Skip to Content

This article contains affiliate links. We may receive compensation if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Ramen At Ivan Ramen In New York City

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.

Ramen Art, Manga Style, at Ivan Ramen New York City
Image: ©2foodtrippers

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.

Discover more of the best soups in the world.

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 flagship location in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Ivan Ramen New York

Bar Seats at Ivan Ramen New York City
Bar Seats at Ivan Ramen New York City – We Sat Here | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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.

Discover more NYC restaurants.

Outside Dining at Ivan Ramen New York City
Outside Dining at Ivan Ramen New York City – We Didn’t Sit Here. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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

Cold Dish - Pickled Daikon XO with Dried Shrimp and Scallop Chili Oil at Ivan Ramen New York City
Cold Dish – Pickled Daikon XO with Dried Shrimp and Scallop Chili Oil | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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

Cold Dish - 1000 Year Old Deviled Egg - Hen Egg and Preserved Duck Egg with Tomato Bonito at Ivan Ramen New York City
Cold Dish – 1000 Year Old Deviled Egg – Hen Egg and Preserved Duck Egg with Tomato Bonito | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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

Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen Ramen with Tonkotsu Broth, Pork Chashu and Whole Wheat Noodles - Fully Loaded at Ivan Ramen New York City
Triple Pork Triple Garlic Mazemen Ramen with Tonkotsu Broth, Pork Chashu and Whole Wheat Noodles – Fully Loaded | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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

Spicy Red Chili Ramen with Dashi and Chicken Broth, Minced Pork, Smashed Egg and Rye Noodles at Ivan Ramen New York City
Spicy Red Chili Ramen with Dashi and Chicken Broth, Minced Pork, Smashed Egg and Rye Noodles | Image: ©2foodtrippers

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.

NYC Planning Checklist

Hungry For More In NYC?

Bagel Sandwich at Black Seed Bagels in New York City
Bagels
Hibiscus Donut at Dough Doughnuts in New York City
Donuts
Slices at Marios Pizzeria in the Bronx
Pizza
About The Authors

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 the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their 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:)

mobile massage london

Sunday 17th of August 2014

Hi there, You've done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this website.

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!