Nippon Cha
“Also, their matcha is all organic and all imported from Japan so the legitimacy of this place just grows and grows in my eyes as I dine here.”
“- I also ordered roasted green tea for $6 and it came in a cute tea set and they filled my pot with more hot water when I asked.”
“Overall based on the food, decoration, ambience, and service for a new restaurant, I give them 5 stars.”
Nippon Cha
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Even though Nippon Cha has gotten a bad rap for its ramen, one bowl of which I've tried, it has its strengths and their rice bowls are one of them.
During a weekday lunch hour I tried their chicken teriyaki rice bowl, and I appreciated how satiated I felt after eating it and how simple the dish was: chicken teriyaki, radishes, rice, vegetables. The tonkotuchazuke, the pork rice bowl that I ate shortly after Nippon Cha first opened, was also flavorful and filling from what I remember.
The last time I came here, the staff worker hooked it up with a free Tochucha (brown tea) milk drink and asked for my opinion on it. When I took my first sip, I liked the nutty, bold flavor of the Tochucha powder which also made the drink take on a gritty/grainy texture. I couldn't finish all of the drink (about two cups) because the flavor became too overwhelming the more I drank it. I told the server about that, and I hope that at this point they've made the changes I suggested to the drink.
I knocked off one star, because my intuitive feeling is that Nippon Cha is trying to be too much by striving to be both a tea house and a place where people can eat lunch and dinner dishes. That might be why the quality and taste of some dishes (like their rice bowls and desserts) are high, but the others (ramen) suffer. If they focus just on being a tea room offering desserts, for instance, their food and beverage offerings could all be high in quality.
Recently opened up in the Bayside area so we figured we need to give it a try because when there is ramen knocking, we come a running! When we first sat down they gave us each Matcha cookies which were really delicious.
We ordered he tonkotu ramen which was ok nothing spectacular. The broth was very good though, not too salty but we were disappointed that the egg did not come with the ramen, but had to be ordered separately. We orderd the egg and found the yolk fully cooked. Unless this particular ramen preparation uses cooked eggs, stay away from the eggs.
The Chikin Tatutaage (yes, that is how they spelled chicken on the menu) was a set lunch. The lunch came with miso soup, steamed egg, salad, rice and pieces of fried chicken tenders. The chicken was moist but lacked flavor. The miso soup was barely warm.
The service staff was friendly but looked confused and uneasy at times. I know it may take time to get the flow of things going but they need a service intervention, things are going to get progressively worse when the restaurant is full of patrons and nobody has a clue which direction to turn.
I wish them luck and I may try it again to see if things approve, you gotta root for the underdog.
Nippon cha, literally Japanese tea, is an interestingly authentic Japanese place in eastern Queens. I tried their tonkatsu miso ramen which was very flavorful and rich and very much Japanese in style (contrary to what others may have you believe). I'm not exactly sure who these people are making off hand remarks about nippon cha's ramen but they clearly don't know how Japanese ramen tastes. Japanese ramen happens to be my most favorite food and I've tried everything from totto and ippudo to mitsuwa's food court, menya, zundo ya and countless others… I have to say that though nippon cha's ramen is just average, it is very much Japanese. I personally find the tonkatsu miso broth to be similar to zundo ya's rich broth.
Ramen aside, the grilled mackerel tasted great. The free macha cookies were awesome and the macha pudding was so good. The macha milk was pretty good but may be too milky for some. The hot tea they serve is pretty nice as well.
All in all, I've found a new favorite. An authentic Japanese place on bell… I really hope this trend continues. Hashi ramen (the place run by Koreans) just doesn't cut it.
Oh and for those who still question whether or not they are authentic Japanese, check out their website… They used yen instead of usd for their US website… LOL
But you know, you guys don't have to like this place, it just means no waiting for people like me.
After reading so many harsh reviews about Nippon Cha, I decided to go eat lunch here with my friend. And our first experience wasn't so bad. The lady who greeted us when we came in, she was very pleasant and welcoming. Inside was rather empty, only 2 other patrons. Interior decor was simple, yet comfortable and felt spacious.
They had a decent sized menu w/ ramen and rice bowls and set lunches and appetizers. The soup base for their ramen are either miso broth or pork bone. Very simple, nothing amazing there. I don't like how they have a lot of add-on's that cost additional, that you usually expect to already have included, like egg for instance. And on top of that, the egg was cooked. What. the. Bleeeeeeep. Not a huge deal breaker, but still..I'd like to at least have that option of having a raw egg.
My friend and I ordered 2 bowls of ramen (Soy ramen for me and Spicy negi ramen for my boy) and me being the fatass, I ordered another bowl of Ginger Pork over rice. I just had ice water, and my friend ordered a bottle of Kirin beer. Food came out relatively quickly. My Ginger Pork over rice came out first with a side of miso soup. First off, major props to Nippon for serving miso soup that was actually HOT..and not just lukewarm. The temperature of the soup really affects how it tastes overall. So not bad. The Ginger Pork was quite delicious actually. Tender slices of pork, and rice was good too. Rice was tad bit on the oily side, but no matter, the overall dish was quite good! I would order the Ginger Pork again.
Both our ramen looked good. Soup base wasn't too salty and the slices of pork were generous and had good flavor. Wasn't a fan of the eggs though, and the ramen noodles were average. Nothing special there.
Overall, I see a lot of room for improvement, but I don't think Nippon Cha warrants anything less than 3 stars. I normally don't judge a restaurant after just one experience, unless that one experience was disastrous..loll And my first experience wasn't that bad. I would come here again for lunch when it's not busy.
Read mixed reviews but decided to come give it a try since it is closer than going to Astoria..
I gave this place a 4 because it was mostly good and for a new place, my parents liked it. We had a party of 5 and most of us would give it a 3-4 star.
First off, here's our thoughts on the dishes we tried-
Matcha (?) cookies – these came free as soon as we sat down. They were pretty good! I would definitely consider buying a box just as a snack.
Shouyu Tofu appetizer – my boyfriend is a big tofu fan and he really liked it. It was a cold dish which we didn't expect but nonetheless good.
Takoyaki – ehh it was not wonderful and I have had better in Astoria but it wasn't terribly bad or anything. Just could be better and possibly have more squid.
Tonkotsu Ramen – I ordered this and it had lots of flavor. The noodles weren't anything special but the soup was pretty good and full of flavor. Toppings were nothing too special though.
Tonkotsu Miso ramen – boyfriend ordered this and got the super-sized option. The bowl was big but it did not have much flavor until you got to the bottom half of the soup. When I first tasted the soup it was bland and watered down but once he got to the bottom he told me to try it, and it was very very flavorful. I recommend mixing the soup and try the soup at the bottom. I think this was the Tonkotsu that most reviews are talking about the "bland flavor" so if you order, I recommend the Tonkotsu ramen and NOT the Tonkotsu MISO ramen.
Spicy Miso ramen (forgot the official menu name) – lots of flavor! My mom and sis liked it. I thought it was good but the spices definitely went to your nose lol as with the other two above, the noodles itself could be better… but the soup was really good.
Ribeye steak- my dad ordered this and it was definitely a hit with all of us. It was cooked just right and full of flavor! So good that we ordered a second order of since my mom didn't order and we all shared the 4 entrees. This does not come with rice so we ordered a side of rice and my parents really liked the rice… I think it was buckwheat rice? Plus, they gave us a Miso soup with it =)
Now as for service… I called ahead to make a reservation just in case since it was a Sunday night. The guy who took my reservation was nice and repeated my answers to make sure it was correct. When we got there, there were maybe 5 tables with 2-4 people each so it wasn't that packed. We are greeted immediately and given menus and we're asked if we wanted tea or water. Our waiter was nice and friendly – when he heard us speak Cantonese, he replied in Cantonese. The other woman waitress was friendly as well and came back to refill our teas a few times. There was once or twice where we were looking for someone to attend to us and saw all the waiters busy or staying towards the front but I think they are just a bit understaffed also, the chef came out to give us our food a few times but when we asked for rice, he said he did not speak English and waved for a waitress to help us. They were all nice and courteous though.
One other thing, parking was a little tough but we parked around the block in the residential area.
Overall a 4… Even a 4.5 maybe. I would definitely come back to try other stuff on the menu. I do have to say though, ramen noodles itself in Astoria is definitely better and seem more authentic.. But for less travel, good ambiance and decent snacks and a decent meal, this place is pretty good.
Decided to come here with an open mind because of the mixed reviews. Let's talk about the good stuff first. Service was great, staff were all friendly and nice, and the interior is very nice and open.
So in terms of their food I tried the Tonkatsu Ramen and yes it was flavorful, but did not taste authentic or anything special at all. The broth honestly reminded me of my instant noodle broth. As for my parents they had the Tonkatsu Miso Ramen and the Pork Belly rice I believe. When I saw that rice, I was already disappointed. My parents said it tasted like those fast food Chinese take outs and it was super oily. As for the dessert I decided to give the iced green tea latte with green tea ice cream and azuki a chance and it tasted like I was drinking milk with the slightest hint of green tea, seriously not worth $9.
All in all, I hope this place the best. Maybe I'll come back in the future to see if there are any improvements, but as of now I will not be coming back.
One of the worst places to dine in on bell Blvd. I went for lunch and originally wanted to try another place but this place looked new and I love Japanese food. The yelp reviews were mixed so i decided to try it. Once we entered, there was nobody to greet us so we just grabbed a seat for ourselves. The one waiter came by to give us menus and someone else came by to give us waters. A couple minutes later the waiter came by to take our order. There wasn't a lunch special menu but the choices come in either a rice set ( rice, miso soup and salad) or rice bowl ( rice & salad). The prices range from $9-12, which is decent. However, after taking our order we saw a special for green tea cold soba and shrimp tempura. I wanted to change my order, but it was difficult to find the waiter. Had to get up and find him in the kitchen to do so.
After 5 minutes, more people came in and he came back to our table and then gave us menus again. It's like he never remembered taking our order. When the food finally came out the tempura batter was way too thick and dense. It did not have a nice crunch to it. The green tea soba noodles didn't taste very good either-the special was $18! Pobre service and food overall.
Came here one night for dinner with my parents. Small location, they don't have many seats but it's a quint location with many interesting decor. Although they do not have many staff, their staffs manners were friendly and kept coming back to check on us. Food arrived timely and its presentation wasn't bad. Their tonkatsu and miso ramen were just ok. But their spicy ramen was delish. My parents loved their rib eye we ended up ordering 2. Appetizers were good too. Their portion was filling and they even have the option to super size it for a reasonable price and you can do that to any option you choose. Love having options! We were too full to order desserts but I'd definitely like to return and try other things on the menu. Their tea selection was extremely impressive.