Restaurant in New York City, United States
Solo ramen done right. Book or walk in.
Ichiran's Bushwick location brings Tokyo's solo ramen booth concept to Brooklyn — individual stalls, bamboo curtains, and a customisable tonkotsu bowl ordered via paper form. It is the most focused, friction-free ramen experience in New York City, and the right choice for solo diners or anyone who wants to concentrate entirely on the bowl. Walk-in only, accessible price range, no dress code.
Ichiran's individual booth format — each diner seated solo behind a bamboo curtain, customising their bowl on a paper order form, receiving broth through a small window — is the entire point of coming here. This is not a social dining experience. It is the most focused bowl of tonkotsu ramen you will find in New York City, designed to eliminate distraction and let you eat without interruption or performance.
The Brooklyn location on Johnson Avenue brings the Japanese chain's signature solo-stall concept to Bushwick. If you have eaten ramen in a crowded, loud shop and wished you could just concentrate on the bowl, Ichiran solves that problem directly. The individual booths mean you set your own pace, control your spice level and richness on the order form, and nobody is rushing you for the table. For a food enthusiast who wants to understand what tonkotsu ramen tastes like when the broth is the only thing you are thinking about, this format delivers that in a way a communal table never can.
The counter experience here is the product. Each adjustable parameter on the order form , richness, garlic, spice, green onion, extra chashu , means your bowl is configured to your preference before it arrives. This is not a kitchen showing off; it is a kitchen asking what you want and executing it consistently. That reliability is the value proposition.
Ichiran sits at the accessible end of the New York ramen price range, which makes it easy to recommend without qualification. It is not a special-occasion restaurant. It is the right answer when you want excellent tonkotsu ramen, minimal friction, and total focus on the food. For a solo diner or anyone who finds busy ramen shops exhausting, it is the most practical choice in the borough.
Reservations: Walk-in only; queues move quickly outside peak hours. Dress: No code , come as you are. Budget: Accessible price range by New York standards; a customised bowl with add-ons will cost well under $30 per person. Getting there: The Johnson Avenue location is in Bushwick, Brooklyn, accessible via the L or J/M/Z subway lines.
Ichiran operates in a completely different tier from the $$$$ restaurants that dominate New York's dining conversation. Comparing it to Le Bernardin, Atomix, Per Se, Masa, or Eleven Madison Park is the wrong frame. Those restaurants are multi-hour commitments with tasting menus, advance reservations, and price tags that start at $200 per person. Ichiran is a 30-minute solo bowl of ramen that costs a fraction of that. The decision is not either/or.
Within the ramen category in New York, Ichiran's differentiator is the solo booth format and the customisation system. If you want a convivial, chef-driven ramen experience where you might interact with the kitchen and share a table, other Brooklyn shops will suit you better. If you want the most controlled, distraction-free tonkotsu experience in the city, Ichiran wins that comparison without much competition. The concept is rare enough in New York that it earns a visit purely on format grounds, independent of broth quality.
For context on the broader New York dining scene across categories and price points, see our full New York City restaurants guide, hotels guide, and bars guide. If you are travelling and want to benchmark Ichiran against counter-format dining elsewhere, Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Smyth in Chicago offer chef-counter experiences at the opposite end of the formality spectrum.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ichiran | Easy | ||
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | $$$$ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
You order on a paper form before your bowl arrives — spice level, richness, noodle firmness, and extras are all your call. Each diner sits in an individual booth with a bamboo curtain separating you from the kitchen. The format is designed for focus, not conversation. If you want a social meal, this is the wrong room; if you want to eat ramen the way it was intended to be eaten, this is the right one.
Technically yes, but the booth format means everyone eats side by side, not face to face. Groups of 4 or more will find it awkward — you cannot see or easily speak to each other. Ichiran works for pairs who are comfortable with a minimal-conversation meal, but for a group dinner, somewhere like Atomix or a more conventional ramen-ya will serve you better.
Whatever you wore to get there. Ichiran at 374 Johnson Ave in Bushwick is entirely casual — there is no dress expectation beyond basic decency. Leave the blazer at home.
Only if the occasion is personal rather than celebratory. The solo booth format makes it a strong choice for a solo birthday treat or a quiet, intentional meal, but it does not work for toasting, sharing dishes, or group energy. For a milestone dinner with other people, look elsewhere.
For tonkotsu specifically, Ippudo and Mu Ramen are the most direct comparisons in NYC. For a different register entirely, Tonchin and Ivan Ramen offer more varied menus with a conventional dining room setup. None of them replicate Ichiran's booth format, which is the point of going.
The tonkotsu ramen is the only main — the decision is how you customise it. First-timers should go medium on richness and spice to get a baseline reading of the broth before dialling it up on a return visit. The additional noodle refill is worth ordering if you are hungry; the half-boiled egg is a reliable add-on.
Ichiran does not take reservations — it is walk-in only. Waits at peak hours (weekend evenings, lunch on Saturdays) can run 20-40 minutes. Arriving before 12pm for lunch or after 9pm for dinner cuts the queue significantly. The Bushwick location at 374 Johnson Ave generally moves faster than the Times Square location.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
