Ichiba
“Vegetarian option 🙂
It's always nice to be able to share ramen with friends when you're a vegetarian!”
“I had the spicy miso ramen made with an oxtail and bone marrow broth *droooool* and the flavor was deep, creamy and complex.”
“I also had the duck bun, which had a nice texture vs.”
Ichiba
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Pop into this place when I was around the area looking for a green tea latte.
Couldn't find anywhere selling it at the nearby cafes, so I went into this place looking for the latte- hoping for the Japanese and Green tea link…
They didn't have it, but their green tea cheesecake caught my eyes so I went in for the desert ( but ended up having a few small bites)…
Even thou, I was going to have dinner in my friend's place in 2 hours. I reckon it was worth it….
The greentea cheesecake was good. Their Karage was nothing to write home about. All the 'yakitori' were of a good standard.
Ramen is decent, but get the Katsu-curry for $12.50 instead. Better quality curry for a lower price than most curry joints.
I felt like Ichiba came in fairly well overall. I had the spicy miso with some pork slices added and an appetizer of tofu. The appetizer was a bit weak and could have used some more dipping sauce. The soup itself was fairly tasty, though. I do think they could work on presentation (the toppings were sloshing under the broth a little haphazardly). And they need to work on their noodle laying technique as these definitely had the feel of noodles just dumped in and were all coming up in tangled clumps. But the broth was flavorful and the service was fast and courteous. Not the best ramen joint but definitely worth a stop if you're in Union Square and hungry for some soup.
Ichiba is a brand new ramen and sushi joint right in Union Square, where the Jamba Juice used to be.
From the outside, it looks glassy and metallic and has a bright illuminated sign, the signs of a corporate joint with no personality, but once you walk in, that quickly fades into a small, well decorated, fishing-themed such restaurant with reclaimed wood, Edison bulbs, raw materials such as rope and unfinished stone, and fish shapes.
Despite being brand new, the waitstaff was well trained and knowledgeable, and the place was packed. There are about 6 spots at the bar, a few booths, and about 15 tables packed in there, with comfy seats adorned with thick seat cushions.
We ordered a lot because we wanted to try it all. Started it all off with their pork buns. The meat was well seasoned and well cooked, but the rest of the bun was rather mundane. The source was a simple hoisin, they used a lettuce cabbage for the crunch, and threw in two cucumber slices in lieu of green onions. They were good, but can't compare against Ippudo, Rai Rai Ken or Momofuku.
We ordered the Ichiba Roll and a Hamachi Hand Roll to try the sushi. Presentation was excellent, fish was fresh and it came out pretty quickly. The roll is a good size, though not the gigantic "American" size portions you get at cheaper joints. The roll did have a lot of rice per fish.
We had the Ichiba Ramen, a shoyu based ramen with all the standard fixins'… soft boiled egg, seaweed, noodles, pork belly, a little onion. The birth wasn't really packed with flavor, and the noodles seemed pre-cooked and dried. I don't know for sure but I would bet they don't make the noodles in house here, and don't let the broth simmer for very long. I had to put a ton of spicy oil and ramen spices in to get the flavors I wanted.
Side note on the spicy oil: they use a sesame oil base for the spicy oil. Some people may like this, but I like a ton of spice, and don't like a ton of sesame flavoring. This meant I had to choose between a non-spicy ramen or an overly sesame ramen :/
Pricing was a little on the high side, understandable because they gotta pay the rent in this area. Each ramen alone was $15, whereas at Rai Rai Ken you get a ramen, a pork bun, a beverage and a mochi for $14. That being said, this place is pretty conveniently located so the price may be justified if you want some decent ramen without having to stray too far from Union Square.
I was originally going to a different restaurant at Union Square, but they were busy, so I decided to try Ichiba, and so glad it worked out that way!
The service was excellent and the restaurant was very clean. The space is small so the tables are close together, but the food is so good that I don't mind sitting next to strangers!
My friends and I ordered the gyoza and pork buns as appetizers and those were yummy! The gyoza was served with a bottle of dumpling sauce that you can pour yourself, which was a cool idea. The gyoza were good, but nothing spectacular. The pork buns however were delicious! The piece of pork was big and tender, and it was served with hoisin sauce, Japanese mayo, and cucumbers! It all went together really well.
For the ramen, I ordered the Ichiba Ramen and I added fish cake to mine. The Ichiba ramen comes with a paitan shoyu (chicken) broth, but they also have your tonkotsu (pork) broth and you can get that shoyu (soy sauce) style or with miso as well. My broth was really good! Not to salty and very flavorful. The ramen was a good texture and the chashu was tender and the entire bowl was yummy!
They have many other options of food here! They have sushi, yakitori, don buri, and desserts.
I also order sushi and it was well made! I ordered the Downtown roll (spicy salmon and tuna inside, topped with salmon and tuna) and the 14th Street roll (soft shell crab and avocado inside and salmon, tuna, and white tuna on top). Both were decent sized and delicious!
I would definitely come back to try the other food options!
Their ramen is decent but not the best. But I like that they use the curly noodles instead of the soba type noodles. There are not many ramen joints in this neighborhood so it's a definitely a nice option to hit up when you're craving for noodles. While their main thing is ramen, they also have sushi and dinner entrees. Be sure to check in via Yelp app and get a free drink.
Conveniently located ramen place near union square. Very spacious and interesting tables that are acutely sewing tables with the pedal/wheel underneath. Kinda distracting but anyways.
The ramen was not bad. I had the koubayashi miso ramen, which had a chicken broth base. Noodles were curly and not all that chewy, which was disappointing for me. The broth was not that flavorful, beyond being salty. I liked that the chashu pieces were nice and big, but the taste was not memorable.
Despite being in union square, the restaurant was pretty empty on a Wednesday evening around 7pm. Perhaps it's because it's new. But based on my experience I don't feel like Ichiba is really a standout place among all the others in the area. Yeah it's decent ramen, though I barely remember what it tastes like, but I would recommend other ramen places over this one.
Great place for lunch – I went with a colleague for a quick bite and it did not disappoint! The service was quick and we were able to get in and out in under an hour. Ramen is rarely my cuisine of choice, but it's probably my new favorite ramen place in the city and would get it again. This place is really good for people who don't like how heavy and strong the broth can get. It also gives a really nice balance of all the ingredients and will leave you craving more. Side note – I love the way they cook the egg (they leave the yolk a little thick and runny, and not solid in the middle)! A bit pricier than other places in comparison, but I think it's worth it.