Totto Ramen

Reviewed on: 2012-01-06 By: Alex Zaglin
Cuisine type: Asian
Price range: 15-30
Address: 366 W 52nd Street (Between 8th & 9th Ave)
Phone: (212) 582-0052

Stopping into a restaurant for a quick and casual meal is not uncommon for many New Yorkers on their lunch breaks, and Totto Ramen fits that need, well, except for the potential 45-minute long wait.

My friend and I arrived at Totto Ramen at about 1pm on a Monday. The line was long, and mostly full of native Japanese speakers. While this meant we would have to wait awhile for our “quick” lunch, it also meant that the likelihood of a quality meal was high.

We put our name down on a list to find that they only seat parties of four and under. So, if you come with a larger group, expect to be seated separately. There were a few benches outside within an enclosed area to help beat out the December cold, but frankly, the thought of impending noodles helped to warm me up.

When we were finally seated, we were sandwiched in the back of the restaurant next to another table. It became clear that the line was not only due to the restaurant’s popularity, but also the fact that the restaurant is so tiny that it can only accommodate a number of customers at once. There interior is mostly wood, and feels very much like what I would expect if I were in a noodle shop in Tokyo. The wait staff was mostly Japanese, and those waitresses who weren’t seemed to have a grasp of the language.

My friend and I shared an order of edamame (boiled or Japanese soybean), which came promptly after we ordered. The edamame were fresh, and had just the right amount of salt on them. Soon after, our piping hot bowls of ramen arrived. For the sake of this review, I was hoping my friend and I would order different things so that I could have a more vast report, but the Totto Chicken Paitan Ramen with chicken (pork was the other option) called to us both.

A great bowl of noodles is definitely the sum of its parts, so I will talk about the separate elements:

The Broth: Made of chicken, whereas most ramen broth is made of pork, the broth was flavorful without being overpowering.

The Meat: I knew I was going against the grain by ordering the chicken rather than the more traditional char siu pork, but I was not disappointed. I appreciated the texture of the chicken, which had absorbed just enough of the broth so that it was still firm.

The Toppings: I have an odd distaste for scallions, so I requested that they be left out of my ramen. I was impressed that the scallions in my friend’s soup were not thinly chopped as I am used to seeing, but long and stalky. The kikurage mushroom topping added a subtle crunch. The small chunks of white onion enhanced the broth, and the nori (seaweed) sheet tied the flavors all together.

The Noodles: The ramen noodles were incredibly fresh. The spongy texture of the noodles made it very clear that they were homemade, and probably had been very recently. They might have been a little too al dente for my taste, but next time I go, I know to order them a little more well-done.

Overall, Totto Ramen came through with a great bowl of noodles. I was left in a bit of a noodle coma, but if you run out of noodles and still have a significant amount of broth left, you can order more noodles for a small fee. With two giant bowls of noodles and an edamame appetizer, my friend and I clocked out with a bill of just under $30. Note that it is cash only.

Totto Ramen isn’t the place to go if you want a quiet lunch with a large group in a spacious setting, but if you’re looking for an experience that resembles an authentic Japanese noodle joint and truly delivers a great product, Totto Ramen is definitely a must-go.

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