Menya Sandaime

Their gyoja is great! Make sure you get that with your ramen. The black ramen is a little bit oily for me, so I always get the karakuchi ramen (spicy ramen) or the miso ramen. Those are very good.

I can say this is one of the best ramen places in New Jersey. The restaurant is tiny but comfortable. Black ramen is my favorite. Don’t forget to order their dumpling. Their dumpling is extremely excellent. One more thing I do like is their background music; they always the 80s popular JPOP. Highly recommend if you want to have a ramen in North Jersey.

Good place for a taste of ramen. There have been quite a few places near by offering ramen, but this one is my favorite. I ordered the spicy miso ramen, which is not on the menu. It tasted perfect, with rich broth & a decent amount of spicy

Menya Sandaime is one of the best hidden secrets of Fort Lee — ramen taste insanely good but never too crowded that you have to wait hours for (30-​min, sometimes expected, is reasonable for ramen-​waiting). A little history of the place: actually first opened in Korea, they are few-​generation old and they definitely know how to make a good ramen. My favorite is the Tonkatsu Ramen, their signature offering. The pork-​bone broth is rich in favor, but is neither salty nor greasy — thanks to the No-​MSG rule. The noodle is on the harder side and has a bite to it. Finally, i’m a pretty one-​dimensional guy (perhaps speaking on behalf of most guys) when comes to meat. The two fatty pieces of Tonkatsu definitely satisfy my requirement for size.
For the price and taste, Menya Sandaime is quite unbeatable. Best of all, it is right in my backyard. That’s right, no need to cross the GW to get a truly authentic Ramen experience.

This is by far hands down one of the best ramen places I have ever been. Driving about an hour or so to come here was worth the gas money and time spent. Menya Sandaime gave me an experience of eating Ramen that I have only had when I was in Asia. My girlfriend and I waited about 30 minutes because the place was so busy (but once again the wait was worth). We sat at the bar which was right in front of the chefs that were cooking the Ramen right in front of us.
I ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen while my girlfriend ordered the Shoyu Ramen. Both were flavorful but felt that Tonkatsu was stronger and richer with flavor. I also got a Gyudon which was very delicious but sadly was only a small bowl. The more unique aspects of the Ramen was the pork. The two slices or pork were one of the most tasty and savory pork slices that I have ever had with Ramen. I cannot wait for my next visit!
~ Stanley

Oh my Menya! This place is a true gem for specialized variations of Japanese ramen. I went with a friend and ordered the gyoza + tonkatsu ramen, which were both priced reasonably and absolutely delicious.
My sensory experience was on a whole different level. The pork melted in my mouth like butter. The noodles were the perfect texture, and they gave a hefty portion.
The broth was so flavorful and soothing. The best part is, I didn’t feel gross after consuming the food. It’s not overly greasy, but still packed with tons of flavor.
The only issue is parking and seating. It’s a quaint, small space, so expect a wait on busier days, and try to find street parking if possible. It’s hard to pull out of their back lot as it’s super narrow!

Easily Fort Lee’s best ramen option. For anyone wondering, soups and broths contain no MSG at Menya. Noodles made fresh daily.
Black Ramen is a go to staple (order SPICY), as are the Gyoza. Contrary to the name, black ramen does not mean the color is black. It’s a blend of Donkochu and seafood broths. Tonkatsu broth is very flavorful, perfect consistency.

I went here for lunch on Friday hoping to be able to eat good ramen (heard awesome reviews). There were about 4 people waiting when I arrived around at 12pm. Cozy, very thoughtfully decorated place had about 12 – 15 seats.
When I got seated at the bar, I immediately ordered Mini Gyu Don + Tonkotsu ($ 5 + $ 8.50 reasonable price) The first thing that caught my attention was their customized bowls — They were nice and unique
Second was one of the cooks had a sleeveless tank top on and kept touching his head (towel) in the kitchen –1 Star
Tonkotsu was decent, the broth reminded me better version of Sapporo Ichiban Package Ramen but their Noodle was Excellent — Probably the best ramen noodle I’ve tried in NY/​NJ. They make their own fresh noodles here. The Mini Gyu Don was too small, they use packaged sukiyaki beef but I enjoyed it

Karachi ramen is very good.
Broth is on the spicier side but it warms up to your palette (not over whelming).
Good portion.
The only thing that can be improved is the texture of the pork.
Been to places where the pork just melts in your mouth but the pork here isn’t quite there yet.

This is my go to spot when I’m craving a hot, piping bowl of ramen with extra chashu & gyoza!
Seriously, there is nothing bad I can say about the food here. You can see the ramen machine churning out freshly made noodles, and the cooks charring the chashu with a magic torch. Its practically a ramen symphony; you can literally see all the components of your meal coming together. Mad respect. The gyoza is also in a league of its own, with perfectly crisped skin and juicy, savory filling.
What would make Menya over the top is if they added spicy miso ramen to the menu!
Honestly its a 5 star experience but a few weekends ago, we waited about 20 mins and were seated in this creepy back room that I had never been in. It looked to be their office, as I could see file cabinets and bulletin boards and such. They had put in 2 tables there to serve more customers. I’m sure some ppl don’t mind, but my friends and I were straight up weirded the fuck out.
Def returning again and again but will refuse to sit in the office next time :)

I’ve died and gone to Ramen Heaven — YAASSSS!!! This little place right before the GWB had THE… BEST…RAMEN that I’ve eaten so far. SO well worth the 45mins drive.
First: parking bare minimum. We wound up parking on side street around the corner but short distance. The place is SMALL — maybe seats less than 20 in the main area but we actually sat in what I think was their ‘break room’ in the back separate from everyone. Was weird but this seemingly ‘divey’ place was already full with people waiting their turn.
We arrived around 6p and there were about three groups already waiting. We waited about 15mins before being seated. What was nice was that the greeter took our order while we were still waiting in the fore room. After we sat down in the back room, our first foods arrived in less than five minutes! Boo yah!
I ordered the Karakuchi (spicy!) which was good God DELISH. I ordered extra spinach and soft boiled eggs. Broth was not overly salty. What a superbly perfect marriage of flavor and palate. SCORRRRRE!!! Others in our party ordered the traditional Tonkatsu with extra noodles, the Gyoza and my DD had the mini Butadon. All five star eats.
They make their own Ramen noodles unlike other larger placed that order in bulk (yet still fresh). Ramen is meant to be eaten fresh therefore no take-​home orders. The place processes guests quickly all the while servers were all polite, humble and efficient.
Double thumbs! A must visit for anyone! I’ll be back!!!

I’m going to give this place four stars because it’s possibly the best ramen in the area. (I have yet to try the ramen spot in Mitsuwa) With that said, this is the ramen I’ve ever had in NJ.
Being as though we are so close to NYC, it’s always difficult to compare any Jersey location and its food to NYC. However, this location does have one thing going for it and it’s their homemade noodles. Many ramen places use packaged noodles and it seriously, no mater how good the broth and ingredients are, hurt the dish. Menya has this down packed! The broth for their miso is on point and of course their noodles make it ten times better. Their gyoza tends to be on the greasy side so I stopped purchasing these. If you’re not in the mood for soup though, their rice bowls are a delicious alternative. Small venue with barely any parking but worth your time if you’re in the mood for ramen in this area.

From the outside, the place looks like a regular restaurant but the inside is like a little restaurant transported from Tokyo. The music, the décor, the staff and the food is so authentic!
The broth of the ramen is rich and full of flavor! Watch out for the spicy ramen– it’s not Americanized «mild» version!
The dumplings are another must have dish!
Bön appetite!

Best ramen noodles in NJ period. I love their distinct taste and texture, and you get SO much bang for your buck! Get extra noodles, and eggs. You will not be disappointed!

holy ramen balls… this place is good. I had this place bookmarked for over a year and finalllllllly had it. It did not disappoint. The restaurant itself is rather small and the menu is the same, which I like. nice and simple. I ordered the karakuchi ramen for $ 9.50, not a bad deal. It was the only one on the menu that said it was spicy and I was craving a nice hot, spicy ramen. It hit the spot just right. Not too spicy, the pork was super soft, I didn’t expect that. It was exactly what I needed.
The only problem I have is that it’s a bit small and didn’t fill me up completely, but I eat a lot so I have that problem a lot… –_​– other than that, service was good, food was great, and it’s all in a good price point. Coming back soon to try the entire menu.

Their Karakuchi ramen is delish! 4.5 stars for food, 5 stars for service
Couple things to note:
— All ramen come with 2 slices of pork
— Getting extra pork for $ 3 is a very good deal if you’re VERY hungry because they give you a lot more pork (3 – 5 pieces I forget exactly and they’re huge)
— The bowls are huge so don’t overestimate how much you can eat! I thought I wouldn’t be full from one bowl without add ons but I was wrong — there’s a lot of food
— The broth is so good, maybe just a tad on the saltier side but still hits the spot.
The waitresses are so nice and courteous. I thought I only got 1 piece of pork instead of the 2 that was supposed to come with my ramen so I told the waitress and she apologized and gave me another piece! When I was almost done with my ramen, I realized the second one was all the way on the bottom of the bowl. oops. honest mistake! really!!! :(but nobody will believe me.
Food and water come out pretty fast.
Cheap too! $ 9 – 11 for a bowl compared to in NYC it’s more like $ 15 – 18

I was really looking forward to checking this place out. I thought it didn’t open until 11:30am on a Saturday but we got there before then and people were already happily eating. The very small restaurant quickly filled up while we were there.
I had the miso ramen. It came with a whole bunch of veggies like bean sprouts which I personally enjoyed. I was disappointed that the noodles felt a little over cooked. Maybe they cooked while I was getting through my veggies. I also thought the broth was a bit on the greasier side compared to other ramen places.
The service, however, was beyond attentive and efficient. There is a parking lot behind the restaurant but it’s very tight and a bit tricky to exit so try to park elsewhere if possible.

No words can describe how much I love this place !!! Great ambiance and amazingly authentic ramen, what else can you ask for? To be honest, I tried a bunch of popular ramen places in NYC and none of them quite impressed me — now I know why, fresh ramen makes the difference.
I had Karakuchi for the first time — apparently it is very popular in Tokyo. The noodles were cooked to perfection, soft but not mushy. Pork broth was very rich and flavorful. The fact that the noodles and both were separate making the dish taste superior over normal ramen as your noodles would never become mushy for sitting in hot broth for long. Enjoy !

I appreciate the fact that the ramen noodle is made in house. There is a small room in front of the restaurant with the ramen noodle machine. I think that it was a nice touch to let customers see where the noodle come from.
We ordered the Karakuchi, Miso and Gyoza. The service is rather fast however the broth was rather disappointing.
Karakuchi was spicy and surprisingly that’s all you taste. The broth was bland and no umami or richness coming from the broth. The pork belly was nicely done and add nice touch for the presentation.
As for the miso, it has a little bit more flavor but still not enough flavor for a bowl of ramen. There is a bunch of sautéed veggies, half of soft boiled egg and presentation wise it was rather sloppy.
Gyoza came late, although we asked the server for the gyoza to come out as appetizer, but whatever no big deal.
What’s even a bigger deal is the noodle needs to be more chewier. The only good thing that it was very affordable for bergen county area.

I have been to 2 Japanese ramen houses in Fort Lee, and I have to say this spot definitely has more of an authentic Japanese ramen house feel to it as you can see in Japan with its very limited seating capacity. Staffs were very friendly, too. However, broth was a bit salty on 2 occasions when I visited and the lack of parking space was a big turn down for me. I parked across the streets down by the small park where the meters are in case you were wondering where everyone was parking their cars.
It wasn’t bad though. Next time I should pour in a bit of hot water to dilute the sodium just a bit and it will be much better.
This place did not live up to its Unilocal reviews. I will update my rating on my next visit if it ever happens. They only have a few items on the menu so it’s a matter of time before I try all of their offerings. I would give this spot a 3.5 for now. Or 3 than 4.