Raku — Restaurant in New York

Exceptional all around. One of my fave restaurants at one of my fave parts of the city - and for good reason.

FOOD The food is excellent. If you're craving a wide array of Japanese food, this place really hits. During this visit we ordered the chicken karage, the tofu, and the roll cake. All incredibly delicious.

The karage was fried perfectly and came with lemon (which just makes so much sense) and a spiced mayo which was the perfect accompaniment. We asked for salt on the side which helped the flavors pop even more.

The tofu was also delicious. The broth that it was in + the bonito with the shaved ginger, gave it an incredible depth of flavor which is hard to describe. Umami if I were ever to taste it. Highly recommend.

The roll cake was the sleeper. Incredibly delicious with pieces of fruit embedded throughout. Very generous portion with a raspberry mousse on the side which was a perfect pairing.

SERVICE This was outstanding. 10/10. They were extremely accommodating with our small baby and several staff members from various parts of the restaurant checked in on us throughout our meal to make sure that we had everything that we needed and that everything was okay. Truly memorable, especially given the restaurant was packed on a Saturday night and very, very busy. Service really punched above its weight class.

ATMOSPHERE What else is there to say. This is prime SoHo on MacDougal. The energy is infectious. However, the smart layout of the restaurant optimizes the space so that there is quite a bit of seating (we were lucky to snag 2 seats a bit later in the evening for dinner w/o a reservation), but you still feel there is space to navigate through the restaurant. Overall, definitely has that clean Japandi sort of vibe fitting of the restaurant and cuisine.

Overall, this deserves its 5-star review. I would rate higher...

Food: 10/5 Service: 5/5 Atmosphere/Ambiance: 5/5 Overall: 100% would come back.

Excellent!! I have been to the original location once and craved their delicious udon for a month since going. Was super excited to go to Raku with my friend, this time trying out their new location. We went for lunch, around 1:30 and were seated promptly. Service is attentive and friendly.

The new location is much more roomy and airy, tables are spaced out from each other and not crowded. It's much quieter as well, and more relaxed. At the original location I felt I had to eat pretty quickly because the tables turnover frequently, but at this location I could take my time and eat at my own pace. Decor is minimalist but contemporary with a lot of off white and light, natural wood. There are two bathrooms located downstairs.

We ordered a bowl of udon each, I ordered the chikara udon (chicken, negi, and mochi) with an add on poached egg. My friend got the sansai (mountain vegetable) udon. The udon here is so good. I have visited Udon Maruka in Japan and it's better here at Raku. The noodles have a luscious chew and are very smooth! The broth and meat are good as well, but the noodles... are the star of the show. The broth is delicious though too. I enjoy steaming my face in the large bowl before I dig in.

The price is reasonable for what you get. The serving size is very generous and will fill you up. The food itself is pretty easy to digest and light, there's just a lot of it. Very satisfying meal. 10/10 would come back again. Raku is amazing! Best udon place I have tried! I've been telling basically everyone I know about this place!...

When the aroma of Raku's Niku Udon first hits my nostrils, I am drawn to it like a crack fiend to a lit crack spoon. I immediately get transported to a hole in the wall noodle shop in Kyoto that is playing lofi bangers that Shazam can't pick up. Deep cuts only.

I came here alone on my lunch break today as on a cold rainy day, my heart, mind, and soul immediately go to a Raku meal. This is a fantastic place for a solo meal to just come and enjoy your own company... while we are on the topic I get so annoyed when people be posting about how they are going on solo meals. Like can't you just go do that and not post about it? Was it really a solo meal if you gotta tell everyone about it?..... Well I guess I'm doing that now just in Yelp form ahahaha damn.

The Niku Udon's spice level is just enough to make your nostrils run and let out one of those quick little "woooo" breaths out of your mouth, which is my idyllic spice level.

The voluminous bowl, which consists of a light flavorful broth, silk noodles, beef short-rib, nori sansho chili oil, tendon, and honeycomb tripe is my hangover cure. Well that and a couple puffs of a pre-roll but that's neither here nor there.

I let out an audible "wow" on my final sip of the broth, as my soul needed it. My soul been hella tired lately idk why.

My only complaint is that $27 before tax and tip is just steep. It can't be a weekly occurrence for me, as much as I would like it to. Once a quarter vibes smh. But that just seems to be the price of doing business these days in New York. I've spent $27 a lot worse......

Still my favorite rainy day meal in NYC.

IG...