Rai Rai Ken

Critics' Pick

214 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10003
nr. Second Ave. See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-477-7030 Send to Phone

Price Range:
$
Key to Prices and ratings
Upscale

Almost Perfect

Exceptional

Generally Excellent

Very Good

Good

Cheap Eats

Best in Category

Excellent

Delicious

Very Good

Noteworthy
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Expensive

Moderate

Cheap
Reader Rating:
8.6 out of 10
|
5 Reviews | Write a Review
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi

Photo by Youngna Park

Map Rate & Review

Hours

Sun-Thu, noon-midnight; Fri-Sat, noon-2am

Nearby Subway Stops

6 at Astor Pl.; L at First Ave.

Prices

$5.55-$8.30

Payment Methods

Cash Only

Special Features

Delivery
Late-Night Dining
Lunch
Take-Out

Alcohol

Beer and Wine Only

Reservations

Not Accepted

Delivery Area

Rivington St. to 20th St., Ave. C to Fifth Ave.

Profile

Perhaps even more than they adore soba and udon, the Japanese love ramen noodles. So do impecunious college students, and it will be interesting to see how many undergrads can squeeze into this fourteen-stool noodle bar specializing in ramen and delectable pork-stuffed gyoza (the Japanese answer to the potsticker). Loud slurping isn't only tolerated—it's encouraged. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Recommended Dishes

Shio ramen, $8.50; gyoza, $5

Having been to Momofuku several times I very much believe that Rai Rai Ken offers a superior bowl of ramen. I prefer their noodles and broth much more to Momofuku albeit the remaining ingredients tend to be a little less exotic (the pork belly at Momofuku isn't too shabby). If you want no nonsense Ramen, this is the spot.

Great traditional ramen shop; ignore NYiris' review

yourbull1 from 07302 | Posted on 1/16/08

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)


Food:	9
Service:	9

Décor:	9

Value:	10

This is a retort to NYiris' review: Criticizing a Japanese ramen stand for having "only 3 soups to choose from" is like criticizing a Falafel stand for not selling hamburgers. Traditional Japanese ramen stands usually have exactly 3 ramens to choose from: shio ramen (salt), shoyu ramen (soy sauce), and miso ramen. Rai Rai Ken serves exactly these types of ramen, along with the usual side dishes found in traditional ramen stands in Japan. Uninformed reviews like this cause people (like me) to give them a "10" rating just to balance out the ridiculous grade that this reviewer gave. Look at reviews for Rai Rai Ken at any other site, and you'll see people reviewing it as one of the top 3 ramen shops in the city (an evaluation I would mostly agree with). I've haven't found any ramen shops in NYC that would rival the ones in Japan, but as far as state-side ramen goes, Rai Rai Ken is great (and it's fantastically cheap!). If I were to give it an actual rating, I'd give it an 8, but I had to bump that to 10 to balance the scales.

Read All 5 Reviews >>

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