Rockmeisha

Came here a few times, including once on a weekend night and it wasn’t crowded. The food is pretty overpriced and you get small portions. Most of the drinks are also expensive, but the beer is cheap. There is also a minimum I believe of $ 15 per person which seems a little excessive. That being said, if you come at night and there’s not many people around, it’s a great spot to hang out.
You’re really paying for the atmosphere and novelty of this kind of restaurant existing in NYC. So if you have some extra money to spend it’s definitely worth visiting once or twice.

Okay food. Too expensive, too dark, and not a lot of options on the menu. Not worth it

No bad, but not great. The staffs were not attentive. not much varieties of dishes…

Great cozy izakaya by west village. Transporting you to Japan.
Tasty and inventive Japanese comfort food, great with beers.

As far as atmosphere goes, this is one of the most authentic Japanese places in the city. Reminds me so much of some of the restaurants/​bars I went to while in Osaka and Kyoto. The menu as well as the space inside is very small and the food is mostly tapas or other small plates. They have a decent sake selection and a cool little bar near the front. I think my review is higher than normal because of a nostalgia factor for me. The place has certain minimums per person which is very odd. I would highly recommend bringing cash. Also, the hours are bad. I had been trying to visit for a while and finally came by when it was open. If you are in the area and looking for a cool Japanese place I would recommend getting a drink and a small plate to eat but not having a full dinner here. Would be a good place to start the night off with a few friends.

Cute little out of the way place. Reminded me of the New York we are losing. Very cosy with cubical style booths. Menu is a tad hard to figure out. Mostly just small plates kind of thing focusing on cooked food. Moderately priced. Are there cheaper or better places to eat? Probably, but I enjoyed our hood service and sake.

The Ramen this the spot! Order the shishito peppers as well!!! One of the best ramen places in the West Village!

Friday night, 800 pm. One waitress, for the whole restaurant. Take a guess. Worst service ever. 20 min for a bowl of rice, I gave up. The food is absolutely embarrassing for an Izakaya in NYC. This won’t last long. The tsukune was burnt and the shit see mushrooms were so incredibly salty. Two stars because I liked my tofu dish. That was it. Save your money, people.

Pretty mediocre. We expected authentic, quality Japanese food because of the clientele (Japanese businessmen post-​work?) and because of the hidden location. Perhaps the dishes were authentic, but we were craving ramen and they only offered one type. Menu pretty overpriced too, although the drinks seemed cheap as everyone around us had beer. We waited for over 40 minutes for our ramen… plus, no air conditioning led to an uncomfortable wait. To be fair, this was our backup to the popular ramen place down the street that had a 40 minute wait so I guess time-​wise it evened out?

A hidden gem in the West Village. A place where the local Japanese American go.
They serve only type of ramen, but it’s one of the best tonkotsu (pork-​based) ramen you can find in New York. They have daily recommendation, and the food quality and preparation are phenomenal! A bit pricy, so bring you friends.

Excuse me!!! OMG I had the BEST pork-​katsu in the city here, and it was between a pair of sandwich bread lol who’d have imagined that? Seriously, I am a huge fan of Japanese style fried food, and when I was served a thick cut katsu-​sandwich (its even thicker than a inch!!) I had to take photo of it! Likewise, the katsu was chewy but soft, juicy but fully cooked, and the fried skin was crispy and cracky but soaked into a sweety-​salty katsu sauce, hella hands down beyond amazing. Beware, its ONLY served on Wednesday and Thursday! I am definitely going back!

This place has a nice, quiet and contemplative air to it… I find it an amazing place to go when your group size is 2 or less. Also, try the shashito chips!

Such a neighborhood gem; always find something good there to eat any day; always try the spcials of the day but anything on the menu is delicious. yum yum

Not really worth it. Not a particularly good bowl of ramen, just okay. Not worth the calories or money when there are so many other good ramen places in the city.

Food is just too inconsistent dish-​to-​dish to warrant going back, but some things here are great. The atmosphere, the kind service, the sake selection at a good value, beer prices and just being somewhere really different. A few of the dishes were tasty, but anything labeled «spicy» just seemed doused in bottled hot sauce. The proteins were mostly overcooked. I would like to just drink here, I guess.

Food was good, service was ok.
Hole in the wall, good food.
Left a $ 10 tip and was shamed by the waitress.
Totally rude and ruined the whole event.
Not going back there, sadly, close to our place, but totally rude.

Pretty cool little hole in the wall. Every dish I had was solid. Service is slow, but a fun meal. Brussels are a must.
Little smokey in there. FYI.

For the price, I expected better food. The food was mediocre. I had the ramen and I did not much of a selection of ramen. I’ve had better ramen at other Japanese restaurants. The portion sizes are also small and lacking. There isn’t much to choose from in the menu.
The waitresses that served us was also rude. They accused of us not leaving tip when we clearly left it on the table and she had to chase after us when we left the restaurant.
I personally will not be returning. We left the restaurant still hungry.

I’ve always liked Japanese food. And this place captures the essence of an izakaya well. It is small and cozy and can seat about 20 people. There is also a bar area for those dining solo.
I was actually in the mood for ramen, but the only ramen they had on the menu is meat-​based, so I passed on the ramen, despite the need to warm up. It was interesting that the waiter just kept speaking to me in Japanese. Even when I replied in English, he just continued in Japanese. We just kept doing the polite head nod thing and I even found myself saying Arigato and Hai a lot. Weird how you vibe off of people, but anyway, I digress…
So to warm up my innards, I ordered a draft Sapporo ($ 6). Of course, that always hits the spot. I also spied a few good sakes on the menu, will have to try another time. I had the okra ($ 6) and also the octopus pancake ($ 9). Both excellent dishes. The okra had bonito flakes on top and also paired with wasabi, makes for a good sinus opener. The pancake has tiny morsels of tender octopus that melted in your mouth and it was topped with more than enough bonito flakes. I tell you, I can’t ever eat enough bonito flakes lol. Perhaps in my last life, I was a kitty cat?
In any case, I enjoyed eating here and listening to old Americana music. Perhaps the next time I come back, I can learn to speak a bit more Japanese other than Arigato and Hai lol.

Rockmeisha is in West Village, but it’s tucked away on one of the quieter streets. The moment I stepped into Rockmeisha, I immediately fell in love. What a cute place!
Much to our dismay, Rockmeisha only has one ramen bowl on the menu! I was very surprised as Rockmeisha is usually mentioned in top 10 ramen lists. There’s an entire page on the menu dedicated to their Chashu Ramen ($ 14). There’s no mention of what kind of broth or toppings, but that’s okay… I like being surprised. The rest of the menu consists of sushi and Japanese small plates.
As always, we ordered the kara-​age fried chicken as a starter. It was $ 9, which is steep compared to the kara-​age at other ramenya. The kara-​age itself? I hate to say it, but this might be the worst kara-​age I’ve had in NYC. Doesn’t look all that appetizing. Too greasy, and the batter was too thick. Meh, it seemed like a crude attempt of karaage. It was disappointing. Thank goodness we had an entire pitcher of beer to rinse it down.
Alright, Rockmeisha, let’s hope your ramen does not disappoint, especially as it’s a $ 14 bowl. A tad bit steep if you ask me. Tonkotsu broth, thin noodles, charshu, scallions, ginger and sesame seeds. Lovely presentation.
The karaage may have been disappointing, but their chashu ramen totally hit the spot. The broth reminded me very much of Ippudo’s Hakata Classic (also $ 14). Oh man, creamy tonkotsu packed with porky goodness. Think melted butter. So good with the scallions. Thinly sliced charshu. Tasty and delicate, but didn’t quite impress like the broth did. The thin noodles were cooked perfectly. I enjoyed them, but A mentioned that thick curly noodles would have been nice too. Overall, rich, hearty, porky, BUT very refined. Don’t slurp it down. Nibble and sip slowly. Savor. Every. Moment. Bonus: no MSG attack after I finished eating.
If you’re craving the refined Hakata style ramen and willing to pay $ 14 for a bowl of yummy goodness, you might as well skip the crazy line at Ippudo and check out Rockmeisha. It’s too bad they only have one type of ramen on the menu. The ramen deserves 5-​stars, but the kara-​age deserves 2-​stars.