Dining Review: Momo Ramen Offers Savory Dishes, No Pretension

When it comes to a warm bowl of ramen, Slopers don’t need to leave their neighborhood to get their fix. Actually, you don’t even need to go far if you’re ambling down 5th Avenue (Naruto) or 7th Avenue (Ten-Ichi and Ramen Yebisu). (Or 4th Avenue, for that matter.)

Last month, Momo Ramen (78 5th Avenue between St. Marks Place and Warren Street) joined the ramen ranks of the neighborhood, opening their doors and filling their bowls. While the name brings David Chang’s Momofoku collection of restaurants to mind, this new place has different ownership.

Whenever a new ramen shop opens its doors — as a slew have done in the recent past — the noodle-loving fanfare comes along with it.

Truth is, we like the ramen places in our area, but we’re not in love with them.

Momo Ramen, however, is a pleasant surprise, dishing up quite a selection of noodle dishes for you in a relatively spartan environment. If you don’t need nifty decor mixed in with your broth, you may just have found your new haunt.

We had lunch at Momo, but the menu remains the same no matter what time of day you come in.

The name of the restaurant is actually somewhat deceiving. While varieties of ramen dishes are of course front and center on the menu, you also have a variety of other non-ramen noodle dishes. For example, the Shanghai-style Dan Dan Noodle dish ($9) can be served with regular straight noodles, udon noodles, rice noodles, or ramen-style.

So for the purists, this may not be good news. For those wanting a broader menu, you’ll have a lot of options to mix and match. In truth, this is more of a “noodle shop” than a ramen shop.

The Wonton with Red Oil Sauce ($5) is indeed spicy (that pepper next to the price is an accurate symbol). My dining partner — who lived in Asia for many years and knows her way around the cuisine — referred to the dish as “authentic.” Savory fans will enjoy it.

The Buddha Ramen ($11)  is a hearty vegetable-based broth topped with boiled spinach, bean sprouts, corn, tofu, bamboo shoots, and scallions. It’s a clean, simple dish — and the texture of the naruto (fish cakes) held up in the broth. One complaint — the dish would do better with a more generous helping of fish cakes.

The restaurant boasts a variety of vegetarian options, soups, and salads. In addition, dumplings and cold noodle dishes are available. And for those who enjoy Tibetan food, you have six options to choose from.

The dishes are fairly priced. You’ll spend much more up the hill at Ramen Yebisu. That said, the atmosphere and design there is gorgeous.

The service was just fine with us in terms of speed, but it’s not going to give you the warm fuzzies. If you look forward to an experience that’s about the food rather than the “dining experience,” you’re going to enjoy your dish.

The Dining Rundown: Momo Ramen
Where: 78 5th Avenue (between St. Marks Place and Warren Street)
Hours: 11:30am-11pm, 7 days a week
Phone: 718-622-4813
Reservations: No reservations.
Kid Friendly? There’s a booster seat, but not a high chair. But yes, kids are just fine here.