating. I would agree that their gyoza is a little on the squishy side, the times it's been ordered. But it still tasted good.
People thought this was:
A co-worker was so enthusiastic when this place first opened in NYC, raving it serves delicious ramen as it is quite popular in Japan that I decide to pay a visit. The verdict - DISAPPOINTMENT
I was sooo hoping this place to replace Zen but it did not. I order the famous version ramen. It was too oily and the ramen tasted very much like lingue, al dente style. The broth was meh...The gyoza was good but again, too oily. This was at St. Mark branch. I decided to try this branch after hearing it is better than the one at St. Mark. I order the Miso ramen. The ramen did tasted better but perhaps I kind of prepared myself to have al-dente lingue noodle so it didn't bother me that much anymore. In the end, it was a disappointment.
Lets start with my background with this species called ramen:
as a young lad, at the age of 3 or so i loved to eat noodle soup out of the can. i think it may have been the familiar campbell brand. i always enjoyed this hot liquid with accompanied happiness, especially when my mother brought it to me with an illness. this is my connection with soup and the memories that accompany it.
lets move forward to as a freshman in highschool, age 14. eating ramen was a packaged commodity of less than spectacular contemplation. i ate ramen when it was the last thing in my mother's cupboard or when i really didn't have the diligence to muster something up more than boiling water into a styrofoam cup.
move forward 4 years as a freshman in college. staple food in the food pyramid during college. i would often eat ramen out of the package with mustard or mayonnaise as a cheap meal, and i can swear by it to give you those neuron connections before an exam or test paper. my shelves were packed with chicken cream, beef, and shrimp varietals.
after college, i moved to japan to pursue my adventures as a badass and found out that everything i ever ate that was considered ramen was a sham! a lie! a blasphemous charleton of a food. i learned that ramen came in a beautiful, poetic form of a soup with a variety and complex flavors that fill the palate. enjoying ramen in a train station and overhearing the cadence of slurping is something that i will never forget. i learned that shyo ramen (salt-based) was something that brought me comfort. comfort that is associated with those early days of campbells and mom. eating ramen with cha-han (pork rice) or gyoza ( dumplings) are futsu (normal) and i guess when you leave this environment, its super difficult to replicate it.
whilst in japan (tokyo specifically) i lived in the neighborhood of setagaya-ku (sakurashinmachi to be exact). even though i never saw this chain in my old stomping grounds, they claim that that's where they're from.
alas to my review. ramen setagaya was none of these japanese experiences. no comfort, no personality, and just plain blandness. the gyoza was a bit soft and soggy (no crispiness and a bit cold). they're bowls of ramen range from 9-12 dollars respectfully, and while watching an old NHK video about ramen shops on their plasma, i felt cheated. ramen was continually being featured for 500-600 yen, and i bet at a much more flavorful experience. i think ive made homemade ramen from a package from the japanese grocery store more flavorful than this. the reason they get the stars is that the chasu (pork) was tasty (but shrimpy).
oh and i brought in my magazine to read (new yorker) and once i went to the bathroom it was tossed in the trash. kinda sucked!
i was already unimpressed when i heard the waitresses speaking korean in what seemed like a very japanese institution. but we still ate there and sat at the bar. the ramen is very standard, and so was the curry rice, everything was just A-OK, but i do like how they offer to give you more ramen for 2 dollars, a tradition that they brought over from the authentic places in japan!
Happy Hour!
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
now serving on sundays!
Neighborhood: East Village
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
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