Ramen Setagaya

Since three’s the charm, this Japanese mini-chain’s third branch is all set to make the Village nuts for noodles. As always, Ramen Setagaya offers a tight menu; its flagship Shio Ramen, consisting of pork slices, bamboo shoots, not-too-soft egg, noodles and taste-boosting fixins, is probably the popular selection, with either thick or thin noodles ginned up to an unassailable al dente. Okaya-don—chunky bits of chicken with rice and an organic egg for a protein push—is the singular non-ramen item, though a subtle and scorching curry rice with chicken also offers a fowl ball. The interior is slightly larger than Ramen Setagaya’s other locations by perhaps a dozen seats. Still, the relatively slender aisle between the long seating stations can feel like strutting the catwalk, every type of noodle-laden eyes fixed upon you. Truthfully, there's better theater facing the chefs as they work.

See more: Greenwich Village restaurants, Noodle restaurants