08/05/08

Quailty dropped big-time. no longer amazing ramen.

by foodID27

Setagaya WAS the best ramen I ever had in NY when they FIRST OPENED.

That was when they had an Expert team of Japanese Ramen Chefs making everything.

But the experts left, and now the ramen is made by a bunch of local kids who don't care and the quality is mediocre.

The broth is still pretty good by new york standards, but not as good as it was the first month or two, and the pork is always too tough now. (it's not roasted long enough)

the noodles are the same though, but they come from a pre-made source, so it's almost impossible to mess that up.

all in all, my biggest ramen dissapointment in ny. I wish you all could have had their ramen in that first month!!!!

• Pros: great dinning area, cool japanese ramen programs on tv, broth and noodles preety good.
• Cons: pork is tough and bland, quality of broth and pork dropped after first couple of monthes.

12/30/07

Excellent ramen for your money

by cleois300

Came here with three other friends on a Wednesday night, just after Christmas. It was not busy at all but then it was raining that night and it was just after Christmas. We ordered some oshinko, seaweed salad, gyozas, two shio ramens (noodles and broth served together), and two deluxe ramens with pork (not sure which ones; the noodles are served cold and the hot broth is on the side). Everything was good. I wish the noodles were hot. I'll ask for that next time. I believe it was about $66 after tax and before tip. We left $80. BTW: not all of the employees speak Japanese. Some spoke Korean. Not that it matters but don't expect every employee to be fluent in Japanese. (Just because you dine at a Italian restaurant, do you expect everyone to speak Italian? C'mon...)

• Pros: Price, food, service
• Cons: Small place

09/27/07

beware of long line

by TardyKat

We arrived at 2.30pm and waited on the line, we were the last customers before they close for lunch at 3pm. The waitress asked us to pass along the message if someone else were to wait behind us. We sat the counter so it was interesting to see the chef cooking the noodles. I ordered the shio ramen, the soup stock was really tasty. My mom ordered the tsukemen, which is the same thing except the soup is served on the side. Her soup, however, was extra salty with juicy bits of meat floating inside. She also ordered a salt egg, shio tama. It wasn't very salty at all. For $2 more, my sister ordered the shio ramen BBQ pork, we don't know what the difference was fromt he shio ramen, except that it had additional slices of meat. Service was quick and no frills, just like the menu. No flourishes, you come for ramen, and ramen you get.

• Pros: quick service, simple menu
• Cons: long waits on the line