Yuji Ramen

Yuji is currently at the Brooklyn Flea at the Fort Greene location. Go now before the winter’s over! delicious-​ness. Will write a proper review on the Brooklyn Flea page.

save your money. Go somewhere else.
I’ve had better ramen elsewhere. It’s expensive for what it is.

I was sad when their Pop-​Up restaurant closed, but thrilled now they have a permanent place for me to go and satiate my cravings! Innovative & excellent «Mazemen» Ramen!
If you’re expecting ramen with broth, this place is not for you. More like noodles/​pasta with sauce. I highly recommend his Ramen w/​Uni! A dish I will go out of my way for… Also recommend his Ramen Carbonara — divine!

Sadly, Yuji is no longer at Kinfolk. I believe they are at Smorg on the wknds. Good, tho very simple, mazeman. Delicious buns! Four stars for the quality of the food and the joy of having a simple, inexpensive dinner at a great bar. Looking forward to a permanent location and more variety.

Nice addition to the neighborhood. Some of you who claim themselves ramen snobs might be disappointed because you probably would not think it’s really a ramen. I’m japanese and I wasn’t particularly convinced that was ramen. Yes it was good, but it was something else. I would expect to encounter this kind of dish in Cleveland or something. very American take on style but made by Japanese.
Again, it was good. besides the pork belly buns were yummy too.
One thing is though they need an AC in that space.
No Ramen serving on Sundays, watch out.

Food sounds interesting on the menu but failed to deliver on taste. The kimchi pork buns were a disappointment, especially in comparison to the pork buns at ippudo. The uni and spicy tuna ramen was bland and left me feeling unsatisfied. I can’t say this place is and by any means bad but I won’t be running back.

The ramen (called mazemen: ramen without any broth) was… very modest. Yes there was some conscious attention to flavor profiles, but modest is still the best way I can describe it: The plates were small and messy and it seemed like potentially good food had much of the intrigue and soul pulled out of it.
I got the uni, which was very rich. My tongue appreciated the lemon zest sprinkled on top (more would’ve been better). The bf had the spicy tuna, which had a chunk of tuna (somewhat dry) perched on top. I don’t know where these photos of pretty plates are coming from, but the presentation on both of our bowls was lacking. Both had a tangle of scallion shavings curled lovingly over all, but aside from that, there were only noodles, dumped messily in the bowl, smearing the sides and all.
I also had high expectations for my cocktail (cucumber mint margarita, $ 10), but it just tasted like a medicore mojito. On the plus side, they do carry Asahi Black (bottles), which is like the happier, chocolatey-​er cousin of Guinness.
The service is friendly. They’re only open Thurs-​Sat as a ramen shop, and as some other restaurant the rest of the week The rest of the space is also a bar and a café with exactly the aesthetic you’d expect from any Williamsburg joint (the words «art collective» should be telling).
An interesting place to visit, but not for the food.

Yuji is a fucking god. Not a huge ramen fan, but his are exquisite. The guy really takes his ramen and his customers seriously and is always coming out of the kitchen to make sure everyone is satisfied.
Favs: spicy tuna ramen and shiitake buns.
He also has different ramen noodles to go with the different seasons. Who doesn’t love that?!

Scott and I have hit up most of the big-​name ramen joints in in the city, but the dream lives on. Although, calling what Yuji serves ramen, and the space it’s located in a noodle joint of any sort, would be inaccurate.
Yuji is housed in Kinfolk Studios, an artist collective complete with a coffee bar and real bar, Thursday through Saturday for dinner from 7pm-​12am. Scott, who lives nearby, mentioned that a Nordic restaurant occupies the space the rest of the week. The dining space, located in the back, has a very casual feel, so sit back, order a drink — preferably the Asahi black, and definitely not the nut roll beer — and enjoy your dinner.
Yuji’s menu is pretty compact; three of us managed to get through most of it on our first go-​round. The black sea bass sashimi was alright, but the fish wasn’t great for sashimi. The seared tuna belly, which was served over some thin mushrooms, was similarly not special. The pork belly and kimchi buns were definitely a mistake: the pork belly was served cold! I’m used to kimchi being served cold, but pork? Fail.
For the main course we ordered three out of the four mazemen options: bacon and egg, spicy scallop, and uni and miso. As has been mentioned up and down these reviews, mazemen is ramen noodles without any broth. While the noodles were cooked very well (al dente), they were just plain noodles — without a broth or sauce to give them flavor I couldn’t help but ponder an existentialist proposition about the meaning of the noodle. The toppings tasted good — however, trying to break apart a bacon strip with chopsticks = awkward — but they were so minimalist compared to the mazemen that 75%-80% of the mouthfuls we had consisted solely of noodles.
The mazemen portions are on the smaller side, but the prices, at $ 7-​$ 10, took this into account.
I’m torn between giving Yuji two or three stars. There was nothing bad about any of the food we ate and it’s not overpriced, so I can’t justify giving it two stars, but I’m not possessed of any desire to go back. However, I’m kind of tough with my reviews, so take my three stars as you will.

I like the idea of mazemen but just because it is a new culinary idea doesn’t mean you have to make it so fancy. The noodles are indeed very good and the toppings are great. But everything is so small, so carefully plated, that I wonder if it’s not about the food but the presentation.
What I want the most is the authentic experience transmitted as literally as possible to our table. I am willing to pay to make this happen, so it’s not about the price.
If a Japanese dude pulling up to the noodle shop for a quick lunch would like it, that is what I am looking for. I cannot fathom the dishes here appealing to the Japanese everyman so I cannot recommend this place with any degree of confidence, but I have to concede that if you’re a hipster, the presentation here may be the difference between the staff getting or losing a customer. By all means, go ahead, but don’t expect me to come back…

I wanted to love Yuji Ramen, but there was something missing. The good news is that there is room for improvement. The bad news is that there is room for improvement.
First off, the name is misleading. There is no ramen to be had here, only mazemen (think of ramen without the broth). The atmosphere is fun at this gallery/​bar/​nordic restaurant/​mazemen joint. We went to the bar for a drink while waiting for a table. Once we sat down, we went for pork and kimchi buns. These were definitely tasty, but the meat (and kimchi) was cold, which was a bit off-​putting. Next up we got the black bass sashimi and seared tuna belly. The sashimi was good, but I feel like the preparations were backwards. Black bass is better cooked and the tuna belly would have been better raw. The tuna belly was over-​cooked for my liking, and the plate overall was nothing special. Next up was the mazemen: we went for the uni, bacon/​egg, and spicy scallop varieties. All were good: noodles cooked well, and the flavors all worked together. However, it felt like all were the exact same dish with a different topping. I would have preferred some sort of coating/​sauce to differentiate each.
In the end, everything was good, the service was fine, and if I am walking by late one weekend night, I might stop in. But, I am not rushing to go back for the food.

I know it from timeout and come to try out the new fusion ramen. This place is kind of hard to find, it’s present in a decent bar, right next to a gallery I think. When we got here, no one bring us to a seat since it is newly launched. The ordering is disrupted between the bar and the kitchen. All you have to do is come to the bartender and tell them what you want. I can tell they mess up the orders and pretty much it is because they don’t have a separated ordering system. Back to the point, the ramen is pretty impressively done by chef Yuji. I had a bacon and egg which was recommended by Yuji. The noodle comes with two pieces of bacon and a soft boils egg. I love the idea that he put the minced perilla leave in the noodle, it is really refreshing. The bacon should be minced as well in my opinion. That way is taste from the bacon would be well mixed with the noodle and the sauce. Another thing I had is a pork bun. It comes with kimchi and a pork. The kimchi pretty much cover all the flavor of the bun which I don’t like it this way. Overall, it a good ramen. I expect a new individual place for their ramen.

Located in an inconspicuous spot in Williamsburg adjacent to the East River, this pop up shop resides within a bar and boasts brothless ramen, fresh sashimi and buns. Placing your order is a bit confusing if you’re a first timer. Find a seat, grab a menu, order drinks and food with the bartender and receive a number. Once your food is ready, a waitress comes out to serve you your food. The chef sporadically comes out to greet his customers and scurries back into the kitchen.
You’ll have to wait a good amount of time for the food so be sure to grab a few beers and chat it up with your date/​friend/​mom/​pop/​hipster.
Now for the mazeman! We ordered the bacon and uni noodles. The dishes both reminded me of fancy lo mein. The noodles were cooked perfectly but after a few bites I was left unsatisfied. My love for ramen stems from both the broth AND the noodles. I can see this becoming a food trend in the city however I miss the broth too much to eat this frequently. They also put way too much shiso in the bacon noodles and penultimately that’s all I tasted. The bacon pieces were the best part of the dish.
The spicy pork buns came out with pulled pork and kimchi. To be blunt, these were very lackluster compared to Momofuku or Ippudo. The pork didn’t have much flavor and the kimchi was too ripe aka old.
The sashimi was the best part of the meal. I don’t typically like Mackerel because it’s so fishy but these pieces were very fresh and sparingly dressed with yuzu sauce. You only receive a few pieces so be sure you appreciate each bite.
Would I come back? No, but I’d definitely recommend others to give it a try. They accept CC and are only open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

We came here after an early dinner to try the mazemen. This place was definitely hard to find since it is tucked at the back of the Kinfolk Studios. We only tried the spicy scallop ramen and the ramen was definitely interested. it did not taste like ramen, but more like Italian pasta, but it was delicious. No wonder Yuji sources to Marea!

These might be some of the best sub-​$ 10 dishes in nyc. I’m by no means a ramen expert but the mazeman on offer at Yuji was flat-​out delicious. I went for the uni and my date chose the bacon and egg, both outstanding and starkly different from one another. We also split an order of pork buns and agreed that they are top-​notch. These are definitely not as sweet or as sauce-​saturated as many, but they aren’t lacking for flavor and the bun texture is spot-​on. As noted the prices are very reasonable for the quality of fare. If you’re looking to shamelessly stuff your face, however, I would recommend either ordering a bunch of dishes or going elsewhere.
As a pop-​up it’s hard to really review it as a full restaurant but I will say that the service was very friendly if slightly unorganized. I’m confident that they will improve the system going forward. There was a slight mix-​up resulting in a delay but they graciously offered a sashimi dish on the house.
I’d never been to Kinfolk’s bar before but if you’re here you should definitely grab one of the house cocktails to go with your meal… fresh, expertly prepared, and not that pricy. I had no clue what to expect from such an achingly hip bar but it was a pleasant surprise that they’re dead serious about their drinks.
All told, if (when) the chef ever opens a full restaurant here I want to be there opening night.

As a disclaimer, I’m buddies with one of the proprietors, so it’s hard to be completely objective.
As for the Yuji Ramen, I’ve only tried the food here on the later tip. I definitely enjoyed the flavors; authentic and a perfect complement to an alcohol-​induced munchie session. The crowd can be a bit young and high falootin at times, but the décor of the place is beautiful and the vibe is otherwise friendly with attentive service.

Few things I’ve noticed in the past year or so; there are more japanese ramen places, and the quailty of ramen stretched more for the worst.
Located in a more remote part of Williamsburg with an exterior of a garage, the noodle «bar» is hidden inside Kinfolk Studios. Having been there during off hours I can’t attest to the crowd. But so far I see a small location with possibility of an intimate location (but can change soon)
This is the 1^st location in NY serving mazemen a.k.a brothless ramen. But regardless, this place had to have the best quality ramen in the city. It is as al dente as it gets with some very clean sauces. Feels very much like japanese pasta.
I’m not going to lie, the proportion is small. This is the same price as other noodles in the city but like half the amount. But what it lacks in quantity and makes up in quality (in spades) You will leave wanting another bowl
All I can say is run to this place while you can. I see this place becoming very popular very soon or the chef decides to venture out to st marks or other parts in the city.
(one side note: the service was very slow in my visit. The bartender was the only one taking orders and must be new: looking at a recipe to mix cocktails gave it away. Otherwise this might have been a 5 star.)

The spanish mackerel sashimi was 7 dollas of pure delight. Simple, subtle, super fresh. Loved the scallops and the black bass as well, all top notch.
The Bacon and soft-​boiled egg Mazemen (similar to ramen minus the broth) is also incredible. Priced affordably and really well executed. And the buns are great too.
The reason I love this place is simple, you can tell that Yuji (the chef) really cares. Whether in the presentation, the flavors, ingredients, or simply his personality in welcoming a guest… he really cares and it shows. I’m stoked on Yuji Ramen, and excited to come here more often.
By the way, they’re only open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Again… simple, subtle, super fresh ingredients, and an amazing chef. Love this place.
New note — I did recently have the summer crab mazemen, and felt like it was a very meager serving (2 – 3 flakes) for $ 12. Still dig this place though, everyone has an occasional fail.