NONONO? More like YESYESYES

Ramen bowls from NONONO

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐☆ (9/10)

Price Point: $$ (2/3)

My experience at NONONO in Midtown Manhattan was incredible – one of my favorites in Manhattan.

I ended up eating here on a whim with Matt and our friend Brian, when Matt and I were visiting Manhattan before flying to China for winter break. We originally planned to eat at a different Japanese restaurant in Midtown, but we decided to abandon that when we realized the wait time would be 30 minutes to an hour 😵‍💫.

Serendipitously, NONONO was just a couple blocks away, so we decided to wander in. (Side note: I love how abundant amazing restaurants are in NYC.) We got lucky and didn't even have to wait for a table! I imagine that it can get pretty crowded though, so I'd recommend making a reservation before you go.

First, the ambiance was beautiful. From the furniture to the table setting, everything was very minimalistic and artsy.

I loved the silverware and placemat: very hipster aesthetic.

Since this place specializes in ramen, we decided we would each try a different ramen bowl for our entrée, and then share a couple of appetizers.

For our appetizers, we got the Tamago Bacon Yakitori (basically bacon-wrapped egg) and Cod Roe Cream Udon.

The Tamago Bacon Yakitori was so savory and I loved the runny consistency of the eggs. I thought it was super special, and I'd say it's a must-order dish here 😍. It also pairs wonderfully with ramen, especially a spicy soup.

The Tamago Bacon Yakitori was savory, with perfectly runny eggs.

The Cod Roe Cream Udon was creamy and decadent, and Matt and Brian loved it. I'm personally not the biggest fan of cream-based sauces, so this wasn't my favorite. I also would have preferred the noodle texture to be more al-dente. However, if you like this kind of dish I still would recommend trying it!

Our Cod Roe Cream Udon was indeed very creamy.

For me, the star of the show was definitely my ramen bowl. I got the Tori Tantan ramen, and to this day it is the best soup-based ramen I've had. The soup was flavorful and the noodles were perfectly al-dente (unlike the Code Roe Cream Udon).

The Tori Tantan Ramen is probably their most popular dish ordered (credit).

Fun fact about me: before meeting Matt I was not a soup noodle person. (Although, our first date was actually at a ramen place in DC, lol. He didn't know at the time.) As in, at the beginning of our relationship I'd always order a dry noodle dish, even if we were at a place that specialized in something like ramen or pho.

Matt on the other hand lives for a good bowl of ramen or 兰州拉面 (lan zhou la mian, beef noodle soup), and through exposure therapy I have started to gain appreciation for a warm soupy bowl of noodles. Of the amazing noodle soups I've had, the Tori Tantan Ramen definitely takes the cake!

I don't exactly remember which ramen bowls Matt and Brian ordered, but I know one of them got the Shio Paitan Ramen, another one of NONONO's most popular dishes. Matt got the Experience Set, which includes your choice of Yakitori and a drink with the ramen.

The Experience Set comes with ramen, Yakitori, and a drink (credit).

NONONO was superb, and I recommend it to anyone craving a good bowl of ramen. In terms of pricing, each ramen bowl was less than $20, which is really good for NYC! That's less than somewhere like Ippudo, even though in my opinion it's better :).

If you try it out, would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!