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Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West VillageChristopher St (1)
W 4th St (A, C, E, B, D, F, V)
9th Street (PATH)
This place is exactly like any small after work place in Japan. It is tiny, few tables and with only 2 people cooking. However, their food is simply outstanding. We got the fried chicken with tartar sauce, BBQ Beef Bowl, Chashu Ramen, some marinated pig's knuckle, Eel & Avocado rolll and Kimchi with fried egg and pork. My favourite dish is their fried chicken. It was crispy, tender, juicy and the tartar sauce makes it so yummy!
The second was the Eel & avocado roll. It came in purple rice with warm eel inside. The pig knuckle is outstanding too. I would love to come back again to order some of those yummy fried chicken, pig's knuckle, and beef!
Ramen was just about average for $14 and a little small.
The juxtaposition of 60s japanese live music playing on tvs (muted) with american music playing on the speakers was.. confusing.
The various decorations, especially the 70s/80s wrestling posters were.. confusing.
Sometimes, though, confusing is good.
I found it guys. I've found my place.
You know when you've been searching for that little nook in the city that is just right for you? It might not be for everyone, but for you it holds everything you want?
I believe that Rockmeisha is that for me. I'm going to warn you that this review is long, but just by looking at the amount of text, you've probably already moved on to the next one. Don't worry, I don't judge. (Out loud, you insensitive bastard.)
Friday night after work, I was pretty sold on the thought of just going to Terakawa, but decided to call Rockmeisha to see if their kitchen was up and working again. A Japanese guy answered and happily confirmed to me that yes, indeed, their kitchen was up and running.
Hot damn. Now I'm excited.
So in my fabulously dowdy, wrinkled business casual duds and incredibly unattractive ponytail, I head on the bus, then transfer to the subway to make my trek to Rockmeisha.
At 7, there are a few people there, sitting at tables and having quiet conversation. One lone guy sits at the far end of the bar by the TV, where some 1980s idol is singing. The Japanese waiter asks me something in English, and I don't really understand what he's saying. He repeats his statement but I'm still in Idiotland, so I give up on understanding my first language of English and simply say "Hitori desu" (just one).
And so began my lovely evening.
Seated at the bar, I started with my first Yebisu of the night, and pored over the menu. My waiter guy, whose name I actually never caught, shyly started making conversation with me. Very pleasant guy.
Food.
What was I going to order? Good god, I wanted to try everything. GIVE ME!! But no, I told myself, nevermind the frizzy hair, you must be feminine and lovely and not a colossal fatass. So I went with the cha-shu- ramen and the tonsoku. I hear pig fat is good for the skin. Gotta keep those love-handles in tip-top shape.
Piece of advice: Order things one at a time so you don't end up having more stuff come to you when you're still not finished with the first item.
Tonsoku came first, topped with scallions with some cabbage leaves and a bit of yuzu paste on the side. I tore into the crispy skin, and sighed happily. Creamy fat and cartilage. A melody of textures. Really fricken good.
While I was still working on the tonsoku, the ramen came. After reading the reviews on here, I actually expected it to be smaller than it was. For 14 bucks, it is a smaller portion than I think you would expect, but not as tiny as some insinuated. 4 thin pieces of cha-shu. Scallions. Beni-shouga. First, I did what I always do when presented with ramen, which is take several sips of the broth.
OH. MY. GATCHAMAN.
Rich. Creamy. Porky. Salt and depth and richness and good lord please have mercy on this lowly, lowly sinner. Another sip and Hail Mary, full of grace.
The owner, who always has a smile on his face, saw my ridiculous state of bliss and asked me, "How is it?"
To which I replied, "Really...really good." And "So good you could die." Followed with, "But damn...this is going to make me gain weight."
To which both the owner and the Japanese man at the far end of the bar laughed. And suddenly I had a new person joining in on the conversation. A middle-aged father telling me about his woes over where the eldest will go to college, and from there we talked of companies, country relations, and the peculiar question of why so many Indian people are doctors (he started it, not me).
And the owner showing me another DVD, and Riddhi-san look at this book! A ramen book, showcasing a bunch of different shops in Fukuoka and Hokkaido and elsewhere.
Another Yebisu. A fabulously kitschy movie on the little TV. More people coming in. An older American dude sits next to me. He's a regular here. He comments on my Japanese, and now there's another addition to the conversation. Jazz, physical therapy. He asks Kondo-san for a map, and the owner obliges with a fantastic relic from the days of the Soviet Union.
Food. Mentaiko ochazuke. Salty, bitter, spicy, warm, homey. Another Yebisu please. More people coming in as the night goes on, and the owner is working up a sweat but still has a happy smile on his face.
3 hours. I was there for three hours. No rush though there was rush. Take your time, and have a drink. Another plate of something delicious. I may be fluent in Japanese, but there were plenty of non-Japanese and the waitstaff and the owner were just as pleasant to them.
The father has to go, and I say "Best of luck to your son." to which he thanks me and pats me on the shoulder. Before the American guy goes, he says, "You should come on Sundays. That's when Kondo-san brings out his map collection." The owner beams.
Good food, good drinks, good people. Run-down, warm, homey.
Yeah, I've found my place all right.
Goddamn it Rockmeisha!
I hear such wonderful reviews about you and then come to see you on the 4th…
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Bitching gyozas. If you come here, you must have them. They are homemade; the meat is plump and juicy; and the skin is soft, thin, yet chewy (in a good way). Their tofu "salad" was good, too; but how hard is it to mess that up if you have good tofu, right? Their skirt steak and brean sprout combo was a miss for me, as the bean sprout adds unpleasant gamy taste to the meat (plus it was a bit bland). The chicken wings were so-so. The Tonkotsu ramen (their chasu ramen) had good broth, but the noodles were thin like really thin soba noodles rather than like ramen noodles. Overall, it wasn't as good as other izakaya places i've been to (like Kingyo in Vancouver).
The best bowl of tonkotsu ramen in NYC. Pricey but worth every penny. Perfectly proportioned bowl of delicate noodles and intricate, complex broth. Such a private, cozy place to take someone.
(Do not believe the hype of certain other places with 2 hour waits and what not.) If you are a true lover of ramen, go to Rockmeisha instead.
I love Ippudo, but sometimes waiting 2 hours for a table when the restaurant is half full is just not worth it. And now thankfully we have Rockmeisha to go to.
This is not a ramen bar though-- they only have 1 tonkotso (milky thick pork broth) for $14 and its meager portions in a large bowl. I was disappointed when it was placed in front of me. But shared between the 2 of us, it was just the right amount since we were ordering tapas. The flavorful broth, thin noodles topped with ginger and scallions make this dish worth $14.
As for tapas, Ive had chicken wings before, but the best feature about Rockmeisha is that they grill everything so crisply! Try the mentai wings--its fish eggs rubbed all over-- and is the best salt seasoning ever!
I also highly recommend the pigs feet/ toe. The collagen, meat, stickiness, and perfectly browned skin was soo good. I hear it's better than Hakata Ton Ton.
And you cant go wrong with grilled octopus. Again, they grill so well!
The one thing I would pass on, would be the mackerel. It was sashimi style and too salty for me.
**Oh food comes out one at time so you'll see the waiter a lot-- but after they finish delivering the food-- it took a good 20 minutes to get the check**
As far as izakayas go, I prefer the e. village standbys but since rockmeisha is in the nabe, it's pretty decent. Ramen is solid although there's only one version (chashu ramen) to select from. Am a huge fan of ochazuke (and rice in general) so their seaweed version hits the spot. They cover off on all the basics - if there was something that was a true standout, I'd bump this baby up to 4 stars.
It's a nice little place, on a quiet street - not something you'd stumble upon for those of you that like to be "in the know".
Watch out for the oolong soju - a pint's worth of strength!
Stopped in last night after reading reviews. I was prepared for uninviting staff but that wasn't the case at all. They aren't going to fawn all over you or bow every time you get up but they certainly did answer our questions about the food. Their English was a little broken which could be why their answers are short and to the point according to a couple reviews. I found the staff perfectly nice.
The restaurant is tiny, probably no more that 30 people at a time would have this place packed. This wasn't the case when we arrived and we were seated immediately on Friday night around 10pm.
On to the food...
The best way to describe this place is Japanese Tapas. Small plates that are meant to be shared, even their main dishes. They make sushi but I would say that you should go to a "sushi" restaurant for that. Not that the sushi isn't good, but there are so many other things on the menu that are better.
Sardines: 5 - OMG this was amazing. I could eat this every day. Fresh sardines in sauce covered in red onions.
Shrimp Pancakes: 3 - they were out of the shrimp shumai so we went with these. would have preferred the shumai.
Mackerel: 5 - More OMG
Chicken w/ tartar: 4 - I didn't really know what we had ordered until it arrived but I can tell you that this was tasty. Basically pieces of fried chicken w/ tartar sauce that I think they make themselves. At least I hope they do.
Rice Balls w/ spicy fish roe: 4 - we needed some carbs and I can't remember what the spicy fish roe was called but it it was on of the 3 choices to make the rice balls with.
BBQ Beef Bowl: 5 - the beef was soo tender and juicy it practically melted in my mouth.
This came to about $27/person (3 people) w/ tax & tip, excluding alcohol and we did get edamame but do I really need to rate that? There is only 1 Ramen dish on the menu and we didn't try it but I will be sure to next time! I'll be back here for sure.
I tried too many time to go back here. So hard to find. Pork feet sandwich is the best. Fried chicken......mmmmm.......so yummy. Also best ever. They have so many good stuff. Go there with as many people as you can gather and try new things. Never ever regret. It was like my dream place to eat. Very creative and perfectly tasty. So talented chef I guess. Hope they make more new dishes.
a #4 in nyc rating from rameniac and several solid yelp reviews made me really look forward to trying out the hakata ramen at this west village isakaya. OVERRATED!!! i have never before seen such a small $14 bowl of ramen. the noodles reminded me of those skinny japanese dry somen noodles that old people eat because they are easy to digest. overall, a very overrated and unsatisfying bowl, from noodle to soup to meat to other assorted ramen bowl filler stuff.
rockmeisha gets 2 stars solely because they serve yebisu beer and because the pork and leek appetizer is pretty damn tasty. next time i come i will be sure to sample more of the izakaya fare, but never again will i come here for ramen.
So after dinner at IFBLTIBS a few weeks ago, my friend walks into what looks like a sake bar next door. I pay no mind to it, even though I am a huge Japanese food fan. I figured it's a small dive for drinks, no big deal. I thought to myself, 'Hagi is better anyway'. Along comes another mutual friend who joined my Homonculus EatEZ dinner. I come to know that he knows guys who write about food. I rave about pig's foot at Hakata TonTon. He counters with Rockmeisha. He said it's even BETTER. WHAT? Now I MUST go. Judging by his awareness of food and his knowledge, I was impressed with this stranger and decided that he could definitely hang. A few days before deciding on going, I look it up on google. Sure enough, it's on seriouseats. The pictures are droolworthy and I add this mutual friend to FB. I guess that means now we are officially friends. I show him the link from seriouseats. To my surprise, he goes 'That's funny. That's my camera in the first picture. I was there with Tam when she ate there.' Small world. Wow, just wow.
Now on to the meat and potatoes. No resys here. We walked in at 8:30pm with a 10min wait. No bad for a Friday Night.
Staff is Japanese but pays you no mind. No salutation or no goodbye of any kind. A nonchalant attitude is what you will get. Nothing more, nothing less. They got my bill wrong. I have to go bitch now. I'm taking away a star for that.
Ordered:
-Teba Mentai ($14) - very good, not used to wings and mentai, grilled, very unique and tasty, only get 4 wings though, pricey!
-Miso Sprouts ($8) - miso and grilled = tastes kinda like hoisin on top, yum, you get 9
-Buta Kimchi ($7.50) - sesame seeds on top, made with egg, pork, kimchee, you will get your kimchee fix but it's not nearly as good as k-town's!
-Tonsoku ($6) - pig's toe, def lives up to the hype, but you only get two small toes, loved the collagen!
-Mentai Potato ($7.50) - i wanted to taste the mentai itself, not burned onto wings, so had to order this, no other choice
-Smoked Mackarel ($8.50) - served 'ceviche' style, vinegared w/ onions, good, but expected it to be a whole fish and not salty
[-Takosu ($9) - octopus sunomono? I never ordered this. Gimme my money back, bitch!]
-UCC Green Tea ($2.50) - served hot, can of green tea heated in the oven with beer cooler foam around it, interesting idea
-Oolong Tea ($4) - served chilled, good
Seriouseats Pics/Review: http://newyork.serious...
Total came out to $40/pp after everything (after I get my refund back)
Rockmeisha rocked the standard to which Ippudo has elevated ramen to. I might even say that for a more low-key ramen meal of this caliber, Rockmeisha might be my new go-to place. *gasp!* (Ippudo please forgive me)
The Kakuni ramen here was divine; the tonkatsu broth was a bit earthier than Ippudo's, and devoid of any trace of oil or grease marring the straightforward flavor. Not a tad oversalted. Toppings included scallions, ginger and bean sprouts. For $14, this was ultra quality, and the generous chunks of tender pork belly could not be beat!
Beware that if you choose to order a spicy dish, it really IS spicy! Cozy little spot of a restaurant, closed Mondays and limited hours (open only from 6pm-midnight)
WOW... Thanks Yelp for helping me find a gem in the heart of the West Village!
Just flew into NY on a redeye from Cali. Was craving ramen, but too tired to trek over to Minca. I was staying on Christopher and was looking for a place nearby and found Rockmeisha.
Walked by around 2pm only to realize that they are only open for dinner. Damn...
Later that evening, decided to pop in for dinner. Small place. I'm guessing that it seats about 20. 5 seats at the sushi type bar. A few tables full with Japanese customers. That's always a good sign.
Popped down at the bar and ordered a Sapporo draft. Buta kimuchi to start. The pork was cooked to perfection and still very tender. The kimchi was just right. And they twisted it up a bit. Cooked the pork and kimchi with fried egg whites. It was a very nice addition.
For the main, I had the hakata ramen. OH... MY... GAWD... yeah, so the bowl is on the small side when comparing to other ramen places and the cost is $14. I don't care what anyone says, this ramen is damn good.
For those that don't know, Hakata style ramen is tonkotsu broth (rich, milky, pork-bone broth).
The service is great too. Pretty chill place. Wish they were in the bay area.
And I wish I had one of these in my house - http://upload.wikimedi...
the staff here don't seem at all interested in whether you are here or not, which is very strange as i would expect japanese style customer service and bare minimum a welcoming greeting in japanese. instead you just get a blank facial expression every step of the way. the worst though is whenever you ask about menu items and to describe how they are prepared you get an abrupt three or four words and end of story - don't ask me anything else, shut up, just order. ok, so if the place is jammed packed to capacity and they are understaffed i can forgive the abruptness, but this evening there were just 3 tables to serve and two servants. ok if you are having your menses and cramps are bad, i can also forgive the abruptness but there is no excuse when the server has a penis.
this is all just a damn shame because i had finally found a restaurant that serves authentic fukuoka style cuisine. the owner is from fukuoka and he even stocks his grandfathers sake made in fukuoka. the clear waters of fukuoka really make a difference in tofu production as the nakamuta tofu is amazing why do you ever need to eat cheese again if you can have this tofu? the mentui gyoza were different and quite good. the chasu ramen was really tops, the broth was very piggy and thick - just like the real hakkata style. the noodles were thin like at ippudo but at least they weren't soggy. i prefer setagaya though.
but what a damn shame because i won't be coming back here again. when you are paying good money you should be getting good service. hell, i think i even prefer chinatown service anyday over this place!
All in all, 4.5 stars...
RAMEN: 5 stars
Once again, I feel reluctant to review ramen. There are many different (regional) types of ramen out there that it basically comes down to your own preferences. Plus, not everyone SLURPS it down quickly enough (which is what you're supposed to do - like within minutes - in order to preserve the warmth of the soup and the firmness of the noodles), so you end up with the varying degrees of satisfaction among customers.
With that said - I LOVE the Hakata Ramen at Rockmeisha. I wasn't so keen on tonkotsu before, but that's now changed for good! The noodles are straight, thin and has enough koshi (though a bit soft for my palate). The soup is excellent - not too mild or greasy, but JUST right. The cha-shu is amazingly tender and flavorful. It's ALMOST like the real stuff in Japan. I love it, especially given the poor to mediocre quality of ramen in NY. So what if it costs $14 per bowl.
If you see a girl holding the bowl with both hands (no spoon), chugging down the soup till the last drop, that could well be ME.
OTHER DISHES: 4 stars
Very thoughtfully prepared, some with creative twists!
* The "mushroom tofu steak" had a nice burnt taste and lots of flavorful mushroom.
* The "ebi-chili" (as recommended by the waiter) was also delicious, with fresh plump shrimp and tomato-based sauce with a slight kick.
* The "zuri" (chicken gizzard) tasted great in ponzu sauce. Great texture.
* The "pork/buta kimchi" was a little heavy, but good. I'd never had buta kimchi cooked with egg, so that was delightful.
* This place is famous for its "tonsoku" (pig feet), but I just couldn't bring myself to try it. I mean, it's pig feet...and it's "visually" feet. I'm Japanese, but not that Japanese after all?
* Unfortunately, they no longer serve "buta no kakuni".
DRINKS: We went easy with the sake in atsukan this time. I was disturbed by the fact that they don't serve free, freshly brewed tea here. Instead, they sell the cold canned ones. This is a BIG no-no in my opinion...
AMBIANCE & SERVICE: Awesome music, friendly service, fairly quiet atmosphere and good setting - though probably not ideal for large groups because it's spatially limited.
PRICES: You can pay less for larger quantity, but less quality food at other izakayas...or pay more and get smaller quantity, but higher quality food at Rockmeisha.
SUM: We need more izakayas like this in New York.
It's July 4th, and the first obvious thought that comes to any red-blooded American's mind is "RAMEN!"
It was 9:30PM, and I believe the conversation went something like this..."Are you sure it's okay we aren't heading out for the fireworks?" "Yes, OF COURSE it's okay. It's overcast and raining out there." "Okay...well..." *pause for a minute or two* "Um...you know what I REALLY want right now? ...RAMEN." "ME TOO!" "REALLY?? Let me look for a place!"
And so it went. And so we Yelped. And so we found...Rockmeisha! Rockmeisha, which, bless their hearts, was open until 11:30PM tonight.
The ramen rocked my socks. Mmmm...SUCH flavorful broth and delicious pork cuts and yummy in my tummy goodness. PLUS what appeared to my untrained eye to be an extensive sake collection (including lychee sake??). Four stars for sock-rocking ramen and cute sitting-under-an-indoor-arbor-strung-with-Christma s-lights kitschy hole-in-the-wall ambiance.
Please note: Upwards mobility based on future visits to try other items offered on their charmingly misspelled menu.
Rockmeisha (Rokkumeisha) is a tiny little izakaya in the West Village who specializes in pork dishes, perhaps the best Japanese pork restaurant in the country.
Their signature dishes are the stewed than briefly pan-fried pig feet (tonsoku) and pork belly (buta no kakuni):
The Tonsoku are light and crispy on the outside and supple and tender on the inside, save for the tiny bits of pig knuckle and crunchy cartilege. Savor each bite because they limit each table or counter party to a maximum of three orders.
The Buta No Kakuni is an amazing spectrum of stewed pork textures ranging from soft organ meat and stomach lining all the way to tender rib meat. They even include the rib tips (nankotsu) for some extra chewy "kori kori" texture.
Other excellent dishes sampled:
Gyu Tan: beef tongue sauteed with onion and ginger served on a bed of sprouts
Zuru Pon: boiled chicken gizzard (sunagimo) in ponzu sauce
Teba Shio: succulent grilled chicken wings seasoned in sea salt
Tofu Kinoki Steak: a lightly seared slab of tofu with mushroom and garlic ginger sauce
Oshitashi: Fresh watercress and mild vinegar dressing
Shishamo: Broiled smelt served whole
Ika Natto: squid noodles (ika somen) in fermented soy beans
Okura: sauteed okra with a dash of sea salt and soy sauce
Cha Shu Men: Hakata-style ramen. I'd probably have been more impressed had I not recently returned from Japan, but as non-plussed as I was, this is still miles better than what overrated crosstown fusion noodle bar Momofuku offers.
Drinks are standard izakaya fare: 4 types of sake ranging from Kikusui (karakuchi nihonshu from Niigata) to Sho Chiku Bai (organic sake from Berkeley) and Sapporo (draft and nama).
I really enjoyed Rockmeisha on my visit here. I enjoyed it so much, I ended up going there two evenings in a row.
A good, but not overwhelming selection of sakes and beers. Not as big as you see in Japan, but all good choices; this is one of the few places I've been to that has Yebisu beer.
The first night, I had Shiroyuki sake and buta-nira (pork, bean sprouts and leeks, fried in a cast iron skillet and served sizzling); the second, I decided to try the chashu ramen.
Everything was excellent, the staff is extremely pleasant. Subarashii basho, an excellent place.
This is a pretty fun place. It's a small restaurant with decent appetizers (I didn't have any of their entrees). I can't say the food is great, but they have good ambiance and it's a place you could take someone after a movie for a drink and a light evening snack. I'm sure the ramen is fine, but since I never had any I can't really say. Anyway, I'd be open to come back again.
I stopped off at Rockmeisha for a bowl of Tonkatsu Ramen. The reviews I'd read were good, and the ambience made me even more hopeful. Sapporo was on tap. The staff spoke to me in Japanese before trying out English. All clientele (all regulars) were expat-Japanese. Dishes littering the tables around me were of the Old-World: pan-seared knuckle bones, octopi and onions, etc. Sumo on the TV. Sun Records classics on the stereo. For lack of better references, it was a bit like Tampopo meets Mystery Train.
Tonkotsu Ramen, as the waitress explained to me, is the same bowl of soup as the Char Shu Ramen, but with a smaller heap of meat. I like my ramen to be more noodle than meat, so Tonkotsu it was.
But while sitting at the bar, I watched the cook disinter a baggie full of hot dogs from the recesses of the freezer. Is there such a thing as hot dog in Japanese cooking? At the time, I was the only actively eating customer at the restaurant. Wouldn't it have to be for me? Did the waitress misunderstand my order? Would my broth be made from boiled out Oscar Meyer wieners? I heard the bell of a microwave go off in the kitchen. That's when I really began to fidget. (The last time I heard a restaurant cooking dinner with-microwave, I'd never been sicker ... )
The waitress arrived with my modest bowl of soup. Ahh. Everything was arranged in perfect proportions. Unlike your typical ramen noodle with the 1980's-perm kinks, the ramen here was straight and of the thickness of thin spaghetti. Flown in fresh from Hakata; more soft than chewy. The broth, meanwhile, was simple, cloudy, but not unappealing. It had the mild richness you would expect from cooking with marrow. The soup was adorned with three thin strips of well-marbled pork. Just the right amount of scallion, pickled ginger, and toasted sesame.
It was a very good bowl of soup, but I wanted to be astonished by a bowl of preposterous portions. I've always equated ramen as the poor man's noodle, humble yet horrifically filling.
For instance, what Momofuku lacked in flavor, it more than made up for in the way of vast quantity. You left ten dollars poorer but with a belly full of gratitude. Here, I left with a belly only half full, half grateful.
food: 5
value: 3
service: 5
ambience: 4
craveability: 4
Very cozy Japanese tasty-treaterie. I found the staff reserved but friendly, helpful and polite in that old-fashioned Japanese way. Had the vinegared octupus (which was the pronounced the best octopus ever), spicy tuna roll, scallop sashimi, and grilled squid. Tuna roll was different from the usual in that the filling was a solid piece of tuna and not chopped bits mixed with spicy mayo. The house sake was great - will definitely go back to have more sake and seafood treats. At first the menu seemed a bit expensive for the portions, but the obvious quality and freshness of the food makes the prices reasonable. Loved that I went on a Friday night and was able to enjoy some drinks and snacks without being rushed or crowded.
Expensive for ramen, only 1 ramen on menu, not many customers
I went here a few weeks back on the recommendation of yelpers. First off, let's get something straight. This is not a ramen shop. It's a Izakaya (bar that also serves food). But the bar selection was pretty bad, just a few Shōchū and beer. As for ramen, they only have one, the char siu ramen. The good thing is its probably the best ramen I ever had. The noodle was excellent (imported from Japan), it had more texture and thinner than other ramen I have tried, but the best part is the broth. It is a boil pork bone broth and I couldn't taste any MSG in it. Some might prefer the MSG, but not me. I finished the whole bowl and downed all the broth. Its that good.
Now the bad, the ramen is like a mini-ramen. The portion is quite small. Did I mention its $14? I don't care how good the ramen is, its like paying $15 for a burger or $12 for a hot dog. That's just insane. For importng the noodles, I would at most pay $10 for a bowl (that's $3 - 4 more than avg).
The other food on the menu is pretty good. I especially like the pig's feet. I don't even eat weird names like that on a normal basis, but I wanted to try it and I love how they fry it so that its crunchy on the outside, but gooey soft and really tasty on the inside (its mainly fat, so don't eat this on a regular basis).
The funny thing was on the day I went there with a few of my friends, one of my friend noticed that the waitress from Rai Rai Ken is working there. We confirmed it by asking her and she said she only started working there for 3 days. She was attentive overall, but that's probably because there were only 2 other customers (on a Tuesday) during the time that we were there.
$14 for a bowl of rockmeisha's ramen is hefty considering the much greater portion for less cost one can obtain at setagaya or menkui tei. But for some (myself included), the smaller bowl of chewy thin ramen in thick pork bone soup is totally worth its price.
Stumbled in a little drunk and was immediately sobered by the authentic atmosphere of this little dark Japanese pub. Took a suggestion from the waiter and got the tuna belly sashimi which was fantastic quality. Also the Braised Brussel sprouts with sweet miso jelly was worth a trip back. A little expensive...but great food to boot. Its like Japanese comfort food. I want more tuna belly!
Great izakaya-style food. Really delicious.
This is a cute little Japanese restaurant amidst an area that has more western restaurants and bars. Inside, it's very very casual and laid-back, there are a few tables that can be joined for large groups, there's also a small bar for solo dining that looks into the kitchen. The chefs are all Japanese and so is the wait staff.
The tonkotsu ramen is okay in my opinion but my friends love it for the flavor of its broth and texture of the noodles.
Other than that, the menu contains a good variety of small plates. I'd definitely recommend ordering a few to share.
I really like their fried chicken dishes, they use dark meat here and Japanese-style dust it with seasoned flour before frying; my favorite is the chicken nanban (fried chicken with tartar sauce). I also love their katsu curry. It's served on a large, wide plate and it's so yummy. One time I was there, they ran out of regular katsu curry and had a "special curry" instead, which to me, was simply Japanese curry mixed with plenty of tomato sauce. It was so delicious!!!
This is NOT a place you'd go to for sushi or more traditional/classic Japanese fare. But I'd definitely recommend this place for delicious tapas-style Japanese food.
Extremely tasty Japanese food, with excellent service to boot.
The squid rings with hot sauce are amazing, hot-but-not-too-hot and very, very flavorful. Also, the spicy-anything rolls are made with quality fish, not the day-old mix you find on the West coast.
There is only one bowl of ramen on the menu and it costs $14, but IT'S DELICIOUS! Yummy Hakata-style ramen with tender cha-shu and thin imported noodles. The tonkatsu broth is rich and steamy, a little bit creamy. Wonderful, but the bowl is smaller than what I'm used to.
Tapas here are also decent, but the yakitori set and fried chicken with tartar sauce wasn't anything more than bar food. Tuna with wasabi soy sauce was fresh with a bit of kick.
4 stars for ramen, 2 stars for other food = 3 star average.
So I went to Rockmeisha this past Friday with my boyfriend. We ordered 4 dishes (I don't remember their Japanese names so I'll describe them here): 1 shrimp pancake, 1 bean sprouts with pork, 1 fried chicken plate and 1 roast pork ramen. We also had a small bottle of sake for sharing. The food was good but not great; I would suggest asking the waiter for his recommendations as our selections were made willy-nilly.
I would go back if a group of friends and I were looking for a place to talk, eat and get moderately intoxicated.
Being the sucker for ramen that I am, I was elated when I finally made it to this quiet izakaya in the West Village. Really nice atmosphere and service compared to a lot of izakaya/ramen joints, so often crowded and claustrophobic. I sipped some green tea and read a free copy of Chopsticks magazine as I waited for a friend, and was probably one of only three people in there at 7pm on a Thursday evening. The ramen, though? Pretty average. It was good, but for $14 I expected something much more. Cute place and I might go back to sample some other items, but this is not a ramen destination.
Under different circumstances I would give this place a 4 star rating easily. But we came under 2 false pretenses:
1. Japanese/Tapas
2. Best Ramen in the City
The first false pretense was my bad. It's technically supposed "Japanese Tapas" instead of "Japanese slash Tapas". Tapas will now mean "tiny plates" in my dictionary. Fine.
As for the second...I don't know. You only have one option for Ramen (which has pork in it, but you can ask to have it taken out if you are kosher or vegetarian). The noodles themselves were kind of al dente, which for some reason I'm not a huge fan. The broth which was okay, but a bit much on the ginger.
Those two aspects aside, I think it's really cute. It's got a small and intimate and inviting atmosphere. Staff is accommodating and the price wasn't steep at all. It's a good place to bring a friend you haven't talk to in a while to catch up.
Except for the gyoza, everything was delic. I've had the karage before. It's a little greasy but the batter is seasoned and the chicken is fried perfectly. The gyoza was good but the filling was a little too mushy for my taste. They are made on site in case you're wondering. They're not frozen although the skin may be packaged. The tonsoku (pig toe) is to die for. It's first boiled then fried. It's tasty because it has fat surrounding the bone and the skin is crispy. The grilled squid is good but I like my squid smaller so that the meat isn't so thick. Wings (tebashio) is broiled perfectly which are good and served with lemon. My absolute, hands down, favorite dish has to be the ramen. I haven't had ramen with broth so flavorful... even in Japan. The men (noodles) is skinny. It's imported from Hakata. The broth is a pork broth which continually gets boiled. When it runs low, they add more stock to it and keep boiling it to get that rich taste. Amazing. I was also lucky enough to meet the artist whose drawings adorn the wall.
Love the ramen at this place. Yummy yum yum, coming from the ramen whore, himself. I grew up on the stuff, living minutes away from Little TOkyo in downtown Los Angeles. I also became an Ichiban ramen addict while in college (you know, with spam, the works) But the Char Siu Ramen here is sensational. The pork perfectly seasoned and tender. Trust me I know good pork when I see it, being the good Jew boy that I am. The teba shio chicken wings were so moist and juicy and the tofu steak was undersated and elegant. Definitely like this place over Momofukukokorokotembo or whatever that overrated ramen joint is called.
It's tiny, yet easy to score a table. I like to hop in and out to grab a quickie bowl of incredibly tasty ramen. The broth is amazing. Noodles have a good "chew" to them. Hot tea comes in a can, which sounds weird, but it's actually pretty good. And the can comes with a little tea-cozy thing to keep it warm, very cute. The staff is very nice. All in all, a simple thing, but good stuff. Don't go expecting a full on japanese restaurant with lots of choices and ambience to sit and hang out for hours chatting. It's more like hang, scarf down some munchies, and roll.
This place rules. Not for their ramen, however. It was nothing like the kind I had in Japan, but I think it depends on what kind you like - the broth was thin and not fatty enough for me and the noodles were flavorless. I like the pork at Minca much better. I dunno, didn't do it for me. Everything else was AMAZING though. Pork with leeks was so tender and juicy and I still daydream about the avocado and tuna salad. It's a good place to go with a friend to share three or four courses but it gets a little pricey if you wanna leave with a full belly.
Tiny, tiny little place. Echoing everybody else's review - excellent ramen, nothing else that exciting.
mmmmmm RAMEN. so fucking good. and the waitress was delightful. small spot. good for 2-3 pple. DElicious.
On the recommendation of two kick-ass Japanese cooks, I went here to check out the ramen, and I wasn't let down. The pork ramen is simply made; it's neither too heavy nor too rich, but it fills you up -- in a good way. As did the half dozen or so small plates we ordered with the noodles ... including the scallion pancakes, some fried fish, and so on. There's a bunch of stuff to choose from, both off the regular menu and off "specials" posted on the walls throughout. But it's the ramen that gets the 4 stars.
I love noodles, in paticular fresh ramen from Japan. Transportive is the word to describe my experience here. Back to Japan in the 1970s. I stopped by this place a couple times before, frustrated that I kept forgetting it was only open from 6pm to midnight. This time I finished drinks early with a friend and rolled in with a buzz, sat at the ramen bar and ordered the tebashio (salted grilled chicken wings) and hakata ramen. The 3 tables of people behind me were all speaking Japanese. Mostly Japanese people and 1 or 2 expats. I tried to keep quiet so as to not pollute the air with English. There were 3 Japanese guys working in the open kitchen, one of them doubled as the maitre de. To the left of the bar, a 13" TV played videos of '70s Japanese pinup girls and variety show singers. Service was extremely polite. Tebashio came out and tasted as juicy and scrumptuous as it looked. When the ramen came out, I was excited to see it wasn't a massive bowl since I had just snarfed down a half dozen wings. It's approx 2/3 the size you would expect at a typical ramen place. Beautifully presented with 3 thin slices of pork, red ginger, scallions, white sesame seeds in a white pork bone broth (Kosher and vegetarians be forewarned). The noodles looked like the ones in Tokyo's famed "Ichiran", thin straight and white. And just the perfect chewiness. The broth was unbelievably good and not greasy at all. Who cares that it's $14/bowl. I take quality over quantity any day. And it's cheaper than flying to Japan. When I was finished, the maitre de was concerned I didn't like the ramen since I left a slice of pork and some broth. I'm sure he's accustomed to seeing an empty bowl. I assured him everything was delicious, I was full from drinks earlier and the wings, otherwise I definitley would have left an empty bowl. Will be back again and again. This is the best bowl of noodles (Japanese and otherwise) in the Soho/West Village area. #1 is still Menchankotei 45 and 55. Love you long time. #2 is Ippudo on 10th St/4th Ave. I'm waiting for Ichiran to open to the public but why does it have to be all the way out in Brooklyn? If you can afford a $14 bowl of ramen, you are not living in Brooklyn...(unless they plan to price the soup at $7 a pop Tokyo prices?).
Happy Hour!
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
now serving on sundays!
Neighborhood: East Village
Neighborhood: West Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Japanese
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