Tampopo Ramen
“The staff was very kind and the happy hour (everyday 4-6) didn't hurt.”
“Tampopo Ramen has arrived in Washington Heights, and I couldn't be more pleased.”
“We also got the chicken buns to start, and they were fantastic (I don't eat pork, but I've heard the pork buns are also amazing).”
Tampopo Ramen
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Definitely would come back for their other ramens just to try them out. My friend got their pork buns and that looked good as well although there was barely any pork in it. She liked it still though, said she tasted ginger in it. I am now curious!
I got the spicy Miso ramen which was about $14. First off it was not spicy at all. But the broth still had depth beyond that aspect. It was on the touch side of salty for me, personally, but again I wouldn't dock any points for that. It had corn, pork belly, bamboo shoots, scallions, and some bean sprouts. All great components but I'm use to some seaweed or nori on top of it too. Maybe I'm spoiled?!
With that all said, server was nice and friendly. The cook was efficient and he clearly knew what he was doing. Clean, modern, and somewhat cozy venue. It had a dark aesthetic to it which was great for dates. I may be biAsed but I've had another spicy ramen somewhere else in Manhattan and it was much better with a better deal, but like I said they might be biased so I'm not using those reasons to dock any points. A four because it wasn't out of my mind good, but I'd still recommend it to friends. Enjoy! (If you want to know which restaurant I like the spicy ramen from, feel free to dig through my reviews or follow me and ask!)
Being an AZN from Southern California who uses LA/SF as ramen quality barometers, my standards are E&H (exacting & high). Sorry, New York, that means even you.
I'm glad to say this place, located 10 minutes from me by subway (or 20 minutes by walk now that I'm using a behavior-modifying pedometer a lot to lose weight), is pretty great. The marinated egg and pork — the essential components of ramen besides ramen — are both fresh (you can see it all prepared in front of you) and they go easy on the sodium, plus no MSG from what I could tell. No drymouth whatsoever afterwards.
I'd dock a star normally for limited seating, but the product is superb, as good as swanky midtown establishments like KOA. Staff is also super nice and attentive. Prices are reasonable, so tip generously.
Great little find in Washington Heights! My four-star breakdown:
Space – About thirteen counter seats and four 2-person tables.
Servers – Super friendly. On your way out, the whole crew takes a moment to say bye to you (in Japanese).
Hungry Man Ramen (Miso Base) – This has all the works (half an egg, charbroiled pork, karaage fried chicken, red cabbage, corn, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, nori seaweed, and more). For $22, I expected it to be much bigger, but it comes in their normal ramen bowl (the only difference being that it's filled to the brim). Nonetheless, it was pretty good. I managed to finish everything but the broth.
Check out the first Japanese ramen bar in Washington Heights history! おいしです。
I know we are not allowed to give half star, but in this case, I really want to give them 3.5 stars… Since we had such nice food a few month ago, right when they first opened, we decided to go back for some more. We figured that they now had more experience running the restaurant since they opened, so everything should be much more smooth. This time, there was a maître d' at the door, taking names and number of the party. He was very efficient, while taking down names, he was also cleaning up the counter/table as soon as customers left, if all the waitresses were busy. This helped speed up the cleaning process and shorter wait time. He was very friendly and polite.
The karaage fried chicken was not as amazing as the first time we visited, and gyoza was too sticky to each other that they kind of fell apart when we tried to separate them. The ramen was good, but the Extra Noodle order took a very long time, which was the main reason why I reduce the star by one from my original review.
The waitresses were all very nice, and did much better job than when they freshly opened. Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
I admit that the only Ramen I have ever had was that processed kind that many of us lived on in college. Those hard noodles and shiney foil packet made many nights barnacle on a college students budget.
So when I was visit my cousin and he mentioned going to a local ramen place for lunch I went with intrepidation. I should not have been worried because what I experienced was so far removed from college Raman it was not even on the same planet.
Small with limited sesting, we arrived after lunch and found a couple of seats. The smell of goodness is what I first got a whiff of ad we entered the restaurant. A kind employ Lee walked us through the menu. I am on a pork bun kick so I ordered one of them with seaweed salad and a bowl of the miso Ramen with chicken (there is a pork option available as well. We sat at the "bar" and got to watch our meals being prepared in front of us.
The pork bun was devine with the meat literally melting in my mouth. I sampled on of Mark's garlic sesame edemane – a bit too greasy and mushy for me (it is sautéed in oil) but choked the seaweed salad.
For the main dish, the miso Ramen did not disappoint. Not a large bowl but full of enough "stuff" to make a meal. And that soft boiled egg.. Yum. Ramen has been taken too a whole other level in my book.
Not sure if I just went on a off night but the ramen I had was very underwhelming. It tasted like one of those cup -of- noodle -soup with some chilli spice and sesame seeds mixed in it. Way overpriced. The spicy miso dish with chicken was $12.50 and then they actually charge $1.50 for the chilli sauce which you don't realize is extra until you get the bill, so the total is $13.50 . I think it's misleading to have it on the menu as "spicy miso" and then have hidden charges.
The fried chicken appetizer was good. Would be nice if they gave you more than 1/8 a teaspoon of the spicy mayo to dip it in though. Overall, very dissapointing. It just didn't taste good so even if they only charge $1 for the ramen I wouldn't go back.
With that said the decor is actually really cute and the staff were pleasant and attentive, too bad the food stinks. Pass!
Came here with my friend who goes to the Medical School down the street. This place is a bit of an oasis in a neighborhood dominated by by Dominican/ Puerto Rican establishments. As others have noted the restaurant is super small. They basically have one table and a bunch of counter spots. It can get a bit crowded inside but thats NY. The food was pretty good. Details below:
Bao- loved these.
Fried Chicken- boneless. Ask for some sriracha.
Spicy ramen- great. Nice broth.
Small (I repeat, small) shop all the way up in an area that needed some ramen. Luckily only a small wait on a Friday night; got seated at the bar with the cooks frantically making dishes in front of us.
Short menu specializing in ramen, drinks, and appetizers. Settled on the Spicy Miso Ramen ($13) and a Hakutsuru drink ($10). Drink comes out first with the bottle and a sake glass. The taste is semi-sweet as it says, like a blend of white wine and sake; not bad. Ramen comes next: a large bowl filled with chicken broth, chicken pieces, soft noodles, veggies, hard-boiled egg, and a wad of chili sauce on top. I was hoping the "spicy" part of the meal would be more of a mixed in flavor rather then a bunch of paste on top of the ingredients (I could have done that). The paste did add flavor, but not the punch I was hoping for. Otherwise the rest of the meal was pleasant to eat, and especially warming on a cold day.
I would say this place is actually 3 stars food wise – though when considering the lack of options in the area and solid service, rounding it up to 4.