With an empire of fast ramen shops in Aisa, this Brooklyn location is a great combination of classic Japanese ideas and American tastes.

Ichiran Ramen is a Japanese ramen company that is known for freshly made noodles, expert tonkatsu both and some very interesting environments for eating them in. With over 60 locations in Japan and Hong Kong, this is their first US outpost, and while Bushwick might seem like an odd choice for a stepping off point, it's also housed next to their production facility meaning you'll be getting the freshest food possible. 

The dining area is separated into two very distinct spaces: one, a traditional dining room with tables for groups with red lanterns and a bustling atmosphere. The other is essentially a hallway with single person booths designed to remove any distractions so you can really focus on the food in front of you. While seated in this section, diners don't have any actual contact with the servers or other guests, with orders written down and food delivered via a retractable screen, only allowing you a brief glimpse of the servers hands. 

The base ramen is a hearty broth ($18.90), from which you can decide how rich or flavoursome you want and how firm you want your noodles. After that, you decide how many add-ons you want from extra garlic, scallions, pork chachu, and more.  It incurred a line of over 200 people before they had even opened their doors on their first day and the cult of Ichiran is still going strong. 

Ideal For

Being as social or anti as you want to be while inhaling cult-inducing noodles in broth

Highlights

Take a chance on the single occupancy booths in back. In such a busy city it's rare that we actually take time for ourselves and doing it with a massive bowl of ramen sounds like heaven.