Noted as one of New York's most popular ramen/udon spots, Raku has three locations around the…read morecity--each with a different menu. This location in EV is cozy and intimate. They are fairly strict with their dining time period as it is busy. Be sure to book a reservation. Their menu is fairly large with plenty of appetizers as well as hot and cold udon options (note: this is a udon spot, not ramen). I got their kanimaze (cold) and their tantan (hot) and both were delicious. The kanimaze was refreshing and full of flavor. And the tantan was rich, comforting, and warm. Their shrimp tempura and agedashi were also great. Lightly fried and not too greasy. Would love to come back to try their other options.

Raku - 342 E 6th St, NYC…read more One of my daughter's and my favorite udon spots in NYC! Our go-to is the wagyu beef udon and their lunch specials--chewy noodles, refreshing broth, yummy dipping sauces, and always delicious! Ordering is easy, and the service is fast and efficient. They take both credit cards and cash. Perfect for enjoying a delicious bowl of udon in NYC. Small space + limited seating, so don't expect much room to sit, and there can sometimes be a wait when it's busy. Reservations are available. Overall, definitely recommend Raku! A great little spot for a delicious udon fix in NYC. Go Violets!

You walk down a sketchy staircase off 35th with basically no signage and land in a basement that's…read morelouder than half of K-town one block over. That's the charm. Went tonight and the sushi was legitimately fresh, like actually fresh, not Midtown-lunch-counter fresh. Yellowtail carpaccio and the salmon tataki were the standouts, clean fish, no fridge taste. This is izakaya food though, so order like it: geso kara, aged tofu, gyoza, repeat. Frozen beer comes with that slushie foam cap they do in Tokyo and it keeps the pint cold to the last sip, which matters when the room is this warm and packed. Service is fast and a little chaotic. Prices are fair for the neighborhood, borderline cheap at lunch. Not a temple of sushi, but for a rowdy basement near Herald Square? Way better than it needs to be. Full by 6pm sharp. Come at 5 for the sake deal or book on Resy, the phone voicemail is always full.

We came on a weekday evening around 7pm and there was a short line down the stairs to get on the…read morewaitlist. It only took about 20 minutes to get a table. The environment was loud like a buzzing bar. The service was attentive, bringing out dishes and cleaning up the table throughout. I liked the texture of the salmon tataki and the wasabi cream was well-incorporated. The kimchi cream udon was delicious. I was literally licking the sauce off the plate because the sauce was so good! The okonomiyaki came on a sizzling skillet. The flavor of the dish was perfectly savory and made for some great bites.

Snagged a 5:15pm dinner with a friend - heard s lot of great things so was excited to try it…read more immediately we were seated with the mini sampler tomatoes and yuzu fizz - this set the vibes right because it was so delicious! we ordered the pork noodles, corn, yellowtail, and pork katsu which were all incredibly delicious!! the sauce with the katsu was so juicy - came with salt and wasabi!!! the noodles were my fav - savory but the sweet chili sauce was banging. pork mixed well and noodles cooked perfectly 10/10 recommend would come back

Highly anticipated meal, been seeing this on social media forever. Definitely need a reservation…read moreahead of time. Great ambiance for small groups or a date. For food- - Corn ribs: has an addictive dry rub on it, perfect with the lime squeeze. - Sabazushi: probably tied for first place in our meal. Mackerel slightly pickled and charred, very tasty. - Pork loin: got this bc it's fattier than Tenderloin. Could really taste the breadcrumbs and had amazing texture. Portion is a bit small though. These were just okay: - Mazemen: a little sweet for my liking. - Chicken karaage: almost too juicy? Not crispy at all - Corn ice cream: very small hint of corn, mostly tastes of white chocolate. A lot more affordable than we expected. Their famous dishes are very good but others are just alright.

A neighborhood spot with great quality Japanese food. We tried the katsudon and the mazemen (from…read morethe summer menu). Katsudon was comforting and felt like a home cooked meal, and the cutlet was not dry. Mazemen noodles were a good chewy texture and very flavorful once mixed together. Service was friendly and relatively quick for a sit down. Will definitely be back to try other dishes here!

Super cute Japanese spot. We sat in the window booth, which was very cute. Ordered the gyudon,…read moresweet potato fries, and I can't remember the last dish but it was basically like meatballs. Sweet potato fries were good and came with a yuzu salt. Meatballs were ok, sort of boring and would pass in future. Gyudon was yummy. Would consider returning.

Vibe/ambiance: local japanese Service: standard…read moreReservation: recommended Items ordered: collagen nabe pot was so flavorful - would definitely get this again scallion chicken skewers: slightly too salty sushi rolls were standard

Great place all around!…read more The service was great, they recommended stuff and suggested a way to order for the amount of people/what we wanted. It had a real izakaya feel to it with the decors and the lighting. The restaurant goes deep!! It was bigger than I imagined. And the food of course was delicious. We had grilled squid, cabbage salad, nabe, and mackerel. Everything hit the spot. They also have different sauces that make the dining experience fun! I'm glad I went here with my friends.

Raku was amazing!!…read more The service was amazing thank you to our server Boomerang!! We had a lovely time with the most delicious food

10,000 years of evolution and we've finally reached peak udon noodle form. The height of human…read morecraft. Literally the silkiest, smoothest, chewy yet soft noodles I have ever eaten. Niku and gyunan were divine. In the niku, they somehow managed to make the tripe and beef tendon immensely flavorful and tender without being heavy-handed. The fatty beef in the gyunan was crack with the sesame chili oil. The bonito base soup was somehow savory and full-bodied while also being sweet and light, so even though I was about to burst it didn't feel icky. Nothing to note in appetizer land besides the fact that I finally tried monkfish liver and it literally tasted like a salmon-flavored paté. Both surprised and relieved it tasted so normal. Despite the long wait time, it still felt relatively spacious inside, and even with just two people, we got our own booth!

I was craving carbonara and it was after midnight. I almost gave up hope thinking nothing would be…read moreopen and my cravings wouldn't go unfulfilled. But at last, as I searched on DoorDash I stumbled upon this glorious restaurant they call Izakaya Fuku. I was drawn to the adorable names for their sushi roll dishes like "Strawberry Fields" and their Italian Japanese fusion pasta dishes, "Creamy Mentaiko Bacon Pasta" with creamy mayonnaise, spicy cod roe and bacon like are you kidding me? It's a bummer I wasn't more hunger or that I didn't have more bucks in my wallet because I wanted all these dishes. And the Chirashi Don, god it looks so beautiful the way that it's arranged in the photos online. I finally decided on the carbonara. And I was drawn to the fact that it was udon based. Now, I've just been living in hawaii these past years so that Japanese twist on an Italian dish that I just love oh so much really brought me back to missing the islands and the Asian spins they had on cuisines. Now my food may have not come in a jiffy but for after midnight cravings I'd say it was well worth the wait. And my oh my the portion was huge!!!! I slurped that big boy up. It was SOOO delicious and savory. I love comfort food and this had me in carbonara heaven. I loved indulging into every single last bite. By the looks of the picture the restaurant looks lovely, I'd love to stop there and try it in person. Thank you. Thank you! My belly and my heart are very much satisfied.

Late arrival from LGA airport and we were hungry as this restaurant is close to the key 74th…read moreRoosevelt subway station. Opened til late. Japan vibes for sure. Dark. Poppy music. Covers and unique mixes. Big menu. Too big in my opinion. We got the karrage and beef pichana steak to start. Karrage was def better of the 2. Black garlic ramen was excellent and also the carbonara udon. Ramen preferred over the udon if you had to pick . Also topped off with a Sapporo. Nice cold draft. Definitely a good late night spot. Decor fun. Service good. Food mostly hits over misses

After going to the Brooklyn location, I wanted to try the Manhattan location. We had a reservation…read moreat 4:00 PM, but arrived early at 3:30 PM. We only had to wait about 15 minutes before getting seated. They definitely get crowded though, so it's best to have a reservation! During "lunch" hours, the place is brightly light. Once "dinner" hours comes around, they set out candles on the tables and dim the lights for a different ambiance. The service was a bit off at first, since we waited a while to get our appetizers. This might have been due to the change in staff between lunch and dinner. The hostess noticed and checked on our appetizers, and got them right out. Afterwards, we had different waiter and he was very friendly and attentive. We did the Pick 3 appetizers: -Kyuri (cucumber): love the mix of flavors with the onions, vinegar and salt. The kyuri has a good bite to them -Kimchi Mushroom: the mushrooms also had a good bite to them. Not too spicy of a kimchi sauce, which I liked as it did bot overpower the mushrooms. -Shishito: I enjoyed the saltiness of the kelp with the char of the shishito. I went for the Tsukemen, which I loved at the Brooklyn location. This was just as good! The noodles had a good bite and the right thickness for the rich broth. I like the lemon on the side to help cut some of the richness. The egg is well marinated and perfectly jammy. The Hassaku Grapefruit Juice is a nice non alcoholic option. Very grapefruity and too sweet. We ended with the Tokyo Banana, which had a deliciously bruleed banana. They wrote Happy Birthday on the plate and had a little candle on the side. We only put it in the reservation, so it was nice of them to do. Overall, a great ramen spot to check out!

Kept hearing about this place and thank god we were able to get seating so soon while we were…read morehungry! I got the Spicy Tan Tan Ramen because I love to have spice in mine, but wish I was able to adjust the spice level. It was definitely super creamy, thick, and filling. The noodles were soft, yet still chewy. For those who were afraid of getting the Spicy Tan but still wanted the spice, they suggested getting Classic Tonkotsu and having chili oil on the side to put in. I really debated which one I liked more!

This is my go-to restaurant for katsu in the city. Any katsu set you get will not go wrong. The…read morecrispiness of the katsu is just right, and you will not regret it, besides not picking another one. When it gets busy, there is usually a line waiting at the door, sometimes extending outside. If you have a reservation, you will not be seated until the whole party is there. One small note: if you are seated in the back, the cell service is really bad, but who needs their phone when you have good company and good food.

Food: This is one of the few places in NYC that does a traditional Japanese tonkatsu very well;…read moreit's not as good as Japan, but it's still very good. This restaurant offers a variety of Japanese katsu including pork loin, pork tenderloin, curries, seafood, and donburis as well as many appetizers, drinks, and desserts. We tried the miso pork loin and the half pork/half chicken curry katsu. Both were delicious, and very enjoyable. The katsu is very crispy and well made; the meat inside is very moist. For every entree, you have the option of choosing set A (miso soup with pork and vegetable, potato salad, shredded cabbage) or set B (miso soup and shredded cabbage). There was nothing special about the vegetable and pork soup and potato salad so I would recommend set B. At every table, there are a variety of condiments - salad dressing for the cabbage, spice powder, tonkatsu sauce, and soy sauce. I would definitely come back here if I am craving katsu. Service: Service was phenomenal. The restaurant was packed and very busy, but our server was still very attentive and always available if we needed something. Very friendly! Ambiance: The restaurant is not big but can accommodate both large and small groups. Space is a bit tight, but the seating is still comfortable. They have counter seating as well as tables in the back. During peak dinner time, there was a little bit of a wait and a line near the door; the place is very popular. Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant if you are craving tonkatsu!

The skewers were extremely juicy and delicious. My favorites were the galbi (beef short rib) and…read morechicken thigh. The Japanese sausage and chicken skin were also good. The eel rice bowl was also very good. Walked in on a Friday (holiday) at 5 PM with no wait, despite no slots available on Resy at the time.

Still the best in New York. Unique, flavorful chicken skin skewers among many things (see my…read morephotos), though somehow grilled chicken soft bone is a bit tasteless? Fast service. You can order a little and keep adding depending on how big or small each dish is. We came right at 5 pm when they opened. We didn't have a reservation, and after some fumbling they got us four seats at the bar (looking over grilling chefs at work). Not bad, though we were hoping for a table. Great decor and ambiance as always. Wish the grilled shrimps come with shell on, and with salt only (no sauce).