Nippori

Stumbled across this place when staying in the area. Extensive menu with lots of tasty options. Bar and cocktail options seemed good. Staff was friendly and helpful with menu recommendations. All of our food was delicious and nicely presented. Portions were perfect size: satisfying without being gluttonous. If I have a complaint it is that they seemed understaffed and when the place was busy by the time we left, they were noticeably overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the volume of customers.

Solid tonkatsu ramen, without being too rich. The thick cuts of pork belly could have been more flavorful but were well cooked. Quick service. $ 12 for lunch ramen.

I’ll make it short an simple. Not sure why the ratings are so high in the reviews.
Service– 2 stars. Got seated with no menus. Had to flag down wait staff at times. No check back on food. No refill on water until we ask for the bill, that tells you.
Food — 3 stars. Fried oysters were big because of the batter. I ordered ramen as there were nothing wow on the menu. Ramen were good, probably high in sodium.
Décor — 3 was nice, dark but not intimate (tables right next to each other), so why so dark.
So again, ??? On the reviews by others.

My colleagues talk about this place a lot but I’ve only recently gotten the chance to go.
We were seated in a private room. I thought the idea of it was very neat but the room itself was very cramped — imagine taking a few steps down into a lower level with benches around the wall and a table in the center.
The food was great, though! I got the gyudon and the bowl it came in was HUGE! I was super pleasantly surprised and loved how the sweetness was just right on the thinly-​sliced beef.
My coworkers got the karubi which looked delicious — will have to try next time I visit!
Prices were reasonable between the $ 12 — $ 17 range.

I came to Nippori for some ramen because i heard good things about the food from a friend. It is a small but very cozy place. We were seated very quick and our order was taken promptly. I food came out very quick and was exactly as we ordered it. It should be noted that the price is very very reasonable. Nippori is a great alternative if other ramen spots are busy. I would highly recommend Nippori to anyone looking for a good bowl of ramen.
I would rate Nippori as follows: Ramen is 3.5 Stars, Price is 4 Stars, Service is 4.5 Stars and Atmosphere is 4 Stars.
The views expressed are of my own and are my true personal experience at this establishment. My personal experience may not reflect this actual establishment, their quality or someone else’s experience at the establishment.

We came here for a weekend lunch because Ippudo a few blocks away was packed, and we found that this place was much calmer – not completely empty, but still quite a few open tables. Service was very nice and we were seated quickly. We were able to get a free beer each with checking in, so that was a plus. I went with a tonkotsu ramen to satisfy that craving, and it was pretty decent. It wasn’t too big or too complicated, coming mostly with the standard toppings. The noodles were cooked well, though I would say the two components that stood out most were the chashu and the broth. The chashu was quite tender and trended toward the fattier side, which was great. The broth was very savory and intense; I would almost call it creamy. While this is not an exclusive ramen place like Ippudo, I’d say it’s a fine alternative.

I found this place awhile ago when I was searching for ramen places in the city. The menu looks decent and bookmarked this place for quite some time. I was around the area and came here for dinner with my friend yesterday.
The place wasn’t busy at all for a Sunday evening and we were seated right away. I got the Tonkotsu ramen and it was kinda interesting since they put pickled cabbage in it. Never had that in my ramen before. I though that the charsu pork was too small, but at least it was tender. Overall, solid bowl of ramen and I really liked it. I also got to taste my friend’s Gyuu ramen and it has thinly sliced beef, poached egg, onions, pickled ginger. I didn’t like it since it was SO SALTY and I probably won’t order it when I come back next time.
Service was good and they didn’t rush us out to leave. The food came out in a timely manner. Good location. It’s near the 50^th street subway stop [A, C, E lines] and a few Broadway show theaters. I’ll probably try the Tan tan men or the Nippori ramen when I visit again next time.
NOTE: Free beer with Unilocal check-​in

Salty and super salty. This place is not safe for people with high blood pressure and be prepare to drink a lot of water.
Food — 1.5÷5
Value — ²⁄₅
Space — ³⁄₅
Décor — ³⁄₅
Service — ³⁄₅
Bathroom — ³⁄₅
We ordered the gyuu don (fatty beef over rice) and the beef hotpot with glass noodle, both were super salty and almost inedible. My friend had to pour and mixed in his glass of water with the noodle soup to make it okay to eat — now if you can just imagine! My whole tongue and month felt itchy and a burning sensation during the meal. We came for a late lunch so there were maybe 1 or 2 other person eating or «chilling» by the counter. Not sure if the main chef was taking a nap somewhere else or something but the quality of food was most upsetting. Our waiter /​waitress didn’t get the cue that I had only ate barely half of the meal and didn’t even bother to ask how we’re doing despite my less-​than-​pleased face.
I will never come back since there are so many other good authentic Japanese shop around this area (hello totto ramen) food was terrible, service was meh, stay away!

Finally … I tried a bowl of ramen at Nippori. Went solo for lunch during weekday. Restaurant was packed, but a benefit of dining solo is. available seats at the bar. I immediately went to Ramen section on the menu. Ordered myself a bowl of Tan Tan ramen with a rice bowl of Gyu Don for extra 5 bucks. Yes. I was greedy, wanted to eat everything.
Food arrived quickly. Delicious broth! But it wasn’t as spicy as others had claimed. Gyu Don was okay. Slightly dried. I had better. All in all, it was a pleasant experience. I would go back and try other ramen they have to offer.

This is not an authentic japanese place, my husband and I are picky with our japanese food and ramen, we ordered a tan tan men and a uni ikura kani don. The ramen broth was okay but the noodles were soggy and tasted like frozen instant noodle pack… The uni ikura kani don costs $ 30, you would think they would give real snow crab but no they put imitation crab in it, no legit japanese restaurant would use fake imitation crab in a kani don! The roe was a little fishy and the uni was bland too…
Service was bad too, my husband’s ramen came right away but my food did not come out until after he finished eating his noodle, when the server brought out our food he asked me if i want the miso soup and salad, i thought that was a strange question so I asked him if my kani don comes with those, he said yes so if you want i will bring them out. Why would you ask me if i want or not if my food suppose to come with those? Just to save a few bucks in case I dont want? Also when he was wiping the table next to ours he pushed the food bits onto me…
I would not come again when there are so many authentic japanese restaurant in the city…

Came here to have dinner with the missus’ cousin. We ordered the $ 40 bottle of sake (the server was also going to recommend other bottles too but figured we’d splurge a bit), and it was perfect for our meal.
From the Apps we got the octopus in wasabi sauce. For those who get squeemish over food – maybe not the best thing to order; but it went really well with our beer.
The stuffed chicken was really good; except we couldn’t help but eat it as if there would be a bone (I’ll try to not be so silly next time) the chicken with the sauce and a cold beer to wash it down – Dope.
The Stamina Ramen was ok. I’m not actually a big ramen fan in general (grew up on korean ramyun, and I suppose I’ve just become accustomed to that broth/​taste) so OK is pretty good.
The Tonkastu Ramen wasn’t what I expected, but the broth was good and the meat was nice and tender.
We didn’t order dessert, but that was only because Bibble and Sips was next door and we were full anyways.
Worth scoping out for sure if you’re in the area.

Nippori is a reasonably priced establishment that offers both a lot of the dishes you see in a yakitori (grill restaurant) and an izakaya (Japanese pub) as well as sushi and sashimi items. Having just come out of a Broadway show the grilled and Japanese pub items were of more interest to me.
We were seated quickly and the staff was congenial and quick to come take our order. Myself and a friend had the cooked shishido peppers, the eggplant with deep fried tofu, and the gyoza, along with the grilled duck breast from the yakitori part of the menu.
The Gyoza were excellent, thin wrapping and fresh, and clearly grilled, with a nice dipping sauce. We also liked the eggplant and tofu dish and the shishido peppes were well, shishido peppers, but still one of my favorites anytime I go to a place that offers them.
What I did find interesting is that they offered a large selection of Japanese hard liquor called sochu, and made from a wide variety of substances, from barly, to sweet potato, and even from a Japanese citrus. Think of it sort of like a vodka but a bit rougher, but still fun.
I would gladly go here again though as I’m one of the many visitors to NYC, I don’t know when that will be but it seemed a fair value for the money and I have been to Japan several times so the comparison is against what I’ve had over there. Definitely a good place to go before or after a show as the service seems quick either way. Oh, and I did see that the head chef, on the website, noted that many people come there because the taste is so close to what one can get in Japan.
One thing I wasn’t so crazy about was the yakitori grilled duck breast — I would have liked to have seen it in small pieces and not done across two skewers but that was the only thing and I’ve neve had that in Japan so no idea how they serve it there.

I have to start by saying that the food I tried was delightful and the only reason why I’m giving the three star rating is that we happened to have experienced subpar customer service.
The waitress that first served us was really great she helped me make the final decision to get the grilled salmon dish which comes with rice and miso soup for an extra 2 dollars. I also enjoyed getting my free Unilocal check in beer but was pretty bummed it took nearly 10 minutes to be served and was warm… Definitely NOT the way beer should be served! My best friend asked if the ramen can be made vegetarian and they brought her a tasteless soup with noodles.
My salmon however was cooked tender with soy ginger and garlic flavor and some ramen noodles that had the same delicious flavor. I found it strange that the miso soup did not come as an appetizer and was rather served with the dish. It was tasty regardless. Our meals took about twenty minutes to arrive and we never had anyone check on us to see if we needed anything.
My friend had to go over to someone to ask for the check and then again to pay the bill. If you are a patient person they do have a good happy hour 5 dollar wines and some mixed drinks until 7PM. Hopefully they can do something about the service and don’t order a vegetarian dish not on the menu like my friend did you would be disappointed.

Oh my Tan Tan Men (award winning ramen)!! I might have just drooled a little writing this review. This ramen spot is nestled in the midst of the more notable NYC ramen spots but guess what? no lines! We came here around 9pm on a Thursday night and were seated instantly. The staff are great! They make sure you’re taken care of and do double checks for food allergies. The food is delicious, I highly recommend the tan tan men and shishito peppers! Also be sure to check in on Unilocal for that free Beer!
If you’re not about waiting in lines and want a solid bowl of ramen, free beer, great service, and great ambiance then stop in here! Enjoy!

As some may already know, Nippori is run by the same folks that own Tabata, the excellent ramen chain in Hell’s Kitchen. The difference here is that you’ll find a larger menu, most notably the addition of sushi and a larger appetizer menu. Another observation is that most of the appetizers seem to be a buck or two more.
Nippori is conveniently located on 51^st Street between 7^th and 8^th Avenues. We arrived at around 5:45 p.m. on a workday and the restaurant noticeably got very crowded by 6:30 p.m. which I think was the theatre crowd. Nippori has a long rectangular dining room with a full bar to the right of the entrance. The seats were not too packed together so we were very comfortable in our chairs.
Since I wanted to compare Nippori with their two sister Tabata restaurants, my friend and I ordered ramen. She ordered the Sutamina ramen and I order the Asari ramen. What my friend and I can confirm is that both ramen bowls taste exactly the same as those in its sister Tabata restaurants. The Sutamina was a spicy miso broth with thinly sliced pork. The Asari ramen contained at least 4 to 5 short necked clams in a salt broth. I never ordered shio (salt) broth before so I was worried about it being overly salted. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too salty to drink.
As an appetizer, we order fried chicken wings. I believe it was about $ 7 and only contained two wings, but they were large and were very satisfying.
We really enjoyed the service at Nippori. The wait staff was attentive and very nice to us and our baby boy. In fact, they went out of our way to seat us in a place where a stroller would fit. We enjoyed their genuine enthusiasm and also our chat with them.
Overall, for a first visit, I would recommend Nippori based on the fact that Nippori hasn’t forgotten its Tabata roots. The ramen is still excellent. I feel that a fuller review would include their sushi and more appetizer items, but for a start, I really enjoyed my experience.

We tried to come to Totto Ramen and Ippudo West on New Year day but both were closed unfortunately. However, it’s just our great luck to discover this gem here at Nippori! We came by around 3 pm for a late lunch/​early dinner. The place was crowded but not to a point where we had to wait for long. We got a table in 5 minutes. Make sure to check in to get a free Sapporo beer with any entrée!
They didn’t have any sushi available since the sushi bar was closed. Thus, we ordered 3 ramens — tonkotsu, sutamina and tan tan men. The tonkotsu was amazing!!! The broth was really delicious and the charshuu pork was so tender and tasty! Highly recommended! The tan tan men was supposed to be their award winning dish but I didn’t like it as much. Probably because they used ground pork which I’m not a big fan of in ramen. The sutamina was okay, nothing too special in my opinion. I would give tonkotsu 5 stars and the other two 3 stars each. This place is definitely a great ramen place to check out!

Yum! I went here after watching wicked at Gershwin and could not have been more pleased! With a free beer with check-​in, this was a no brainer to select after a show.
I had the chicken with curry. Boy oh boy, this was perfect. It was an all around flavor explosion. The sauce was perfectly sweet and tangy and the breaded fried chicken mixed perfectly with the rice and curry. This is a definite place to try after a show.

Every ramen place has its hits and misses, so lessen that I learned is that never wait outside any single ramen shop for more than 20 minutes for whatever reasons. They are all decent, or at least, decent per unit of time spent waiting.
So our team came and visited Nippori on a cosy Friday noon. It was kind of far from where we work though. Instead of ramen, each of us opted for their lunch special sukiyaki pot, accompanied by a small salad and rice. For 15 dollars, it was a good bargain with good taste.
The only downside about this place was probably the sanity condition on the wall. One star less.

Absolutely loved the ramen, service, interior, menu (and the fact that they had a seat at the bar open with no wait on a Friday night) at Nippori. When the «other» ramen place had a two hour wait and my wife and I were so darn in the mood for those slurpy noodles, we were thrilled to find Nippori nearby with no wait at the bar!
We sat down, my wife grabbed the free Sapporo check-​in offer beer and we each ordered a ramen. I had the classic Tan Tan Men, while my wife ordered a seafood-​y version. The Tan Tan Men hit the spot, with a very hearty broth, firm and perfectly cooked noodles along with a hint of sesame seeds and maybe even a bit of peanut sauce. The flavor was incredible and there were little bits of meat throughout the ramen — it wasn’t centric on the meat, but the broth and noodles were amazing.
I tasted a little bit of my wife’s clam ramen and it seemed very much fishy-​tasting to me, but she enjoyed it (she doesn’t eat meat so she avoided the pork-​centric ramens). Our service at the bar was great, water was refilled constantly and our food came out rather quickly. A solid choice for Ramen in NYC.

Nippori is a Casual Japanese restaurant, with an izakaya menu of fare like skewers & sashimi to pair with sake, ramen, sushi & beers. This is a place where you have the option of experience an authentic Japanese cuisine where the attention, service & quality has made the place an industry leader, and it has made it an interesting place to visit. Even though my group did not opt for the option of cuisine, I noticed how you could have this experience here.
I order the tonkotsu ramen: is a original «tonkotsu» pork bone broth with thin noodles, the toppings includes boiled egg, charshuu pork, bean sprouts, scallions. The portion was very big, the noodles were just right: not too soggy or hard, it came with a few piece of pork with was not too oily neither not too salty. This is a great option if you looking to have ramen and do not want it spicy.
One of my friends, He chose to order the nippori ramen with soybean powder & rich coconut milk infused ramen. The toppings include some mild spiced chicken stew, good cilantro, a boiled egg & some red onions. If you like ramen spicy this is a good option.
And 2 of my friends choose to eat some sushi, they SUSHI — SASHIMI PLATTER were they choose some tuna, eel avocado and shrimp.
Both plate of my friends also had a good taste.
The staffs were efficient, very prompt and super friendly.
PS. Make sure you used and get the free sapporo beer with any entrée, using your Unilocal app.