Momofuku Noodle Bar

All 99 rated mentions, most helpful first

  • replying to u/thats-gold-jerry: * Cafe China (Szechuan) * Scarr’s Pizza * Superiority Burger (vegan/vegetarian) * Emmet’s on Grove (Tavern style pizza) * Soothr (Thai) * Rolo’s (American) * Grand Street Pizza * Fini Pizza * Momofuku Noodle Bar (fusion) * Saigon Social (Vietnamese) * Taqueria Ramirez (Mexican) * Tompkins Square Bagels * Yellow Rose (Tex Mex) * Union Square Cafe (New American)

    Momofuku Noodle Bar has got to be one of the worst ramen spots in the city. Extremely average quality ramen in a cramped environment where they're rushing you out the door before you've even sat down.

    H3

  • My mom’s soup had a piece of plastic in it because I believe that’s how he poaches his eggs. He barely looked at us, grabbed the bowl and replaced with a new one a few minutes later. Terrible bedside manner.

    H3

  • replying to u/PMPOSITIVITY: If you go to Momofuku noodle bar you gotta order the smoked pork ramen IMO, no other dish is quite like it. There was a point where I was eating it every single week😅

    it was toooo fatty for me. The pork itself has a lot of fat so matching that with a greasy broth didn’t work for me.

    H3

  • replying to u/No_Housing9113: Thanks for your recommendations! Momofuku is off the table and I'll look into the other places.

    Noodle bar still makes the best pork belly bun in NYC, certainly not the most cost effective, but I've not had one that matches it yet. While I think their ramen is a hard pass, just about everything else they do is great (cold spicy noodles!!!)

    H3

  • Vietnamese iced coffee soft serve rules, also love the cheesecake flavor.

    H2

  • Noodle Bar has some great dishes but their ramen has always been one of their weakest offerings. Not sure what the menu looks like today, but the buns and ginger scallion noodles to be very good.

    H2

  • Momofuku Noodle Bar offers kids ramen with just noodles and broth. My kids always love their soft serve, too.

    H2

  • replying to u/CrazyinLull: Momofuku was one of the few Asian owned restaurants to was already widely popular and that’s because David Chang is a master of towing that line of exotic and bland for a majority of White Americans and some other American born Americans. It’s very ‘safe’ to eat all while still being ‘exotic’ which makes a some people feel like they are adventurous for trying this food, but not too jolting of an experience for those not used to having food that has very bold and complex flavors. Even when he scouted out the pastry chef it’s because their desserts toe the line of not having too much of an exciting or any bold flavors which makes it safe to eat, but when you couple that with a hint of nostalgia, such as the ‘cereal milk ice cream’ a good portion of the population goes really hard for that. The cereal milk tasted like plain ass ice cream with a slight hint of nostalgia and the ‘crack pie’ always left a LOT to be desired. The Milk Bar has improved a bit over the years, but generally it’s never and still not worth that price tag. It’s quite a genius tactic on Chang’s part.

    Noodle bar has the worst ramen in the city

    H2

  • the noodles were so soft. So disappointing for a “noodle bar”. I thought I’d give it a chance since I see David Chang on so many things but I was really disappointed.

    H2

  • replying to u/wash_: I worked there for years, it makes me sad the place is pretty good when I started. But now? All of their noodles are an overcooked mess. Every dish put on the menu is born out of having the lowest food cost possible. I remember when we did things that just didn’t even make sense to put on the menu because the labor was a nightmare.

    i went maybe a year ago and wow things had changed. seemed like everyone working there could care less, felt very depressing tbh.

    H2

  • I know there's definitely far better ramen to be had nowadays, but it's also a weird nostalgic feeling going here today- just because it was so big and influential in a different era of food for NYC. Not that it necessarily dropped off, people just moved on from it.

    H2

  • replying to u/niiro117: Nice list, but Momofuku Noodle Bar has got to be one of the worst ramen spots in the city. Extremely average quality ramen in a cramped environment where they're rushing you out the door before you've even sat down.

    Their broth is also overly salted, and that's coming from someone who's favorite ramen style is Shio (salt).

    H2

  • replying to u/MrCakemeat: Great report! Honestly agree with most of your takes - only things I’d note are: -Milk Bar Cereal Milk ice cream is great but close to 100% of everything else they sell is overhyped and cloyingly sweet. Damn shame too - they used to be absolutely amazing, when they actually were a bakery selling still-warm cookies made on site instead of the prepackaged factory they’ve become. -Inversely, Noodle Bar has some great dishes but their ramen has always been one of their weakest offerings. Not sure what the menu looks like today, but the buns and ginger scallion noodles to be very good.

    Agree on Noodle Bar; the noodles have never been that interesting to me, but you can make a really nice meal out of all the starter and bun options.

    H2

  • It's all too expensive, and I dislike their ramen (though cold noodles are great), but they're still be best gua bao I've had

    H2

  • The food is amazing, you skip the wait which can be pretty long for larger walk-in parties, and you can watch how they run their kitchen - they have this whole system with jargon which you can pick up if you pay attention.

    H2

  • The buns are definitely the way to go at Noodle Bar. I'd also recommend the fried chicken if you're going with a group.

    H2

  • Momofuku Noodle Bar - their gua bao are still my favorites. Terrible price/performance, but it's some fucking tasty pork belly.

    H2

  • replying to u/omakase_me_pls: Chilled Spicy Noodles from Momofuku Noodle Bar at Columbus Circle. Imagine a very dry dan dan noodle dish with 2 large handfuls of candied nuts sitting at the bottom.

    I had that too and hated it! Same location, same dish. The one I had also had undercooked ground pork

    H2

  • you gotta order the smoked pork ramen IMO, no other dish is quite like it. There was a point where I was eating it every single week😅

    H2

  • replying to u/AvatarofBro: The buns are definitely the way to go at Noodle Bar. I'd also recommend the fried chicken if you're going with a group.

    Oh yes they were the best. In my original comments, I wrote that I don’t even normally like pork belly but I think I just haven’t had really good tender pork belly before

    H2

  • Ippudo, momofuku noodle, Minca or Ivan Ramen for ramen

    H2

  • You could also go the total opposite direction and lean into a good food casual vibe at Momofuku Noodle Bar for dinner (get the truffle ramen, it’s total luxury without pretension)

    H2

  • I wasn’t particularly impressed. But if this isn’t the case for you, you should definitely try it. It’s good, sure! Just... you know

    H1