Nikai Japanese Restaurant and Bar
“It's located on a the second floor of another lunch-y/grab and go type of place.”
“I have tried the tonkotsu ramen and the miso ramen (both of which can be made with either chicken or pork).”
“This is a small ramen operation located on the second floor of Treehaus.”
Nikai Japanese Restaurant and Bar
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
5 reviews
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I had the spicy mexican shio ramen, which had some jalapenos, pork, an egg, etc. It was just ok…'eh. The pork was too chewy and the noodles weren't like the usual ramen noodles-they were more thick and overall, the whole bowl was pretty flavorless. It needed some fatty and spicy soup to it!! Haha.
Came here at the recommendation of a co-worker. Ramen here is very good. The noodles have a quality chewy texture. However, the miso broth was a bit salty. Based on other yelp reviews, the prices have gone up. It costs $10 for a bowl of ramen these days. Certainly a very good choice for a chilly day. The miso ramen comes with a whole egg, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and one piece of meat. If you are very hungry that might not be sufficient and so you might consider paying $2-$3 for some extras. There is a bar area where you can sit and watch the guy make ramen or you can sit by a high bar stool table.
My only gripe is that you I was charged $12 for each bowl of ramen (I was here with a friend and we both got miso ramens). I didn't notice the incorrect charge when I signed the bill because the subtotal appeared correct. However, I went back to the restaurant later that day and spoke to Thomas, who is a manager at Tree Haus and he was receptive to the facts that I presented him. He refunded me the difference, which I greatly appreciated because such action upholds the integrity and quality of Tree Haus and Nikai. Thanks. Lesson here: look at your bill carefully.
Specs: located in the upstairs seating area of Tree Haus.
This place is in upstairs space of a busy corner lunch buffet place. I was able to get a seat at the bar and hoped to get some 'real' ramen (and service) than all the quick/take-out food they were selling downstairs.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. My $10 ramen came in a compostable bowl with a small plastic spoon (not for ramen), which was awkward to use for ramen. I didn't get water and waited 10 min for a simple check. They were completely shorthanded during lunch time when I was there, so this was OK. But ramen was meh, and eating ramen in a compostable bowl is something I never want to do again.
This is what I would call a "hidden gem" of ramen places. You might even miss it. It's located on a the second floor of another lunch-y/grab and go type of place. My friend and I came here for lunch on a Friday around 12:45pm. We were seated right away.
The lunch menu is pretty bare (there are maybe 4 noodle options) but I've never been one to want too many options. I went with the miso ramen with pork. Noodles fresh, broth hit the spot, and vegetables perfect. And get this, it was $9! Seriously you can't beat that.
I'll probably be back to try some of their other ramen dishes.
I was lucky enough to get comped lunch here to try out Chef Kotani's ramen! Yes, the Chef Kotani from Soba Totto! i was super psyched for the taste test.
VENUE 4/5
It's located conveniently above Treehaus. The decor is nice and simple — Japanese chic. In the main dining area, there was a man making soba noodles. Apparently, Nikai does demos quite often, so it's like a meal and a show. We were promptly seated; it was quite happening for such a recent opening. They had these really neat mini towelettes that expanded with water — and legitimate chopsticks that didn't require rubbing and breaking apart yourself. However, for a Japanese Restaurant and "Bar", as of yet, I see no bar…
SERVICE 4/5
It's a new place so I'm going to be a little lenient in terms of the review. The service was definitely not up to par when we went, but it was a new place. The girls are super sweet and try to accommodate all requests. (My waitress was kind enough to add tempura flakes into my Tonkotsu Ramen.) They did fumble a little in terms of getting the right order to the right person — in her defense, we were a party of 12. The kitchen was also rather sluggish in the time it took to get the order out. I am used to faster ramen… They mean well, so I'm sure they'll get more seasoned with time!
FOOD 4/5
It was pretty solid ramen, a very good amount. The consistency is pretty solid. It's thicker than Momofuku Ramen. The pork and egg and condiments added were good. (I was mostly impressed by that pork though, it was incredibly succulent and not greasy at all!) I did think there was a little too much red ginger, and next time, I may ask for less. But the ramen itself was solid. It wasn't too greesy and I downed it pretty quick. The pricing is also super tempting: lunch pricing of $9 and dinner pricing of $11! The cold ramen dish also looked very good and I'm tempted to go back to try it! The only downside: What killed me was that there were RAMEN CLUMPS in my ramen. NOT OKAY. That would have put it down to a 2/5 in my book normally. But no one else in my party had the problem, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. It's super affordable. And I would give it 5/5, if it weren't for the clumping!
Lying at a solid 4/5 for me, mostly due to the clumping. But if anyone asked me to recommend an alternative to the holy triad of ramen in the city [1]. I'd definitely recommend this place! Better than usual sit-in Japanese ramen shops and no wait and super affordable! I'll be back though for that Cold Hiyashi Chuka in a few weeks. I'm sure my experience would be completely different! 🙂
[1] This is coming from someone who's really snooty about her ramen and dislikes both Ippudo and Momofuku (overpriced and way too greasy and what's with that horrid broth they have?). I usually go to Totto Ramen (solid broth, eh everything else) or cocoron (for dipping soba) or Onya (for udon) and those places get maybe a solid 4.5 stars from me.