The Graffiti Room

I tried Graffiti Room for the first time last night and loved everything about the meal and atmosphere. The restaurant has a relaxed vibe making it the perfect spot to enjoy a casual meal with friends.
I ordered the pork/​chicken based ramen base with an egg, pork chop, and all the toppings. The broth was fantastic and I loved that there was a free add your own toppings bar with many vegetable and sauce options.
Graffiti room is definitely my new favorite ramen place in NYC and I can’t wait to go back.

Randomly popped in here for dinner. I had no clue it was a ramen shop.
I tried the ramen with pork chops. I added corn, hot and sesame oil to it. There’s a self serve station for little side dishes, toppings and sauce.
I have mixed feelings about this place. The ramen was just okay. Nothing special. The only thing I liked was the broth. My mouth always feels parched and gross after eating ramen because of the salty broth but not here.

The décor at the Graffiti Room is very artsy, it gives a very feel-​good vibe. The restaurant provides a very «Williamsburg» type of feeling, if you know what I mean. There’s also a picture of the Williamsburg bridge on the wall! There is a good amount of seating here. The tables are wooden desks and the stools are wooden as well! The wooden desks have hooks on the side for your belongings. They also have giant fishhooks hanging from the ceiling for your jackets! There are all different kinds of art around the restaurant and it was nice to admire them while we waited for our ramen. Our server provided each person in my party with a laminated check off menu and a dry-​erase marker so we could check off all the ingredients that we wanted with our ramen. I love restaurants where we can order like this! Our server was very welcoming and friendly. She was very attentive and consistent with water refills.
There are two soup bases: tonkatsu and miso. You can choose your base, then select toppings you would like to add, and also choose ingredients that you would like removed from what’s included in the basic noodles. I ordered my noodles with the miso soup base, egg, and veggie dumplings. I love how the serve the ramen, they provide a tray for each of us that already has the ramen, ladle, chopsticks, napkins, and small dishes for sauce. There’s also what they call The Fixin’ Bar at the front next to the door where you can get sauces, corn, pickles, etc. to customize your ramen! It was a good experience for me, but the ramen was average, nothing too special for me, still can’t beat the Ippudos and Tottos out there, unfortunately. It works well for a quick ramen fix when you’re near Soho or Chinatown.

A cute spot with fun industrial, artsy décor, and friendly service. The ramen here is just ok however.
You walk in and you are given laminated cards and erasable markers to check off what you are ordering. The base price is $ 9.50 and for just a few more you can add on any protein topping. They had some more interesting ones so we went with those; the pastrami +$ 4 and veggie dumplings +$ 3. The tonkotsu broth was a bit bland lacking that umami flavor but was fine. The wavy ramen noodles were a bit overdone and mushy however. The pastrami came out as 5 inch wide strips of lunch meat wrapped around cut string beans that they heated up in the microwave (I heard the loud ding!). The veggie dumplings were probably heated up the same way. What was fun is what they call the fixin’ bar with chili sauces, marinated veggies, and pickled items you can top your ramen with.
With all the competition nearby, it will be tough to return but pretty decent if you just want something quick.

Good food and friendly service from a waitress with a genuine smile! Decent price and portion. The only thing it lacks is graffiti on the wall in the dinning area but cool décor otherwise.

Such a feel-​good place to be in when flurries started flying in all sorts of directions on us. The best friend and I wanted to try a restaurant nearby first, but it was too packed and seemed to lack seating. We decided on my other option, The Graffiti Room. And I’m glad we came here.
The atmosphere felt very warm and hipster-​like. From the outside, you wouldn’t guess it’s a ramen/​sandwich place. Appealing to say the least.
The server greeted us with all smiles and was patient and attentive. She filled our waters every now and then. She notified us of the counter by the entrance where we would be able to add some side foods to our ramen like corn, radish, string beans and carrots. When I struggled with trying to pull the restroom door open – she quickly showed me it was a sliding door (cool!). The artwork inside the bathroom was quite amazing as well.
I digress. We were given a laminated menu and a dry-​erase marker to select what we wanted to order (sandwich or ramen, drinks). I wanted to try a sandwich, but my cold hands opted for the chicken ramen with japanese pork and chicken tonkatsu broth. My best friend decided to try the pork chop with the japanese pork/​chicken tonkatsu broth.
It wasn’t the tastiest ramen, but nonetheless a great experience and a nice lunch spot. Our server did not rush us to leave and stuff the bill our way mid-​eating or after we finished eating. She waited. She refilled our waters and let us carry on with our conversation.
When she came to carry our bowls away, I told her «I like this place» and she responded: «oh thank you!» «I also don’t want to leave now» (pointed outside to the atrocious weather) and she then laughed and said: «oh you can stay as long as you want!»

We were on the hunt for ramen. You think it wouldn’t be so hard in this city. Our first attempt, we found the shop to be closed until Feb!?! I know it is the holiday but seriously Feb?
Lucky, close by around the corner was The Graffiti room which had decent reviews. We were hungry and decided to give it a try.
The shop has fun interior and interesting metal tables. Our server was bubbly and friendly. The menu is pretty simple. You get a marker and choose the base soup and extra for the ramen. Sandwiches are on the other side if you choose it. Looked like everyone was eating ramen from what I saw.
We decided to go ahead with one Miso and one Tonkatsu broth base with pork chop. While I’m not claiming to be some ramen expert but I’ve eaten my fair to know if it is decent or not. The in bone pork chop was seasoned well, tender and pre-​cut for ease of eating but it is more Chinese than Japanese. The broth on both bowls I found a bit bland. It needed more miso and the Tonkatsu had the right color and consistency but lacked flavor. The egg wasn’t a soft boiled egg like I expected but a poached egg something that is again more akin to Chinese than Japanese. The table with different type of extra condiments at the front was fun and different type of sauces and oil if you want to add.
Overall, I’d say the ramen here is a B compared to others I usually go to. It certainly isn’t bad but it isn’t top tier but certainly not a bad choice if you are in need of a ramen fix and the one you wanted to go to wont be open until Feb.

As soon as we walked in, we were warmly greeted. Simplistic ambiance to highlight the artwork on the wall. They even had a painting of Tupac! Our server was incredibly attentive and friendly.
What’s cool about this place is you get a menu and a marker, and you choose what you want to order. I chose Ramen with shrimp. When I first tasted it, it seemed salty but then just got more satisfying as I ate it, haha. Another cool aspect about this place is that they have a mini salad bar that’s got foods like corn and string beans which you can add in your soup. Not the most amazing ramen I have ever had, but tasty and a pleasureable experience indeed.

The Graffiti room is so un-​assuming. It has a real artsy/​urban décor and has wooden desks (or similar) for tables.
Seems like a place that everyone knows about except for the cult that’s managed to keep it all to themselves.
Well now me and you are apart of the cult, and it’s about time.
I LOVED the broth that my pork swam in, but the broth that accompanied the chicken on my 2^nd visit didn’t quite make the mark. That broth didn’t have that old fashioned, slow cooked taste that good broths have.
Oddly enough, the pork’s broth out-​did the actual pork meat. I didn’t like it. I’m not into grissle followed by fat. The chicken though, melts like butter.
The menu says that there’s either miso broth or pork/​chicken broth. So I guess it’s one of the other.
When I do go back, I’ll have the pork ramen even tho I didn’t love the cut of meat. The pork broth pleased me that much.
If you like ramen, go.
Nicole

Solid lunch at the The Graffiti Room. Had the Tonkatsu Chicken Ramen and The New Delhi Chicken sandwich. The ramen ingredients were just right and had a great blend of flavors. Also, really enjoyed the curry sauce in the sandwitch.

The vibes are cool AF here. How can you not love a place that serves extra goodies in a vintage looking suitcase? The service was friendly and they let us hang out for a while without shoving us out even when the closing time was nearing. Now as far as the ramen goes, I just wasn’t overly impressed. It was an affordable tasty meal but I wasn’t blown away.
It felt like the kinda imposter ramen that you try to whip up in your kitchen. For all the other amazing ramen shops in the area, I’d rather hit up a place for the food rather than décor.

AMEN to Shar H.‘s comments on the chicken noodle soup. It’s as if they took the Japanese love and care reserved for making ramen broth and applied it towards good ol’ American chicken noodle soup. The soup is deliciously rich and the potatoes make it creamy and filling.
I also love their topping buffet for ramen — I usually order an extra side of corn for my ramen, but I didn’t need to do that here, since I could get as much as I wanted in my little fixins bowl. Only thing they are missing is menma — the second best topping in ramen– to corn, of course ;)

I’m gonna be real with this place that just opened: the ramen is mediocre and honestly tastes like Ajisen ramen. The broth was not that great and we got chicken in our ramen and it was not that much and didn’t taste that great. The unlimited fixin bar was decent but I feel weird about getting toppings from a central place. It would be better if they just gave it to us with the ramen. The décor was the best part of this place but the ramen was nothing special

We were in the mood for Ramen, and stopped here for lunch. Fantastic! Very chill casual atmosphere. Service was really good — friendly and fast. Ramen was very good, and they have a bunch of sauces/​oils you can add yourself (if you want different spice/​flavors/​etc), as well as little side appetizers. Presentation is really cool if you’re getting ramen. It’s also a lot of food, and not pricy. They also have free wifi. So, 5 stars from us

3.5 stars for food. 4 – 5 stars for vibe and service. First: ramen lovers adjust your expectations. This place has ramen on its menu, but what is actually served is really more like noodle soup. The noodles are thicker than the classic thin Sun noodles and the broth lacked the intricacy of that of a traditional ramen bowl. It was also quite salty, which you don’t notice as much at the beginning, but really kinda gets to you by the end of the meal. The egg was also not soft boiled but poached.
That all being said, I can definitely see the appeal of this place. First, the space is quite large and the decorations are unique and fun. It’s not called the Graffiti Room for nothing-there’s colorful art all over the walls and even the tables are a combination of metal/​washed out wood that really fits the theme. Second, this place has a chill do-​it-​yourself attitude. The menu comes with an erasable marker that you can use to note your selections. Ramen is on one side and sandwiches are on the other. For ramen, you select your soup base and any add-on’s you may want. They also have small side dishes and sauces that you can get on your own as well as two big pots of extra broth that you can help yourself to. Third, the waitress was super nice, there was no wait, and generally it was a pleasant casual dinner experience.
So overall kudos to the unique concept, but I’m just not a big fan of the ramen here.

My group of friends and I (we were five people in total) were looking for a place to eat in the area after we stopped by a nearby cat café.
A friend chose this through a finger, randomized roulette-​like way. A.k.a.- Going on the Unilocal app, putting ramen in the search bar, then sliding the page up and down then stopping on a random restaurant.
It was a Saturday night and we approached this restaurant with some uneasiness since it was completely empty. But I’m glad we ended up deciding to stay, since their ramen really surprised me!
The décor was really artsy, there were paintings on the wall of the restaurant and the bathroom. They even had this large shark sculpture hanging from the ceiling!
For food, I ordered tonkotsu ramen and added pork chops to it. The ramen itself does not come with meat but the add-​ons options are extra. But it just ends up costing like another bowl of ramen in the city so no biggie. I also ordered the passion tea drink since it came with free refills! The drink was tasty and not disgustingly sweet– just the way I like it~
When my ramen arrived, the set up of the bowl, chopsticks and bowls were really organized. Thankfully, the broth was delicious. It wasn’t overly salty at all! There was also a salad bar where you can add more toppings such as corn, pickled radish, sesame oil, etc. It was an added bonus!
Most of our group ordered ramen but one of my friends got a sandwich. I forgot the name of it, but I recall that it had curry flavor to it. Even after I devoured my ramen (even killed the soup too!!!), I was able to eat some of my friend’s sandwich too. I pretty much helped her finish it, whoops.
I’m glad this place exists since a lot of places would have a wait for a group of five on a Saturday night. So overall, I’m glad we gave this place a shot! It was definitely worth it~

Broth is too salty but no complaints otherwise.
The interior is interesting. Don’t understand what ramen has to do with graffiti but it was all cool to look at.

The Graffiti Room
NY Manhattan Nolita
2pm Wednesday 7^th October 2015
Four Stars
There is a new ramen place in Little Italy/​NOLITA called The Graffiti Room. It is an open space with 10 upcycled wooden and metal tables. The seats are bit too high or the tables are bit too low. There is plenty of window counter seats both inside and outside. There is some cool art: tiger, tupac, monkey king, and a steel shark submarine.
I ordered my ramen with a temporary marker on a laminated menu sheet. I had the tonkotsu ($ 9.5) which only includes Broth, Noodles, Bean Sprouts, Corn, green onion, and sautéed vegetables. I opted for Egg add-​on ($ 2.5). It comes out on a pretty tray with a spot for your bowl, chopsticks, and napkin. Even though you don’t get meat, you do get a small bowl to sample their vegetables from the pickle bar. There are 6 options: corn, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, green beans, and daikon. The corn was standard. The carrots were diced and tossed with mayo and black pepper. The cucumbers were lightly pickled. The cabbage had sweet and spicy oil. The green beans were crisp and sour. The Yellow Daikon is called «Takuan» which named for its Zen monk inventor. It’s unique bright yellow color is naturally occurring through the cultivation of bacillus subtilis bacteria during fermentation. However it’s often heightened by the addition of persimmon peels, nasturtium flowers, or other coloring agents. It has a mild citrus and light funkiness.
The Broth was mildly fatty with a good amount of salt and meat flavor. The medium sized kinky noodles were cooked al dente. The barely poached sunny side up egg was a delightful change to the normal soft boiled. The standard toppings of Bean sprouts, corn, and green onions were standard my good. The sautéed bok choy and broccoli was different but welcomed.
Overall, it was an enjoyable meal but the starting price point of $ 9.5 is expensive without the inclusion of protein. This place is prefect if you don’t like too much meat but don’t mind meat broth.

Solid ramen in a broth that isn’t too salty (THANK GOD). Light, flavorful, and filling. Everything one could ask for in Ramen. Love the pick your own pickled vegetables bar too. 1-​Star detracted because come on dude, you’re just trying too hard with the décor. We get it, you’re a trendy noodle shop in Soho but let your food speak for itself and don’t overdue it with the space.
That being said, I’ll be back for more.

A brand new ramen/​sandwich shop, opened a little over a week, brings street art from Nolita and LES into a unique, creative dining atmosphere. The walls feature work from local artists on a rotating basis. A ramen restaurant in a gallery? Awesome.
Ramen soup bases are mainly tonkatsu and miso. Toppings are standard fare but the pastrami and pork chop are intriguing. Simple artisanal sandwiches featuring pulled pork and taro (vegan option) are exciting options.
Welcome Graffiti Room to the neighborhood!