Raku
“My friend had the niku udon, which was also delicious but with a heavier, heartier broth.”
“Large pieces of beef and nice soft pieces of honeycomb tripe made this a solid bowl.”
“PSA: Cash only, definitely stop by an ATM on the way in because the bill can get rather hefty!”
Raku
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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One of the good signs of good restaurants is that they do not even need ads or big signs to make it so noticeable lol. This noodle place is kind of hard to find but I feel so glad we went there. At first I thought this is one of those ramen places…but when we sat down, my husband noticed that the menu is full of all kinds of udon noodle options!! We were not udon people in general, but I convinced hubby to give it a try because this place has amazing reviews on Yelp! I was like " hope I will not regret my decion!" And the reality is…I did not regret at all!! The udon here is so special that it is kind of fun to eat…very chewy and flavorful. We ordered Egg Udon and Curry Udon with Beef! The soup is superb, man…we almost left the bowls completely empty! My husband and I feel so satisfied after we finished…I was like "I can eat another bowl"! Just kidding…I was super full afterwards! The service there is great too! I will definitely go back when I revisit East Village.
Late evening, hungry we checked Yelp for a restaurant not far from where we stayed. Raku had a good rating and we now understand why. The entrance and the decoration is lovely. All in wood, tiny little restaurant, we are welcome by a nice waitress. We had a table straight away (might not be the case if it was earlier, the restaurant is quite small so remember that when you go there)
We ordered starters and ramen dishes. The starters were lovely and the portion was not too small. The ramen dishes was served in a massive bowl and it pretty hot so you can imagine that it was freshly done. Except the fact that I broke my wooden spoon in the bowl and the soup exploded on everyone (not one was burnt, thanks god for that!) I really enjoyed this ramen! It was tasty, they give you the choice to put the prawn in it (in case you prefer to keep it crispy) and my sister who had the one with curry could not stop saying "it's so good , it's really good!" So I had to try and I can confirm, the ramen with curry sauce was excellent!
Again another really good restaurant I can go back to if I stop by NYC again.
Deliciously chewy, with the right amount of bounce and snap. Yes, I'm describing the udon noodles of my dreams that come along the most delicious udon broth I've ever had. Broth had depth and pieces of honeycomb tripe and short ribs and was so good that I took the leftover broth home and ate it with some rice the next day. Don't judge. We also started with ankimo which is always delicious. The place is pretty small and there was a slight wait.
I went to Raku in the middle of fighting off a nasty cold, and their udon is just what I needed.
First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by how we (the two of us) got seated right away at 9pm on a Friday. I would think that's an outlier, not the norm, because bigger groups were waiting outside for a while.
Their service was quick too, despite all the tables being full. Mind you, it's not a huge place – the size of a standard living room.
I ordered the plum wine, which came in a standard glass. When I asked for some ice, the waitress brought another glass – just seemed to be fresh out of the freezer.
I had the kamonan udon with a poached egg. It was GIGANTIC! The lovely danger of eating udon is that you don't realize how fast or how much you're eating, as you continue slurping one noodle after another, until it's all gone. I was so full I thought I wouldn't be able to stand up. The duck went really well with the egg yolk.
Their menu has an extensive list of udon with about a dozen different toppings you can add. When I think of udon, I'll definitely think of Raku.
Wow, I really didn't know what to expect from this place at first. Aside from their good ratings on Yelp and reading that everyone practically raved about their udon noodles, my two friends and I entered the establishment with high expectations. The space itself was quite small but cozy. We sat down and quickly decided on 3 different udon dishes. I settled on the Curry Udon with chicken while my friends ordered Niku Udon and Shrimp Tempura Udon. We all added a poached egg with our dishes.
At first glance, the Curry Udon looked and smelled very spicy but in actuality, there was only a tiny kick that makes the soup flavorful but not overwhelmingly spicy. My favorite part has got to be the udon noodles! Never had I had udon noodles that were so perfect- thick, chewy and slippery. The chicken was also nice and tender. The egg was runny and delicious. I tried the soups from the Niku Udon and Shrimp Tempura Udon my friends ordered. The soup from the Niku udon is meaty and sweet at the same time whereas the soup in the Shrimp Tempura Udon is miso soup but not too salty, which I personally prefer. Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of the Udon dishes whether you like sweet, salty, spicy, they have it all!
Thank you Yelp for never failing me and directing me to Raku. It is a hidden gem that I am going to be bringing all of my friends to because this place FAR exceeded expectations. I've never been to Japan before but my experience here brought me to Japan for a good 30 minutes or so. Seriously, even their exterior looks super Japan-like! Just know whenever I crave udon now, I'll definitely think of Raku.
WOW. Just WOW.
Usually, I never have a craving for udon. After trying Raku, that craving is too real.
From the broth down to the fresh vegetables and tender beef, my Gyunan (Beef & Scallion) Udon tasted homemade. If you've tried Udon West, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say most udon places serves broth that tends to be oily or lacking in the flavor department. You will NOT get that here.
Even the udon noodles here are unexplainably AMAZING.
Please, if you're around this is a MUST TRY.
Note that the restaurant is VERY SMALL.
Burned out by ramen, I can say Raku is the absolute must and substitute fix for it with their incredible authentic and delicious udon. Recommended and discovered upon reading some food articles upon its opening, we made definite plans to go to Raku. Consistent positive reviews only enticed us more. Our first visit was everything pleasant and as good as expected. From there, I recommended to many others, and I plan to go back at some point most certainly.
We came on a Wednesday night around 9:15p, which was more or less the right time to show. There was no wait, but every table remained occupied throughout the night. My suggestion is come earlier or much later if you want to be seated right away. This place is cute and cozy, but definitely on the smaller side, reminiscent of most noodle spots which accomodate only so few people so I wouldn't recommend for large parties if coming at peak times.
Niku Udon is a must if you love tripe, tendon, beef, all the good cartilage stuff. The ingredients bring together one amazing bowl of ramen — beef short ribs, honeycomb tripe, in a modestly fish flavored broth. My bf had the Kitsune Udon, a fried bean curd udon, in mild fish flavored broth. Love the large ladle spoon to scoop all that noodle and soup goodness. We really enjoyed our dishes. I was surprised by the amount of generous portions of tripe in my bowl. The ingredients were well balanced in taste and portion. Zero complaints here. I hardly opt for udon but Raku gives me plenty of reason to come back and do so. Niku is on the heartier side, so I recommend the Kitsune for a non-meat/or lighter option.
Overall, a definite must try for udon if in the East Village. Give yourself a break from ramen and check this place out.
Raku serves up some awesome Udon varieties. The bowls are huge and portions are consequently filling. The honeycomb tripe definitely makes the niku udon a winner, while the curry udon is also quite delicious. The appetizers are great too — the karaage is crispy without bones, the monkfish liver has a nice sauce to it. Service, however, was insanely slow. We had to waive to the staff to get anything moving. Also, for comfort, pray that you'll not be placed at the side bars.