Kuu Ramen

Kuu chili w pork belly ramen noodle soup killed it. Def putting this on the go to list.

I love this place! Its a small restaurant thats close to my workplace. I’ve been here twice & most of the time I ordered for delivery. I can say that this is the ramen place that I enjoyed of all the place that I’ve tried in nyc. Everything in that bowl taste delicious! They have japanese drinks thats perfectly match with this delicious ramen too! I’m happy that this place exist.

This Ramen is delicious. I love the fact that is near my home in FiDi. But, it really is a hidden gem that has delicious broth. We’re lucky to have Kuu in the neighborhood. I’ve tried their chicken wings and they’re amazing too, but the all the Ramen bowls are great.

Not a bad place to grab some ramen for lunch. Realistically I would give this place a 3.5 star because it’s actually pretty good.
It’s a nice, trendy, small establishment so try not to bring a huge group with you. The Okinawa Salt Ramen was pretty tasty, the pork was a bit overcooked but the broth was very flavorsome and there were a lot of textures going on with the combination of the green onion, arugula, bean sprout, bamboo, sesame and corn.
They offer a wide selection of dishes to try so I recommend you stop by and give this place a try.

Solid
Consistent
Great drink specials and affordable prices
Spicy pork ramen
On point!

Really more of a 3.5 rating, but the staff were friendly and efficient.
Clean place, mediocre ramen. I had the kuu chili chili.
Pros: Broth was flavorful with moderate heat, ground chicken was nicely spiced, I never eat the egg but my coworker happily assumed the role of egg-​eater and seemed delighted (consistency looked spot on).
Cons: Pork was over cooked, noodles left much to be desired and the dish was overall way too salty.
Given the close proximity to my office, I will be back, however there are definitely better ramen places to check out in NYC: Totto, Ippudo, Minca (and Chuko if you find yourself in BK)

I came here the other day to try and get some good food for my lunch break and was very pleased. I asked the staff for recommendations, because I trust workers opinions over online reviews. LOL (I know, ironic isn’t it?) The chef must have heard me asking me, because he came over and introduced himself, as «Taka.» He’s a Japanese chef, from Sapporo, Japan; which is great; because you know some chef’s of Japanese places are Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, and other various backgrounds. No offense to those other people, but a Japanese chef should be in charge of Japanese kitchen.
On to the food, Chef Taka gave me his recommendations and dishes he was proud of, so I tried them.
1) Hawaiian Style Ahi (Tuna) Poke
This is a sliced and diced tuna dish with a little sesame, avocado, limu (seaweed), topped off with a little sauce. It tasted great as a light dish for an appetizer. All sashimi lovers would like this dish or if you have ever been to Hawaii it will make you reminisce. Highly recommended to EAT… paired with…
2) Daischichi Kimoto sake– Sake Pairing
With Chef Taka, being there he told me to have this sake with the poke and gave me a taste first to see if I would like it. It was great and he gets extra bonus points for letting me taste it before trying it. (What other Japanese chef or Ramen shop let you taste sake, before you buy it?) I went with the recommendation and it was a smooth, dry, clean tasting sake. It paired well with the poke, because it was a light dish and made me feel like I’m was in Japan again enjoying life in an Izakaya. It was soooo good, I had to a second glass to go with…
3) Kuu Chili Ramen– Signature Ramen
Now, I do not like spicy things!!! I have a weak tongue and stomach to spicy things, so when Chef Taka recommended it to me, I have to admit I was hesitant to accept. But then, he told me that I could choose how spicy I wanted my ramen to be and that he can control the spice flavor in the kitchen. I was like… cool!!! (Why don’t other places do this??? Imagine going to Ippudo or Masa and telling them to change their recipe or wasabi spice level to meet your needs… they would look at you with disgust!) So of course, I chose mild; and the dish was great with the ramen noodles, meat, vegetables and especially the broth. The broth was the best thing about the ramen, in addition to the pork and noodles. (Side note: I don’t like the white tonkotsu noodles, you get sometimes in Tonkotsu ramen– the chef made sure to give me the standard yellow ramen noodles)
Overall Experience
I had a wonderful time at Kuu talking to the staff about life in general, they were all pretty friendly and open, because it is a small place. But the person who made the day was hand’s down Chef Taka, without his recommendations I probably would have had an only so-​so experience randomly choosing things from the menu just trying to enjoy my lunch break. 5 Unilocal stars and bonus points for Chef Taka and his staff at Kuu! I highly recommend if you got to Kuu to ask for him, he’s the Japanese guy in the kitchen with glasses. Talk to him about surfing, or Hawaii and you will be sure to get a great dish and a wonderful experience! (This is an insider tip– so don’t tell everyone, otherwise the chef might find it weird if all of a sudden everyone comes to him talking about Hawaii-​LOL) Enjoy fellow Unilocalers!
Extra Note– They are extremely busy at lunch time; so try to come later in the afternoon or for dinner if you want a more personalized attention and a relaxed Izakaya like feeling.

Delicious ramen!!! I had the Kuu Chili Chili. I would definitely come back. The place is small but cozy and the staff is very friendly. The portions are average and the prices are reasonable. One odd thing about this place is that they don’t have gyoza on the menu.

Kuu Ramen is the perfect place for lunch on a cold or rainy day. It’s small so I wouldn’t suggest going there with more than 2 or 3 people. The soy ramen with pork is delicious and fills you up a lot. $ 10 is really cheap for a lunch in the financial district so anyone should take advantage.

tl;dr: It’s a mediocre ramen place. Don’t expect anything amazing, but it’s not terrible either.
In the dearth of cheap and quick and healthy food options around fidi, I ended up at Kuu. At 8 on a Friday night, it was suspiciously empty. I ordered an Okinawa Shio and some brown rice tea, but I was a bit disappointed to find that the tea came as just a cup with a tea bag. The ramen broth itself wasn’t as rich as I’ve come to expect from good ramen places. I also felt like with the simplistic ingredients like plain pork slices, corn, and bean sprouts, the ramen was something even I could make in my own kitchen.

I’m upping the stars on this joint. For ahem, I hate to jump from Unilocal to midtown lunch discussions, but from a midtown lunch perspective, this lunch is one of my top lunch spots for the zombie corporate crowd. Everytime I decide to go get lunch here I’m happy, The ramen is very good especially if you were to put it up against say Rafiki’s chicken and rice or your regular spot for a turkey sandwich or salad bar. This place ranks ahead of most lunch spots in any given showdown on any given day.

Simply put, this place isn’t mind-​blowingly good, but it’s good.
It’s a dark little place with two long high tables for 8 and some seats at bar tables along the window and side. I was confused because it seems like you walk the cashier to order, but I guess that’s for take out since we told them we wanted to eat in.
After ordering, I was surprised at how quickly the food came out. Everything is laid out in the kitchen, so really all they have to do is boil the ramen and then assemble it — so efficient. We each got a different bowl of ramen (forgot the names) and they were good. The portion was good, but we were just so hungry that we ordered a donburi bowl to share. That portion was massive even between the two of us. For one person, it’s pretty big.

this is for a 3.5 star review. I’ve eaten here twice with different company. I was impressedd the first time. I had the miso pork belly ramen. it was served quick and hot and excellent presentation. the flavor was great, the noodles a little softer than expected.
2^nd visit — same ramen bowl, but unimpressed. there was little pr no. pork belly. actually I think it was ground pork on my bowl, and the miso was lacking. however I was with colleagues and have been raving about their ramen. so I didn’t return my bowl I ate it unfairly and unhappily. but overall much better than the infamous ramen co. this will be my go to ramen spot when I’m in FiDi. and i will inspect my bowl for my pork belly upon pick up.

Great service. I always walk in here weary after a long day in the office far from home. The ramen is decent and satisfying, albeit a bit salty. The cans of sake are relaxing a bring a smile to my face. The pork buns… ehhhh, I could care less. It’s about that slurp yo. When I’m near I gots to go, ya know?

this is more of a 3.5 star review.
picked up ramen for lunch from this place last week and it was quite decent. i got the kuu chili chili and co-​worker got pork miso. they pack the noodles and broth separately, a huge plus in my books. this way, the noodles stay chewy until you’re ready to eat.
my kuu chili chili had a rich, flavorful broth. the soy sauce egg was delicious, char siu was thick, fatty, unctuous, and excellent! noodles were kinda average and the broth was delicious, though not spicy spicy like i had hoped. co-worker’s pork miso was just okay according to her, she said the pork was too thin and not a whole lot of veggies or garnishes.
i think this place is a good addition to the neighborhood, worth a try.

Ramen — ⁵⁄₅
Service — ³⁄₅
3.5 Stars
My boss had recently just moved his company to the neighborhood. I was not very familiar with this neighborhood so I was still in a search for our go-​to lunch restaurant. When we heard of Kuu Ramen on Unilocal,we were both very eager to try it.
I have only been doing take out from this restaurant, so i’m not exactly sure how the service is for people who stay. However, both times when I arrived at this restaurant, I haven’t been treated the most welcoming.
The first time I had arrived, the server behind the cashier was looking at me when I approached the cashier, greeted me with a «hello» and no smile. I’m sure she was probably exhausted so I let it passed. Since the place is a bit small, it is a bit crowded, so I was confused whether the customers in front of me were on line to order or on line waiting for their food. I had asked a couple of people standing in front of the cashier if they were waiting to order, but they said they were just waiting for their food. Apparently, there was a customer in front of me but I wasn’t aware because he wasn’t standing by the cashier. He was standing away from it. Therefore, I thought I was the next customer and began to say «Hi, can i get…» and the server interrupted me and said the customer away from the cashier was first. I quickly apologized and said I didn’t see. When it was finally my turn to order, the server was giving me an attitude when I was ordering which made me feel a little hesitant to continue to order. I let it go, maybe she’s just tired or stressed out.
However, during my second visit to this restaurant, I had arrived at 11:59AM, 1 minute before opening. There was an employee putting out a sign outside of their restaurant, so I asked if they were opened yet. He replied, «I don’t know» without looking at me. Then, he took out his phone and looked at the time. «there’s still 1 more minute to 12…» He then said something, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying (because he was still not looking at me while he was talking) and walked into the restaurant. I assumed he said «yeah come in» so, I just walked in. The employees inside the kitchen was just staring at me. No greeting or anything. Then, the guy asked if I’m staying or taking out. «Take out, please.» As I was ordering, he wasn’t enthusiastic, he was just really quiet and he talked really quietly. I had to ask him what he was saying multiple times, which probably triggered him to give me an attitude because he threw me a pen to sign the check… Again, I let it go, because it was early, and I was their first customer.
When I first tried this restaurant, I had a soyu pork belly ramen which was okay. The soup needs a bit more work but the ramen was cooked just right.
The second time, I ordered a Kuu Chili Chili Ramen with medium spiciness. Personally, I love spiciness and this was the right level of spiciness to my taste. The broth was super flavorful. The broth was definitely better than the soyu pork belly ramen and the ramen was again, cooked just right. It had minced pork and 1 piece of pork belly included. The pork belly was very melty in my mouth which I liked, but the minced pork didn’t have much specialty. Overall, this is a dish I would definitely recommend.
I also ordered a Okinawa Salt Ramen for my boss. He said the broth was just as flavorful. He said although it was a little pricier, he would definitely still come back to this restaurant.
Overall, the food is delicious. However, the service needs a lot of work. In my opinion, service is just as important as the food. The only good thing about the service is that my order was ready within 10 minutes. I would recommend this place to others, but would warn them about their service.

One evening I was craving rice around FiDi so I settled on ordering take-​out from them. I had the sukiyaki beef rice bowl. Flavors are great and rice is cooked perfectly. I also ordered their seaweed salad and octopus salad. I was disappointed by both salads. Firstly, they are basically the same salad but one has added slices if octopus. Secondly, the fact that the lady at the register should have known and informed me that they are basically the same salad (I was ordering for myself). Thirdly, the described octopus salad was different than what was packaged. Regardless still decent food.

First off, if you’re a ramen lover, you really have to adjust your expectations when you come here. This place is no Ramen Lab, Ippudo, Totto, or any of the other famous ramen shops in the city. But for a lunch spot in FiDi, this place really isn’t so bad (especially compared to the other mediocre lunch spots in the area). I ordered the chili ramen, which had a very spicy soup, though nothing out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t recommend finishing the soup unless you really don’t mind drinking salty water. The pork belly was very tasty, though there were only 2 small pieces. The noodles themselves were average and reminded me of the instant-​noodle-​ramen type of noodles. All in all, it was a filling and quick meal. I’d only come back if I’m feeling particularly hungry though (don’t want to be in a food coma for the rest of the day!).

3.5−4 stars. Gave it 4 instead of 3 stars because of super fast and efficient service and because it is a surprisingly good option for lunch-​things that should be recognized! I ordered the Kuu Chili ramen-​great choice! I requested medium spicy and the broth actually had just the right amount of kick and flavor. The noodles themselves were a little bit too firm (I didn’t mind too much personally but could recognize that they weren’t really the ideal texture) and there weren’t too many other things in the bowl besides noodles, but the broth was enough to make the meal an enjoyable one. For FiDi, this place is definitely a good option. Don’t go out of your way to hunt this place down though-​there are plenty of much more amazing ramen joints in the city.
Really wish I could give 3.7 stars or something to be more accurate, but the 4 showing up on this review is to recognize the quick service, overall decency of the meal, the ability to pay with credit card, and the relative ease of finding a place to sit.

Kuu Ramen
NY Manhattan FiDi
2pm Friday 3^rd April 2014
Four Stars
On this warm but rainy Friday, I went to Kuu Ramen. I ordered the Ku chili chili ramen with chicken and a vegetable tempura ($ 18.5). The ramen came out within 3 minutes. I asked for it to stay but it still came in a to-​go plastic bowl (which I think is standard procedure). The skinny ramen noodles were plentiful but a bit overcooked. The broth was fatty, spicy, and really delicious. The soft egg was perfectly boiled. The one large piece of chicken thigh was juicy. The chili strands, bamboo, and Naruto rounded out the dish. The tempura was freshly made. There were 2 – 3 pieces of Japanese Pumpkin, Chinese Broccoli, Green Beans, Carrots, Zucchini, and Eggplant. The dipping sauce was kind of bland.
Overall, good food, quick service, and reasonably priced.
Next time a chicken bowl.