Mike E.
Yelp
We ate lunch here and were seated in the upstairs dining room. They were only open for ten minutes and already filling up downstairs.
The ambience and decor was lovely. It has us talking about it throughout the meal. If they only dimmed the ceiling lights, it would feel like you're eating outside in Japan.
Service was extremely attentive, countlessly filling our mini water glasses. I did notice that they do try to push a number of things to sell. After indicating we'll have water, the question is "still or sparkling"? My answer was "tap". NYC tap water actually ranks pretty high in blind taste tests.
The ramen bowls were about $20ish and a good value. Portion was perfect and all flavorful. Again though, they try to sell all sorts of extras for your ramen...eggs, cabbage, anything. Your $20 ramen could quickly become $30. We didn't get any extras and all bowls had plenty of goodies within.
Kin kare ramen (Kare means spicy) was perfect for me. Never got tiring, balanced flavors. I really enjoyed it. Even with the spicy paste added directly to the ramen, it wasn't too spicy.
Miso ramen was also balanced and enjoyed at the table.
Two of us ordered curry ramen bowls. These tasted ok at the start, but got a little sickening. They were very gloppy and thick. More like extra thick curries than a bowl of brothy ramen. Still, both eaters finished them.
The meal was satisfying, but we opted to try their dessert. It's a small scoop of green tea matcha ice cream (likely Haagen Daaz) and supposedly lava cake. Very small portion and $14... Not worth it. $6 more could buy you a big satisfying bowl of ramen so I don't see the value.
Overall, very nice place, great ramen, excellent service, no credit card fee, but just watch the upcharges. Enjoy!