Kamisama Ramen — Restaurant in New York

I have to agree with Jackson May's review - this place does not remotely deserve the 4.9 star rating it currently has.

I ordered the tsukemen, a dish I love and have had many times. For the unfamiliar, it's dipping ramen - you get the noodles, plain and chilled, and a bowl of hot broth (often but not always more concentrated than ramen broth).

My notes on the tsukemen from Kamisama: Broth was very thin and watery; too thin even for a bowl of ramen. Honestly tasted like it could have been made from the boxes of stock sold at the supermarket. Basically unseasoned - definitely needed more salt. Noodles were overcooked; they should be firm and chewy. Chashu was tough, overcooked, and tasted slightly burnt. None of the richness nor tenderness of good chashu. I was upsold by the waitress on adding an egg; it was soaked in marinade only long enough to gain some color on the outside but had no flavor.

2 stars for food because it was at least edible. 3 stars for service because it was fine but my waitress was very pushy about adding things (an egg, appetizers, a drink). 4 stars for atmosphere because the interior was nice (though uninspired).

Overall 2 stars, because while I'd prefer a package of $1 Maruchan college-student ramen to what I got at Kamisama, the restaurant was clean and the food wasn't literally inedible.

I really hope the ownership takes their critical reviews seriously - would be great to have another solid ramen restaurant in the area. As it stands, I feel compelled to strongly recommend Kyuramen (down the block) over Kamisama, despite Kyuramen...

Here is a real review. A very bad imitation of jiro ramen. The jiro style tonkotsu ramen was underwhelming at best. The chasu was dry because it is not pork belly. It's just marinated pork loin that had a light sear. The broth was mediocre and does not have that thick pork broth taste. This is definitely NOT simmered for hours with pork bones. The flavor was bland and the texture was watery. It's a poor imitation at best. The egg is also $2.

The makeral tsukemen was not good. The makeral was dry and fishy. It was the same tonkotsu pork broth. The makeral and the broth did not go well at all. This is not even close to real tsukemen. It's just broth on the side with grilled makeral on top. 0/5.

The karaage didn't taste like karaage. It's just fried chicken but definitely does not taste like Japanese karaage. The flavor was off. I can make better karaage at home. There was no mirin, sake, garlic, ginger marinade. It's just fried chicken and definitely not Japanese style karaage.

The fried rice with a tablespoon of cod roe was $17. This was okay. Not much comment here. But definitely not worth $17.

Overall a very bad "ramen" place. Service was nice though. However, there is terrible smell from the incense shop next door. Not restaurants fault but the odor definitely didn't help.

If you write a google review. You get to play this dice game to get a discount at the end of meal. So that's why all the 5 star reviews.

Tabetomo is the only authentic jiro style ramen and tsukemen in town. Really disappointed at Kamisama. (Okiboro at Essex is also...

After seeing Jiro-style ramen in anime, I could finally try one in NYC. Kamisama Ramen has just opened near Union Square that specializes in jiro ramen.

Jiro ramen is well-known for hearty portion with a lot of bean sprouts and vegetables. The broth is more pungent and thicker than regular ramen, as extra garlic and pork fat are added.

＊Spicy Jiro Ramen $17** ＊Tonkotsu Ramen $17 I thought the flavors of jiro ramen would be too aggressive for my liking, but it turned out I enjoyed every slurp of it. The noodles were thicker which held up the broth well. I usually disliked bean sprouts but I devoured them all. They were so delicious with the broth!

The pork chashu was smoky and quite tender, while my bf thought it was a little tough for his liking. Highly recommend spicy jiro ramen if you can tolerate spice. I almost drank up the whole broth. I added a soft boiled egg ($2) and it was very worth it.

＊Gyu Donburi $17 ** ＊Mentaiko Fried Rice $17 The gyudon amazed me. Even though I could make gyudon at home, they made it ten times better!! The sliced beef was marinated in a sweet and umami sauce and the rice was mixed with it. Chef’s kiss. Mentaiko didn’t add much flavor, but the fried rice was good to pair with other appetizers.

＊Karaage $10 * ＊Takoyaki $9 The karaage came with spicy mayo and yuzu sauce. The meat was juicy and tasted good with both dips. Takoyaki lived up to my expectation and each piece had a bouncy squid inside.

Pro tip: they currently offer 10% off for students. Check out their ig...