Ippudo

A unique ramen experience in New York. The atmosphere feels more like a bar or pub than a traditional ramen shop, which made it fun and different. The ramen was good, the vibe was lively, and overall it was a pleasant experience. Definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for something a little different.

The food itself looked beautiful and I'm sure tastes great, but as a strictly vegetarian customer (for religious/faith reasons, not a trend I'm following), I had a genuinely uncomfortable experience watching it get made. I chose a seat at the bar specifically because I could see the prep area, and I'm glad I did, because it showed me something I wish I hadn't seen. The person preparing my cucumber salad had just finished marinating and frying chicken. She was wearing gloves, which I appreciated, but instead of changing gloves or washing with soap between handling raw meat and my vegetarian dish, she just rinsed her gloved hands briefly with water and went straight into cutting my cucumbers. I also ordered the bao bun with eggplant, and watching the single fryer in use, I have to wonder if the eggplant was fried in the same oil as the chicken. For someone who keeps strictly vegetarian for personal or religious reasons, this isn't a minor detail, it's the whole point. I want to be clear I'm not trying to start a pile-on. I genuinely don't know if what I saw is just an industry-standard shortcut that most people wouldn't think twice about, or an actual lapse. But from where I was sitting, it didn't look like there's a real separation between meat and vegetarian prep, and that matters a lot to those of us who eat this way out of conviction. I'd love to see more attention paid to glove changes, separate utensils, and dedicated fryers for vegetarian items. Until then, I'll have a hard time trusting the "vegetarian" label here, even though the food on the plate looked excellent.

We first ordered takoyaki, edamame, and aioli chips to share, and they were honestly amazing. Everything we ordered for the table was really delicious. We tried calling to make a reservation but couldn’t get through, and if you’re a large group without a reservation, they make you wait until all your friends arrive. My friends ordered ramen and really liked it. The portions were very generous. We also ordered buns. I tried the chicken bun and absolutely loved it. I had the Manhattan Bridge sushi. It was good, but I wish I had ordered the spicy shrimp tempura instead. Overall, the food was tasty and enjoyable. A great spot, especially for sharing plates with friends.

yummers rlly rlly liked the spicy tuna roll, it was crunchy, the tuna isn’t inside the roll tho, it was on top, has small pieces of tomato + mango + DILL!!! love the combo ramen had rich broths! definitely a new flavor, they looked oily tho 😭 pork buns weren’t worth, they put mayo in them…, gets cold fast and only like 2 slices of pork in each didn’t expect to get seated in a long table, kinda like hibachi tables, might get placed with strangers next to you, heads up

I dined here solo & was sat at the bar, where you could watch staff cook. The service was very attentive, never letting my water glass hit empty. I'm a gin girly so I ordered the Broken Hearts cocktail, which was excellent. For dinner I had the Shiromaru Motoaji ramen and added a marinaded egg. The broth was light but full of flavor & the noodles perfectly chewy. I've heard this place is one of the best low-key ramen spots in nyc, and they were right. I'll definitely be back!