Kin Ramen

★★★★★ 4.6 (572) • $$

"I got the Chicken / Kara Chicken Ramen bowl for my first time here. Sometimes chicken ramen can be lackluster with the savory-ness of the taste, but this one was well seasoned. It wasn't overly salty and the chicken was cooked perfectly. The Kara Chicken ingredients included: homemade chicken broth, chicken chashu, half ajitama, bean sprout, bok choy, corn, cilantro, red onion & shallot chips. There is also an option to make the bowl spicy with their homemade spicy paste and oil. I opted to get this on the side, and thank god I did because it was superrr spicy. I literally put a small scoop of it on the tip of my chopstick and mixed it into my ramen - and when I told you I had tears in my eyes... But it was really good, just adjust how much you want to put in depending on your spice level. I also added more cilantro to my ramen afterwards, because there could never be enough (I'm a big cilantro fan). The shallot chips, bok choy, along with the onions added a nice crunchy texture to the bowl that I loved. To start - the place is super cute. It's decorated with a ton of Japanese style accessories and furniture, adding to the ambiance as a whole. It really transports you to a small Japanese ramen shop - or at least I would imagine so (I haven't been to Japan...yet). Everything is Japanese themed, covered with Japanese writing and symbols. It definitely added some allure and visual excitement as you indulge in your ramen dish. If you've read past posts, you know I'm a very visual person. I love the way aesthetics are formed and intricately crafted to enhance the gustatory sense. The interior is small, but it's super cozy. They utilize the space pretty well to accommodate as much as they can. It's a great place to come with a small group of friends for a quick bite to eat. This time, I happened to come on my own. Don't be afraid to, because here, they have single seats along a bar on the wall. The decor on the wall in front of me resembled classic, Japanese windows, which I thought was a nice touch. Overall, I love the concept here. Review is via my blog: https://www.doublemacchiatoblog.com/"

Soba Noodle Azuma

★★★★☆ 4.1 (467) • $$

"Food was excellent. We got the Duck noodles pot, chicken curry hot soba, fried octopus, and parfait.Service was quick to take our orders and food arrived relatively quickly. Restaurant was packed until closing, but was never too loud. Good ambiance."

Lucky Cat

★★★★☆ 3.8 (477) • $$

"This place was so delicious! The cocktails are fun & creative. The scene here is nice and calm with good music playing in the background. I tried the aged tofu, and the Lucky cat ramen. I was happy with my choices. I definitely would come back here again!"

Zest Ramen

★★★★☆ 4.4 (343) • $$

"Tonkotsu ramen is always a comfort food on any rainy day. This place always makes the best bone broth delicious and savory, slurping the noodles happily away. Noodle slurping is an appreciation of the noodle soup to the chief. The chashu was tender and flavorful with a nice burnt on the edge. The fried oysters were fresh, batter was light not heavy so you can tasted the oysters. This dish goes well with an iced cold Sapporo."

Izakaya

★★★★☆ 4.2 (291) • $$

"I came here on a Friday night after having a craving for Japanese food from watching some shows based in Japan on Netflix that centered around food.Izakaya did not disappoint. The food was delicious . The atmosphere was cozy and home like. The service was attentive. As it was a tapas place, we ordered a variety of different dishes from tofu to sukiyaki to mush room fried rice. All were very tasty. I was also a big fan of the tea pudding. One minor thing to note is that there are actually two other places with the same address as Izakaya, which made it slightly confusing at first."

Ozakaya

★★★★★ 4.5 (245)

"Great drinks and food. I especially enjoyed the Japanese whiskey hot toddy seasonal special drink after walking through the cold streets. The fried octopus appetizer was flavorful and crunchy while the ribeye bowl was filling and rich. Service was friendly and welcoming."

Heno Heno

★★★★☆ 4.3 (203)

"Food was good, service was good and the ambiance was great! Music was fire! Love it!"

Izakaya Toribar

★★★★☆ 4.2 (203) • $$

"Small, busy space in a typical basement restaurant of an old pre-war walkup.Service was excellent here! Sat at the bar and the waitress asked if it was my first time there. Must have been written on my forehead, rightfully so. Told her it was and asked her to just bring me some of their best items. She asked how hungry I was so she could bring me the right amount. Three cocktails, numerous delicious small bites, and other treats later I was very content.Worth the price of admission."

Gugu Room

★★★★☆ 4.2 (132)

"A few friends and I came here for a weekday dinner. It wasn't very busy and we were seated right away. To start off, we each got a drink. I had the Rizal Highball ($14), which was light and refreshing on a hot day. Also tried the Gugu Midori Sour ($14), Black Samurai ($14), and Wasabi Mar-Gari-Ta ($15). All of the drinks pinpointed all the flavors very well with the Wasabi Mar-Gari-Ta being my favorite as it is only called wasabi for the spicy kick, but not actually wasabi (in case you were skeptical of that like I was). I enjoyed all the Asian-inspired cocktails here that's at a reasonable price as well. Greats spot for drinks even if you're not eating, but the food is also well worth the visit too. Between the 4 of us, we shared two orders of Longanisa skewers ($8 for 2), which we uniquely shaped as balls. We also had the Nori Truffle Fries ($8) and Adobo Wings ($9), which were both super tasty and great starters. We rounded off our meal with the Shortrib Kare-Kare with Garlic Rice ($24) and Spicy Yuzu Adobo Ribs with Garlic Rice ($24). Both were incredibly flavorful, so the garlic rice pairing were much needed to balance it all out. Nonetheless, I was licking all the sauce off the dishes because the flavors were delicious. This was all perfect to share and nothing was short of delicious. Such a wonderful spot for elevated Filipino food with some izakaya. The flavors were very strong, which I really enjoyed. They also offer a kamayan dinner experience that I'd definitely want to come back for."

Yezo Thai Isankaya

★★★★★ 4.9 (66)

"Heard about this place opening up and after browsing through Yelp and seeing all the pictures I decided to go celebrate my birthday here. I was so surprised by how good the food was. We had ordered so many things to try and they all were deliciousss! It seems that they make everything from scratch from hot pot soup and sauces which is undeniably impressive. The only complaint is that the portions are a bit small compared to the price. Inside the restaurant is decorated as Thai cozy dining room style with Thai stuff and Thai movies posters featuring Japanese decor. This place is owned and run by Thai people so the service fits my style perfectly lol. I have been back here twice in one month and I don't live in the city. So this confirms how much I love this place lol ! I would totally encourage and recommend everyone to come visit. Tips: Crying tiger is a must try ! If you like to eat beef. Salmon clay pot is great if you like fish. Paying with cash gets some discount (if they still offer.) P.S. The pictures are from two visits. :)"

The Izakaya NYC E 4th

★★★★☆ 3.9 (53)

"Came here for dinner with a reservation and got seated quite promptly. We thought the place would be empty but it got pretty busy as the night went on.We ordered the mentai spaghetti ramen, chicken nanban, the pork special and the pork Katsu curry rice.The special of the week pork was actually a surprise. The meat very juicy and tender, and the onion paste sauce added great flavor.The curry over rice, I quite enjoyed. Only wished there was more rice. The sauce had the slightest kick presence to let you know it's curry and the pork Katsu was chunky.Chicken nanban was fabulous as well. Very juicy and not overly fried or dry. The mentai ramen was a surprise hit and I wanted more of it. The only qualm I had was after the pork came out, it was about 40 minutes before anyone else came out. Other than that, definitely enjoyed it."

Sozai

★★★★☆ 4.2 (45)

"Just okay... Food is pricey for the portions but I guess you are in midtown. The only thing that I would get again is the ramen as the noodles and soup seemed fresh and authentic. Everything else was lacking in either taste or quality."

Tora

★★★★★ 4.5 (30)

"One of my new favorite spots!I've been telling everyone that Bushwick needs an izakaya so I'm glad that Tora opened. Such a great addition to the neighborhood.My family and I tried a bunch of things off the menu: takowasa, yakitori, sashimi, wagyu etc. Dishes were fresh, flavorful, and presented nicely. A bit pricier than regular izakaya fare but it's a more upscale place so that was expected. Also! They have one of the best crispy rices I've had. I'm glad I don't need to go all the way to the city when the craving hits. They also have a good selection of cocktails, wine, and sake.Can't wait to go back!"

Kazumi Popup

★★★★☆ 4.3 (17)

"A cute neighborhood spot for casual lunch. The restaurant is very small, 4-6 tables, but it's cozy. The menu is simple and no fuss which I liked not being overwhelmed with options. Starting off with the Agedashi Tofu: Three pieces of tofu in tsuyu sauce. Light and crispy, with a savory but not too salty broth. It came with fried enoki mushrooms. Some grated radish would've been a nice touch. Chicken Karaage: This was my personal favorite. The chicken pieces were tender and juicy, while crispy on the outside. The portion came with a decent amount of chicken which was shareable between three.Shoyu Ramen: Not a standout dish, but seeing as it's not specifically a ramen restaurant, it was standard! Not amazing but not bad. Pork Cutlet Curry: As someone who loves Japanese curry, this hit the spot! Warm flavorful curry with crispy tonkatsu. However, I think it would taste better served with fluffy white rice! Also I think it was served with a side of grapes which was seemed odd unless it's a new food trend I'm unaware of. Overall, would definitely come back! They seem to do fried foods well, hopefully they can introduce tempura or a katsu sando would be amazing."

Izakaya MEW

★★★★☆ 4.3 • $$

"Everything here was delicious! We found this place randomly while searching for a place to eat after watching a show at the Lincoln Center.We happened to arrive a few minutes before the restaurant opened and when we got in line, we were the 3rd or 4th in line without a reservation. And then, the line got really long very fast. And once we entered the restaurant and was seated, the place filled up super duper fast and soon people coming in were informed of long waits. This is a great place for a night out or a date with a cool interior with interesting decorations. The servers were super nice and fast, which is smart because it helps turn over customers quicker. BUT they don't rush you at all, FYI.Back to the food, everything was delicious. Yes, I know I said that already, but I will say it again. It was hard to choose just enough food for 2 people. Food was definitely not cheap, but exorbitantly expensive for izakaya and sushi dishes. Here are the dishes my friend and I tried and were good:-age tofu ($8.95) - deep fried tofu in soy broth-Sashimi Moriawase ($22.95) - Chef's assorted sashimi selection-Amakara Sweet & Sour Ribs ($11.95) - Marinated sweet and sour fried pork ribs-Geso Kara ($13.95) - Deep-fried squid legsThis is definitely a popular place and worth checking out if you are in the area and you like Japanese food. Tips:-Make a reservation! Or go stand and wait and try to be the first few to go in when they open for the day.-They have their menu online with pictures, so it's helpful to see what the menu items are.-I saw a lot of people eating alone, so go even if it's only you. :)-Or maybe go with more people so that you can try more dishes. :)"

nonono

★★★★☆ 4.3 • $$$

"A solid stop for yakitori. This restaurant brought back fond memories of izakayas in Tokyo, although prices are understandably steeper than the classic ¥100 skewers. I ordered a yakitori don and bacon wrapped eggs, and both offered familiar tastes. The yakitori don was great. Each chicken cut had its own distinct texture and flavor, and the shishito pepper and pickled plums added some good contrast. The chicken was soft and tender, though I would have preferred a bit more char and crispiness. The egg skewer was decent- pleasantly gummy on the inside, but a bit too salty.Service was excellent: the staff were attentive and easy to call over when needed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and inviting, with a great view from the second floor. I was lucky to get a seat at the counter in the front, where I could watch the chefs grill the skewers while eating my own."