Sozai Japanese Restaurant (Izakaya Ramen)

Absolutely fantastic evening. The food is incredible, best ramen I've ever had and our server Alisa was so lovely and welcoming. Definitely recommend for a nice night out with a partner, yourself or friends!

Delicious meal and fantastic service from Sunny. My husband and I have dined here several times and the food never disappoints. Definitely recommend everyone to try.

We received a lovely warm, welcome. The interior is modern and I liked the fact the booths provided some privacy. Outstanding dishes were: Edamame with wasabi garlic; Black Cod; and the Hamachi Crudo with truffle. The sake clam miso broth was outstanding, but let down by gritty clams. The shrimp tempura was the best batter I have tasted, but let down by the fact they had halved or quartered the shrimp inside.<br>Great, friendly service by Art. Will definitely return!

I was visiting NYC for two days for a concert and my friend and I wanted to try Japanese food since we heard it was really good in the city. I was craving a good Japanese style curry. We found this restaurant that was somewhat close to our hotel that sold it and saw that it had significantly higher reviews than other spots in the area. So, I made a reservation online for lunch for later in the day, and boy am I glad I did. The pork katsu curry was AMAZING. I was blown away at the quality of the pork cutlet and the flavorful seasoning. The fried coating on it was extremely crispy and perfectly cooked. The curry itself was perfectly seasoned, it was mild with a little tiny bit of sweetness and the vegetables inside were perfectly tender but not mushy. The curry was also not runny or watery but not gelatinous, it was a perfect consistency. The rice was sushi type rice and was cooked perfectly. It was easy to pick up with chopsticks even if curry sauce got on it. And Even the fukujinzuke was crunchy and flavorful, not mushy or extremely bitter like some I’ve had are. They also provided a wooden spoon to help finish the curry with. It was spectacular!! It was around $30 but the portion was large and the lunch special includes a soup or side salad. (I ended up giving the salad to a friend and she was impressed with the tangy dressing. )<br><br>The waitstaff was kind and efficient. The waitress also asked if we had any food allergies after we ordered whch was very nice of her to do. (Luckily none of us had any issue.) another waitstaff individual also frequently provided us with water and would refill our provided cups.<br><br>The only complaint I have was that it was a bit noisy, but that wasn’t really a problem, it’s a small space and was to be expected.<br><br>If I ever visit NYC again I will definitely get a reservation again— the problem is the curry was so good I almost don’t want to try anything else!!<br><br>Ps. This is one of those establishments that doesn’t automatically provide silverware, so you would need to ask if you don’t know how to use chopsticks.

The food came in extremely quickly that we didn’t even have time to eat the soup completely! The food was so good and filling and probably the best meal I’ve ever had! The service was immaculate, they came by and filled our water despite the pitcher being right next to us. They were consistent when coming over and the service was way better than any traditional restaurant I’ve been to. I’d definitely come here again some time during my trip and recommend to others looking for a quick, filling meal! ❤️

Farlarr T was our server and she was LOVELY!!!! So sweet, welcoming and offered recommendations when we had questions! The Okinawa no kaze was was incredible!!! We tried the spicy tuna roll, spicy tonkotsu was the best ramen I’ve personally ever had! My sister had the miso mushroom and also delicious!!

Absolutely perfect. Often I find myself tweaking the flavor with extra seasonings, but not here. The ramen arrived exactly right, the salt levels and depth of flavor were spot on. You can tell they put a lot of care into the broth. No extra salt or toppings needed; it’s a 10/10 exactly as served. The service was nice too!

2026/04<br>Cold soba green tea -nice refreshing dish for a warm day, a bit salty, paired nicely with salmon sashimi. Out of the 3 things we got, my favorite but wouldn’t come here again just to have it.<br><br>Tekka don - fine, regular tuna sashimi with rice.<br><br>Ika gesso- got this because it was on the happy hour menu. Too oily, but the wasabi sauce paired with it helped cut through some of the oiliness. I’ve tried other happy menu items on a different occasion (karage, kurobuta sausage, and age tofu) and don’t think they’re worth it. Common issue with the fried foods is heavy on oil.

Food was amazing! Service top tier! Dining here was such a lovely experience. Our party of 8 enjoyed every dish we ordered. Highly recommend trying this place out! We definitely would love to come back next time we’re in the city.

Solid 8/10.<br><br>Hidden gem for fairly affordable in NYC standards. Could easily get a very yummy and filling meal for $30+ bucks if you wanted to be conservative, but I decided to splurge on the Hokkaido Don with the premium meats - uni, scallop, snow crab, salmon roe, very yummy in my tummy.<br><br>Meen T was great. She was very friendly and took great care of us. It’s a muted entrance so keep a peeled eye when looking for it, but you won’t regret it. I’m full and satisfied, and that’s more than what many places care to offer.<br><br>The atmosphere is bar like and cozy. We didn’t make a booking and got seats for two at prime lunch time.<br><br>The ramen looked great too. My only gripe is the portion size for my $40 Hokkaido Don, some more rice would’ve been appreciated.

Very nice izakaya. The food was delicious and came very fast. The service was kind and attentive (thanks to our server Lulu). We ordered the pork katsu, mentaiko and spicy salmon rolls. Thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

Amazing food! No worlds to describe The flavours we just had. 200% recommended. We were lucky to get a table without reservation but definitely reserve is you can in advance, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to try it.<br><br>Our server Chaya was so friendly and made really good recommendations.

Was going to make a reservation, but at 6:30 the only options were after 9:30, so we walked up on a whim tonight. Came in, greeted pleasantly, and gave my phone # for a 30 min wait. We agreed and walked down the street. My sister said we should head back not even 5 minutes later, we walk in, and they offer us a table which will be occupied in an hour by a reservation. Incredible reception from our hosts.<br><br>We already knew it was going to be delicious, but holy moly. We got the Kurobuta sausage, pork Katsu, garlic fried rice, spicy tuna roll, and karaage. My sister got a cocktail (the Okinawa no kaze).<br><br>Every single item of food was delectable. So many different flavors and tailored to each bite. She loved the cocktail and it was a perfect balance of unique flavors as well. To make things even more comfortable and wonderful, the service continued to be attentive and warm and we couldn’t have picked a better place tonight.<br><br>Thank you for true hospitality 🥰

❤️ Overview:<br>Overall, the food was good! The interior and ambience is super cute as well. The service was really great too. Very attentive and kind. I would definitely recommend getting a reservation, as it seems to fill up super fast. We got there right before 5pm on a Saturday and by 5:30pm they were packed and people waiting. Definitely want to come back to try the other dishes!<br><br>❤️What was ordered:<br>2 cocktails, Crispy salmon skin salad, kakuni, crab croquette, lemon miso salmon, beef sukiyaki udon, dessert<br><br>❤️Stand outs:<br>Crab croquette, crispy skin salad, kakuni, beef sukiyaki udon<br><br>❤️Would I come back/recommend:<br>Yes - I would come back<br>Yes - I would recommend

Went there dinner time. The atmosphere is cozy, clean and beautiful. I had spicy beef noodles and el roll. Were all very flavorful! Friendly vibe, lovely servers Korn and Sunny was super nice and helpful. All in all this place is definitely worth adding to our usual rotation of restaurants.