Kiko Ramen — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

My partner and I came here for Friday night dinner. It was slow as to be expected for opening week (which also was Passover). We are big fans of the Garden City location but were prepared for the typical growing pains of a new restaurant.

There were many people working there despite the relatively empty dining room. I believe they were training. Either way, the service was excellent. Us and every customer we saw were greeted enthusiastically at the door. Unlike the Garden City location which used QR codes, they had typical table service with printed menus. Turnaround time was quick and they served us drinks in these cute glass mugs.

The pork buns and bowls were actually better portioned than what we usually get at Garden City, which was a welcome surprise. Prices were fair and consistent. Food overall delicious. We got the tonkotsu and the vegan ramen, our usual dishes. I was a bit disappointed by the vegan ramen as the broth was not as savory as what I am used to. Throughout the meal I kept adding soy sauce since it was lacking the usual complexity of flavor. I reached the bottom of the bowl and there seemed to be some seasoning clumped into the last portion of noodles. I did stir it some more and realized it was all the saltiness (maybe the dashi?) that hadn't been mixed in. With the soy sauce I already added, the remainder of my bowl became much too salty. I did take it home and will dilute with my own broth since I couldn't eat it anymore. However, my partner's tonkotsu was great.

I am still leaving this at 5 stars overall because I have very high hopes for this location. The place looked amazingly clean and very aesthetically pleasing. I hope they even decorate the walls with floor to ceiling paintings/pictures like they did in Garden City. We will definitely give them another shot at some point and are happier they have a location closer to us. Staff is clearly well taught in professionalism which is a...

My coworker and I came in for a rare sit-in lunch hour. We ordered a couple of appetizers with our meals - the food was good, the space was clean and had plenty of seats for a weekday afternoon (I assume most of their business is takeout or delivery). My issue was with the service.

I was hesitant to leave this review in consideration that maybe the style of service may be a cultural misunderstanding, so I'd genuinely like to know if this was the case.

Basically, as soon as our food arrived at our table, it was as if we were on a timer we were unaware of. We were accosted every 10mins (and then every 5mins) at first under the guise of "checking in" but then very openly turned into "get out" even bringing our check without our request.

We were there under an hour, the place was pretty empty, we were conversing with our "inside voices"...I just really don't understand what the problem was. As I paid with my card, their machine prompted me to do a survey, which I began, before the server promptly SNATCHED it out of my hands, not even kidding. It was just so RUDE.

I said nothing throughout the ordeal, genuinely wondering if I misinterpreted a cultural or social cue, maybe this is just the way this business operates? It just didn't sit right with me and the least I could do is share. I will definitely not be eating here or recommending this...

For a Sunday mid-afternoon, I had a party of eventually 11 and the staff were very accommodating & gracious as more people trickled in. Very attentive staff. They can also do individual receipts for a party. Pay with cash for a 10% discount.

The ramen is very tasty. I recommend the Tonkotsu ramen with spinach noodles & request that the broth be made less salty. When they first opened up last year, their manager verbally promised me a a group discount (of 8 or more) since we were from Shelter Rock Church in Manhasset.

Since their manager was unavailable to confirm this, the Kiko Ramen waitstaff graciously and generously offered mochi dessert for the whole table to share free of charge.

I recommend their caffeine free beverages (I got their Lychee Passion Fruit Tea) to be made with 30% sugar or no sugar at all. Many compliments to the staff...