Minca
“I dont understand why you losers go wait for 1-2 hours at Totto and Ippudo when Minca kicks ass.”
“Small and out of the way ramen joint tucked away in the outskirts of the East village/Alphabet City.”
“the pork belly melts in your mouth, the broth is thick and flavorful, the noodles perfectly cooked al dente.”
Minca
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Got the wahoo sio today. Been here a couple of times already. Consistently pretty good. Not the best ramen I've ever had (still rate Mu Ramen in queens the best, but it's a nice go to spot if you are looking for something that is consistently pretty good. Small spot in the LES, but pretty well known. The wahoo sio was flavorful enough for me.
Minca would be choice #3 if I had to pick ramen in NYC but it was still good.
Very tight inside, limited seating. Service was good.
There menu is set up differently then most ramen places.
Pork Broth Basic – $11.50 – Pork is basically a tonkotsu broth, good pork flavor with that fatty cloudy bone broth. Charshu was cooked really well and tender. I love that they include egg with the bowl unlike other places that charge for it.
It's actually delicious. As others have noted, the quality of the ramen is top notch, sans the long wait and stupid prices. The restaurant itself is tiny, but they produce some good stuff. Their pot stickers and raw radish salad were deeply satisfying.
The three bowls we had were all quite good in their own ways. Service and ambiance were as expected. I would only mention that I came away slightly ill for the next couple of days. If I had to bet I would say the raw cabbage in my ramen did something to me. I can't be sure, but just noting that (no one else in my group had any issues and they actually did sample my dish)…
All-in-all, we'll try it again if we're in the neighborhood…
Minca should get more attention from the press! We love the broth in our ramen and this place uses wavy noodles(which is used in most ramen in Japan) ! Plenty of noodles but I wish they give more sides/toppings. Don't wait in line at ippudo, come to minca !!
Authentic and cheap.
I got their classic Shio Ramen. $10.50 Very very good price. (cheapest in the area)
-The Broth is ON POINT. Unlike Nakamura (good but not enough flavor) and Ippudo (just plain awful), it's bursting with flavor without being overly salted.
-Toppings come with it! Bamboo, seaweed, and scalions were a delightlful texture contrast.
-The pork was good. Totto still does its pork best, but Minca is a solid #2.
-Noodles were just too heavy. Texture never really softened. Felt very bloated afterwards, I wished I had only eaten half. Still, because everything else was on point, I will go back and perhaps try another noodle option. (They carry three different types of house made noodles)
-Environment is no fluff, but still has that LES charm. Exposed brick, wood furniture, soft lighting, etc. I was relaxed, but still felt I was in an authentic Japanese kitchen. Perfect.
**Note: Cash only.
Minca is a small ramen place, so I suspect there may be a wait usually. When I went, there was no wait for a party of 3. The interior reminds me a lot of restaurants in Asia — very minimalist, not much seating, and a lot of fans running.
The ramen is actually really good here! The price is much cheaper than Ippudo, and they give you a lot of toppings. When I was here, I got the Chicken Broth Wahoo. The broth was distinctly chicken, and I paired it with the wheat noodles, which were chewy and a nice texture. The extra noodles here are $1 for both a full portion and a half portion! A great deal if you're hungrier or eat a lot.
Overall great place to get ramen and a nice alternative to Ippudo if you don't like long lines and like cheaper prices.
Minca is a no-frills yet solid ramen spot. It's also cash only but it's cheaper than most well known ramen shops in NYC. I like the classic shoyu ramen. I do wish they served cold ramen in the summer though.
Really small space but quality ramen. When we went there was also no AC running 🙁 but they did a good job of having a lot of fans running so we actually didn't feel the heat of summer so much!
I got the minca sio (#2) which was really yummy. There's definitely a roasted garlic flavor that's strong in the broth. Their noodles were great! I got the thin ones and they're perfectly al dente.
I tried my sister's Minca (#1) and it was more of a classic miso broth. She said it got a little too salty to be consistently drinking the broth from.
Service is great. The waitresses are nice and polite and the food came out surprisingly fast too!! Location wise it a little out of the way. We had to walk 15 min from Astor pl but we didn't have to wait to get seated so it was worth it !