Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop
“Located inside Gotham Market, the ramen here is one of the most unique and delicious in all of NYC.”
“I also tried the roasted garlic mazemen 'fully baked', but preferred the Classic better.”
“Tokyo Shio (Salt base) Ramen with an egg and some pork belly, awesome, rye noodles are the tastiest noodles I've had to date.”
Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I had the spicy red chili ramen, and it was pretty good. Not my favorite, but also not bad. I did like the "smashed" egg – it was different and gave the ramen some texture. What I did not like, though, was the noodles were a little overcooked, so not as chewy and springy as I would have liked. It was a bit on the oily side
I had a bite of my friend's shoyu ramen, and it was OK. Again, not bad, but not my favorite either.
I did like the yuzu lemonade!
I don't know that I'd make the trip out this far west again for this, but it was A-OK.
I love Gotham market – such a relaxing place to spend the time, yet I don't like Ivan that much as Ramen fan. Rye noodle must be something fresh to see in the bowl of Ramen, which is can be called nice try, but not sure if they are good combination with Shoyu broth.
I don't think noodle was cooked properly. It was too soft for me – I always prefer Ramen noodle to be al dente with tenderness. I am sure rye noodle wouldn't give you tenderness yet this one was bit soggy and pasty.
I didn't feel any deepness from broth but soy sauce taste. It was bit too salty. Less topping is ok with me – if broth and noodles are perfect, however, this bowl needs more topping as their broth and noodle are missing lots of things.
I think they are ok to try if you are craving for Ramen while you made yourself at Gothams market. Still – I don't believe its worth trip to get here only to get Ramen from Ivan. We have so many place in NYC serving perfect bowl of Ramen.
Ivan Ramen is located inside the Gotham West Market food paradise. Their Tokyo's Shio Ramen is known as the soup that made Ivan famous. In my opinion, the broth is always what either makes or breaks the dish and this broth was just right. It has the perfect blend of sea-salt and dashi-chicken broth which really brought out the flavors of the pork belly and rye noodles.
Their noodles come with one complimentary add on which you can pick from. These include soft eggs, toasted garlic, enoki mushrooms, pork belly, chicken, Koji Tofu, toasted nori, etc…If you want more, you can add from the list for $1.50 extra each.
This comes out to $13 and you can $6 for Mega Pork or Mega Chicken.
The portion size was smaller than what I'm used to but it was ok because of the various options inside the Market. This allowed room to try something from the other establishments.
Overall, it was good ramen when you're in the mood. It's better than Ippudo's broth but not overly amazing like that of Totto Ramen.
I don't get what the pans below don't get.
Okay, to be honest, I have my suspicions. I think the low reviews, frankly, say more about the reviewer than they say about Ivan. It's fine to not like something, but nearly all the bad reviewers cite comparisons to Ippudo, or Totto, which implies they have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to ramen in general, and broth in particular. Do you really not like it? Or do you prefer the fatty, heavy, gut busting Tonkotsu (pork) or Paitan (chicken) broths, respectively, to the much lighter broth variety at Ivan? Do you realize that isn't really a fair comparison? It's like saying I prefer the mushroom veloute at Daniel to the consommé at La Grenouille. Well, that's wonderful as an expression of preference for butter and cream over clear broth, but it's useless as a basis of criticism levied in the form of a two-star rating. Maybe I just expect too much from a crowd-sourced set of reviews. But I do, honestly, live in fear of places like Ivan shutting down because people are warned off by the masses, limiting our already paltry variety of ramen flavors in what should be a ramen town.
Ivan Ramen became famous in Tokyo for three reasons. First, the noodles are made in-house, out of rye flour, which gives them a unique flavor. Second, Ivan set out to make a ramen broth (Shio, or salt broth) with a chicken/dashi base and much, much lower in emulsified fat than your average Tonkotsu (Ippudo) or Paitan.(Totto). Third, he was openly American. That brought attention to his shop, which was either going to sink it, or elevate it. As it happens, Tokyo ramen fans were ripe for a switch to lighter broths, and Ivan was elevated to celebrity status. Ivan Ramen, then, is a distinct variety of light broth with rye noodles. It isn't going to coat your tongue like the emulsified versions elsewhere, it isn't supposed to. It's meant to be eaten as a relatively guilt-free version of what is normally a famously unhealthy meal.
Does it succeed? Yes, in spades. The shio broth has a deep and strong flavor. I had read so much about the chicken base that the equally strong and funky dashi flavor was a nice surprise. (Dashi, since I am on a condescending roll, is a broth of water, kelp, and dried bonito flakes. It is a cornerstone of Japanese cuisine). I loved the rye noodles, which pair beautifully with the broth. I kept my bowl simple, with a soft egg add-on. There was a nice, big, tender slice of pork belly in there, as well.
And here is an endorsement, I shared some with the two pickiest eaters I know – my 9 and 7 year old daughters. They gobbled the noodles down, funky broth and all, and only 10 minutes later left unfinished ice cream to melt. I think that says volumes.
Yes, both the smaller portion size and the lightness of the broth can leave you wanting more, but you can always supplement with more add-ons, have a bun, or choose something else from the other Gotham Market purveyors. Yes, $14 a bowl is a bit pricey, but this isn't McDonalds in Cleveland, you are paying for a fully house-made product.
Which, of course, you may not like, and that's cool. But the fact that Ivan has only three stars is an embarrassment to NY eaters. It makes us look provincial and uninformed.
Memo to other famed Tokyo ramen shops I have visited:
* Afuri (which has a wonderful Yuzu broth much admired in Tokyo) stay away! New Yorkers won't get it.
* Ramen Zero (which specializes in no-added flavors broth and whose bowls look like a work of art), NY is not ready for you.
* Ramen Jiro, you have a chance. I'll never forget how fatty your tonkotsu broth was, nor what it did to my system on the train ride back to Ginza (I didn't know my stomach could make those sounds), but I think your giant portions and liberal use of garlic has a chance with the downtown bar crowd.
It was a rainy day, so I was in the mood for ramen.
Got the Tokyo Shio Ramen (Sea salt, dashi + chicken broth, pork belly chashu, rye noodle). I really enjoyed the thin noodles and mix of toppings. I do wish the broth had a bit more flavor going on though.
A really MEH experience which I will give 2.5/3 stars. I recently moved to Hell's Kitchen and finally got a chance to try Ivan Ramen. (It's kind of a pain to get there if you don't live around the area). I got the typical Shio ramen and my friend got a shoyu ramen. The ramen noodles weren't the typical Sun ramen noodles so they didn't have the al dente texture that I like. The portion was small for the price (~$30 for 2 bowls). The meat was alright and as was the broth (on the saltier side). My friend's shoyu broth was EXTREMELY salty and she had to add water to it! The only thing that stood out was the egg! The yolk had amazing flavors, although that's not really a redeeming factor.
Ivan was a huge disappointment but it seems like they still get a steady clientele base (but definitely no wait for it at all). Will probably not order those two bowls again.. may try their mazemen next time.
Pretty good simple shio ramen, but overly expensive for the experience. Walk up, place your order, and have a seat at the bar or wander around elsewhere in the market until your buzzer triggers. The ramen is not that oily with its umami-filled broth, and comes with scallions, charsiu, and an egg. The egg was probably the best part; tons of flavor, and a gooey yolk. The pork was tender and fatty, but more of a straight pork flavor than other charsiu I've encountered in other ramen shops. (If you're lucky enough to be in SF, go to Mensho for a tastier more complex shio ramen experience. The broth alone stands out as easily superior to Ivan's.)
I've finally made my way to this famous ramen location in Hell's Kitchen. I was once again convinced to try the ramen out here after salivating at Mike C's endless collection of mouth-watering food porn.
Ivan's Ramen Slurp Shop is located inside the greater Gotham West Market. There are other food stations inside the market that serve things like tacos and fried chicken sandwiches, but I was dead set on trying the ramen at Ivan's.
At first glance, I was disappointed that Ivan doesn't offer a Tonkotsu soup. Having eaten at numerous other ramen eateries, the Tonkotsu ramen soup is practically almost an expected staple item. What I have found out after reading the other reviews here is that Ivan shouldn't be considered a true Japanese styled ramen spot, but a Japanese-American styled ramen spot. The soups they offer here tend to be lighter and clearer, more chicken stock based than pork bone based.
Still, I very much enjoyed Ivan's version of ramen here. I ordered the Tokyo Shoyo Ramen. Instead of the rich creamy Tonkotsu soup that I'm used to, the Shoyo soup here is dark, very savory and somewhat salty. It was good actually, but certainly different from what I would normally order. The noodles were al dente, and I also requested an extra whole egg and chicken to be added onto my ramen bowl.