Ramen Lab

Tiny little ramen spot near Chinatown with no seats! It’s a tiny ramen bar, where you stand and eat. We got there early, and didn’t have to wait and ordered a special ramen and miso ramen. The broth is rich but not creamy. Love the broth here! They are a little pricy with add on and such. For 2 ramen and extra cha siu for the hub, came up to be about $ 35+ tip. Not your everyday ramen, but good.

Okay i am giving this place 3 stars, since I really really liked the one that Luca Catalfamo from Milan, Italy did. That was my first time at Ramen Lab and when I tasted Casa Ramen, I was in love and thought it beat all the ramen places that I have tried in New York.
NOODLES DOPPIO PEPERONCINO — E loved this one, but I prefer the broth one he had below.
— Double chili tare
— Spicy chicken
— Spinach, green onion and sprouts
Choose from three levels of spiciness — mild (1), medium (2) or hot (3)
MILANO KING TONKOTSU RAMEN — SOOOOOO GOOD
— 100% pork broth
— Chashu and kakuni
— Spring onion and menma
I went this month and tried Tsukemen NYC and I am sorry, but this really brought my perception of Ramen lab down for me. I love the dipping concept, but the broth was room temperature and it just made eating the ramen so not enjoyable for me. The pork was super salty, but P enjoyed it. I liked the chicken version better, but seriously room temperature and then when they poured the water to make the soup broth, the water was also room temperature.
I was really really disappointed…

I’ll caveat by saying the chefs here change ~monthly, I went here (3 times) in mid and late May.
I live 30 seconds around the corner. Every time I pass by there’s a line of people waiting to get in. «What’s with the hype??» I’ll tell you now, it’s that good.
Just happened to be walking by around opening time (5pm) and there was no line. Got the soy ramen, very simple and so damn good. Went back two more times that week, just as good. Even went there AFTER I had dinner at another place for a 2^nd dinner. It was STILL that good on a full stomach.
There is no sitting, just standing at the counter. All the better if that weeds out some people.
I’ll be back for June’s visiting chef!

This was my first time experiencing ramen outside of my home and I thought it would be the greatest experience ever. Unfortunately that was not the case since my ramen wasn’t all that good. My ramen came out to a whooping $ 16 (yes, this might’ve hurt my hurt just a little bit). I expected the taste to be spectacular, but it wasn’t! The ramen noodles came out of a package and the seaweed that plated this dish was half-​sized. The pork slice (char-​su) piece was thin and tasted good, but there was only one meager slice given… what a rip off… and they wanted me to pay extra for another piece or two? No way! The egg was the best part since it was a bit runny and tasted good. The broth was the worst part. I don’t know how people could manage to finish up their broth, but let me tell you how I could’ve had high blood pressure from it! Indeed, it was super salty. I took one sip and never touched my soup spoon ever again. Ramen Lab… this probably will be the first and last time.
PS: There is no place to sit. You will have to stand to eat your ramen.

At last I was able to try Ramen Lab! I came on a Monday evening around 8 so luckily there was no real wait for a «seat». Note no seats exist. You stand while you eat on a counter facing the cooks while they prepare the ramen and it can only probably fit 10 people at a time. I actually really appreciated it because they say standing is better for your digestion anyway.
It seems typically they have 3 – 4 ramen choices and it changes seasonally. My boyfriend and I were going to do shoyu ramen with egg but fortunately, they had just started offering shio ramen with egg as well so we did one of each. Shoyu ramen was a soy sauce base broth and the shio was a salt base ramen. Both were absolutely delicious. Both ramens contained two halves of egg, bamboo shoots, nori, naruto and chasu pork. The shoyu sauce definitely had more of the deep darker look, with more of soy sauce taste to it while the shio tasted like a very clean, mildly salty broth. Both were a perfect balance of flavor. The eggs were just as delicious, cooked perfectly where the yolk is still a bit raw in the middle, really orange-​yellow in the middle. They provide only one slice of chasu if it says it is included but the chasu is really well made. Super tender. If you are a big eater, I would maybe opt for extra chasu. The ramen itself was al-​dente, great with the broth.
Everything was really delicious, simple with clean cut flavors that all individually popped in their own way. I left both full and satisfied.

You cannot miss Chibakiya-it’s the best shoyu ramen I’ve ever had! The noodles have such a delectable texture: the perfect balance between al dente and soft. I could have eaten two bowls of just that alone. What amazed me even more though was the broth: normally I find shoyu bases to either be much too soy-​sauce-​y or just plain not interesting enough, but Chibakiya’s was well-​flavored but also very subtle at the same time. It wasn’t overly salty but all of the ingredients within absorbed the broth to just the right extent to reach maximum flavor without being too heavy.
Would recommend going for lunch since they’re now open for it on more days and the line is much shorter! I opted for the first option (without the egg) but I’m sure all of them are good!

It’s a tiny spot with warm service. This week’s shoyu ramen is brought to us by Chibakiya from Tokyo.
The shoyu broth is tasty sweet. It’s soy sauce style but carefully balanced to a point that you can drink it up without much water needed.
And we noticed that before they pour the broth into the bowl, they pre-​heat the bowl by placing it upside down at where they cook noodle. Just like baristas would do for coffee cups. For me, it shows how seriously thoughtful they are.
The only weak point is chashu. It’s not fat enough. Other than that it’s a perfect experience.

This is a review for the Chibakiya pop-​up. Chef Kenji Chiba will be finished with Ramen Lab on Saturday, May 28^th!
——
Another chef at the Ramen Lab, and from Japan?!? Great! This month chef Kenji Chiba from Chibakiya is welcomed to the lab and has his shoyu ramen on showcase here. All the ones on the menu are variations of his ramen. His Tokyo Shoyu Ramen has the base shoyu ramen with bamboo shoots, scallion, nori, naruto and one piece of Chashu. He then has an option that adds an egg, and finally, the Chashu-​Men contains extra pieces of Chashu (five total!) but note that the egg is not included here and you would have to get that separately.
I opted to get the Chashu-​Men with egg. I have to say that the broth here is light, and divine! I loved this broth so much that my entire plate was empty! The chashu was good, but nothing I would entirely rave about. However, the deliciousness of the broth and noodles was the star of the show here. I feel that you get a nice helping of noodles and the Chashu-​Men size really fills you up with all the pork added on to the dish. The egg is something I would recommend getting, as it is prepared great!
If you enjoy ramen (especially shoyu ramen), make sure you take some time to check out Ramen Lab this month!

Was lucky enough to stumble into this gem last night and there was no line. Word on the street is that this place is owned by Sun Noodles, a company that makes ramen noodles for most places in the country (they are delicious btw). The chef/​operator rotates on a ²⁄₃ month basis where different styles of ramen are featured from each new concept. Brilliant if you ask me.
I had the pleasure of eating a brilliant tonkatsu from two gentleman straight from Tokyo. As noted above, the noodles were amazing. The pork broth and egg were just silly and all in all, a comforting experience. That’s what I love about great soups, the way they make you feel when you’re finished… satisfied and tired. :) This ramen made me extremely happy after a long day of humping around New York City and was really one of the better soups I’ve had in a while.
I’m not sure when this «team/​concept» is finished and the new one in but, if I were you I’d get here ASAP. 5 stars all around, kampai!

Standing room only with rotating chefs.
You can put your name on the list, and they will take your order when it is close to your turn at the counter.
No frills and great if you want a quick bowl of ramen.
I would come back every time they change the chef to get a ramen fix. The noodles are great! About $ 15 per bowl and $ 2 for extra noodles.

This restaurant is tight and narrow, it’s standing room only at a counter. I went when there was a guess chef and it was a cool experience since it is an open kitchen and you could see everything that is going on. I thought it was amusing the humongous pots of stock being heated up, these things were gigantic! The team of three really prepared the food seamlessly in such tight quarters, I commend them for that.
The food:
Tonkotsu Kimchi Ramen– Overall, I thought the ramen was just OK. I think my two big issues were the broth and noodles. The Kimchi broth was surprisingly mild in flavor, when I think Kimchi, I think big bold in your face flavors, sadly this was not. Also, I thought the noddles were too chewy/​hard, it seemed like if this was pasta, it would be too al dente. My favorite part of the dish was the egg, the egg was cooked to perfection, the char siu pork was good, a little over but still OK.

Describing what I’ve eaten at Ramen Lab would be an exercise in futility; those chefs have already come and gone. But telling you that Ramen Lab deserves a visit? That’s just the unadulterated truth. Be prepared to wait outside for a while, then stay on your feet while you eat a big bowl of something delicious. But trust me, it’s worth it.
Five stars for their ability to keep sourcing top-​notch food.

I’ve only been here for the Machida Shoten pop-​up, but Ramen Lab has already proven itself to be the pinnacle of amazing noodley experiences. It’s a great concept, with rotating chefs & Pop-​ups visiting their restaurant space. The establishment is quite small — about 10 standing ‘seats’ at the bar. I was pretty intimidated at the thought of not sitting, but it’s nice to be able to watch the chefs assemble your ramen and the standing room only makes the line go by pretty quickly.
The Machita Shoten experience in itself was ideal. With bass heavy music thumping, it set the perfect casual, party-​esque atmosphere. The broth for all ramen types had a great flavor and depth to it and I absolutely loved the thick noodles. Food portions were spot on — I left very satisfied and full, but not to the point of self loathing or food coma. If all the rotating menus are this good, I can’t wait to come back and try Ramen Lab’s other visiting vendors!

I’ve been here twice, and both experiences have been positive! The first time was a while ago, so forgive me for forgetting the name of the ramen joint that took residency here. As others have said, Ramen Lab serves as a venue for outside ramen places from around the word. Both times I have visited, the ramen chefs have come from Japan. The name Ramen Lab makes a lot of sense since it seems that these businesses are experimenting with the New York crowd without have a permanent business here.
The place is small, about 10 seats, and you actually eat standing, so be prepared for that. The wait likely would not exceed 30 minutes. My first experience here was excellent. My second experience was from Machida Shoten from Japan (March 2016), which was also good. I’ve noticed that Japanese people are very friendly, and they love greeting you but can get quite loud and yell at you in Japanese, so be prepared for that, too!
I love Ramen Lab and its concept. The continuous change at this ramen venue encourages customers to keep coming back to try new ramen, which is good for their business and good for the customers who love trying new ramen. Follow them on Facebook to get news on who will take residency at Ramen Lab next. Due to the nature of the restaurant, some months they may not have anyone taking up the space so they may just be closed for the month. Be sure to check online before you go.

I have fond memories of the tan tan mazemen :) I now have fond memories of Machida Shoten’s spicy miso and shoyu ramen: D
Whether you’re here on the regular or when there are rotating chefs Ramen Lab delivers the right amount of bang for the buck with the ka-​pow in flavors. Always a wait and always satisfying it’s no wonder Ramen Lab has been increasingly popular, and a favorite, to many ramen enthusiasts. Come by, write your name on the clipboard, and be prepared to enjoy one of the quickest, but tastiest, NYC meals in your noodle loving life!

It was almost about a decade ago, when Mitsuwa Supermarket place in Edgewater NJ was called in different name as Yahwan Supermarket. The place had a nice food court and they occasionally opened an event that inviting great ramen chef from Japan. I really enjoyed the time whenver they opened those event and those ramens were remarkable. I was very frustrated when they stopped on opening those event, and was missing so much on those great bowls of ramen that I have eaten.
Ramen lab was the one. I was so happy when I found ramen lab. This place is running with just same idea with those event that Yahwan market had. They invite great ramen chefs from all place to serve us good bowl of ramen. What a sensational idea! This must be great addition to NYC, so happy that this place is exist in New York.
After few month from my last visit, I checked from their website that they have chef from Sapporo Japan until ²⁄₂₀. I was like I cannot miss this and went to spot with my girlfriend. This was 5^th times that I been to this place. I know place is small and there is almost 30+ wait time yet this time was bit longer than user. My expectation became higher as I could guess that Ramen Tetsuya must have great reputation. I waited 85min to get my spot. After long time of wait, Tetsuya sang handed me a bowl– wow… all
Was it worth to wait? YES! Will I go back to location? Absolutely.

Dropped in on Ramen Lab last Friday and as you know, they consistently host a cadre of formidable talent from Japan that take up residency at this famed, yet tiny establishment to showcase different styles of ramen. They’ve got our 4.8÷5.0 in the bag and here’s why.
Quality ramen in the U.S. supplied by Sun Noodles, goes pretty much hand in hand with every great establishment in New York. It’s no secret that Ramen Lab would lead the forefront of this charge from when they first opened with Chef Jack Nakamura operating and setting the tone for others to follow.
I met up with three others around 7pm, as there’s no reservations, you write your name down on a board by the door entrance (within the vestibule). The wait time lasted for no more than a half hour, decent given the time we showed up. If you arrived an hour earlier, there’s probably little to no wait at all. Their choices are listed on the wall and there’s little in the way of ambiguity of decision-​making, which makes order-​taking simple, efficient, and straightforward. That part happens when they call your name to enter. It’s standing room only, as can be expected, and cash only.
This season, Ramen Tetsuya from Sapporo, Japan holds residency, the same Tetsuya Brothers Ramen known to specialize in Shoyu. Oddly, they offered miso tonkotsu here and serve it particularly well. I was not decidedly hungry so I ordered a regular, my friend ordered one with the seasoned egg.
The ramen arrived lightning fast (well, within 5 minutes of entering) and we were able to snap photos, yet still have steaming hot ramen awaiting us after ten minutes of photo-​snapping obnoxious fun.
There were a couple pieces of decent sized chashu sitting above the broth, but the broth is what made the meal, in addition to the nice chew from the ramen noodles. I nearly finished the broth. It was that good! It’s no secret that other restaurants may offer an extra side of noodles so you can finish it along with the broth, but that is not an option here.
As the staff here were very professional and worked quickly, there were no complaints to be had other than the familiar waiting period and that there were no seats to be found except a couple of makeshift ones outside by the vestibule. Beyond that they’ve earned their stars. 4.8÷5.0

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet. It must be cause I want to avoid having the lines grow any longer than they already are but they deserve the good reviews.
Ramen lab is a very small restaurant with enough space for about 8 customers at a time. There are no chairs so everyone stands to eat. This has never been a problem for me but I’ve read some reviews that are upset about this fact however, not having chairs helps the turnover rate of customers. Ramen is meant to be eaten within 10 – 15 minutes of the bowl being assembled otherwise the temperature and the noodles aren’t at the best state. It’s not really a place to sit and chat.
Also, they are not open everyday of the week and sometimes they can be closed for several weeks at a time. To avoid visiting while they aren’t open just visit their website and follow their Instagram to get updates of which chef will be there and what they will be serving. It’s really very simple.
After all that I just have to say I love this place. I love the concept of having visiting chefs so I get to try ramen from different parts of the world without having to actually travel there. I’ve turned my boyfriend into a huge ramen junkie and we’re always excited to try the ramen of a new visiting chef. Right now Chef Tetsuya is making delicious bowls of miso ramen that’s unlike any miso ramen you’d find in the city. They also make one of the best ajitama that I’ve ever had with ramen.
I can’t wait to be back.

Best part of the meal, the yolky egg.
I was really excited to come try ramen lab due to all the amazing Unilocal reviews. Came here on a Thursday night after work with two of my friends. I was surprised there was no wait. They seated us right away, or I guess I should say, stood us right away? There are no seats here. Just a counter around the small kitchen area and all the diners are standing around it. I guess its to promote faster eating considering we were in and out of there in 30 minutes. If you don’t like crowded spaces, this is not a place for you. The busser and chef were within a few feet from us, a little uncomfortable when the busser is listening to your whole conversation and starring at you.
There was 3 ramens on the menu plus a special of the night which was a spicy seafood broth ramen. I ordered the pork ramen that they are famous for. We also ordered the fried chicken appetizer. Fried chicken was good, not a fan of whatever sauce they drizzled on there. Then the ramen came … it looked amazing! But it did not taste as good as it looked. The broth was luke warm which was strange to me, the taste of the broth wasn’t that great either. Pork was just okay, nothing special. Like I said earlier, the best part of the ramen bowl was the yolky egg.
Overall: crampt space, no seats, lukewarm ramen broth, flavor wasn’t great, overpriced for what you get.

I must confess, I came here for the sole purpose of spiting somebody. A friend was being belligerent, so I decided to rob him of the experience of taking him here. HA! I’m also currently working on stealing his best friend.
Anywho, what started out as an act of vengeance turned into something of beauty. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. There’s only two choices for ramen and pressed to decide by the man in front, without a thought I landed on Tan-​Tan, never having it before. Hell, I didn’t even read the description; the guy just came out and asked what we were having. But of course, in the splendor of life, not all accidents are bad. I wish I could say the same for my cousin Andy.
To my surprise, there were no seating arrangements; just designated eating spots, like traditional on-​the-​go ramen shop. I’m a sucker for novelty. My companion didn’t find it so charming but she can stand to lose a few pounds. OH SNAP! Also, for a place so cramped, they still accomplished to have a bathroom. The world needs more places like this.
Minutes from getting to our seats… standing areas, our order was ready. And there was where I had my first bite of my now favorite ramen. *Whispers* Tan Tan Ramen. It blew my mind how I’ve never considered it. Not even so much as glanced at the description. Lesson of the day, kids: Learn to read. I’m a huge fan of sesame oil and this ramen was entirely sesame. The noodles, were as good as another other ramen place BUT THE BROTH! There was a silky texture running down my mouth, and down my throat’s mouth, and my stomach’s mouth… and I guess my rectum’s mouth. It was accompanied with a pool of minced meat and not over saturated by an excess of vegetables.
The only component that would’ve made it perfect was if I slices of chasiu. For all I know, it was an option, but again… the guy in the front.