Lucky Cat

Overpriced if not on happy hour. The sushi fish is mashed, not cubed. Not worth the high entrée and sushi prices.

the backyard is good

cutest place~~~ you can watch animé at the bar
ramen is just ok but I mean who go there just for the ramen?
karaage is tender and juicy so I’m sold!
basically if you like manga culture, yo will find comfort here.
only thing is they should play some animé music or at least jpop… instead of the same top 10 we hear on radio everyday

Hidden gem, I rather go here than ippudo any day.
Everything about it is better because it’s closer to having authentic flavor.

I’ve come here twice for the volcano hotpot and was not disappointed either times! The okonomiyaki was also delicious.

Overall — Lucky Cat was so-​so. The food was okay but the service was decent while the prices were a bit on the high side but typical for the Midtown East area.
Environment
Lucky Cat had a decent environment. Place was clean and relatively slow. Posters on the wall boasting the latest animé event. The restaurant was set up with an bar area with tables surrounding it also. The music wasn’t too loud also
Service
The waiter was responsive, fast and courteous. However, with a little bit of a language barrier, they had trouble explaining some of the dishes. Overall though — the service was top notch and helped elevate my review of this restaurant despite the food.
Food
My friend and I settled on 3 dishes: 1. Brussel Sprouts (appetizer) 2. Nagoya Ramen 3. Fried Rice with Pork/​Tofu/​Poached Egg (forgot the name)
1. Brussel Sprouts — Roasted really well and seasoned with an sauce similar to hoisin sauce but better (e.g. sweet and salty) — Highly recommend
2. Nagoya Ramen — Overall — noodles tasted fresh and not from a package. However, the broth tasted just like spicy sauce and masked the broth taste. The minced pork was overseasoned but cooked well as some minced pork can be overcooked and can have an gamey taste. — Not recommended.
3. Fried Rice — Fried rice brought this review down. The tofu was not seasoned and tasted undercooked on some parts. The rice they used was of low quality. Overall, it was just a bit too salty to my liking. The one bright side of this dish was the poached egg. Cooked perfectly. — Not recommended.
Pricing
Pricing on the dishes are comparable with what you will get from other similar restaurants in the area. The ramen was slightly cheaper compared to the more popular ramen shops by a few dollars. Overall, prices were a reasonable compared to market.

Came here a couple of times and I tried both the sushi items and the ramen. Food is really good here and the sake selection is great! They have this sparkling peach sake that is amazing!

Sooooo, I have no clue how long I have bookmark this… wait nvm. It’s on Unilocal!Bookmarked this place in April 9,2016, but I have no clue why! Didn’t even know I could leave a note then…
But anywho, came a little before 5pm for dinner (?). Even though this place was empty, the service was quite slow. Guess they were too busy with getting ready for dinner time.
We waited a good 15 minute for the food. I sat right next to the bar ’cause well, the animé (ghost of shell) was about to play behind the bar! But WTFudge there was no subtitle/​sound to the animé! I dont know how to lip read animé!
Back onto the food… according to my friend, the Kara Age Curry ($ 10) was good. The ramen (Shoyu $ 9) was decent, nothing special. The three stars heads straight to the cute ass seaweed with the neko drawing (look at the pics!) and the ice cream mochi (Mochi trio $ 10) was delicious! Although. I almost died from accidentally inhaling the powder soybean due to a cough…
The bill was placed inside a manga, how creative is that?!
The bathroom?! I approve! Nice, clean, has a mirrior, and spacey! Female bathroom is located on the left side!!! (almost headed towards the male bathroom (right side) –_​_​_​_​_​-​)

If you’re craving Japanese food and drink late night, this isn’t a terrible option. The food is somewhat underwhelming, especially for the price. At 1 AM on a Saturday night, I came in for some beer and food. I ordered the Salmon avocado tacos, a chicken skin, and gizzard skewer, and the grilled squid. All were just okay. The Salmon in the tacos didn’t have great texture, maybe I just got the short stick on fresh inventory. The skewers were 2.50 a pop and are done in 2 bites. The squid was flavorful, but could do with a little more char. The waitresses were nice, and they have a good selection of Japanese whisky and sake. I’d come again to drink and have some snacks, but it probably won’t be my first choice.

This place is so strange, but I like it.
From Tuna Tacos to Ramen with extra rice, they got it. Everything at Lucky Cat was awesome. If you are looking for some udon noodles or something spicy, Lucky Cat is your place!
You must explore the restaurant while you are here. It’s not very large, but there are a lot of trinkets. At the back of the restaurant between the restrooms you will find a very large cat which is Lucky Cat! If you are sitting close to the bar, you will have the pleasure of seeing some Japanese animé– don’t worry there are subtitles for you to follow along.
The check comes in a Japanese comic book/​graphic novel. I thought this was a fun touch.

This place is animé themed and I was entertained immediately. The staff is very attentive and the environment is quiet. The meat volcano is definetly enough to fill you up but I ordered a spicy miso ramen which was sooo yummy. The food is tasty and the price isnt too bad. I would return again if I were in the area for dinner.

This is a very cool Japanese and animé themed shop. They play animé on the tvs behind the bar and they give you the bill in between a real manga book. The place is centered around the Asian fortune cats (you’ll see these quite often at Asian shops), and they have a big statue of one in the back of be room.
In an area with a multitude of ramen joints, lucky cat turns out to be average on that front. I’ve tried the lucky cat and tonkotsu ramen here, and while they bad, they weren’t out the world either. However, their other selections are great!
I would recommend either the salmon avocado or spicy tuna tacos as an appetizer. Get both if you have space!
Their okonomiyaki is very good, not packed with flour, and the other ingredients are plentiful.
They also have a selection of marinated skewered meat which were good. I had the meatball, gizzard and scallions.
Note that the whiskey soda is basically whiskey and club soda, which I thought tasted pretty watered down so wasn’t too big a fan of it. Other drink options include flavored sake and ramune!

I ordered the Yuzu ramen, which has a good flavor and ingredients except their noodle… I think they are using some cheap egg noodle… sad :(
My friend had a salmon teriyaki lunch set, which apparently deep fried salmon with teriyaki sauce come with French fries and fried chicken!!! I love their concept, but I have a mixed feelings.

Lucky Cat. Yep, there is a huge cat at the back of the restaurant.
I guess I was lucky when I came here because beer was only $ 3! They have happy hour and I happened to come at the right time. Since I was already lucky, I decided to continue my lucky streak and had the lucky cat ramen, which is spicy.
It was actually pretty good. They have a good selection of ramen, some with pork broth, some with chicken broth. I would highly suggest going for the pork broth because its delicious.
I really enjoyed the ramen. The noodles were cooked to the perfect consistency and weren’t too soft.
They have so many other dishes here that I can’t wait to try!

Before I go into the gist of my review, I should probably mention that I love cats. Of course, this will affect how I rate things if they happen to be cat-​themed, so reader, beware.
I adore the décor. I mean, it’s a cat-​themed Japanese restaurant! You’d have to be heartless to not be swayed by the maneki nekos adorning most of the establishment! Décor aside, the food is not bad. I’ve gotten their yasai ramen with a boiled egg twice now, and so far, both experiences have been quite pleasant. They have an assortment of cocktails and drinks from Japan, which are always fun to check out as well. It may not be the best Japanese restaurant in town, but its kitsch tugs at my heart strings. Then again, it’s probably just the cat-​theme.

This place has ok ramen. If you’re craving ramen and all the other ramen places are booked up, this may do its job. I came here a couple of times since I live close by. The last time I came here, I ordered the Uni Ramen which was pretty heavy considering the broth was basically heavy cream and the uni was so cooked that it had a very weird texture and had no taste to it. I would’ve been much happier if they just left a few fresh uni on top. The waiters were friendly. I usually see people order the massive meat /​noodle that’s cooked on a portable stove at the table… never tried it but looks interesting. They also give you like 4 different menus which makes the ordering process annoying. I would come here if I don’t have any better options, but will not go out of my way to eat here.

I LOVE their hotpots. They offer various kinds of Japanese food– yakitori, ramen, dons, sashimis. I had their yakitoris, dons and sashimis-​all of these are nothing special. But their Japanese hot pot is amazing– especially for rainy and cold days in NYC. They have pork bellies and some other pork meat with bean sprouts, cabbages and napa cabbages, which tastes amazing together. The broth they use tastes in credible as well. You can also order additional meats and vegetables and noodles to your hotpot. I really think they should just focus on their hotpots and make more flavors and add-​on selections.
I have since gone back 3 times for their hot pot!

Close to my company, there are three ramen places — hide chan, totto and lucky cat. While both hide chan and totto were renown for their food, lucky cat was famous for its cartoon decoration. There were also more varieties provided at lucky cat. As a big fan of creamy soup, I personally prefer totto a bit more, however it was also a bit too salty… size was also a bit small here, so definitely a better choice for girls.
I cannot remember how many times I have been back here yet this is my first time reviewing this place. It was also less crowded, so expecting a faster speed.

You get to sit with a giant creepy Neko that stares at you while you eat. It’s bright eyes and upturned paw is enough to feel both welcoming and watched. Nonetheless, I chose to sit with my back towards kitty although then it just feels like he’s watching over your shoulders. You can’t win!
This shrine to all hail kitty, does serve up a mean ramen. I had their signature Lucky Cat ramen for lunch. The spicy tonkotsu with thick noodles were flavorful and the broth had a velvety, creamy mouthfeel. When you choose thick noodles, they aren’t kidding. The noodles were the thickness of udon almost and cooked nicely. The lunch ramen can come with a 3-​piece gyoza was +$ 3 which wasn’t much of a deal as an add-​on. However, it was prepared well and had good flavor.
Service was nice and friendly although they all chatted among themselves in some southeast asian language pretty loudly as I ate. I guess they needed to speak over the music that they played over the dining room. I recall distinctly «B*tch betta have my money!» as the unpleasant song lyrics that were repeated over and over again throughout my meal… Love the ramen so maybe a trade-​off if I am hankering to hear profanity laden music while eating.

I feel like a lucky dog finding a place like Lucky Cat.
Upon entering you will notice, as my fiancé did, a huge cat statue in the back of the restaurant. It was life size, and I don’t mean real cat sort of size, but taller than some of my friends type of life size. Then you have the wall of cat related posters and packets of instant ramen nailed up along with the images of popular animé characters and boxes of childhood snacks. While a chalk board across the room had cute animals drawn upon it, along with a list of their specials. There was certainly a lot of visual stimuli, especially if you look behind the bar, where a tv was playing episodes of Astro Boy. A very cool place to dine and see some new and fairly familiar things from your childhood since I was a bit animé fan as a kid. And the food was good too.
Before I get sidetracked going down memory lane with all their animé, ramen packets, and big lucky cat statues, let me mention their food. Like most people that dine here, the ramen was the dish that drew us in. However, upon sitting and looking at their menu and realizing they have Volcano Hot Pot, I thought to myself «how could I pass up eating something that had the word ‘volcano’ in it?»
So we ordered their Shironeko Original hotpot (minimum 2 per order). Their menu states that the original is cooked with their signature 14-​hour pork broth and chicken broth, pork belly (thin slices piled into the shape of a volcano), cabbage, bean sprout, napa, chives, scallion, spicy miso paste and sesame. Though all that gibberish just means good food, if you read between the lines. The hotpot is similar to places like Hakata Tonton, but better price and better proportion makes this better than what I had elsewhere. The broth was very savory and hearty. We added tofu, thin noodles and the curly noodles to the hotpot which soaked up the porky flavors. The pork belly was not fatty like your typical bacon is, it was a good sizable amount of meat per slice.
Their salmon avocado taco was a nice fusion of sushi and taco. Well prepared but a bit messy while eating, as one would expect with a guacamole like sauce in the middle. Nonetheless it was very good.
Good food, good service and a nice environment. Overall, they score a 4.5 stars. The half star being a deduction on not actually trying any ramen so I can’t give them a perfect score… yet. And no, the thin noodle or curly noodle in the hotpot does not count.