We didn’t make it to Ivan Ramen Tokyo, so we were excited for our first meal at the Ivan Ramen New York City location.
You could say that we have a thing for ramen.
We love this type of soup loaded with savory flavors and hearty noodles. We have our favorite local spots, each serving their unique version, but none of them compare to ramen in Japan in cities like Osaka and Fukuoka.
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We loved Tokyo’s Ramen Street and ate there twice in one week, but sadly, we didn’t make it to either Ivan Ramen or Ivan Ramen Plus. We wanted to go to both of CIA-trained Ivan Orkin’s locations in the Tokyo outskirts, but we simply ran out of time.
But hey, we live just a couple hours from New York City where, through the magical powers of globalization, Orkin recently opened two ramen joints in NYC. After a long afternoon in Flushing, we easily and happily hightailed it for a late dinner at the new flagship location in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Ivan Ramen New York
The downtown restaurant has tables both inside and outside, but we opted for spots at the bar, settling in among the dining hipsters. To get to the bar, we passed colorful walls and fun manga designs.
Just like real estate, there’s something to be said for location when it comes to dining. Having a view of the kitchen action is where we chose to be for our first meal at Ivan Ramen.
Pro Tip
Ivan Ramen NYC is open until midnight. Since we arrived on the later side of the evening, there was absolutely no wait for a table or a barstool.
Pickled Daikon
The menu is set up with four sections – cold, crisp, hot and ramen. We ordered a couple small cold dishes to prep our taste buds for the ramen yet to come.
The Pickled Daikon featured expertly cut radish strands smothered with scallop chili oil and bits of dried shrimp, all for $6.50. The bright and flavorful daikon harmonized with the crunchy, subtly spicy sauce. Our chopsticks nearly collided as we reached for every bite.
1000 Year Deviled Egg
The 1000 Year Deviled Egg was a soft counterbalance to the crunchy daikon dish. Perfect for sharing and just $3.50, these pretty eggs were amped up with umami flavors of bonito and tomato powder. We each ate our half of the richly prepared egg in just a few bites, marveling at the Japanese twist on the deviled egg.
Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen
We each got our own bowl of ramen. Daryl ordered the signature Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen for $15 and then took it to the next level by getting it ‘loaded’ with an egg, extra pork chasu and roast tomato.
The hearty, brothless noodles were bathed by buttery sesame paste and rich egg yolk, and the dish was delicately balanced by the bright concentrated tomato halves.
Spicy Red Chili Ramen
Mindi ordered a bowl of Spicy Red Chili Ramen for $14. The server warned that this soup is delicious yet very spicy.
People often warn about heat levels even when the food is barely seasoned at all, but this time the warning was actually valid. Each incendiary bite was loaded with both chili paste and chili oil.
Our one complaint was that the chili overpowered other ingredients like the smashed egg and the thin rye noodles. However, for those who like hot food, this bowl is a fun one-off hell broth experience.
Drinks
Ramen goes well with beer. Mindi complied by drinking a malty yet fruity Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale from Kiuchi Brewery. Daryl diverged and drank Crispin cider.
As we sat at Ivan Ramen New York City, slurping our ramen and sipping our beverages, we had flashbacks of eating ramen in Japan. To us, eating ramen in Japan is the ultimate ramen experience.
6,800 miles is a bit far to go for a bowl of soup, even for us. Thankfully, Ivan Ramen has brought some Japanese ramen magic to the New York food scene.
Ivan Ramen has multiple locations. We prefer the location at 25 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002, United States.
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About The Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on their website 2foodtrippers. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.
Disclosures
Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.
Funding
We self-funded our meal at Ivan Ramen..
Original Publication Date: July 20, 2014
K
Tuesday 11th of January 2022
Now come to Austin and try Ramen Tatsuya’s Miso Not with a spicy bomb. Better broth than Ivan Ramen but both are top notch!
Christine
Saturday 1st of November 2014
This looks good! I gotta check it out since I live in NYC!
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Sunday 2nd of November 2014
Make sure you go to the downtown location. We liked that one much better.
Mitzie Mee
Friday 29th of August 2014
I love ramen and I had actually planned to visit Ivan, when I was in New York in May, but we went for tapas instead. I'll put it on my to-do list for next time I'm in town:)
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Sunday 17th of August 2014
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Samantha
Tuesday 12th of August 2014
YUM! I would love to try that spicy chile one... looks super! I love ramen so much I can't wait to go back to Asia and eat it all. NOm nom nom!