The 5 Best Ramen Places In NYC

Katherine Ripley • March 15, 2016

Besides being a cheap, convenient dorm room snack for broke college students, ramen is also a delicious Japanese dish that can be prepared with an impressive depth of flavors. Here are the five best ramen places in NYC:

5. Chuko

565 Vanderbilt Ave, 11238

This humble Brooklyn restaurant serves bottomless bowls of flavor. In addition to their more classic meat dishes, they have a great vegetarian option, with miso broth and a combination of briny seaweed, sweet squash, and savory green onion, topped off with the hearty egg.

4. Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 1st Avenue, 10003

The creator of Momofuku, David Chang, is the man who is largely responsible for the explosion of ramen’s popularity in the United States. The signature dish here, the Momofuku Ramen, is hard to beat, with its juicy pork, crunchy seaweed and tender egg all floating in a rich, dark broth.

3. Totto Ramen

366 W 52nd St, 10019

Totto Ramen specializes in paitan, a creamy broth that’s made with chicken and soy sauce. The pork that goes in the ramen is crisped up with a blow torch, but besides that, these dishes aren’t showy; they let the simple flavors shine through.

2. Ippudo

65 4th Ave, 10003

This chain was actually started in Japan, and the head chef here is known as the “Ramen King,” which explains why there are such long waits. Ippudo’s specialty broth is pork-based, and their most popular dish has just a slice of pork, cabbage, mushrooms, scallions, and delightfully stretchy noodles.

1. Ivan Ramen

25 Clinton St, 10002

We featured Ivan Ramen on our list of things to eat in NYC before you die. Surprisingly, it’s made by a Long Island Jew. Any dish here is delicious, but most highly recommended is the spicy red chili Ramen, “fully loaded” with egg, pork belly, and roast tomato.

Cover photo credit: City Foodsters/Flickr