Momofuku Nikai

Not bad. Quite enjoyable, many positives, but overall overrated. We actually didn’t order from anything that’s specific to the Nikai floor, so the review is a bit about the regular noodle bar offerings, but bumped up a bit due to the nicer surroundings of Nikai.
Seriously, the best part of Nikai is the fact that you’re not concentrated with the chaos on the ground floor. If I’m going to be paying overpriced ramen, I’d rather not do so in a cafeteria-​like setting where I can barely hear myself think. The second floor isn’t MUCH better, but it’s definitely quieter, and the window view is pretty nice!
Service is polite and friendly, but I’m not a big fan of not being allowed to sit down before everyone in the party is there. Our «party» consisted of TWO people, so me being there represented half of the party already. Nope, still had to wait outside.
My friend is a vegan so it’s very nice to know they have vegan options, which was the rice cake. I sampled some and it was actually REALLY good. The flavours come from the generous helpings of scallion, which is delicious.
I got the mushroom dan dan mian. It most definitely is NOT a real dan dan mian, but the flavours are alright. The noodle texture is lovely. A bit al dente, with a slight chewy resistance when you bite into it. The seasoning is nice though I detected a bit too much vinegar for my liking. Still, not bad. But here’s the kicker: I asked for some chili oil and they sent me a delectable shrimp paste chili (GREAT!) but neglect to mention that I am charged $ 2 for it (AWFUL!). Really? You’re nickle-​and-​diming me for a spoonful of chili oil (delicious it may be)? And withOUT telling me? Not cool.
So overall, decent food, good ambience, but overpriced and a bit sneaky. Mixed feelings, to be sure.

Friendly staff. Great baos. Awesome ambience. Sofas. And serves ramen from downstairs without the wait.
Came here after work mainly because it’s close by and momofuku is a three story beast with a crazy metal statue in the front. Drinks were great — obviously pricey as its a celebrity chef’s creation… I had a #4. It has hazelnut bits in the alcohol foam. Would probably try the sake next time.
Pop in for a BBQ pork bao and pork belly bao. Won’t regret it.

If you’re going to Momofuku one time, make sure you saunter up to the second floor and eat at Nikai. I have come here over a dozen times and cannot say even one negative thing. Food is always amazing, atmosphere is perfect and they serve the best Japanese whiskey around (Nikka $ 20/​oz). The best thing is whenever we come, it’s always a slightly different menu with the exception of their classics. If I could recommend a general spot to anyone in Toronto– it would be here.
Recommend to try:
Rice cakes (both veg or pork)
Tan tan ramen
Fried chicken!!!
Soy tea egg
For dessert: Nanaimo

The bar closed up early on a Friday night. Why? A snack menu is oddly unavailable. The lighting is not particularly welcoming or romantic, but their furniture is amazing. Nikai might benefit from a rethink.

I have a huge food crush on David Chang. I’m pro MSG, no matter how unfashionable it might be. It makes things delicious.
I was at a conference at the Shangri-​La hotel, so I wooed my cutie here after his work day for a little happy hour. We snuggled up by the window and watched people coming and going and sipped on spritzes. We then had the pork buns, chicken wings, peanuts and their house ramen. It was all salty goodness and if I was mega wealthy I’d eat here on the regular. On that note, though, if you’re just having a snack and not drinking, the price point is actually not at all scary.

Guys, I can’t even!
So I’ve been here twice to basically eat until I physically CANNOT cram anymore food into my body. And both times it’s been absolutely magnificent! The more recent time was this past Saturday. A large group of us (10) all convened to indulge in the mouth-​watering brisket and the freaking delicious fried chicken large format dinners.
Side note before I start in on just HOW much I ate: The handy thing about Nikai is that you get the best of both the Noodle Bar and Daisho menus all while feeling like you’re in that wood paneled basement where you first played that really awkward game of spin the bottle.
SO let’s start.
The brisket. Man. Just like beefy perfection. Black and caramelised on the outside and pink and soft on the inside. This is the shit. It comes with bao, crab mayo, and some super spicy papaya salad. All of it is DIVINE together and DIVINE apart. There’s no losing combo.
Then the fried chicken, a momofuku classic. Half southern fried, half korean. I love me the korean fried. It’s sweet and spicy and crispy and just mmmmmmmmmmmm. It comes with the scallion pancakes and the ginger scallion sauce, and other things that I can’t remember. Heaven!
Anyhoo I ate until I hurt and could no longer fit anything else inside my body. But that didn’t stop me from picking up cookies and crack pit and birthday cake truffles (my fav!!!) at milk bar for later… because I’m a glutton.
Best of all, the main meal split 10 way was a bargain at $ 50 each for more meat that you should probably eat in a month. Worth it.
Mmmmmmmmm meat.

This place is a zoo! Super trendy restaurant/​bar/​sushi/​cookie bar… a little of something for everyone. I went alone so I didnt have to wait for a spot to sit. Its a little overwhelming the first time there and it would have been nice for the server to ask if it was my first time dining there. I had a fish pizza thing that I wish I could order every day as a snack. Thats the main reason for the great review. I had gingerbread truffles from the «milk bar» and it was gross but they said since I didnt like it they took it off the bill so I cant really complain about that. I think its worth going to say youve been there!

After hearing so much hype about the Momofuku empire, this was disappointing. Maybe I’m spoiled in SF with good ramen, but I expected so much more.
I came here late on a weeknight with a friend and there was no wait at the Noodle Bar (just ramen), Daisho ($$$) or Nikai (bar, with a limited menu from both the Noodle Bar and Daisho) We picked Nikai because it had the best of both worlds — I wanted to try this infamous ramen (or should I say, it-​should-​not-​be-​so-​famous ramen) and my friend had been to the Noodle Bar the night before, and wanted to try new things.
Pork Buns (2 for $ 10) — Definitely get these, they are not to be missed. I don’t want to know how bad the pork belly is for me — it’s fatty and delicious (and not overly fatty to the point of being gross)
Momofuku Ramen ($ 15) — Mediocre ramen, the broth was pretty flavorless (I prefer a richer pork broth — this was like a bland soy sauce broth), the noodles were nothing super special. The pork belly was good, and the soft-​boiled egg wasn’t really runny on the inside — it was soft but I’ve had better. Take your $ 15 and go to a ramen-​only shop in Toronto instead of going here.
Extremely Spicy Noodles — I have a high tolerance for spice, but this was something else — I feel like I burned my taste buds after having a few bites of this. My friend I was with, loves spicy and liked this, but I couldn’t tolerate this — it was like eating chili garlic paste with some noodles instead of the other way around.
Cocktails were expensive too, at around $ 16 – 18. My friend had 2 drinks, I had 1 drink, the ramen, spicy noodles, pork buns, and a steak, and it came out to about $ 80 CAD per person — not cheap, for a not-​that-​stellar meal.
I’ll try it out in NY, but I won’t be coming back here again.

My girlfriends and I ended up having dinner at Nikai by default. We wanted to go upstairs to Daisho but it was full, and we were glad it was!
First of all, the cocktails are fantastic AND they serve food from both menus upstairs and downstairs… it’s a no brainer really! Nathalie was very helpful in going through the menu with us as we had a couple of allergies and first-​timers. The food arrived promptly and it was delicious! I can’t think of one bad thing to say!
After our amazing dinner we were heading out and Nathalie gave us a list of places we could go to after that might suit a ladies night out– very hospitable!
Overall, great food, great cocktails and great service! Will definitely be back again!

I are at Momofuku Nikai but the menu is actually from Daisho upstairs so this review works for either.
I went with a group of 8 from work. We ordered the beef brisket, which is a large format meal, intended to serve 6 – 10. It comes with steamed buns, crab mayo, and mint leaves to make small sandwiches. It also came with sweet and delicious coleslaw.
We all had maybe two sandwiches and then just kept eating the brisket by itself. What can I say about the brisket? I will keep it short: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER EATEN. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE
5 FRIENDS, FIND PEOPLE ON THE STREET AND EAT THIS WITH THEM.
The cocktails were also terrific — I recommend the G+T especially, but the Heat and Herb too.

The smoothest drink I’ve had in a bar to date, but quite expensive if you are going in for more than one or two.
The sorbet and mousse were tasty, but the donuts left much to be desired (in my opinion), as they were father bitter and a tad greasy.
I would recommend momofuku because it is quite hip and trendy. The atmosphere is nice and breezy. Great for a very fun, memorable night.

Great spot to people watch!
I wasn’t blown away here.
My BF and I came in to order an app and a drink.
When we finally decided on what to order, we were told that they were out of the item. Thanks for letting us know lol
Anyhoo we only tried a drink each and a duo of steamed buns. Just meh.
Probs won’t rush back.

I’ve been there a few times and find it weird so few people know this place. They have the best drinks and food from both restaurants. stellar view, comfy furniture. Not too loud and less expensive than the lobby bar
Cute waitress has great recommendations. Inari, brussel sprouts, shrimp and rice cakes are great. The buns are always gonna be good.
Bar u and g +t are sick drinks. Local beer too
But overall great venue, nice service, amazing drinks and delicious japanese comfort food!

Great Cocktail Bar with friendly bar tenders. Rather quiet place (even on friday evening). …and they have Punt e Mes!

This is the second time we’ve eaten here. The only thing that was good were the pork buns. Otherwise, the food here is sub par.
Also, they cannot accommodate any sort of preference with foods. I don’t like mushrooms, but they couldn’t take them off my dish. The mushrooms were only shaved onto the top of my food, but still — they couldn’t accommodate that.
It’s also very loud and crowded. I would never recommend this restaurant. Sub-​par food, bad service and a limited menu. Plus, it’s too loud.

Let me start my reviews on momofuku while my memory is still fresh.
I called in to make reservations, for either Daiso or Noodle Bar, which ever had seats, and unfortunately it was all reserved, so she suggested Nikai, since you can order from the noodle bar AND Daiso menu, even better! 2 birds with 1 stone. (however during the whole time, the noodle bar was only half full, how is it fulled booked? a lot of people must not be showing up for their reservations)
So we were seated at the Nikai 2^nd floor, which is like a lounge/​bar area, with a sofa section and high tables/​chairs (with no where to put my purse)
anyways so the stools are heavy and uncomfortable.
we ordered from both the Daiso and Noodle bar menus, the food was the saltiest thing I have ever had in my life! I will review both menus separately under those names soon.
I just want to mention the HORRIBLE SERVICE here at Nikai.
The waitress thinks she is a smart-​ass, when we asked where was there nearest parking, she said «it’s DT, just park on the street» Like I can just ditch my car in the front on university street or something? anyways we found parking at not so near by garages later on.
besides the inconvenient parking here, this smart-​ass thinks she can remember what we are ordering on the top of her head and NOT write anything down. only to get HALF of the things we ordered wrong! we ordered 7 or 8 dishes.
on another note, we order the Reuben bun (because we both saw it on the menu) she comes back with another menu, telling us it’s not on the menu, of course it’s not, she was showing us yesterday’s menu! so she realized her mistake and we got the reuben buns in the end, kind of regret it, cause it was horrible!
she also gave us the shiitake buns instead of the chicken buns we order, we told her about her mistake and she reordered the chicken buns for us, even after we told her we don’t want it anymore, she still ordered it in, we got our bill, before it even came, and we were forced to take it, we did not want it anymore, but whatever we paid for it and got it to go and threw it out right after.
we will never EVER return to any of the momofuku chain, and I will make sure to tell all my friends about it. on to the food reviews…

came in for some drinks on a (rather quiet) Friday evening & the warm lighting and friendly bartenders made for a lovely atmosphere.
a run down of what we got…
beers:
— TWIN PEACH — unfiltered with a clean finish
— FISHEYE — I didn’t try this one, but it didn’t seem to be a popular choice
cocktails:
— FRENCH OPEN — 1^st recommendation by the bartender & super enjoyed it. gin, yellow chartreuse, yuzu, & thyme. lightly fragrant & not too fruity but alcohol is very well hidden. will definitely have this again ;)
— MALABAR CRUSH — gin, ginger syrup, lime, & a drinking vinegar (pok pok som)
— BAR-​U — whiskey, absinthe, bitters
— PENICILLIN — scotch, lemon juice, honey, & ginger. i’m not a fan of scotch so this smelled like band-​aids to me. blegh.
overall, limited beers on tap, a few canned/​bottled varieties. you can tell they’ve made the effort to build a library of bitters. varied seating available at the bar, by the windows overseeing University Ave., bench tables, and couches for groups. we noticed a small collection of jenga & other games stacked beside the couches — this would definitely rack up a hefty bill if that’s busted out ;)

I heart gin so I usually gravitate towards anything with that delicious juniper taste. I thought the malabar crush was good, but not too gin-​y. This may be a plus for some, but not for me. Still a good drink, but probably not one I’d get again.
We were all starving so we also got some pork belly buns to pass the time. I have to say that I was disappointed. My friend and her husband have raved about the Momofuku brand having tried their NYC offerings. They even own the cookbook and made the pork belly buns using their recipe.
Maybe the kitchen in TO needs to review that book again. The pork belly in the buns were incredibly fatty (yes I know pork belly is basically thicker cuts of bacon and are fat) but they lacked the crispiness and the nice roasted brown color that I normally expect with this cut of meat.
The picture I uploaded shows the color of the pork served here and it just looks kind of grey and anemic. Taste-​wise it was okay, but the lack of any crisp to offset the fat just kind of ruined it. I looked at some of the uploaded pictures from the NYC noodle bar, and that perfect golden brown color with a bit of crunch is what I was hoping for.
Overall the service was good, but I wouldn’t recommend getting the pork belly buns until they sort out how to make them right. They are a new establishment so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt with 3 stars.

I got drinks here while waiting for my table at Noodle Bar.
The service was great, we were greeted quickly by the hostess and the waitress made many recommendations while answering our questions.
I had the bartender’s choice which was a green pepper, honey and gin based drink that night. It was very refreshing and went down very smoothly.
My wife ordered the lychee based cocktail and it was very strong, but still tasty.
The drinks are great, but are a little bit on the pricey side. They cost more than the ramen on the floor below!