Ninniku Ramen Izakaya

The wife brought me here for my birthday lunch and I was pleasantly surprised, especially for someone who has traveled to Japan and has eaten my fair share of ramen and visited many Izakaya. The place is quaint and small, as it only holds 24 people. Despite other reviews I've read that complain about the alleged excessive noise level, I feel that this restaurant quite accurately encapsulates the feeling and atmosphere of an Izakaya. It's lively with chatter and music, but not overwhelmingly loud. Their staff are extremely friendly. Before we ate, we were politely asked to move seats to make room for a larger party, which my wife and I didn't mind doing at all. To make up for our inconvenience (if it could even be called that), they gave us a complimentary kimchi tofu appetizer. Their attention to detail to their patrons must be recognized.I need to point out how much of a bargain their lunch special is, especially given the price and the amount of food that you get. For $16 you get an appetizer, an entree, and a small dessert. In my case, I ordered the shrimp dumplings and the Tan Tan Super Ramen. The thinly wrapped dumplings are stuffed with a generous amount of shrimp. While they were pretty tasty, it didn't compare to the main event. Their Tan Tan Ramen's broth is what sets this apart from any other ramen I've had. It has a very unique flavor profile with it having a good balance of saltiness, sweetness, and bitterness. It's definitely got heat to it, but its not overbearing. It worked really well with the ground pork, onions, peanuts, soft boiled egg, and noodles. It was the perfect dish for such a cold day. For dessert they served a small cup of mochi red bean matcha ice cream.Totally worth $16. Great value, great service, great food. What more could you want?

Came here on the Monday of President's Day. There is a waitlist inside that you write your name down. At first, it looked like the wait would only be 20 minutes or so due to how many people were ahead of us. Wrong!We waited 50 minutes to get sat. The frustrating part was, there were constantly open tables. At least 7 tables at one time. I'm not sure why we couldn't be sat. I would rather wait inside to order, than stand outside for that long. We finally got sat and the server was nice. We did the lunch time deal. The food came out relatively fast which confused me even more why they couldn't just fill all of the tables?It is quite small on the inside, very cozy. Food itself was actually pretty good. The lunch deal is such a steal. The little dessert they gave was just enough for a little sweet treat.Would I come back here? Yes. Would I come back to wait more than 15 minutes? Definitely not.Beware of line! Expect a longer wait than what it seems.

A full lunch for $16 in the city!? Get outta here!!!! Formerly known as NONO (which is moving up the street to a larger location), Ninniku just took over this small intimate location and I'm not mad about it. I don't care for NONO, Bubu is absolutely delicious, and Ninniku is perfectly in the middle. I stopped by on a Friday afternoon for a late lunch. It wasn't super busy around 3pm You really cannot beat these lunch menu prices. They offer a lunch menu everyday from 11:30am - 3:30pm, which comes with your choice of an appetizer, your choice of an entree, and dessert. I tried the shrimp dumpling, karaage, and spicy miso ramen. The dumplings were great! Different texture than your average dumpling, a lot lighter and less dense imo. The ramen was some of the better tasting I've had, and for the price! Game changer. For dessert, we got a custard like dessert with strawberry puree. It wasn't overly sweet. Service was good. Portions were appropriate for lunch. Can't complain!

We were looking for a place that serves Spicy Tan Tan ramen so we tried Ninniku. Apparently we were lucky to walk in and be seated immediately. By the time we left every seat was taken, which is usually a good sign. Loud music and even louder customers made it seem very unJapanese. The tan tan ramen was pretty average and the noodles were definitely overcooked -- didn't have that nice bite ramen noodles are supposed to have. The price fix lunch menu looks good and I think we will return to give it a try. But I hope the food is better next time. During lunch time there was a lot of street parking. Service was ok.

New ramen spot in Japantown where NONO used to be! It's a cozy casual spot. They have a waitlist at the door inside, put your name down if it's busy. Definitely a spot that's better for small groups. I came for lunch on a Friday and got there around 12:30pm, we were seated in 5mins which was nice. We beat the rush and there were a few groups who came while we were eating that had to wait a bit. They have a lunch special where you can get an appetizer and entree (ramen/udon/rice bowl). I really wanted to try their super ninniku mazemen since it's their namesake which wasn't a part of a lunch special. It's a soupless ramen with thicken noodles, peanut sauce, ground pork, a sous vide egg, tomatoes and cucumbers. It was so good! Very flavorful, I loved the texture of the noodles. It went so well with the delicious sauce and the veggies added a nice fresh crunch. It's a unique dish that I would come back to eat. The dessert was on the house, it was a panna cotta like dessert with strawberry puree. Nice way to end the meal. The service was nice and friendly. They're newly opened and working out some of the kinks. They were using a new ticketing system for orders so there was a mix-up with mine so I did end up waiting long for my order. I asked one of the servers if she could check on it and they were very apologetic! They were so kind and even comped my order which was unexpected but very generous. I would have been fine paying for it because it was so good! I'll be coming back to try their other ramen and the okonomiyaki.

Went at opening 11:30 AM on a Saturday and there was no wait.Food was a solid 4/5 for the lunch menu. It's a fantastic lunch deal that will leave you very full. Other reviews may have been more negatively skewed when the restaurant was packed after going viral on TikTok. The $16 lunch deal options are delicious but obviously don't expect gourmet food. Ordered: tonkotsu ramen (good - not watery like I saw another review say), garlic noodles, kaarage (loved this), California roll. Lunch deal came with a yummy matcha strawberry pudding as well.

This place gets 3 stars for the deal, which is $16 for an app, entre, and little dessert. I got the salmon roll, tonkatsu ramen and matcha ice cream with red bean and mochi. The salmon roll was good and tasted like any other salmon roll. The person I was with got the chicken karaage which was more chewy than crunchy. The ramen I got was okay... better ramen around in japantown as the broth tasted a lot like white pepper. Noodles were pretty good though. Overall I don't think I need to come back but it was worth the try!

NONO's sister restaurant! They just took over NONO's location as they got a new place down the street. This place blew up on TikTok for their $16 lunch deal which includes an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. My friend and I got the Spicy Tuna Roll and Takoyaki; both were OK like exactly what you think it is but nothing special. Then, we both got the Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen which was also OK like the broth wasn't amazing or super rich/flavorful. The egg that was on the ramen was like so oddly peeled LOL like random dents. The dessert was a Strawberry Matcha pudding which was also kinda mid. Service was nice and friendly!I'd come back to try their $5 Happy Hour from 4:30pm - 6pm!

Food was ok, we went right at opening and were sat immediately. The dessert for lunch specials change, and today was strawberry matcha panna cotta.

Good lunch spot! You can get a lunch dish, appetizer & small dessert for $16 during the lunch happy hour from 12:30-3:30 everyday. Small restaurant though so try to beat the lunch rush. I waited about 20 minutes and came around 12:45. The host and waiter at the restaurant was very nice! Honestly, it was a great deal to get a typical lunch meal. Nothing crazy, the noodles and chicken appetizer tasted solid and pretty standard. The dessert was a match panna cotta which was a perfect way to cleanse my mouth after some garlic ramen noodles.