Kogane Ramen — Restaurant in New York

NOTE: Chinese Owned; &, Operated Japanese Eatery!!!; however: the, food here, is: quite good; but, with a, somewhat limited menu. The mood inside; is, not too childish; as, this joint, is particularly liberal in its' style-esthetic notes; showing: a, clean; simple; fairly nice; &, subdued; lower-key decor; w/: a, modernistic; urbane fusion of: "Japanese Rustic"; mixed w/: Chinese infused: Metro Tech-ish pragmatism. Plus: Some Air-Conditioning is available; &, their floor space is rather well utilized; but, is tighly packed; &, limited to the point of cramping. It is relatively quiet; but, not Japanese in-country quiet, in its' internal noise; &, business-levels; &, so it does seem tolerable; yet, somehow, still; in some non-typically Chinese; &, non-usual New Yorker way; so, it seems: off-beat; &, Metro-Odd; rather than seamlessly blending in, to: its' niche of the local landscape;...yes, it is: nearly un-noticable; &, inconspicuous; but, even the staircase, needed to enter; &, exit it, is so narrow; that nearly every two given people, can not pass each other on it, at the same time, causing: serious traffic backups; &, real safety concerns! Also, there are: badly, funny smells of ammonia, that emanate from their kitchen; &, Very badly, non-vented FOUL odors, from their restroom, which flooded their dining space; and, the dining area, is: already somewhat very limited; so, the pervasion of noxious fecal odifousness, only made it seem more boxed in; &, typically: Chinese. Nonetheless, the, place has its' also pseudo-Japanese sense, of: clean neatness; but, it, does so, in a, sort of: simplistic; casual way. The weirdness aspect seems more due, to the use of oddly mismatched elemets, used in its' interior design; which despite their apparent incompatibility are included; in the ambiance; floorplan visual image impression. From this diner's experience, I, must also report, my greatly deep sadness, on also, unfortunately, feeling, the intrusiveness, unwelcomeness, of: a, bar area; which most likely, provides such an, all too likely: most unhealthy preponderance of this establishment's operating income. The service was: neither fast; nor: slow; instead, being: somewhat, middle of the road. There is some room on the menu, w/: careful ordering, to be able, to avert: blowing apart one's budget, completely; as a single diner here; eating: so to speak: affordably; especially, in comparison, to the, uber high priced places, that are right next to this place, are all clearly, very high ticket in their upper end NYC style of: "fashionably" high prices; which usually ends up meaning, that if they charged less money; New Yorkers wouldn't eat there, thinking that unless the costs to eat there were high; then, the foods; &, beverages there, wouldn't be good, either; despite this being a, significantly imbicilic notion. It is also: very nice, to report, that: single diners here, don't, routinely, get: ignored; dismissed; &: disrespected; as is: SICKLY, EXTREMELY TOO Common, in the, whole arena of: Chinese owned; &, operated: eateries! The staff here, is: busy; but, does, try to be attentive; concerned; &, involved; although, as most always, they do so, in, those: Overly serious; yet, particularly: Chinese styled business manners, which clearly state that: we want your money; but, NOT, your membership. As regards the necessary expenditures of time, that people, must invest; &, simultaneously, will be allowed, to expend here; to be able to: consume; &, imbibe here; along with socialize; convivialize; or: repose inside this pseudo-domicilic public space; I'd report, that: it is possible to eat here, in, both: a, relatively quick fashion; as well as: being able, to some degree, to still, also, linger here, "A Bit"; though, only if; &, only when: their spaces are not in high, demand by door mobs; or: local foot traffic. I, recall, this recent encounter w/: food; tea; &, others; in their public space; as, being: a, relatively: positive; okay experience; w/: Chinese style: Japanese...

As part two of the birthday🎂 surprise 🎉 for my bf, I took him here!!! This was on 1/6/24 which was hella cold🥶, wet ☔and snowy❄️☃️ that day. This was the perfect spot to enjoy a nice warm bowl of yummy goodness!!! From the time you walk in you are greeted courteously and politely by the staff. Which is not the norm in A LOT of places! I wanted a booth type of table but was told it's for a party of 3 or more but I later noticed as the place filled up, smaller parties like mine were seated at booths which kind of irritated me but nevertheless we were seated right away. I just wanted a more cozy setting for my bf and I celebrating his birthday and my pregnancy. Since I've been pregnant I haven't been able to eat a lot of things due to the ups and downs of the first trimester but I was ecstatic to see I was able to really enjoy each item I ordered. I ordered the Veggie Gyoza 🥟 and the Spicy Veggie Ramen 🍜 and my bf ordered the Shoyu Ramen 🍜 and a Nigori 🥛. Which my bf was ecstatic about because he said a lot of other ramen spots tend not to carry it. Our food came out in a timely fashion. I really appreciate how attentive our waitress was. Always making sure our cups will refilled and looking around to see if we or anyone else needed anything. I hope I get her again when I go back! I must say the Veggie Gyoza was absolutely amazing. One of the best I've ever had. It was the perfect crispness on the outside and softness on the inside. The Spicy Veggie Ramen 🍜 was so delicious 🤤 mouth watering and flavorful. The broth, omg the broth... I've never had Ramen broth like that before. You could taste all the spices!!! The spiciness was perfect as well! Nothing needed to be added( I've been to other Ramen spots where I had to add pepper flakes and chilli oil to the broth to flavor it up). The noodles were the perfect chewiness( not an actual word I think but IDC, lol). Even the sauce they used for you to dip each tender Veggie Gyoza in was seasoned to perfection!!! My bf devoured his bowl and I can tell he really enjoyed it as well. I couldn't finish mine but I took the rest home bussed it down once I got in, lol...nomnomnommmmm. While you wait for your food to come they also bring you yummy authentic Green tea🍵. Which made up for us not getting the booth seating that I wanted, lol. Literally everything made up for it! The ambiance and the decor is very friendly, bright and warm. I loved the cool Anime-ish themed art work on the walls!!! I have raved about this place to my friends and definitely will be coming back real soon to try more items and the Japanese sodas!!! The pricing is nice for the food, not expensive once you add in tax, tip and CC fee. I would highly recommend coming here to have amazing food and to take it all in and enjoy the ambiance!!! Definitely also a great date idea place!!! 😁 I hope when I come back I have an even...

This place is totally a little hidden gem. We had a 5* end-to-end dining experience.

We had not visited this place before, and they don’t have a whole lot of reviews on Google. With the location in the basement, we couldn’t really see how busy/popular it was before we walked downstairs and entered the door. But the service and food totally satisfied us; we were glad we made this decision to give them a try.

From the host to the servers, every staff member we encountered was very professional and friendly. All the menu items have a photo, so you know exactly what you will be getting.

The Ramen Burger was a unique find. We have not seen this item at any other restaurant so we gave it a try and it didn’t disappoint us. All the ingredients with the sauce fit well together and the burger patty was well cooked.

Our own minor suggestion was that the sautéed brussels sprouts didn’t seem like they were sautéed and well seasoned. We felt like they were just simply fried. Maybe they were very lightly seasoned, but we couldn’t taste it. Outside of this, all other items we ordered were perfect.

Our drinks were refilled at the proper frequency and a cup (decent size) of complementary green tea per person was offered at check out.

The dining area and restroom were all very clean and organized. They also offered hand sanitizer wipes (individually packaged) on the dining table which was nice.

We will definitely keep this place in mind when we visit the Chelsea area...