Tabata Ramen & Yakitori Bar — Restaurant in New York

My review is a little story about my time here. (skip to paragraph 5 for review)

My friend had been bugging me all day about going to a ramen shop after we finished watching black panther, but I was a bit reluctant, why you ask? 1. I was afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone (which consists of chicken tenders and seasoned fries), 2. I highly dislike instant ramen (it makes me ill) 3. and most importantly I’m a broke a** high school student with no job.

I caved in and agreed to go, But Only because I explained my situation to my aunt, that had agreed to send me emergency food cash.

We arrived at the place, opened the door and was blasted by a wonderful aroma and warm air. We were quickly greeted and given a menu to look at, and for the first time in the three years I’ve known my friend she said “Wow Jessica these prices aren’t so bad, let’s sit down and actually get something”. In a state of shock I followed the waitress through the packed room towards the back.

I order a curry chicken ramen with sprite while my friend orders some other ramen with milk or cream in it (idk) and a coke. A couple minutes go past and our drinks come out but it’s two sprites instead of one and a coke. My friend is about to create a whole scene about the mishap, but I tell her to try the sprite first and see if it’s watered down. Thankfully she said it wasn’t watered down, and decided to keep the drink.

About 6 minuets after that our food came out (props to that lady that carried our food out with her bare hands, I could barely touch the bowl when it was on the table). I was hesitant to eat because 1. I was worried if it was going to taste similar to instant ramen, 2. I have the tongue of a cat (I can’t eat hot food, unless I have a death wish), and 3. I HAD NO FLIPPIN IDEA HOW TO USE CHOPSTICKS. In a state of defeat I picked up the broth spoon and drank some broth and OH MY GOD, I have no idea if they were trying to snatch my non existent wig but they succeeded in doing so. It felt as if I had been teleported into the anime food wars and was experiencing a food induced orgasm (if you’ve watched the show you know exactly what I’m talking about), I then stabbed the chicken with the chop sticks and bit into it. I wanted to shed a tear because it was hot but so damn gooooooooooood. I was avoiding all the green bits in the food because I was picky, but boy that was a mistake, the green bits added the final touch and crunch to the broth that I didn’t know I was missing out on. Gordon Ramsay would probably approve of this food.

A few minuets of pure joy and happiness pass and then the Selena Gomez Music stops playing, I wonder what’s going on, then this cheesy happy birthday song starts playing. The staff go to the birthday man and start singing to him, and outta nowhere everybody in that joint starts to sing too. After we finish singing for him we all clap and continue our meal. 20 minuets after that me and my friend split the bill, said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff, and were all ready to set off on our long journey back to Queens.

In conclusion this is one of the most friendliest restaurants that I’ve visited that actually have food I enjoyed and I would drop everything right now and go enjoy another meal, even though it’s an hour and thirty minutes away, and...

The inside is not very large, as soon as you walk in, there is a counter seating to the right, where you can see the kitchen, and just a few small table seating to the left. I always like those restaurants that let customers to look into the kitchen. I think that makes them more honest and also, they have to keep it rather clean. There is more table seating at the back, after you pass the counter, with larger tables. Even with all the available seating, it is not very big, and the space is narrow from front to the back. I believe there was not a single Japanese staff here, which is always a bit disappointing at a Japanese restaurant.

We started off with hot Green Tea and our waitress told us that the tea is $2 each. Some Japanese restaurants offers green tea for free, so it is good to be warned that the green tea is not free here. Their food is pretty good, tasty and reasonably priced.

At the end of our meal, we finished our food, content with everything, other than service, or lack of. We had to ask for refill on water and hot tea a few times, and also for the bill. No one really came to check on us while we were there.

Then, when we tried to pay with credit card, we were told "our credit card machine is broken today, can you pay (with) cash?" We were so shocked to hear this, I mean, if they know that their credit card machine is broken, shouldn't they inform their customers when they come in, so that they are prepare at the end of the meal??? We don't really carry cash around, so we didn't have enough cash to pay for the lunch. The waitress simply told us to go an ATM machine. And it happens that it was one of the freezing cold day... My husband had to walk in a cold for like 10 min one way to get cash from our bank ATM, which was not pleasant. While I was waiting for him to come back, another customer came in and placed a to-go order. As she waited for her food, the same waitress brought her a bill. When the lady handed her a credit card, once again, the waitress told her about their credit card problem and that she needs to pay in cash. The lady was of course shocked, told the waitress "ok" and left, and never came back. She probably didn't want to bother going to find an ATM and walk all the way back in the cold.

Very disappointed with the service. Food is still good but not sure if it is worth the negative feeling you are left with after the meal, Read my full review of the restaurant and food on my food blog,...

Worst ramen I've eaten! Many ramen-ya and noodle houses in New York use Sun noodles, that's no secret, nor something to be ashamed of. But the miso ramen I had here was appalling. The broth was bland and tasteless, and the miso tare was completely absent. The chopped vegetables look like they're either from the supermarket frozen section, or from the scraps of a salad shop. They're pale and unappetizing. Their egg and pork slices were decent, and to be honest, despite my hunger, I was tempted to just finish the two slices of pork and the additional egg I ordered and leave. Do yourself a favor: walk into any Asian or Japanese supermarket, buy a pack of Sun noodles (miso flavor), and I guarantee you'll cook a better bowl. It's so embarrassingly bad, it makes college kids' instant noodles look gourmet.

My lunch partner had gyu-don, and while it was a lot more palatable, I still gave it one star. That's because it tastes way too similar to what you can get at the frozen section of a Japanese supermarket for $4! Yes, you can get frozen gyu-don at the supermarkets here that are actually very good. It's sweeter than Yoshinoya's, so I suspect they used a less well known brand. For $11, you're paying them to steam you a bowl of rice and microwave the beef. Anyone could buy that and microwave it for a lot less than you'll spend here.

Overall, a shockingly...