TONCHIN NEW YORK — Restaurant in New York

I used to frequent this ramen restaurant often and always left impressed, which is why I felt confident bringing six family members with me on September 6 at 8:15 p.m. Unfortunately, what was once a reliable favorite turned into a profoundly disappointing evening—both in terms of the food and the way the front of house handled us. We acknowledged that a party of seven is no small request and offered to split into a table of three and a table of four, yet despite multiple requests, we were told by the rather rude hostess this was not possible and could only be seated at a large table. Over the next two hours, we watched solo diners and smaller groups without reservations arrive and be seated promptly while we remained waiting. Only as closing time approached were we finally told we could be split into smaller tables, the very solution we had asked for from the beginning, and even then, before being seated, we were abruptly informed it was last call and that we had to order immediately. The treatment felt not just dismissive but discriminatory, and a token gesture—a cucumber appetizer “on the house”—did little to offset the frustration, particularly when we later found we had still been charged $8 for it. If the front of house experience was disheartening, the food only deepened our disappointment. What used to be flavorful and balanced dishes now felt hastily prepared and lacking in care: the ramen broth was unremarkable with a cheap cut of pork, an overcooked egg, and a peanut flavor that dominated everything while lacking spice; the bao buns were overwhelmed by an aggressive wasabi burn that masked the meats, and even the patty tasted low-quality; one member of our group was denied a second soda because “last call” had been called before we had even placed our order; and the shaved ice dessert (sowcone) was nothing more than syrup-soaked fruit topping a mound of plain ice, so faint that the interior was just plain unflavored shaved ice. We couldn’t even finish it before being told we had “one minute to leave,” forcing us to abandon the dessert and walk out with a very bad taste—both literally and figuratively. If the owner were to review the camera footage from that night, they would see we are not exaggerating. What transpired was unacceptable for a restaurant with such a loyal following, and both the front of house service and the kitchen’s execution are in desperate need of change if this establishment wants to maintain its reputation and continue operating successfully. What was once a place I recommended wholeheartedly has now become a...

Tonchin is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. I frequent it and the Brooklyn locations at least 3x a month, and I’ve been 13 times alone this year, normally sitting at the bar on my own during lunch. So I was really disappointed when I came in for a late night dinner last week to show my favorite bowl of ramen in the city off to my friend and we had a really uncharacteristically poor experience with our waiter and food. We were seated right when we came in and the host was super nice, but right from the start our waiter whose name was Lok was really rude and short with us. My friend and I both inquired about protein options with each bowl, it was her first time so she had more questions and the waiter seemed visibly annoyed that my friend was asking questions. I also inquired about if the clams in one of the soups were a topping or in the soup, and she just gave me this look like something was wrong with me for asking. We were confused by the interaction but weren’t going to dwell on it until we heard her talking, loud enough for us to hear at that, about how annoying we were for asking about the proteins in the bowl! I was shocked- I’ve never had anything less than an amazing experience with the staff at this restaurant and this was just baffling honestly. To make things worse, when our bowls arrived I had asked for cashews to be omitted from my bowl due to a light allergy but they were still in there, and my friends soup was lukewarm and had to be sent back to be warmed up. Also when we asked about this, the same waiter again was visibly annoyed that she asked for that. We asked for the bill and a takeaway bowl at the same time we asked for her bowl to be heated up, however after giving her bowl back to the kitchen our waiter ran out the restaurant without providing the check so we had to waive down someone else to get it. Overall I was just super disappointed and embarrassed by this experience after I hyped this place up to my friend so much. I’m also frustrated that a place I’ve been to so much and shown so much support especially at around $40-50 a visit would leave such a bad taste in my mouth. I’ll definitely be back because I really believe it is the best bowl of ramen in the city but they really need to work on the professionalism of the waiters and consistency with the kitchen. This was a really poor and...

Came here with my parents for late-ish lunch.

I've been to Tonchin before and it's been magnificent, at least the Tsukemen dipping noodles were, so I was very ecstatic to bring my parents to try this restaurant for themselves.

Unfortunately, my parents have a really great sense of time/responsibility and decided to come 30 minutes to 1 hour late which also caused us to miss the lunch special (rip riceball). I was absolutely stressing out of my mind + embarrassed/cringed because I was holding a reservation and it felt like we were just stealing a table from other valued patrons. However, the host at the front I remember (skinny and asian) assured me it would be ok and said the restaurant would be fine with it. This was an extremely kind act and I greatly appreciate it to this day.

Once they finally came in, we had some appetizers including the snow crab salad, as well as maguro. Both were extremely tasty, so much so that my dad, a chef himself, was analyzing the dish trying to figure out how to make it at home. Each bite of the snow crab salad was addicting and it was tough to share. The maguro also was very interesting and satisfying, complementing the salad.

The ramen was kind of a miss. Traditionally, I've had no issues with the ramen and its always been good. Salty flavorful broth with less overwhelming noodles and some nice sides. However, my parents were basically dying saying it was way too salty the whole way through. I truthfully think that the noodles weren't bad whatsoever but perhaps this style was a bit much for them. I didn't feel bad about the dish or anything but it did seem a little less magical than the first time for whatever reason.

Despite this, I knew for a fact that the shaved ice would absolutely blow their mind. No surprise, we really enjoyed the matcha green tea shaved ice and it was beyond refreshing. Bitter but not too bitter as well as sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet.

The atmosphere was also great with a lot of energy coming throughout the restaurant.

Overall I would give the experience a 4.5/5 stars but easily rounded to a 5 star. Next time, if we go, I'd definitely do a classic tonkatsu ramen for them. (would suggest for other folks who want less salty...