Nikai Japanese Restaurant and Bar

This place is in upstairs space of a busy corner lunch buffet place. I was able to get a seat at the bar and hoped to get some ‘real’ ramen (and service) than all the quick/​take-​out food they were selling downstairs.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. My $ 10 ramen came in a compostable bowl with a small plastic spoon (not for ramen), which was awkward to use for ramen. I didn’t get water and waited 10 min for a simple check. They were completely shorthanded during lunch time when I was there, so this was OK. But ramen was meh, and eating ramen in a compostable bowl is something I never want to do again.

I had the miso ramen. It tasted like Sapporo Ichiban instant ramen. Nothing more to say.

I had the spicy mexican shio ramen, which had some jalapenos, pork, an egg, etc. It was just ok…‘eh. The pork was too chewy and the noodles weren’t like the usual ramen noodles-​they were more thick and overall, the whole bowl was pretty flavorless. It needed some fatty and spicy soup to it! Haha.

This place listened, spent time to correct, and FIXED IT ALL. I am very impressed with Nikai now. And that is after my disappointing last review. I have been back since my last review 4 times and Nikai was excellent.
They have the original, hand made, excellent Ramen noodles cooked to a nice toothy texture. They have a healthy portion of chicken, broth, bamboo shoots, etc. They have a casual, comfortable setting with attentive and helpful staff. They have real Ramen soup spoons and NOT plastic take-​out-​spoons. They are a grea, inexpensive alternative to other ramen spots. Go. Enjoy. Return.

Pretty disappointing… I got the miso ramen, and the noodles were cooked well, but the miso broth is not miso broth at all. Just pretty flavorless chicken broth. At least there was a bottle of Sriracha nearby to make it taste like something. Pretty skimpy on the pork, too, just one little sad slice. But worst of all, the egg was like a deviled egg. Hard boiled with the yolk scooped out and mashed up and replaced. The best part of a bowl of ramen is that soft boils, melts in your mouth perfectly cooked egg. This was just all wrong… The server was very nice and attentive though, so I have em three stars because that counts for something.

Came here at the recommendation of a co-​worker. Ramen here is very good. The noodles have a quality chewy texture. However, the miso broth was a bit salty. Based on other Unilocal reviews, the prices have gone up. It costs $ 10 for a bowl of ramen these days. Certainly a very good choice for a chilly day. The miso ramen comes with a whole egg, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and one piece of meat. If you are very hungry that might not be sufficient and so you might consider paying $ 2-​$ 3 for some extras. There is a bar area where you can sit and watch the guy make ramen or you can sit by a high bar stool table.
My only gripe is that you I was charged $ 12 for each bowl of ramen (I was here with a friend and we both got miso ramens). I didn’t notice the incorrect charge when I signed the bill because the subtotal appeared correct. However, I went back to the restaurant later that day and spoke to Thomas, who is a manager at Tree Haus and he was receptive to the facts that I presented him. He refunded me the difference, which I greatly appreciated because such action upholds the integrity and quality of Tree Haus and Nikai. Thanks. Lesson here: look at your bill carefully.
Specs: located in the upstairs seating area of Tree Haus.

Not sure why this place has bad reviews. I love this place and it’s a fast lunch. It’s no Ippudo but a bowl of ramen here is $ 10 vs. $ 15 at Ippudo.
I usually order the miso ramen with chicken or pork. They have soba too but the ramen is so good that I order it every time I go there and I go once a week. Service is awesome too!

Interesting setup and pretty presentation, but not the real thing.

I had the tonkotsu ramen. The broth is on the milder side than average. I don’t mean it’s bad. It’s just milder and sometimes I do feel like having milder broth. The noodle has a distinct taste and texture of freshly-​made noodle. I think it’s an okay ramen spot, nice dining room above the treehaus, and so far no wait time.

This is a small ramen operation located on the second floor of Treehaus.
I have eaten there three times. The first strong point is that the noodles are made in-​house and if you sit at the noodle bar, you may see them cascading out of the pasta machine in front of you. The second strong point is the broth which is better than most of the places nearby. I agree with the commentators who thought the piece of pork was a bit chintzy. The excellent gyoza now turn out up at dinner only, which is a shame. I experienced a long wait on my first visit, shortly after it first opened, but the wait time on the more recent visits was perfectly acceptable for prepared to order food. Prices are reasonable for this part of midtown.

This is what I would call a «hidden gem» of ramen places. You might even miss it. It’s located on a the second floor of another lunch-​y/​grab and go type of place. My friend and I came here for lunch on a Friday around 12:45pm. We were seated right away.
The lunch menu is pretty bare (there are maybe 4 noodle options) but I’ve never been one to want too many options. I went with the miso ramen with pork. Noodles fresh, broth hit the spot, and vegetables perfect. And get this, it was $ 9! Seriously you can’t beat that.
I’ll probably be back to try some of their other ramen dishes.

If you’re looking for really good ramen with very little fanfare, then this is the place for you. I had the tonkotsu ramen. The broth was rich, the piece of pork just fatty enough, and much bigger than I was expecting. But the ramen is just absolutely the freshest I’ve ever had. Texture was perfect, as was the flavor. Yes, the egg could’ve been cooked just a tad longer, as it was on the runny/​raw side.
I can’t give this completely 5 stars because of the lack of staffing. First, the guy behind the bar had to wave at us to take our own seats as their one waiter seemed to be delivering a couple of bowls from the kitchen. But where to sit, because while there were empty spots, both at the communal tables and at the bar, dirty dishes from the previous patrons were still there. I managed to find a spot, and had to grab a menu off another table because, after 5 minutes, no wait staff came to hand me a menu. I waited another 10 minutes before a waiter came to take my order. I asked for the tonkotsu ramen and an order of gyoza, but was told they were out of gyoza. Seriously? It was 12:30 on a Wednesday. How can you be out of gyoza??? Finally, another waiter showed up to help bust the tables, and eventually my food was delivered. Not as steaming hot as I would’ve liked but as I mentioned earlier, this was the freshest – and best – ramen I’ve had.
Yes, I will come back. Hopefully this is just growing pains.

The only cool thing about this place was the napkins. It comes in this pill-​sized bit of fluff. If you add water to it, it just *ENLARGES* like a… like a… uh… yea.
I had the tonkotsu ramen ($ 9.00). You hafta add an extra 2 dollars for the actual meat. Mine came with one large piece of pork, a runny egg… and kimchi. I’ve never had kimchi in tonkotsu ramen and I gotta say its one of the worst ideas ever, kind of like holding the government budget hostage to push a minority’s political agenda. It gives the broth a soury taste, kind of the taste the government left in the worker’s mouths. The noodle itself was good, like…
Fine, Ill stop.
I also got the 3 dollar home-​made potato chips. It tasted like any other kettle chips, except I paid 3 dollars for them.
Nikai is still a servicable ramen joint with legit ramen for a reasonable price. We did not have to wait long to get our food and the service was quick, possibily because the place was empty during dinner.
If you ask them to withhold the kimchi, then I’d imagine it being a pretty fair ramen experience.

it’s aiiite, it’s aiiiite…
it will do for a fast midtown lunch break. when you aren’t feeling the heaviness of hide-​chan ramen, or can’t make the run to totto or ippudo.
For $ 9 bucks, you will get an aptly-​lunch sized portion of noodles. i’ve only tried the tonkotsu one because i feel like if i got the veggie one, i’d just be hungry in the next 30 minutes. the miso one is ok too.

I’ve been to Nikai twice now, once soon after they opened and once more recently.
On my first visit, I experienced the problem other early reviewers noted: a very long wait for food. The waitstaff was very apologetic, and sent out a free appetizer as an apology.
Nikai has clearly worked out the kinks since then. I returned a week ago because I work in the area and was looking for a ramen fix, and was not disappointed. They have massively improved the speed of their service (two bowls of ramen came out less than 10 minutes after the order was placed).
It’s the quality of the ramen here that really recommends this place. The noodles are prepared fresh (you can often see someone working behind the counter to make them) and the other ingredients are equally well-​prepared in a fairly traditional style. I have tried the tonkotsu ramen and the miso ramen (both of which can be made with either chicken or pork). They both compare favorably to the better bowls of ramen I’ve had in NYC, and the tonkotsu is especially velvety and rich.
Now that Nikai has worked out its early growing pains, it’s a very welcome addition to the area and a pretty sure bet for an affordable, tasty bowl of noodles.

I met friends there for lunch. All three of us had problem locating the place since there was no signs for Nikai; it was all Treehaus. When I asked a Treehaus worker on the first floor where Nikai is located, he just gave me a blank look.
The space is very zen; very Japanese. It was quiet; only three Japanese business business men were at the bar. The towel looked like a piece of white candy sitting in a small soy sauce tray. The waitress poured hot water in the little tray and the towel expands in front of my eyes. Very cool.
I had the Tonkatsu Ramen. It took a longgg time for the food to come, maybe 20 minutes. The broth wasn’t salty like most ramen place but it does need some salt and seasoning. I got one piece of pork, mostly fat. Since I do not eat fat I was disappointed. There wasn’t much of other ingredients like bean sprouts etc. I ate the entire bowl not because it was tasty but I was so hungry.
There was an advertisement in Chopsticks for 25% off during August. We mentioned it to the waiter but he has no idea what we are talking about. We then had to dig out our copy of Chopsticks to show them. They had to read the article and then all of them (maybe 5) had to try to figure it out. I am surprise the staff is not even aware of the current promotion. Sidebar — there were way too many staff. With so few customers, I really do not know how they can survive.
Next time I crave ramen, I will go back to Hide Chan instead.

My wife and I waited 30 minutes for a tonkatsu ramen and Hiyashi Chuka ramen. There was only one server and she was overwhelmed. When our ramen bowls arrived, mine was fine (Hiyashi Chuka), but my wife’s ramen soup was not even hot! It was lukewarm at best.
I complained to the waitress, because the ramen had clearly been sitting in the kitchen for several minutes, enough for it to cool off. The one waitress couldn’t bring our order out when it was ready because she was too busy in the dining room trying to take new customers’ orders.
They took back my wife’s ramen and remade it from scratch. This took an extra five minutes. And by that time, I had already finished my own food.
We spent a lot of time waiting around for food. Although it was pretty tasty, we had a bad experience with this restaurant. The manager comped us one bowl of ramen because of the excessive delays.
At the end of our disjointed meal, the waitress said, «This normally doesn’t happen, I swear to God.»
I hope not, or they won’t stay in business long.

Nikai’s succulent pork and amazing broth tops most NY ramen houses. Do yourselves a favor and treat yourself to a bowl of Nikai ramen, you will not regret it!
It is one of the best ramen joints I’ve ever been too. Highly recommended!

I’ve tried many Ramen spots in the city, including Ippudo and Toto Ramen and I have to say that Nikai holds up to a very high standard. I ordered the Miso Ramen with Pork and it did not disappoint.
Let’s start with the broth, the foundation to any good ramen. Thick, earthy, and packed with flavorful miso-​every spoonful was better than the last. Next, the noodles. Perfectly cooked, just the right amount of chewiness and didn’t soften up even until the last bite. Finally, the pork. Good Lord the pork. Apparently, they slow cook it in some kind of time machine, rendering it incredibly tender and tasting like it was sprinkled with magical fairy particles. All joking aside though, I’m a huge pork belly fan and the piece they give you is succulent and delicious.
Service was fast and friendly, décor was modern and very simple, and get this: the chopsticks are DOUBLE-​SIDED. When’s the last time you used chopsticks that didn’t have a top and bottom?! Answer: never. Definitely recommend this place and don’t forget to order a side of kimchi and salted peppers!

I was lucky enough to get comped lunch here to try out Chef Kotani’s ramen! Yes, the Chef Kotani from Soba Totto! i was super psyched for the taste test.
VENUE ⁴⁄₅
It’s located conveniently above Treehaus. The décor is nice and simple — Japanese chic. In the main dining area, there was a man making soba noodles. Apparently, Nikai does demos quite often, so it’s like a meal and a show. We were promptly seated; it was quite happening for such a recent opening. They had these really neat mini towelettes that expanded with water — and legitimate chopsticks that didn’t require rubbing and breaking apart yourself. However, for a Japanese Restaurant and «Bar», as of yet, I see no bar…
SERVICE ⁴⁄₅
It’s a new place so I’m going to be a little lenient in terms of the review. The service was definitely not up to par when we went, but it was a new place. The girls are super sweet and try to accommodate all requests. (My waitress was kind enough to add tempura flakes into my Tonkotsu Ramen.) They did fumble a little in terms of getting the right order to the right person — in her defense, we were a party of 12. The kitchen was also rather sluggish in the time it took to get the order out. I am used to faster ramen… They mean well, so I’m sure they’ll get more seasoned with time!
FOOD ⁴⁄₅
It was pretty solid ramen, a very good amount. The consistency is pretty solid. It’s thicker than Momofuku Ramen. The pork and egg and condiments added were good. (I was mostly impressed by that pork though, it was incredibly succulent and not greasy at all!) I did think there was a little too much red ginger, and next time, I may ask for less. But the ramen itself was solid. It wasn’t too greesy and I downed it pretty quick. The pricing is also super tempting: lunch pricing of $ 9 and dinner pricing of $ 11! The cold ramen dish also looked very good and I’m tempted to go back to try it! The only downside: What killed me was that there were RAMEN CLUMPS in my ramen. NOT OKAY. That would have put it down to a ²⁄₅ in my book normally. But no one else in my party had the problem, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. It’s super affordable. And I would give it 5/​5, if it weren’t for the clumping!
Lying at a solid ⁴⁄₅ for me, mostly due to the clumping. But if anyone asked me to recommend an alternative to the holy triad of ramen in the city [1]. I’d definitely recommend this place! Better than usual sit-​in Japanese ramen shops and no wait and super affordable! I’ll be back though for that Cold Hiyashi Chuka in a few weeks. I’m sure my experience would be completely different! :)
[1] This is coming from someone who’s really snooty about her ramen and dislikes both Ippudo and Momofuku (overpriced and way too greasy and what’s with that horrid broth they have?). I usually go to Totto Ramen (solid broth, eh everything else) or cocoron (for dipping soba) or Onya (for udon) and those places get maybe a solid 4.5 stars from me.