Heidi Liou

Incredddddible ramen spot. I will definitely be coming back. I’m not vegan or vegetarian but ordered Captain Brooklyn III for the spice factor and loved it. It’s a sichuan style ramen with vegan meat. Highly recommend it. Point Blank ramen was delicious as well, the broth is lighter than the Captain Brooklyn III and was a medium-spice. Staff was friendly and service was quick. There are also cocktails / drinks. Ambience at night was nice and makes for a great place to bring friends or a date. Recommend making reservations if possible but there’s also most likely room at the bar for walk-ins.

+6

Matthew Boutros

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My fiancé and I finally decided to try this place after walking by it on Smith Street for a few weeks and noticing it was always packed. There are no reservations, so we walked in, left our name, and killed the 30-minute wait with a drink at Zombie Hut on the next block (an awesome bar if you haven't been!). When we came back, we were seated very promptly. For appetizers, we started with the brown dumplings and the eel sushi. The dumplings are probably the best bang for your buck here—$9.50 for five is a great deal these days. My fiancé really liked them; I wasn't the biggest fan, but they were still pretty good. The eel sushi hand rolls were the complete opposite price-wise ($20 for two), but we both agreed they were delicious. They were large, generously filled with eel and rice, and had great accoutrements. It was honestly sad to see them go down in two bites (I take big bites!), but I will 100% order them again. The main event, of course, was the ramen. We both ordered the Showa Classic, which has a chicken, pork, and anchovy broth. If you aren't a fan of umami, you might want to skip this, but I loved it. The anchovies gave the broth such a deep, complex flavor. I’m rarely impressed by ramen joints in the city—they often feel hard to distinguish from one another—but I haven't had a broth this flavorful before. The pork was melt-in-your-mouth amazing, and the noodles were delicious. Overall, a great experience. I’d definitely recommend it and will be going back (though I'll probably add a few extras to the bowl next time!).

Julian Flores

I haven’t had a vegan ramen better than this in NYC, or been to a Japanese restaurant that offers the amount of vegan options they do! Be sure to ask your server, a few dishes on the menu say vegetarian but they are in fact vegan! Notable favorites: Captain Brooklyn, Fish and Chips, Yakionigiri

So I used to work in a ramen shop a while back and have tried several of the popular and some now closed ramen shops in NYC (like Ippudo, Ivan, Totto, Andante, Minca, Ichiran). However, Karazishi Botan is top-tier, if not the best ramen in NYC. This local gem always hits, be it unique takes on Tonkotsu, Tsukemen, or Tokyo-style Shoyu. Broth, noodles, and toppings all executed excellently and with great attention to detail. Their giant karaage and yuzu asahi draft also worth mentioning! They even gave my wife and I a rose when we stopped in on Valentine’s Day. Usually like to gate keep places like these but highly recommend visiting !

Yelena Conaway

The inside seating area is rather small but they also have a heated patio. The service was excellent. The wings were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. The ramen was great, rich and super flavorful broth, nicely cooked noodles (and a larger amount of noodles than typical in a ramen), tender pork. They have a lot of unique ramen on the menu and I look forward to try more of them.

+1

Marie-Catherine

The best ramen in nyc. We have tried so many, we usually never go back to the same restaurant twice but we can’t stop coming here. The flavors are always so delicate and original.

Brad

An unbelievable ramen experience. Service was top notch and staff were so kind. The faint rumbling of the subway underneath and smooth jazz were comforting on a rainy night. Asahi Super Dry and Botan Wings were a match made in heaven. The Iron Man III is both a gastronomic and spiritual achievement. Everything is special. The broth is so layered, the noodles perfectly bouncy, the floral oil delicious, chasu so smoky, and the soft boil egg so silky smooth. I can't wait to come back. Arigato! (My blurry photos don't do it justice, go see it in person yourself)

B. Kim

Not bad but not worth $20 for a bowl of ramen. Wish they’d be more generous with the broth and serve it a bit hotter. By the time I was done half way of the bowl, the broth was a bit colder than lukewarm for my liking. That being said, the staff were welcoming and very friendly. Vibe was chill but felt a bit rushed. They cleared away my hubby’s plate while I was still eating and we were only dined in for about 30min. I don’t think I’d go back tbh.

Lloyd Feng

We had a great time. The food was tasty, but I’d recommend against ordering the Iron Men IV if you prefer things less salty. When we ordered, the waitress did mention that the broth would be “very rich,” but I was not deterred and curious to try it. It was tasty, but I’d probs have preferred what my gf got, which was the Showa Classic. We shared and enjoyed the INEZO Peach, a jelly-based sake drink. The servers were extremely courteous and responsive even though it took some time to get our orders in. If you’re dining here, expect a cozy experience since some tables are positioned quite close to one another or the bar seating to maximize utilization of the small space. I’d def come back the next time I’m on smith street.

+3

Andrew Dabydeen

This place hits the spot on a cold evening, the vibe inside is cozy and intimate. We loved some of their happy hour specials, both their food and drinks. The iron man was very filling but a bit too rich and salty for my taste, still very delicious however. The coffee dessert was okay, I’d definitely skip that next time. Our service was great and I’m very interested in coming back to try some other ramen options. Come hungry because the portions are generous!

+1

Sandy Tseng

The food was fine nothing to write home about but the service was subpar. For example, my friend is vegan and there are few things on the menu for her to eat. She didn’t want anything fried so asked if they can swap up the fake crab meat for avocado and the waitress made this whole speech about how “she needs to speak to chef to see if that aligns with his vision for the food he’s making”……. Are you for real? It’s nori with rice and a slice of avocado. Your vision should really be ensuring the best experience for your customers and trying to accommodate their dietary restrictions to best of your ability. Then they didn’t know how to split the bill 5 ways. Won’t be coming back

Spencer Snipes

Summary: 2 person meal with delivery fees/tax/driver tip = $85 and we didn't finish a single thing. Ordered Tonkatsu and Showa ramen. One ramen bowl had 2 standard diameter and 1/8" thick slices that we'd expect from any other ramen spot. The other looked like it was sliced from the very end of the tied roast and were about half the diameter and only about 1/16" thick...a noticeable difference. Not the end of the world. Then we noticed that both were missing the scallions listed on the menu and no additional packet or side container was included. The Showa wasn't supposed to have bamboo shoots but there were enough for the person who doesn't like them to point out that they were in there. We ate about 1/3 of each because from the first bite they were both insane sodium bombs. Barely edible. Oh yeah, the ribs. Not memorable for any positive reasons. May be ok at the restaurant but I doubt a 10 minute delivery ride will dry out ribs this fast. All the flavor was in the glaze, meat was nothing notable flavor-wise. We won't be back.

The pork cutlet curry was so overpriced and very average: $19 for a little bit of rice and curry plus $9 for the pork cutlet which was almost entirely covered in thick oily breading. The ramen special was alright but unnecessary salty, spicy, and rich. Service was okay, but the waiter was quite difficult to talk to about substitutions to food items… she kept just referring me to the vegan menu and making assumptions without listening.