Koku Ramen Reviews

TIny spot, but loved it. What a nice surprise. Tried out the koku ramen, and didnt disappoint. Got takeout

Nice place, really good ramen and nice service. You order digitally by scanning a QR code, but you pay as usual, which is convenient.

Well made noodles are easily encountered on Manhattan and Koku is no exception. But the broth at many of these ramen places seems formulated for the American palate—I miss the distinct notes of kombu and dashi as they are overwhelmed by meat broths only used occasionally in true Japanese ramen dishes. Make no mistake: this is delicious ramen, but the menu betrays the usual American excess. You cannot order a plain shio or plain miso ramen here, everything has to be piled high in the bowl and the spice overwhelms the miso notes in the one miso ramen dish: it tastes like Korean soup. Good donburi is available instead. Expensive.

Went here for tea, on the same street as the Korean restaurants. We originally sat at the bar watching the cooks before we were called to a table at the back of the restaurant. We ended dup sitting opposite a table with about 20 people waiting for their meals. My wife had some Ramen and noodles and I had meat and rice and I had a beer while she had a diet coke. This was the first time she had eaten with chopsticks so we had something to celebrate. There were lots of locals there and we thought it was a great place for food. When the bill came over there was a 10% discount for cash purchases. The meal came to about $40 and it was worth every penny.

I had no idea that Korea town got so big!!! I loved the options in the 30s. I walked in to koku for ramen. It was authentic and yummy and I can recommend unequivocally. I had spicy miso. So good!! The counter offers quick and amazing service. Put this one on your list!!

Nice meal but are racist.I only hope my soup wasn't poisoned because I discovered the dishes used in serving others were different from mine. Just saying.

Wasn't sure what to expect when we book this place, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Got the Kimchi Tan Tan ramen, my colleagues got the Koku and the spicy miso, we also ordered some gyoza. Everything was prepared quickly and well. The egg was perfectly cooked, the noodles the right hardness, and the broth was excellent. You can always tell a good broth by how much gets finished after the noodles are done, and we all left mostly dry bowls. I also like the ambiance -- casual and fun, with comic art on the walls and a mix of bar seating, high tops, and tables. The wait staff were attentive and quick. Will repeat if I'm in the area!

I am glad to see Koku Ramen expanding their hours and it is a nice ramen joint with friendly waiters and good comfort [Asian] food. I love Koku Ramen but don't be fooled with the milky broth about the spicy level. But please be forewarned about their braised pork belly, which was quite fatty. Go with chicken if you don't like fatty pork. I tried their raw octopus with wasabi appetizer but the chicken nuggets (which taste like Chicken-Fil-A) are a bit disappointing. I prefer their gyoza better. I recommend this ramen joint and will return for sure.

The food was amazing, and very large ramen bowls. The gyoza was also excellent, we had the spicy ramen bowl, the kimchi bowl and Loki ramen. They were all very good. I would say the food was less spicy that expected, so don’t be afraid of the number of chili peppers shown next to each meal to denote spicyness.

They go big here and for the most part it's pretty good. I'd say they need to adjust a few things - mostly surrounding their pork. We tried the pork sando. We found the pork itself to be tough and flavorless, it's only saving grace being the sauce it was smothered in. We tried the ever popular Spicy Miso Ramen and found the broth to be bland (spicy but bland). Also tried the Mega Koku ramen (pictured here) and the broth was much more flavorful, the minced pork was incredible. Overall, still prefer Ichiran.

Best ramen ever tasted. Super tasty. Highly recommend this place and full of locals. Nobody pushing service outside, lovely staff and very reasonably priced. Thanks.

The best dandan noodle in my life! My friends ordered ramens - they said that also the best in city (we tried top1 from ta)

It's a cozy place, nice people in there and good food. Not a huge selection but really good. I will definitely go back! Highly recommend, don't miss it.

Ichiran is probably one of the most renowned ramen places in NYC, but Koku Ramen is arguably better than the standard bearer. For $14 for a bowl of Ramen (dinner price. Lunch price is around $10), you get a bowl of quality broth, 2 slices of pork, an egg, and fresh black fungus as well as spring onions. A bowl at Ichiran is above $20 and comes without the egg.

For a quick and delicious lunch we stopped into Koku Ramen. The service staff could not have been nicer. We were seated quickly and the table was small but comfortable. Ambiance is not much. The Karage crispy chicken was a great appetizer to share with a nice spicy sauce. I had the Kimchi Tantan which was just a little spicy and superb. Not too much pork and not too much Kimchi. Just right. Spicy Miso Ramen was just right for my son but a little spicy for me. My wife had the Koku Raman - Pork and just a bit more spicy than mine. Again, and excellent choice. Price for above with three waters was $54

Koku Ramen boasts a fun and new venue. However, the food is average at best, service is hit or miss, and orders take a while to come out. Some details: * Gyoza -- soft, not crispy * Pork buns -- meh, sauce isn't great * Koku ramen -- all around average, but generous with the meat

Koku's on Korea Way offers a very nice selection of ramen noodles with varying spiciness levels. It offers other foods too, but we only tried their Koku ramen (witha a good sized slice of pork belly and egg) and can surely vouch for it. The noodles were firm and the broth very flavorful. (My wife had the mild and I had the medium, definitely a difference.) Both of us slurped the whole thing. Just perfect on a brisk NYC afternoon. And the lunch price at $9.99 was a real value for the quality (and for NYC as well where a bowl of ramen can run as high as $22). The artwork in Koku was interesting too. Well worth a stop in you are near the Herald Square or Koreatown area.

This is a cool spot. The menu and ambiance, from outside, caught my eye. Upon entry, I was greeted (very important) and, since I was solo, took a seat at the bar type area which overlooks the cooking area. The only thing I didn't like about that area, and it may be due to my height, is that you really can't fully see the people in the cooking area because your view, once seated, is covered/blocked by design. But, If you're a super short person or a smurf, then you can see the full action in the cooking area, which I think is part of the eating/dining experience. Regardless, the decor, in that area was very nice: simplistic, natural, earthy and colorful. The overall ambiance was cool. Music choice was great: it was a blend of chill hip hop/jazzy type instrumentals. I ordered the Coconut Curry Vegan ramen noodles dish ($16) - - with extra bok choy ($1) and spinach ($1) which tasted great. I also had a bottle of Sapporo beer, reserve edition ($4). Total with tax: $18.22 I could see myself ordering off the lunch or happy hour menu where you can find deals and save a few bucks too. Especially, if you're a carnivore. What I liked, as well, was that after finishing my meal, a few people in the cooking area, upon seeing me get up to leave, thanked me for coming. I consider that important. That shows their appreciation for my business. Would I go back? Yes, I def. would. It's a good place to grab some food with friends. There's an open area in the back with tables to accommodate more people. It def. seems like a popular spot. I would want to try their other dishes as well. Peace.

Last dinner in NYC was in this Koku Ramen restaurant. It is a narrow but long restaurant in Korean Town. We had to wait for 20 minutes for a table for five. The decoration and menu are in all Japanese styles. The mainly serve Ramen. The soup is like milky color and quite delicious. However the noodles are tasty but a little undercooked. It will be a good place for working lunch or dinner not suitable for gatherings. The ramen bowl looks very large but actually more soup with limited noodle. Prices are relatively expensive.

Somehow my partner and I ended up here and the ramen was delicious! So as the gyoza! Definitely a must

Stopped in here with my daughter for a late night meal. We ordered one Ramen Bowl and one Rice dish to share. Both were great (although we both liked the Ramen dish better). The service was great and especially impressive as I only saw one waiter taking care of everyone. There seamed to be a mix of couples and families in for dinner - very relaxed atmosphere.

This place was just steps away from our hotel and what a little GEM! We ate here twice and each time it was excellent! Bet ramen ever.

We were looking for a delicious dinner in Manhattan and found it in Koreatown. It looks very unassuming from the outside, but that's very deceptive. A down-to-earth, delicious cuisine, and for both of us a ramen that we haven't had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. Thank you for that! We are happy to recommend the restaurant (and have already tried it 😄👍!).

We needed something late that would be quick. Good service, decent menu selection, didn't disappoint.

Delicious! It’s really delicious! I really recomend this restaurant. We had to wait a bit to seat. But It’s very tasty.

OMG! My oldest daughter invited me to this place. She knows I'm passionate about noodles and asian food. I loved it! Service was quick. Food was exquisite! Prices were affordable. They have these dumplings that are to die for and the bowl of noodles with broth was delish. We've been here at least 3 times so far as a family. My daughter, 17, goes with her friends all the time. The area is filled with so much life as well. I strongly recommend Koku! Oh, and BTW, the servers are friendly. I think the last one that served us, his name was Jacob. Keep up the great work! We'll be back soon. Thank you again!

I had the kimchi ramen expecting good food because I’ve liked kimchi ramen before hut it was really bland. It was occasionally spicy but had no flavor. It contained peanut butter, which I like but didn’t work in this ramen. My friend enjoyed the koku ramen though.

If you're looking for a great place to eat, this is it. Reasonably priced, great food.....that's all we generally look for from a good Ramen/Noodles bar. The service is great, the restaurant is a little narrow but not claustrophobic. The food was piping hot and delicious. We had the chicken rice bowls and pork ramen. Both excellent. The gyoza and chicken buns were delicious also. Highly recommended for a cheaper place to eat amongst the expensive restaurants in NYC.

Came here on a Friday night before a concert at MSG. Cute place. Food came out quick and nice and hot. Really good ramen. Server was very nice.

We were walking around midtown and stopped into Koku Ramen for dinner. Delicious food and friendly staff. We ordered ramen and bao buns and they were both excellent. Highly recommend!