I love this spot, it's an iconic ramen joint on the upper west. The menu is giant so there's a million ramen options to choose from. Our service was super fast and the ramen was delicious!
Yur Mumz
Get the salmon tartare as your app. I could eat 5 orders of these, easily. You’re welcome.All the ramen are mid. Albeit some are very creative. The broth isn’t as rich as I’d prefer and alway just falls short of… damn that’s good. That said, they never disappoint, they just never wow. The noodles are also mid.Service is always friendly and efficient.Portion to $: 4/5Date spot: lunch maybe, dinner no.All this said, it’s the best ramen north of 79th Street. So far.
Very popular. Sitting at "bar" is actually a good option. We didn't want to sit outside as it was too rainy/cold though I think they have heaters & the awning covers tables. Had vegetarian Ramen. Great for cold rainy day!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Toolan
One of the best ramen spots on the UWS. Great vibe as well. If you walk in and there’s a wait, you can put in your phone number and they will text you.
The place is great, I like the food. However, I just knew that they have break time during the afternoon. So I couldn’t finish my ramen bowl. You should check the time if visit because the portion is quite large, and you might want to finish it. They also have a mini bar on the side. Overall a great place to enjoy a bowl of ramen
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Kuro Tonkotsu, Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen
Henry Kirsch
Amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Molly Barrett
We really enjoyed our ramen here!! The restaurant is small so there was about a 25 min wait to get seated, but our food came quickly once we ordered. I got the vegetable ramen and it was great. We definitely want to come back sometime and try different broths!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegan Ramen
Leonardo Torres
The kakuni ramen was reminiscent of an adobo pork that I'm used at home albeit with the noodles taking the place of the rice.The place is a little more expensive than other ramen restaurants than I've been to but it is conveniently located near public transportation and the Museum of Natural History.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Anonymous P.
The John Kouka team compromised for Good--- Members of our team ordered the vegetarian ramen with Shoyu, tofu buns, and mochi for dessert. The ramen was delicious! the tofu buns were mid- they contained a spicy ketchup sauce that made them less desirable, and the mochi was good only because it was mochi, which is a wonderful invention. It was frozen solid and the dough around it extremely thin. Pathetic really. BUT the real show was not the food! The person next to us was showing her friend (and us!!) a zillion photos on her iPhone 15 Pro! How does she meet so many friends? and dogs? and Taylor Swift? This made our eating experience so much more fun, even though we were also jealous before we decided that she must be a dog-walker. The joint was already vibey and cozy (slay!!!!!!) Disclaimer: The woman next to us should not be associated, linked, or connected to anything such as facial recognition through this review. This woman might also not have met Taylor Swift and just has a picture of her because she is so fire (let's go girl). The idea of her liking Taylor Swift should not be used for any legal search uses because: 1) Because of this disclaimer 2) Everyone loves Taylor Swift so it wouldn't help much anyway.
Phuong D.
I have been to Jin Ramen a couple times, both at this location and the one near Columbia University. They have a pretty extensive ramen menu with some innovative flavors. I have tried the kuro tonkatsu which I thought was ok. This time, I tried the volcano tonkotsu and I thought the spice level was weak considering the name. My friend ordered the spicy tonkotsu and it looked and tasted pretty much the same, except the volcano had a small clump of chili that had to be mixed in before eating for an extra $2. I was also pretty underwhelmed with the broth as it lacked the complexity and umami flavor. Service was fine although we felt pretty rushed to leave even though the restaurant wasn't full.
A perfect ramen with lots of choices, too! The volcano spicy ramen is really spicy, but you can order the chilli paste on the side.The vegetarian ramen is also really succulent, and comes in different broth flavors. Unfortunately, you can order a non-meat egg (the egg they serve is boiled in pork broth).Overall, definitely a ramen shop to come back to!
We enjoyed the food very much. Out of the 4 dishes we had, only one was standout and the rest were acceptable but nothing spectacular. Although we had reservations, there were no tables available so we had to sit at the bar. My date wasn't impressed.....
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Joe Harrell
Nice place. Host (manager?) was super rude. He berated a delivery guy, simply pointed at a tablet when we asked to put our name on the list and then yelled at us when we followed him to the table and sat down, because he realized it hadn’t yet been cleaned. Ramen was pretty good, tho, and the wait staff were all lovely.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pork Buns
A F
Walked in asked for a table for 5. Male host told us to close the door. Outdoor and indoor space is very small. Door was only from when we asked for a table until he told us to close the door. He tried to kick the first person out so he can close it. We asked again if there was a table available. He semi laughed and said not unless you’re willing to wait 15 min. We are on our way to another ramen restaurant. Do better.
I love this spot, it's an iconic ramen joint on the upper west. The menu is giant so there's a million ramen options to choose from. Our service was super fast and the ramen was delicious!
Get the salmon tartare as your app. I could eat 5 orders of these, easily. You’re welcome.All the ramen are mid. Albeit some are very creative. The broth isn’t as rich as I’d prefer and alway just falls short of… damn that’s good. That said, they never disappoint, they just never wow. The noodles are also mid.Service is always friendly and efficient.Portion to $: 4/5Date spot: lunch maybe, dinner no.All this said, it’s the best ramen north of 79th Street. So far.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Shoyu Ramen, Edamame, Shishito Peppers, Volcano Shio Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen
Very popular. Sitting at "bar" is actually a good option. We didn't want to sit outside as it was too rainy/cold though I think they have heaters & the awning covers tables. Had vegetarian Ramen. Great for cold rainy day!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the best ramen spots on the UWS. Great vibe as well. If you walk in and there’s a wait, you can put in your phone number and they will text you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Shishito Peppers, Spicy Miso Ramen, Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen
The place is great, I like the food. However, I just knew that they have break time during the afternoon. So I couldn’t finish my ramen bowl. You should check the time if visit because the portion is quite large, and you might want to finish it. They also have a mini bar on the side. Overall a great place to enjoy a bowl of ramen
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Kuro Tonkotsu, Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen
Amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We really enjoyed our ramen here!! The restaurant is small so there was about a 25 min wait to get seated, but our food came quickly once we ordered. I got the vegetable ramen and it was great. We definitely want to come back sometime and try different broths!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegan Ramen
The kakuni ramen was reminiscent of an adobo pork that I'm used at home albeit with the noodles taking the place of the rice.The place is a little more expensive than other ramen restaurants than I've been to but it is conveniently located near public transportation and the Museum of Natural History.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The John Kouka team compromised for Good--- Members of our team ordered the vegetarian ramen with Shoyu, tofu buns, and mochi for dessert. The ramen was delicious! the tofu buns were mid- they contained a spicy ketchup sauce that made them less desirable, and the mochi was good only because it was mochi, which is a wonderful invention. It was frozen solid and the dough around it extremely thin. Pathetic really. BUT the real show was not the food! The person next to us was showing her friend (and us!!) a zillion photos on her iPhone 15 Pro! How does she meet so many friends? and dogs? and Taylor Swift? This made our eating experience so much more fun, even though we were also jealous before we decided that she must be a dog-walker. The joint was already vibey and cozy (slay!!!!!!) Disclaimer: The woman next to us should not be associated, linked, or connected to anything such as facial recognition through this review. This woman might also not have met Taylor Swift and just has a picture of her because she is so fire (let's go girl). The idea of her liking Taylor Swift should not be used for any legal search uses because: 1) Because of this disclaimer 2) Everyone loves Taylor Swift so it wouldn't help much anyway.
I have been to Jin Ramen a couple times, both at this location and the one near Columbia University. They have a pretty extensive ramen menu with some innovative flavors. I have tried the kuro tonkatsu which I thought was ok. This time, I tried the volcano tonkotsu and I thought the spice level was weak considering the name. My friend ordered the spicy tonkotsu and it looked and tasted pretty much the same, except the volcano had a small clump of chili that had to be mixed in before eating for an extra $2. I was also pretty underwhelmed with the broth as it lacked the complexity and umami flavor. Service was fine although we felt pretty rushed to leave even though the restaurant wasn't full.
Restaurantji Recommends
A perfect ramen with lots of choices, too! The volcano spicy ramen is really spicy, but you can order the chilli paste on the side.The vegetarian ramen is also really succulent, and comes in different broth flavors. Unfortunately, you can order a non-meat egg (the egg they serve is boiled in pork broth).Overall, definitely a ramen shop to come back to!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Volcano Shio Ramen, Vegan Ramen
We enjoyed the food very much. Out of the 4 dishes we had, only one was standout and the rest were acceptable but nothing spectacular. Although we had reservations, there were no tables available so we had to sit at the bar. My date wasn't impressed.....
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Nice place. Host (manager?) was super rude. He berated a delivery guy, simply pointed at a tablet when we asked to put our name on the list and then yelled at us when we followed him to the table and sat down, because he realized it hadn’t yet been cleaned. Ramen was pretty good, tho, and the wait staff were all lovely.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pork Buns
Walked in asked for a table for 5. Male host told us to close the door. Outdoor and indoor space is very small. Door was only from when we asked for a table until he told us to close the door. He tried to kick the first person out so he can close it. We asked again if there was a table available. He semi laughed and said not unless you’re willing to wait 15 min. We are on our way to another ramen restaurant. Do better.
Service: 1
Excellent!! The kimchi ramen is
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4