Ivan Ramen

I’m not the biggest ramen fan, and ironically I have been finding fantastic NY ramen restaurants for wonderful food. My friends and I were seated outside, even though it’s the winter the heaters made it warm enough. I started my meal with a tofu Coney Island based on other Unilocalers recommendations. Then I had the latke nomiyaki, a latke with Japanese toppings. It was an absolutely delicious fusion of New York, Jewish and Japanese food. Having some Japanese craft beer was a great treat. So come here whether or not you like ramen for a treat of a meal.

We made reservation a week ahead for late lunch with friends on Saturday. Place was packed, service was great, broth salty … In other words we weren’t impressed. I doubt we’ll go there again.

What I had: Pastrami Pork Bun, Spicy Red Chili Ramen
Would I go back?: Yes very good Ramen joint
Story: Had just gotten back to the city from the Holidays and me and my friend were looking for somewhere on our lists to head to dinner. My friend suggested this place. Came here on a friday night after work — place was crowded as expected but they were realistic enough to us about the wait. When we were seated the staff was pleasant and concise about their recommendations — we ordered and the food came out pretty promptly. Pastrami in our pork buns came over from Katz’s — DELICIOUS on all fronts– bun was nice and pillowy in texture and pastrami was perfectly cooked. As for the ramen — my thing about ramen is that the broth is just always too salty/​heavy to actually ever stomach and finish the entire bowl — so this experience was not any different really in that regard. I had wanted something spicy and usually I go for the standard go to when I head to a Ramen place but I decided to switch it up. The spicy red chili was definitely spicy but just spicy enough for my palette. I loved the rye noodles it gave the noodle some sort of different heir about it. I ended up taking a good portion of the broth home and enjoying it in 2 more meals diluted down a bit and making my own makeshift ramen with it.

Tasty food and creative fusion, set in a very nice space. Service could be better. Price is a bit steep.
For app, id rec the latke.
The mushroom casino royal was a creative way to prepare mushrooms like pasta, but mediocre on taste.
Also a pass on the fried oysters– not bad but totally not worth the $$. The Chinese veggies were tasty, on the sweet side, but unusually ice cold.
The Dan Dan noodles were very tasty, as was the tsukemen. Others at our table enjoyed the spicy chili and the triple pork ramen.
Everything took forever to come out. Apps were served one at a time and 5 – 10 min apart. Then a 30+ delay on the ramen.

Great place to go on a date or with a couple friends. If you’re going on a weekend or for dinner expect a wait without a reservation.
Good ramen but I’ve honestly I’d better. I got the Tokyo Shio Ramen & found it a bit too salty for my liking. The portion of ramen they give you isn’t as huge as other ramen places where you’re so full you can’t move (hello ramen coma!). You leave satisfied & not bloated which is nice.
I’ll be back to try the other menu items — apps to be specific :)

They forgot to bring out my Kadame (extra noodles) and weren’t very attentive. Had a hard time getting the waitress’s attention.
A larger party was sat before us even though we were waiting for 30 minutes already and they didn’t have a reservation.
The ramen was alright but nothing out of the ordinary.
Would not recommend!

I came to Ivan with a girlfriend to have some cozy, hot ramen on a cold winter night. I made a reservation and we were seated instantly… at the bar. At first I was very confused since I saw tables available, but I didn’t want to start moving around and being annoying, so bar seating it was. It actually ended up being a nice experience to sit there. You are overlooking the kitchen and the bartender is also your waiter so you get a little more intimate experience when it comes to being served. We shared an order of the roast pork musubi as our appetizer and it was good. It tasted like barbecue pork sushi. My suggestion is to order a few appetizers, since this one was one bite and poof, it’s gone! We didn’t do that, sadly. Anyway, both of us ordered the same ramen dish, the spicy red chili ramen, and it was very good as well.
The prices are good and the ambience is certainly nice and trendy, but they don’t have dessert! Sadness! Would’ve been nice to have a sweet treat after a spicy meal.

Came here for the cool back story (Ivan started his ramen shop in Tokyo), yet the whole experience was somewhat disappointing. It was busy on a Saturday night, service could get slow and a reservation is preferable especially with a bigger group. We got coney island tofu for appetizer. When I was going to order triple pork mazemen, the waitress asked if I’d had it and told me in a warning way that it’s «not the traditional ramen and no soup there», I got intimidated and had vegetable ramen instead. I’d prefer other broth than shoyu (like miso or tonkotsu), but that seemed to be the only kind they served.
Coney island tofu was a letdown given its price… for $ 13, I guess I was expecting more than a few fried tofu cubes with chili and mustard that were just too salty for me. Later the vegetable ramen wasn’t that impressive, I tried the triple pork mazemen and it was definitely more special and tasty. Despite the overpriced appetizer and shoyu only base, it was still fun trying out their non traditional /​western ramen!

Je dois avouer que je n’avais qu’une vague idée de ce qu’est un «ramen » … Premièrement, je pensais né trouver qu’une sorte de soupe au vague goût de poisson… Deuxièmement je considérais ce type de repas comme étant définitivement le «nouveau truc à la mode «comme les kebap il y a bien des années, j’étais plutôt assez méfiant. Des «ramen «éclosent un peu partout dans le monde, principalement Londres et New-​York et même maintenant à Genève…si ce n’est pas peu dire… Tout ce qui est un peu considéré comme fast food… donc rapide… et permettant aux restaurateurs de s’en mettre plein les poches avec peu d’investissement financier né m’excite vraiment jamais et suscite en moi une certaine méfiancé. Eh bien j’avais vraiment tort…
Un choix étudié et c’est «Ivan ramen «qui me semblait être l’endroit idéal surtout que je trainais dans le quartier ce jour-​là. Le plus étonnant est que le propriétaire n’est pas japonais, se trouve être un personnage plutôt très intéressant car absolument obsédé par ce plat. C’est en 2007, que ce dernier, juif de New-​York, décide de partir pour le Japon depuis Long Island et avec en tête une idée des plus farfelue… Ouvrir une table à Tokyo alors que l’on sait que les «gaijin «(étrangers) qui s’essaient à la cuisine japonaise n’ont quasiment aucune chance de réussir, contrairement aux japonais. D’ailleurs je vous encourage à lire l’excellent article Chihiro Masui sur le site de Atabula appelé «Mythes et légendes de la cuisine japonaise «qui est plein d’intelligence et de lucidité. Sachant que la concurrence serait rude et que les japonais sont surement des avis assez arrêtés sur ce plat, il se lança néanmoins dans cette périlleuse aventure. Au départ, les clients venaient par curiosité mais rapidement le bouche à oreille fonctionna à merveille relatant la qualité des nouilles faites maison, les bouillons aux saveurs complexes et nettes, les ingrédients soigneusement sélectionnés. Ivan devint alors une star et commença à apparaitre dans les programmes de TV japonais. Grace à son succès, il ouvrit un second établissement à Tokyo.
Si vous surfez sur la toile vous trouverez ses adresses préférées à Tokyo, son livre et également ses deux établissements dans cette ville. Considéré comme l’un des chefs ayant apporté une nouvelle vague de fraicheur à la cuisine asiatique aux Etats-​Unis comme David Chang et Roy Choi, il me fallait découvrir ce plat.
New-​York vivant une sorte de révolution pour ce plat basé sur des nouilles japonaises, Ivan Orkin décida d’ouvrir en 2014 ce nouvel établissement dans le Lower East Side, plus précisément dans Clinton Street.
Un intérieur plutôt sobre avec néanmoins un manga dans le style de Nathan Fox sur le comptoir avec par exemple un gros petit garçon habillé avec un masque de Batman et des chopsticks.
Une partie de la salle à manger avec un mur recouvert de collages plutôt amusants mélangeant un peu de tout et n’importe quoi coloré mais avec passablement de références asiatiques.
Une série de tabourets fixes au sol face à un autre mur et au bar.
Pour commencer nous pendrons un «Roast Pork Musubi «, prune salée, wasabi, tomate confite, nori toasté. Une fabuleuse bouchée pleine de diverses saveurs et textures avec le croustillant de la feuille d’algue, dessus une boulette de riz avec un morceau de porc rôti, la prune et la tomate. Quelque chose d’un peu marin, caramélisé et sucré. Admirable mise en bouche.
Deux «ramen «différents avec un premier traditionnel choisi par l’autre convive; le «Tokyo Shoyu Ramen «, sauce soja, dashi, bouillon de poulet, porc chashu, œuf et nouilles rye. D’une très grande légèreté, des nouilles cuites à la seconde et un bouillon avec des saveurs extrêmement équilibrées sur lequel l’on trouvera du poireau finement émincé. L’œuf n’est ni dur et ni mollet, cuit lui aussi a la minute prête. La quantité de bouillon par rapport à l’ensemble du bol semble parfaitement avoir été étudié car nous sommes à mi-​chemin entre une soupe et un plat de pâtes.
Pour moi, son «Spicy Red Chili Ramen «épicé, est un mélange de «dashi «, de piments et de bouillon de poulet. A cela est ajouté un peu de porc haché, des œufs en morceaux et des nouilles rye. Mêmes observations que pour l’autre «ramen «mais ici le bouillon est extrêmement corsé et pimenté parfaitement. Ni à emporter le palais, ni de manière légère, un dosage à nouveau d’une méticuleuse précision. Les saveurs sont plus marines que l’autre avec des fines lamelles de fanes d’oignon sur le dessus.
On accompagnera le «ramen «d’un «daikon vinaigré «qui est cette sorte de navet râpé sur lequel se trouve des crevettes séchées et une huile au piment et de Saint-​Jacques. Une sauce rappelant la célèbre XO.
Autre accompagnement, des légumes verts chinois qui se trouvent être une sorte de broccoli et ail. L’ail a été mariné dans une sauce de soja sucrée et versée sur les légumes sautés refroidis. A nouveau un très appréciable condiment pour le «ramen «.

Pésimo. No entiendo como lo pueden incluir entre los mejores Ramen de NY. Vivo aquí en NY y es de los peores que he probado. 1 hora esperando para tomar un Ramen bastante regular, con el huevo despedazado y encima con trozos de cáscara dentro! Y después de encontrarme eso no fueron capaces de traerme otro o invitarnos a la cena. $ 70 por algo así? No, gracias!

YUM!
Ivan Ramen. So. Good.
Their ramen was so fresh and so delicious. A small shop, experts in ramen, and a nice hideaway in the LES. I’ve heard of Ivan Ramen for quite some time and was happy to have tried it.
I will start off to say our server was SO nice. Friendly, with a smile, and gave great recommendations. The pastrami buns were so different. Presumably thinking they would be heavy, they were actually quite light. I ordered the Tokyo Shio Ramen, as described by our waitress, one of the more delicate tasting. It was light, the ramen tasted homemade and it was easy to digest. The pork was good, but the dish was really about the noodles.
I enjoyed it! It’s not a super fancy ramen place but it has a nice, chill vibe. It was delicious, especially on a cold, winter night.

Ivan Ramen’s appearance in NYC in 2014 has finally brought some competition to Ippudo’s hold on the «fancy ramen» market here. If nothing else, you have to respect that a Long Islander founded a successful ramen shop in Tokyo.
Ivan is the place I go to when my taste buds are craving the best flavors, but I don’t have the energy to research the latest & greatest restaurants. It’s also the place I go to when I have out-​of-​town friends to impress, but I don’t want to deal with Ippudo’s wait times.
Great news for groups: Ivan Ramen now accepts reservations via OpenTable!
For appetizers/​sides, make sure to order the Chinese Greens & Garlic (with garlic «love sauce»), for these reasons:
— Ramen came from Chinese cuisine
— The flavor is addictive
— I mean, love sauce
I’ve witnessed people rave over other appetizers here (esp. the meatballs), but I’m not that into them.
My favorite ramen dishes at Ivan so far are the Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen (less broth, not less tasty) and the chicken broth ramen that appears on the menu for limited periods of time. The latter is just the most velvety, umami-​licious broth I have ever tried, and once it left the menu for summer I kept asking the staff when it would return. What I’ve heard so far is that they’re thinking of bringing some alternative version of this ramen back for winter, with similar thick chicken broth. Whatever, I’ll be there.

Cold shio ramen — nothing extraordinary and slightly better than instant ramen. Will satisfy your ramen craving, but you’ll kinda wish you stood in line for ippudo
Bright interior, clean bathrooms, friendly and speedy service

Definitely a great new way to look at Ramen. Their Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen was good but a little salty which I guess you would expect with triple pork. When we got it our pork was Cold and so was the egg. Very different style of ramen with no broth, instead a sauce-​like a pork reduction which was full of flavor.
Spicy Ramen was good but not any different than other places. Hardly spicy at all.
Don’t mass produce if your charging $ 18 for a bowl… We be expecting expecting freshly cooked, otherwise go with $ 12 – 14 and you accept what your given.

Such a shame. I REALLY wanted to like/​LOVE Ivan Ramen I just couldn’t. I have read the other reviews on here for Ivan and I wonder if the people who love it just don’t know any better. That is the only way I can justify it in my mind. I went to Ivan once earlier this year and thought it was just ok– not bad not good. I was a little tipsy so I figured my experience was based on that and went back last night positive that I would have a better time.
I went back and still the same– not bad, not good just OK. sort of like how something is just OK when you are eating at an airport. Leaving no real notion behind expect it being overpriced.
I started out with the Kewpie Prawns. They were good don’t get me wrong. They were lightly fried and then covered in a flavorful Kewpie Mayo sauce and then put on a bed of Japanese Watercress. The shrimps were tasty however at $ 18 the two prawn heads and 7 peices of cut up chunks of prawn was far from worth it.
I then had the Spicy Red Chili Ramen and also the Dan Dan noodles. The ramen was just OK. It did have a latent spice to it and a nice soft boiled egg but the ramen itself was nothing special at all. No real depth of flavor on the broth. Noodles were just average, didn’t taste freshly homemade.
Dan Dan noodles were a real disappointment, not spicy at all (although they claimed it was) it was served with an egg yolk and a bowl of dry ground up chicken that you miss together. These really stunk. They lacked anything a good Dan Dan noodle has– szechuan peppercorn numbing, fresh noodles with a bite, etc. Before I could finish the bowl the noodles (served plain as you add in all the components) formed into a big stinky chunk that did not come apart.
I am OK and expect to spend 15 – 18 dollars on a bowl of Ramen, it is NYC. However all their apps and drinks were very expensive. Dinner for four came over $ 200. So let’s say $ 50 each which included one bowl of ramen with no extras, two beers and one shared prawn app.
I went at 630 on a Wednesday night. I made sure to make reservations as I assumed it would be jammed packed. It was empty with plenty of tables– never a good sign.
It’s a real disappointment that after so much fanfare Ivan Ramen comes no where near it’s hype.
There are SO many ramen places in NYC now skip this one.

I love me some ramen, but to be honest the only thing that I remember from my last meal at Ivan was the LES bun appetizer, which I would have never ordered if the server hadn’t suggested it. It’s two steamed buns with pastrami, karashi mayo, and daikon slaw. It sounds like a weird combo but it’s so delicious — definitely don’t miss it!
As far as the ramen goes, I know I had something chilled but I can’t for the life of me remember anything about the flavor or ingredients except that it was underwhelming. And when it comes to food I’m practically at Rain Main status so it’s saying a lot that I can’t recall anything special about it at all.
It was a nice cool treat on a warm day, though, and at late brunch time on a Sunday it was pretty empty. The space is fun and whimsically decorated, and our server was above-​and-​beyond nice and friendly. For those reasons and mostly for the buns, I’d definitely return to give it another shot, but I wasn’t bowled over by my Ivan experience.

Interesting take on Ramen. Located in the heart of LES, and with a Russian/​Jewish chef, Ivan Ramen adds those influences to some really great ramen. The most successful was the LES (pastrami) buns.
We ate outside on the patio — a really lovely space with interesting mural on the surrounding wall. Service was slow but professional, the inside space was pretty crowded and I think we got a little less attention out back.

Heard about this through one of my friends, and decided to come here on a whim. It sounded like this place gets packed easily, so we decided to make a reservation.
My boyfriend called in to make the reservation for 6:30PM on 11/​19, and to ensure that our reservation was there, I also made a reservation on OpenTable for the same time (a picture attached as proof).
To our confusion, neither of our reservations showed up in their system… what???
But no worries, says the hostess — she seats us anyway; thankfully, because there were a few opened tables, and I would’ve been pretty upset, considering I had a confirmation!
Bussers are pretty quick to fill our glasses with water, and shortly after, a waitress came by to check on us, but we weren’t ready yet. She did tell us about their special, which was the Japanese fried oysters, and then left us to decide what we wanted.
When we were ready, no waiters were around, so we flagged down the hostess nearby us. Pro-​tip: The hostesses are literally there for that reason — to host — they don’t take orders, or refill glasses, so don’t expect them to assist you like your waiters would. She helped us get a waiter to come take down our order.
We ordered the special fried oysters, the spicy ramen (fully loaded, plus mushrooms), and the shoyu ramen (plus mushrooms, and additional pork chashu).
The oysters came out first, and the waitress explained that the sauce goes well with almost anything, and left us to our food. The oysters were juicy on the inside, even after being fried, and the sauce definitely made it taste great. I liked the cabbage slaw, also with the sauce, LOL.
We were left waiting for our ramen, but no matter — we didn’t mind.
When it did come though, the first thing we noticed is that the spicy ramen didn’t come with the mushrooms, as ordered. We called the waitress over and let her know, and she just brought the mushrooms over without question.
In terms of the Shoyu Ramen, the noodles, I liked the texture. In terms of taste, it didn’t *wow* me, but it definitely was not terrible. Maybe the hype of it being «really good» killed it for me. The texture of the pork chashu was close to what I expected: soft, and flakes apart when bit. HOWEVER, the taste was subpar — I had ordered extra, so I received 3 pieces. I ate 2, but I couldn’t stomach the last piece at all. There was something about the taste that didn’t mix well with the ramen/​soup. The color was a little off from what I’m used to (it was like greyish brown? — wish I took a picture of it), but I don’t know if that had something to do with the taste…
In terms of the spicy ramen, it was relatively spicy, but you won’t die (for those who are sensitive to spicy foods). Since my boyfriend ate this, he enjoyed it, but wished there was more in portion. He ate my last piece of chashu, and agreed that there was something off about the taste.
I think overall, I was disappointed with my experience, but I might come back with the friend who recommended that I try this place out. Hopefully my experience will change for the better? The staff was relatively friendly.
For the record, it did annoy me that our reservations didn’t show up on the OpenTable or the phone call we made — like who answered the call, and why wasn’t it there? Weird.

Ivan ramen was good. Not the best I’ve ever had but since most ramen places don’t take reservation it is a little easier to come here. Also the backyard is cute and good for larger groups.
I was really hoping they had some kind of non-​pork buns (ippudo has veggie, momofuku has veggie or shrimp) so I was pretty disappointed to find out they didn’t.
We ordered cucumber pickles ($ 7) to start which were good but kind of pricy. I got the vegetable ramen and asked for a side of spicy sauce. The ramen was alright. It had enoki mushrooms, tomato and arugula. I added an egg for another $ 2 which brought the ramen to $ 17. I felt like for that price it wasn’t really worth it. I find The veggie ramen at ippudo much better, mostly because it comes with a lot more stuff in it and is larger.
Will I be back? Probably if I have to wait 3 hours elsewhere for ramen but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

I lived in Tokyo for six years so I am literally always in the mood for ramen. I went to check this place out for lunch with some friends. It was chilly, but we sat outside with the heaters on because the place was packed – honestly not the best experience, unfortunately. With the heaters on it was too hot and with them off, pretty chilly. We settled for off. The Ichiban was 8 bucks – (again, I’m from NOT NYC so I’m not used to these prices) and they should have some Asahi Super Dry!
The ramen was poor at best – I hate to say it! 15 dollars for some of the blandest ramen I’ve had in a while. There was no substance, unfortunately. I was surprised that my meal literally consisted of broth, some arugula, mushrooms and two sundried tomatoes (?). Nothing else. Really, I’d say pop by if you’re in the neighborhood and famished. You might need to buy two ramen bowls.

So I have to admit with some astonishment that I was marginally disappointed with this place, and I am not as much of a ramen connoisseur as others are, including presumably owner Ivan Orkin, a New York native who developed major cred by opening up two popular ramen houses in Tokyo. He opened two more shops in Manhattan, wrote a ramen cookbook, and is an FOD — friend of David, Chang that is, since he’s featured often in Chang’s foodie magazine, Lucky Peach. I don’t doubt that Ivan knows noodles, but the lack of a true Tonkotsu Ramen choice on the menu disturbed me.
I don’t count the $ 16 Tonkotsu Tsukemen, which provides cold wheat noodles to dip into a tonkotsu broth. In fact, I’m miffed they would go to the trouble of making tsukemen and not use the same broth for a classic ramen bowl. Ivan is not alone in his thinking. Michael Mina made the same mistake to exclude it from his Ramen Bar, and writing on behalf of the many tonkotsu fans out there, we are not happy. Regardless, I distracted myself by ordering the $ 7 Roast Pork Musubi, a pair of wing-​tipped nori toasted with salted plum wasabi, roasted tomato, rice and bits of pulled pork (photo:
). Tasty morsels, they were easy to pop in the mouth and gone in a matter of seconds.
But then came the tonkotsu-​less ramen decision, and I chose the $ 15 Tokyo Shoyu Ramen simply because I presumed the Shio version would be more watered down. I was underwhelmed by the thin chicken broth that was blended with soy sauce and dashi. I ordered extra pork belly for $ 3 more, and that helped fortify the bowl as did the semi-​soft-​boiled egg. The rye noodles not so much as I would have preferred regular noodles al dente instead (photo:
). I also found the service a bit on the lax side as the server did not appear genuinely concerned about my reaction to the lack of tonkotsu ramen.
On the upside, the shop is surprisingly spacious for a ramen operation, which is usually a study in claustrophobia. The main dining wall is a colorful découpage of mostly Japanese pop and commercial art images (photo:
). The restroom even has a framed poster of Woody Allen’s «Manhattan» with Japanese subtitles. All these touches along with the urban-​chic Lower East Side location provided the requisite coolness factor they were striving for, but all this plebeian wanted was a bowl of tonkotsu ramen to slurp up with abandon. It just didn’t happen for me here.
FOOD — 3 stars… creative musubi but the watery ramen broth didn’t satisfy
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… more spacious and less crowded than I was expecting
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… lackadaisical
TOTAL — 3 stars… the hype pushed my expectations too high for this shop

In the search of top-​quality ramen in NYC, Ivan Ramen falls in perhaps the top 10. Not a must, but they’ve got some solid offerings besides ramen that I think are even better!
Their roast pork Musubi is as tasty as it is pricey for the quantity. Roasted tomato and pork have never had such a delicious pairing! I also highly recommend the mushroom casino. Flavorful, crunchy, and topped with savory bits of clam and sausage. This was the favorite of the table. The tempura ebi would have been good I’m sure, that is – if we didn’t have to split two shrimps between five people. The watercress salad underneath had a deep, herby flavor – not for everyone.
The ramen itself I found to be rather unique though slightly disappointing. I enjoyed the smoky flavor of the broth and noodles, but the entirety of the dish was lacking. A slice of pork that was 90% fat (of course it’s delicious but it’s difficult to mess up a slice of pork fat.) An egg, strips of scallion… and yep, that’s it. Not much of a bowl of ramen I’m afraid. I can’t say I’m dying to go back, but try it for yourself and see what you think!