Ivan Ramen

For appetizers we ordered the pickled cucumbers which tasted good, nothing new or special. We also got the bao buns, probably have to be my favorite bao buns out of the other restaurants I’ve tried, however there was too much pickles on top which made it a bit sour. I order the Tsukemen and I’m not sure if I like it; the broth was nice and it did have a umami flavor. The noodles were al dente but the thing that threw me off was the pickled mustard because that’s a Chinese pickled vegetable. The pork tonkotsu ramen also tasted fine, I’ve had better; again it also had pickled mustard which threw me off. Coming here I could tell that this ramen place was catered to westerner palates.

The food was more a 3.5 for me (loved the heirloom carrots, was not entirely satisfied with the vegan ramen), but I know the friend I dined with (non-vegetarian) loved his ramen (said the glazed chashu was the best he’d tasted) and the yuzu cheesecake. I’ve read Ivan’s book and am a lover of most things Japanese, so I’d still visit again, but maybe skip or tweak the vegan ramen I had (I’d retain the delicious koji tofu and maybe dial down the umami a bit). (Aside: Their digital menu is fantastic, in terms of design and appeal! It’s peppered with video stories elaborating on the dishes and sometimes highlighting what goes on behind the scenes to finally present us with the dishes we eat - a true delight! And I understand they’re continually working to improve it.)

I’ve leart about Ivan Ramen from Alex (French Guy Cooking) in his ramen series and I’ve been wanting to visit ever since. I live in London I knew I wanted to come here the first time I got the chance. This was actually my first meal in New York of this visit (that’s how excited I was) and it certainly did not disappoint. Everything was great: the atmosphere is cosy, the service was on point (for example, our water glasses got refilled every few minutes) and the food was, of course, excellent. I got the shio ramen and the yuzu cheesecake, and bith were to die for. I just wish I was in New York for longer because I’d love to try out everything on the menu.

Made a reservation for two at 1:30pm on a Sunday and it was packed. Service was friendly and quick. I got the Shoyu Ramen and we had the Picked Cucumbers to share. While it doesn't look like a lot, the bowl ended up being super filling and tasty. I'm glad I tried out Ivan Ramen while visiting the city, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to come back.

Super packed on an early Sunday evening. Service was friendly and food came out in reasonable time considering the restaurant was packed. The vegan shoyu ramen was incredibly delicious. It was not overly salted (which can be a problem for shoyu broths). The cold tofu in the ramen had it’s own slight sweetness to it (from whatever they marinated it with) and the broth itself was super flavorful. The noodles were cooked medium and were thin (thinner than like instant ramen). The curry noodles tasted as you expect Japanese curry to taste like. Good execution on traditional Japanese curry. Not a fan of the barley iced tea (literally tasted like barley and weak iced tea). Great ramen!

Amazing food, atmosphere and service. Diana served us and it was amazing, super friendly and really knows the menu. Explained us with a lot of details about every single dish, and made sure we had a perfect experience. My girlfriend and I ate here two days in a row, and would definitely recommend here. It is as good as the Netflix episode says. Great food.