HinoMaru Ramen

The HinoMaru specialty ramen was outstanding. I got it as it comes standard but with a poached egg. The broth was excellent, the noodles were excellent, the char sui was excellent and the rest of the ingredients were delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by the huge slices of pork. Service was initially slow to come to the table but attentive thereafter. The only disappointment was the pork bun. The pork was a bit tough and dry. I was worried that would also be the case with the pork in the ramen, but it wasn’t the case at all. That’s my reason for a four star instead of five star review.

Hinomaru ramen was yummy and I loved the mushroom and bamboo toppings that it came with. The cha siu met my standards (but still not as good as my fav ramen place Minca). Downside is that they make it with the thin straight noodles, whereas I prefer the thick wavy ones. The fireball adds a nice kick to the flavor. It tasted pretty spicy (note: I am still working on my spice tolerance), but it wasn’t spicy enough to ruin the ramen for me. Normally I’d gulp down a bowl of ramen in 5 minutes but the fireball did slow me down a bit. Service and table turnover seemed pretty fast, so the wait time was minimal even on a Saturday night– hoorah!

Spicy miso is my go to meal at Hinomaru. I look for spicier foods and sometimes add a fireball.
Pork gyoza (dumplings) are fried with sweet potato and are delicious!
This has been a michelin star restaurant for three years in a row including 2015

The ramen here is great! Before becoming a vegetarian I always opted for the hinomaru ramen which is their signature dish. It’s rich and spicy and Ohh so good. Since becoming a vegetarian I was hesitant to come back and try the veggie ramen because the pictures look really milky and the previous description mentions it has soy milk. I was pleasantly surprised to find out they made a change to their broth and there’s no milk in it anymore. It’s a really delicious veggie broth that had a yummy roasted garlic taste to it. It’s also packed with veggies which was awesome. Will for sure come back for more. It’s the best ramen I’ve had in astoria

A bowl of ramen is all you need on a cold Friday night. HinoMaru is a casual restaurant with seating primarily for couples/​2 people. There is seating for bigger groups in the back of the restaurant. If you are looking for the a-​typical ramen dishes, you have come to the right place.
We ordered:
— Charsiu pork bun which was very juicy and tasty. The price was very expensive ($ 4) for one bun.
— Fried chicken wings which were flavorful and gently fried. dish came with 5 wings.
— Uni Ramen was interesting. It tasted like an alfredo pasta dish with uni in there! Not very traditional but a great take on a dish. Expect it to be very creamy and heavy.
— HinoMaru ramen was very traditional stable dish. We asked for a poached egg to be added for $ 2.
Service was on point.

This is my go to ramen place in Queens. Sometimes there’s a wait but never too long. The seats don’t have backs, but there is a cost rack in the back!
Tonight with a group of friends, we had the tori karage, garden salad and rock shrimp tempura as appetizers.
The tori karage (fried chicken) was okay. The chicken sits on a light bed of greens garnished with a lemon and a side of seasoning. Tip, use the lemon. Adds some acidity to the dish. The chicken doesn’t have too much flavor though. Not my favorite.
The garden salad is light and fresh. Salad is composed of mixed greens, onion, tomato and avocado. It’s topped with crunchy noodles and drizzled with dressing. It’s great and light and healthy. And provides a break from all the protein.
The rock shrimp tempura was crispy and spicy. The batter used for the shrimp was light and not oily. The shrimp was tossed in a spicy mayo sirracha sauce. Some corn was tossed into cut some spice. Great dish.
Next the ramen! Lemongrass chicken, tonkotsu and tonkotsu shoyu.
The lemongrass ramen is dressed with shredded scallions and bean sprouts are incorporated into the ramen along its ground chicken. You can really smell and taste the lemongrass. Very flavorful broth that’s spicy. The noodles are wavy and chewy.
The tonkotsu is flavorful too. Rich pork broth. Topped with thinly sliced scallions, seaweed and bamboo shoots. The noodles are straight. I’m not a fan of. But my friends enjoyed it. The pork was thick slices and very good. The black garlic oil is great too.
I had the tonkotsu shoyu, my favorite with wavy noodles. Wavy noodles are a must because they have a satisfying chew. Toppings: black garlic oil, seaweed, fish cake, sliced scallions, bamboo shoots and pork. Love everything about this especially the broth. Very rich pork flavor and extremely creamy.
I love this restaurant. Always on point service and food.

I had the Hinomaru ramen with cha shu pork, squid, and poached egg (necessary). It ended up costing about $ 21 with those additions but it was well worth it for the most part. The broth was excellent as was the additions, except that they barely gave any squid. It was almost a non-​factor — but they gave a lot of pork! The poached egg (how can you have ramen without an egg?) was a great touch and the fireball was tasty and slightly spicy.
For dessert, we had some strawberry mochi ice cream but beware — they say it’s 4 pieces, but it’s really 2 mochis cut in half. So, really — it’s 4 halves. lol
It was very enjoyable and the atmosphere was nice and busy.

One of my go-​to spots on a windy, cold night… but any other night, probably not.
I’ve been here several times now and have not been disappointed (except for the fried uni appetizer which is not very good).
Hanu is great for a quick meal, the service is very speedy and seating is a bit comfortable, so don’t plan on chilling here for hours on end.
I like their ramen, relatively tasty and I enjoy the extras. My favorite broth would be the uni ramen but damn their uni is definitely not fresh. I don’t hold this against them too much because it’s not a sushi restaurant but that slight not fresh uni taste definitely turns me off to the uni dishes. With that said, the crispy kale is delicious and the other ramen is nice and filling.
Compared to other noodle places in the area, it’s average. Nothing that’s gonna knock your socks off.

A friend of mine recommended this place. I’m really glad that I checked it out.
A friend and I started by sharing two appetizers: fried tofu and buta kimchi. The fried tofu was nice, but the buta kimchi (kimchi with pork belly) was outstanding. It was spicy and flavorful. The pork was cooked perfectly. Every bite was heaven!
I had the HinoMaru ramen, which was wonderful. Be careful when you mix in the spicy stuff. In my case, I concentrated it too much in one area and not enough in another. Still the broth was excellent. Eating the noodles was a bit messy, but that’s ramen for you! My friend had the lemongrass chicken ramen, which she liked.
The décor is nice, and the place is well-​decorated. I loved the monkey drawings. :-)
What brings my review up to 5 stars was the service. They shout out «IRRAISHAMASE!!!» («WELCOME!!!» in Japanese) when you enter. In this case, the shout is more than just lip service. They truly make you feel welcome. The staff were friendly, attentive, and efficient.
I definitely plan on coming here again!

Spicy tuna bowl — really good.
Uni roll — good
Shrimp/​pork buns — dry, and have had better
Shiitake peppers — really good
Calamari, they have two options, the one with the tentacles and just the rings. Both are good, but I recommend the tentacles with spicy mayo.
Sake, both cold and hot were really good.
Chicken ramen was a bit greasy
Pork ramen, uni ramen, vegetable ramen all really good.
I would highly recommend the vegetarian ramen, the vegetables really add a really good flavor and it’s not too thick or filling– just right.

Authentic ramen, friendly servers, and Sake specials?!? I’m sold.
The ambience in this restaurant is spot on.
I ordered the HinoMaru and let’s just say I can never look at TopRamen the same way ever again. It was amazing, a little spicy but super savory.
Ask your server for any drink specials when you go; if there are not any just flip to the back of the menu where the ramen is paired with a beer that complements it best.
There was no problem with seating on a weekday night. There are plenty of tables in the front and tables in the back as well.

I have been here a few times now. I have had the tonkatsu and the hinomaru. The broths are very flavorful, creamy, and thick. The noodle to soup ratio is a little off in my opinion. I felt like they could easily do with maybe ¼ less noodles and it would have been much better. Their chasu pork is melt in your mouth, and that’s what we’re all looking for, right? A nice, melt in your mouth slice of chasu.
I also had many of their side dishes, the kale chips were dangerously addictive! The shishito peppers were really awesome as well (make sure you put the lemon on there and dip it in the powder!). The brussel sprout and grapefruit was good but not really my favorite, I thought it was a little too sweet.
I think it’s cool that they have a drink paring list for their beers and their ramen!

We still love this place, even after I was fired from the wait staff. My husband and I have been coming here for years now. We just attended a Friday night dinner and 7 tapas and two drinks (a glass of wine $ 7 and a Crisp Angry Orchard $ 8) cost us $ 70 before tip. The most a small dish costs is $ 10 and most of them are standout. The turn around here is fast, so with just the two of us we rarely have to wait to be seated– even on a busy Friday night. Lastly, this place is always updating their menu. They’re truly worthy of the 3 plaques trumpeting their Michelin Bib Gourmand status.
So, what would I recommend if you were to come here? I haven’t had a ramen here that I hadn’t liked. Of the two vegetarian ramen options I prefer the cold veggies– especially in the summer time. There’s a beauty to the simplicity of this dish. All the vegetables are parboiled to bright and crispy perfection, allowing them to maintain their flavor, so you don’t really need a broth to detract from the ingredients. This comes with a sesame dressing. When they were first trying this dish out they had a peanut dipping sauce. I preferred that, but I still order this when I’m craving vegetables.
Another one of their ramens that doesn’t get enough attention is their Champon. This dish has everything, meat and seafood, it’s like ramen surf and turf in a savory nutty sesame broth. «Sesame?» you ask dubiously. Yes, just trust me. This broth elevates this simple ramen bowl. I’ve asked them to substitute this broth in some of their other bowls, but they refused to.
If you like hot, add a fireball to your ramen, or better yet, order the Lemongrass Chicken. My brother-​in-​law thought this ramen was spicer than my husband’s ramen with a fire ball added.
Their standard Japanese fare (pork gyoza, tori karaage, okonomiyaki, age takoyaki, edamame, rock shrimp tempura, ebi shumai, yakiniku) is solid. If you are really craving these, I would tell you, «go hog wild». They’re comparable to what you would find at Japanese street stalls. Their pork gyoza is even thinly wrapped, unlike the thick wrapped dumplings you would find at Chinese take-​outs.
But, for some exquisite and unique tapas order their Buta Kimchi: pork belly buried beneath a layer of kimchi. Anything with pork belly from here (by that I mean their chashu) I green light. The kimchi may not be traditionally hot, but it’s spicy enough to add dimension. This is a tiny meal for $ 7. Their Brussel Sprouts ($ 8) are another stand out dish. There’s no bitterness to these brussel sprouts, they’re just tender wedges beautifully complimented by grapefruit and a drizzle of sweet balsamic vinegar. I eat these with my eyes closed. Their Broccoli Tempura ($ 5, they do fried well) is fried to golden perfection. The light drizzle of sweet soy marry well with the slight bitterness of Chinese broccoli. My husband and I just had their Crispy Kale salad ($ 4) and I’ve never had roasted kale this light. The kale dissolves on your tongue, making the experience akin to crunching on parmesan and sweet soy clouds. Another tasty addition to the Hinemaru menu: Tuna Tartare ($ 10), raw tuna diced, seasoned with a bit of spice and topping what seems to be an oval of fried wonton skin– the menu says it’s a garlic chip. Delicious is what this is. I would also recommend their Baby Back Ribs. Marinated in sweet soy sauce, these ribs are low roasted to fall-​off-​the-​bone perfection.
Lastly, the buns, (you’re probably wondering when this review will end) order any one of them. You won’t be disappointed.
I’ve never tried the sushi or the rice dishes, so I can’t vouch for them. All I can say is, this is a ramen place. If you want sushi go next store to Watawa.

This is my favorite local ramen spot. You literally cannot go wrong with any of the ramens here. The go to is the Hinomaru (obviously), which is a spicy Tonkatsu. Rich, milky, salty, YES. It’s a must order for your first time for no other reason than you get to enjoy the happy monkey face fish cake, which is an UTTER DELIGHT.
Shoyu is salty, thin enough that you won’t have the mild coronary the Tonkatsu will give you, but the noodles are thick and wavy and basically my fave ramen noodles outside of Hide Chan and Totto. This is the only place I have ever gotten a kaedema and finished it. And then rolled home.
Most recently, I tried the Chanpon, which is a creamier tonkatsu with seafood toppings. My only quibble is that there was SO much scallion it was difficult to dig to the noodles, but the broth was excellent. Extremely creamy, and reminiscent of a curry in texture, though sweeter and less complex. Might be worth ordering, hold the scallion.
The buns are perfunctory, but necessary. Everything else is just chaff.
They are supposedly opening a new location in mid-​east Astoria, in which case I’m going to become a roly-​poly little ramen addict this winter.

The ramen was delicious! Went out with my gf and yummy. I got the spicy pork ramen and i had the shrimp tempura bun.
The ramen was seriously perfect with wonderful pork but the broth was a tad bit oily.
The bun was good but damn they kinda gave me 1.5 shrimp tempura, give me two for 5 bucks at least lol.
hipster/​casual place
service was okay/​fine.

I love me some HinoMaru.
Our party of 4 arrived around 9pm on a chilly Monday night. We couldn’t wait to dig into some big bowls of bone warming ramen. The menu was long but we quickly spotted our picks and ordered.
My sister-​in-​law ordered the tempura broccoli and it was excellent! The broccoli was tender but not overcooked. We all enjoyed it and the portion was large enough to share and there was even leftovers!
We split the crispy pig ears and they were heavenly.
The pork bun and shrimp bun were good too. But the star of the show was the crispy kale. We all loved it. Not one of us could stop eating it. This will be a must order every time we visit.
We loved our ramen! My husband had the uni version and he was hooked. I had the tonkatsu and it was excellent. I added Kani and corn and a perfectly poached egg and it was incredible.
Service was decent. The appetizers took quite a while to come out. About 45 minutes after we ordered my husband asked about our items. As we were leaving they apologized for the wait which was appreciated. We all ate to our stomachs content for under $ 90 with leftovers. We’ll definitely be back!

Ra-​men. A-​men. If you’re anywhere near Astoria and jonesing for some ramen, this is the place to hit up. An extensive menu, solid food, and decent prices. Yes, yes, and yes.
Came here on date night with the SO. It was about 9pm and at that point we were both pretty hangry (hungry/​angry). The interior is trendy, clean, and modern. Along with the wooden tables in the main dining area, there’s also additional seating for larger parties in the back. Throughout the space are various pieces of Japanese folk art, namely Tengu masks, that really give the place its character.
Service was great. We were checked in on regularly, food came out fairly quickly, and the servers were quick refill our waters. No complaints here.
The menu here is huge, and outside of the ramen, they have a broad range of offerings — tapas plates, baos/​buns, «over rice» dishes, and even sushi. So on to our noms of the evening…
Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl ($ 9) — Tasty. Basically a deconstructed spicy tuna roll. The tuna was fresh and the spicy mayo had just the right amount of heat. And the rice was cooked perfectly.
HinoMaru Ramen ($ 14) — Creamy pork broth with chashu and all the fix-​ins. The tonkatsu broth was all kinds of porky goodness. Very rich and complex. The cha-​shu was soild, but there were too few pieces of it (I really should have ordered extra). The noodle game is strong here — noodles had great bite and chew. But the kicker was the «fireball» topping. A mound of finely ground pork and spices that add the perfect amount of heat to the dish. DAMN GOOD. Mix it in with the broth and there’s no way you don’t finish the entire bowl.
Curry Ramen ($ 13) — Super-​thick flavorful broth. Almost like a sauce, but the japanese curry flavor was on point. A very hearty bowl. Again, the cha-​shu was tasty, but lacking in quantity. The noodles (I think) were more of the yakisoba variety (a bit softer), and sopped up the tasty flavors of the curry sauce. Solid choice.
The ramen here is no joke. Definitely holds its own against your Ippudos and Tottos. And there’s so much more on the menu that I want to eat. So will I be back? Duh.

I’m always looking for a ramen spot in different neighborhoods. I came here on a weekday and it was empty. The place fills up after 6PM. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen and it’s a huge bowl — so worth it! Good flavor, lots of ramen (which I like), nori, veggies, and nice chunk of pork meat. They don’t rush you which is nice and it’s not tiny like other ramen spots. The takoyaki was delicious and so were their pork buns! Highly recommend trying all those dishes. I’ll be back to try their other ramen!

I’ve been trying to hit up as many ramen places as possible, so comparatively this one was a bit disappointing.
My friends and I came around 6 on a Sunday evening. Didn’t have to wait that long and service was consistent throughout so no complaints there. Cozy little place and I like the wooden setup with the tables and seats. Gave it a Japanese feel.
We ordered the okinomiyaki to start with. It was really good. Probably the best I’ve had. Maybe also because I was starving. But the pancake was hot, the bonito flakes were wavering, the sauce was creamy and salty. I liked that it was mostly egg based. Good amount of cabbage, corn and meat inside.
I got the tonkatsu ramen. I usually get this to compare. The ramen bosh noodles were thin and white, not the usual ramen noodles I’m used to getting. They seem like the ones I make at home with store bought packaged noodles. The meat was different as well, but I liked it. The pieces were thicker and had good flavor. The broth, the most important part, lacked umami. I didn’t find myself craving another sip after the first one. Just needed something like salt or their fire ball to pick it up a bit. Portion was big and very full afterwards.

Authentic Japanese ramen? We started by ordering the Vegetable spring rolls, Hinomaru and Tonkotsu ramen.
The Vegetable spring rolls were like your typical chinese fast food spring rolls, but it came with a spicy dipping sauce. Now we were impressed on the presentation of the ramen. I do love how japanese restaurants plate up food. The ramen had a nice firm texture but the broth in the Hinomaru and tonkotsu were bland. I felt it could have been more thicker and hearty, but it was too thinned out for my taste. Both broths are described on the menu as a «Creamy pork broth». We didn’t see or taste it the same way.
The Hinomaru and Tonkotso came with pork belly but there were not many pieces of pork to be found, unless they were emulsified somehow in the broth. Now If you want to add extra toppings in your ramen your bowl can easily skyrocket out of control, extra toppings range from .50 cents to $ 2.50 for each item like butter, corn, pickled cabbage, red ginger, scallions, poached egg and so on. You could easily end up paying over $ 20 for a bowl of ramen.
The servers were very sweet and nice. When the check arrived the wife asked me «Well, what do you think?» I simply replied, «Eh, it’s OK.» Overall I feel there are better options in the Astoria area for ramen.