Jin Ramen

One of the few places for decent ramen in the Upper West Side, I’m so happy they exist. They also have vegetable broth and non-​pork broth options, which is perfect for those observing kosher. The restaurant fills up very quickly. Service is very quick, bring a bag hook for your bag. The portions are generous, my ramen ended up being a serving for 2.

Like the food, but consistently perturbed by slow delivery and misleading estimates on takeout wait time. Don’t tell me it will be ready in 20 minutes and then have it take 50… with no apology offered until it was clear I was ticked. Might be fine to eat in, but expect to be disappointed /​hungry if your ordering takeout or delivery!
Postscript: wrote this on the way back from said super long wait for takeout… and realized that the kaedama I’d ordered was not included. Told by hostess on the phone that kaedama did not mean extra noodles… even though it literally says «kaedama– extra noodles» on the menu! Had to talk to manager to rectify… let’s see how long it takes the delivery person to get here with the noodles… smh.

Service was awesome. Drinks were so amazing that I almost forgot about my ramen which was delicious. I even got desert and it was light and simple. If it wasn’t so crowded we probably would’ve stayed but we wanted to give others an opportunity. Great place, would definitely come back again!

This is the original Jin Ramen’s 2^nd location — the main location is located in Harlem (125 St.).
On a day when snow was over 2 feet high and after some play at Central Park, some friends and I were dying for some ramen. We made a beeline to Jin Ramen and were greeted with a 45 minute wait, which turned out to be 30 minutes on a Sunday around 130pm. They have a nice computerized system that allows you to put your name, number, and # of people in your party and it automatically texts you when it’s ready to come back. I wish more restaurants had places like that… it gives you so many more options to do other things instead of loitering.
This space is decorated nicely — kind of hipster/​Asian fusion type of décor. The tables are really close to each other so I hope your neighbors don’t smell. Service is okay here — someone eventually gives you a menu and someone eventually brings you a check. Not that much more.
As with the original Jin Ramen’s location, the spicy tonkotsu is on point. Just the right kick of spice to burn your tongue a little bit but not too much. I’d say it’s a bit past «mild» for those who are scared of spicy food — stick with the regular tonkotsu. I prefer tonkotsu (rich pork bone soups) over the clear shoyu or shio, so I can’t really say much to those broths. The tonkotsu broth is really rich and flavorful. The spicy tonkotsu comes with thin noodles. It looks like years ago when I ate at the original restaurant, it came with the «Jin noodles» — a thicker flat ramen noodle. I also loved that this broth wasn’t too salty, as it is with a lot of ramen. You can also ask for a lower salt level if you wish.
It also seems like I remember the main location to have the «most perfect pork ever» — I don’t quite remember if the char siu here is quite the same, but it didn’t come off to me as «omg best ever». It is, however, melt in your mouth soft.
At $ 14, I’d say this is a very fair price because they give you TONS of noodles and even half an egg. Other places charge an arm and a leg for an egg it seems.
Excellent choice (and maybe the only choice) for ramen in the Upper West Side.

Jin has pretty good ramen. It is pretty cramped and busy in here, but it didn’t take too long for us to get a table for 2 on a Friday night.
We ordered:
Jin Swizzle — mint, Corralejo Reposado tequila, lime juice, splash of Fernet Branca & soda:
a sweet & tart cocktail
Kakuni Ramen ($ 13) — thin noodle, braised pork belly, bok choy, garlic chips, poached egg:
Rich broth. Delicious kakuni, it was quite a big piece of pork belly. Finally, a bowl of ramen with a decent amount of meat. The toasted garlic chips put it over the top. I wish I had asked for their ‘curly noodles,’ because the Kakuni Ramen comes with ‘thin noodles,’ which I do not like as much as the thicker noodles.
Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen ($ 14) — creamy pork broth with a spicy soybean and roasted garlic paste sauce & spicy sesame oil:
also delicious with rich broth, also comes with thin noodles.
If I came back, I would try one of the ‘Curly Noodle’ options.

In the winter my meals are usually on this repeat: ramen, phở, stew, udon, and every once in awhile a homemade casserole or crockpot.
And it is with open arms that we welcome Jin to the neighborhood. There is just nothing else like a belly full of warm ramen. Their menu is fantastic, as it was hard to make a decision, and everyone in our party had something different and everyone was happy. Spicy or not, add eggs, bok choy, the best part is its all personalized to you.
just wondering if they deliver to me when its 10 degrees out. nope. Hopefully that will change soon, fingers crossed.

Very tiny spot, but has great service and delicious ramen. I will definitely be back.

Came here on a Monday night and there was a line almost out the door. They have a waitlist program which takes your name, # of people and phone number at the hostess stand which throws you into a queue. They’ll text /​call you when you’re table is ready, but I suggest just sticking around. one of the guys who was man-​ing the front of the house (assuming he wa one of the general managers) saw how eager my boyfriend and I was and sat us earlier than we should’ve been.
They have a large selection of noodles and rice dishes to choose from. I had the spicy tonkatsu with wavy noodles and my boyfriend had the kimchi. I asked to have it less salty and I have to say that ramen noodles don’t taste as flavorful as I’m used to when you decide to do this. We also had the fried chicken appetizer and tofu bowl which was mediocre. Overall, it was a pleasant experience — great service and friendly staff and the size of the bowls of ramen are decently sized for the prices.

I got the SHIO ramen, which comes with their «Jin noodles» and chicken broth infused with yuzu pepper and Japanese seven spice.
BROTH — I liked the broth because I’m into yuzu and could taste it with each hearty sip.
NOODLES — I prefer thick and al dente, which the Jin noodles were not. I was aware of that beforehand, but wanted to try their signature noodles. They were just okay.
CHASHU — I really liked that it was topped with chashu (braised pork belly), half of a soft-​boiled egg, menma (bamboo shoots), nori (roasted seaweed), and fresh scallion. But the chashu was thin, limpy, and tough. I prefer tender and fatty, which this was not. I had a hard time chewing them. So disappointed.
SERVICE — Service was great, everyone was friendly and fantastic. Too bad the ramen didn’t blow my mind.

3 stars before for good ramen and rushed service.
Deducting a star today because of bland ramen, bad Kara-​Age, and still rushed service.
The wait for 4 on a Sunday night was around 15 – 20 minutes which isn’t bad at all. However, once seated, I felt the same way from my past two visits here — rushed. The food this time was sadly disappointing and very deserving of these two stars. For appetizers, we ordered pork buns, shishito peppers and their ever so popular Kara-​age. The pork buns were great, as were the peppers. The Kara-​age was horrible! Not crispy, but mushy. I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen less salty per usual and my bowl of noodles tasted like nothing. The whole dish was bland and I couldn’t even finish half my bowl. Two of my friends ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu which had a bit more taste but they really couldn’t find anything great to say about their orders either. My other friend who opted for a rice dish loved whatever he was having though.

This was some solid ramen. Absolutely perfect eat on the chilly day when I went. I was starving after watching a movie at the AMC on 84^th when stumbling upon this gem.
Upon arrive there was about a 20 min wait for the 3 of us. They actually have you submit your name, contact number, and party size on an iPad and text you when your table is ready. I got the text sooner than the 20 mins — at that time you have the option to cancel the reservation if you wish to do so by replying to the text. This was a great alternative to just waiting around in the restaurant since it isn’t too big.
Ambiance: We were seated at a communal bar-​style table. They do a great job at making sure parties are separate even with the communal tables by placing long pots of plants on the table between each party. The only downfall are these tiny metal bar stools that literally only seat 1 butt cheek. There aren’t too many of these stools but unfortunately we had to get one which we swapped out when the party next to us left.
Service: The waiter was very attentive throughout the whole meal which was nice being that it was so packed on the day we went. There was good collaboration with all the staff. We had about 4 servers throughout the meal that brought us our food and helped to refill our teas and waters.
Appetizer: We started with the Kare-​age, which are boneless chicken thigh chunks, which were underwhelming to say the least. There were 7 tiny pieces that were majority fat, so pretty much I paid $ 1 per chunk of fat. Not cool. Luckily the ramen made up for it with both the flavor and huge portion.
Entrée: I got the Miso speciality ramen, since I don’t eat pork and it’s 1 of the 3 options that I could get as they do not make any substitutions to their orders. It was delicious! My 2 friends both got the specialty Kakuni. One of them loved it and actually got another to-​go for her husband and the second said that it wasn’t hot enough. When she ate the egg she said like it tasted like it came right out the fridge — Uh-​oh.
Overall I went for the ramen and was very happy with my choice.

Our experience at this location was ok. I think I was spoiled by own awesome our Harlem experience was.
At their Harlem location, we got to sit right where the chefs were cooking the ramen — a must — so being so far away was definitely a different experience and not as exciting.
I got the ShoYu, and Tim M. got the Kakuni ramenm which had a great pork broth and braised pork belly ($ 15). It was my favorite of the items at the table.
The tables are pretty close together. In fact, two young women sitting next to us decided to Facetime with someone else for a good five minutes, holding up their phone and showing the whole restaurant. That was rude. And people working at the restaurant noticed, as well, but they did not say anything or come to our rescue. I guess we could have told the patrons they were being incredibly rude, but since we were seated near the front, where lots of people who work at Jin are and monitor the room I wish they had stepped in.
I suppose I’d get take-​out next time, but this is still a solid option for delicious ramen.

On a weekend, we were suppose to come at about 6 but just so happened that we came a little earlier, phew, because there was a mini line before it opened. It’s a neat little place, good place for a date with the dim lights but don’t expect any privacy because the tables are packed closely together and you can hear the conversations next to you clearly. They also have bar like seating.
I had the spicy ramen minus the pork and the salmon sashimi /​roe rice bowl. This bowl was very good and refreshing, the salmon and roe were very fresh. It came with about six pieces of salmon. The spicy ramen was good, not spicy at all nor too salty.
Why two stars? The service. On two separate occasions, two different people came to ask if I was done with my ramen bowl. In my head, «don’t you see that there is still soup left in the bowl?, don’t you know the soup is the best part of ramen and people rarely leave their bowls empty especially when it’s good. I HATE BEING RUSHeD OuT. Another thing is when they bring the ramen or other things with liquid, watch out, the way they swing the bowls, the liquid is very very close to coming out and spilling some on something. I was the lucky person and got some liquid on my black jacket, noticed it outside or else I would of made a big stink.
Ramen runs at about $ 11 to $ 14 a bowl, comes with egg, they don’t nickle and dime you and you can add extra noodles for a small cost.
Plastic accepted.
If you come with a person named Jin, I believe you should get a free meal.

Get there when they open for dinner service (they close btwn lunch and dinner) because people start lining up beforehand
The high top tables that seat 4 are split to seat 2 parties if they have a lot of customers
—steamed pork buns: the pork was good with a nice fattyness but the buns overall failed on execution, they needed a sauce or just another element. perhaps spicy mayo?
—spicy tonkatsu: rich broth with a good amount of spicy! the pork again was a PERFECT fattyness & I love that it comes w/​a soft boiled egg! the ramen noodles are the SUPER thin kind which was not bad even though i usually prefer thick
service was a bit slow in the beginning since it was busy and we were the first round of seating
SOLID ramen, really enjoyed the pork but kinda on the pricey side

Stopped by for lunch as we were craving for ramen. The place was crowded which is always a good sign. We were greeted warmly and seated promptly. The place is small but cozy. The décor is nothing special but I’m not into that. It’s all about the food.
There were many good reviews about the pork buns and spicy tonkotsu ramen. We ordered pork buns and chicken karage for appetizers. The pork buns were amazing. The buns melted in your mouth like cotton candy. The pork and sauce combined with the shredded red cabbage was to die for. I would only hope the ramen was equally good or better. The chicken karage was so flavorful with the exterior slightly crispy and the interior so tender. However, it was a tad bit salty but I didn’t care since it was really tasty overall.
The ramen was presented well with each bowl looking exactly alike. I immediately sipped the broth to test its flavor. I’d have to say, this was a little disappointing. There was not much flavor or essence as I expected since we had such good appetizers. Maybe I set the bar too high. Overall, the ramen was fairly decent. The combination of the Charsiu, bamboo shoots, and half a soft boiled egg completed the ramen. I was really hoping to give it 5 stars but maybe next time when i try another one of their dishes.
Keep up the good food. Will definitely be back.

There is an insane wait on Friday and Saturday nights. Definitely come before 7:00PM if you do not want to wait. My boyfriend and I came at 5:30PM on a Saturday, we got lucky and got the last available table. Service is very quick here, they are very efficient with turning tables. However, do not expect any privacy, it is inevitable for you to be listening in on your neighbors’ conversations, and they will be listening in on yours as well. It was a little awkward because the seating was so tight, While trying to get into my seat, I felt like I would have knocked over their food, if they had any on the table. Expect to say excuse me and sorry a lot if you’re sitting against the wall.
Our server was very helpful and very friendly. They are very attentive to water refills, which is appreciated, because I drink water by the gallon. My boyfriend and I ordered pork buns to start (of course) and we each ordered the spicy tonkotsu ramen because so many people raved about it. The buns were pretty good, but the bun kind of overpowered the meat and vegetables in it. The ramen was good, I really liked the noodles, just enough firmness, the broth was pretty good, could have been spicier, but still good. The chashu was very tender, the half soft boiled egg was perfect and so delicious! Overall, delicious and very filling! They are all about turnover, so expect quick clean up and payment!

Came here just yesterday, which was a Saturday night at 5 PM and already there were about 10 people ahead of us. I highly suggest going early if you do not want to wait. After we were seated and they took our order the restaurant was pretty much full. Even with a full restaurant the food did not take long to come. We had the sake ikura don, which is a salmon sashimi rice bowl. It was very good. The sashimi was fresh and delicious. Rice was just perfect. The extra toppings like salmon roe, daikon, kaiware (daikon sprout), shiso leaf, shredded egg, and nori (seaweed) made the whole dish even better.
Of course, I had to also try the ramen. I had the tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen. Pork bone broth is my favorite. I usually get it at every ramen joint. The ramen bowl comes with their homemade ramen, which is the thin kind. They do have several kinds and pair the most suitable kind to each ramen they serve. It comes with braised pork belly, half a soft boiled egg, bamboo shoot, roasted seaweed, and fresh scallion. The broth was amazing, just so delicious. I finished every drop of it. The pork belly could be better, I thought it was lacking in the flavor department, otherwise it was made nice and tender. The egg had a sweet flavor for some reason, but still good.
Service was attentive and fast. It’s not a place to linger around, since they have customers waiting to be seated.

Find this place via Unilocaling the closest ramen spot to my son’s upper west side honor’s college house as we scheduled to visit him one evening. We put time to come to this place prior to my son’s musical play just in case we will be put on a long wait time.
We walked in for an early dinner opener and luckily seated right away. Love the ambiance of the place, brick wall NYC known for, wooden table and chairs for Asian touch, sufficient soft lighting and a greenery charisma. The servers are quick, efficient, friendly and accommodating. Our ramen did not take long. I had the regular tonkutsu and my hubby had the spicy one. It’s not my first time to try a Japanese ramen and sadly to say the rating given to theirs has been compared to our first ramen experience from Honolulu, Hawaii where their chefs are local Japanese-​American-​Hawaiians descent. Anyway, how this place served and prepared the broth though is so heavenly that lingers to my buds. I can’t blame our server when he corrected my husband that their ramen spot is on top 5 list and not on top 10. He said it with full pride. We tried their pork buns. Soft, moist and warm bun topped with seasoned pork and fresh veggies. It is so delightful. Even asked for a take out. I have noticed in their specialty menu a Filipino style ramen. Our server mentioned that one of their chefs is of Filipino background. Hmm, a good excuse to comeback and try it.
It is surely a recommended ramen joint. It is a family place too, kids of younger age were few of the guest that night.

Great ramen place! The broth is rich and with full pork flavor, you can taste it very clearly and has a strong aroma. The noodles are out of this world, not salty but with the distinct flavor of the rice dough.
The pork belly buns are to die for!

Finally got to try this place! Right off the bat, I could tell that I would really like it. The ambience is super hip and unlike most ramen joints in the city, there’s actually lots of seating. Service was quick and efficient. There was no line to get in. There were several families there-​overall a diverse crowd.
Now onto the most important stuff-​the food! I tried the chashu pork buns-​delicious. The buns were perfect: soft and warm with a touch of sweetness that really complemented the meat. The spicy mayo and other garnishes really enhanced the juiciness of the meat, overall making these buns delectable. The ramen was very tasty as well. I ordered the Spicy Tonkatsu. The pork probably ranks among the best I’ve tried at ramen places: perfectly seasoned, soft but not too crumbly, and not extremely salty or fatty. The broth was also just right: spicy but perfectly savory. My only complaint is that the noodles did not seem to soak in the flavors of the broth as well as some at some other ramen joints. They were still good, but could have been better.
I’m still very much Team Totto, but this is definitely a great option if you’re uptown. So glad I finally tried it!