Both Tori Ramen Chicken and Menya Ramen House are highly rated Restaurants located in Ridgewood, NJ. But, Which is Worth the Money??? BF Bolt members went down to these restaurants to answer this question.
The first visit was to Tori Ramen Chicken on 40 Chestnut Street in Ridgewood, NJ. When walking in they were very welcoming, with staff sitting you down almost immediately. The exterior of the building looked fine, it was a little outdated and old looking but it was still very nice. The inside was nicer, they had many available seating places for when things get full and the staff was nice.
We got our table and were handed a menu. The menus were plain and boring, they looked more like a brochure than a menu with the items on it, but still very clear. We ordered 2 types of ramen, Chicken Ramen, and Veggie Ramen. Both ramens were $9.50. Menu wise they had many options to choose from, we also ordered Beef Gyoza which were $6.50, Chicken Tenders were $10, and a Chicken Bao was $4.25.
The Gyozas, the Tenders, and the Baos were our appetizers and they were all wonderful. Gyozas are fried dumplings that have a sauce on the side perfectly going with it, Baos are doughy bread with a meat and lettuce inside it almost looks like a taco, and the tenders are just fried chicken tenders coming with soy garlic sauce on the side. The Beef Gyoza was nice and crispy with the soy like sauce complementing it. The tenders were nice and juicy, they weren’t dry and the crunch was perfect. The Baos were really good as well, you could taste all the flavors of the chicken and the lettuce balancing it out really well.
The Chicken and Veggie Ramen were the next thing to come out and to start off, the presentation of both were nice and colorful, everything was nicely led out. The ramen came on a tray with a soup spoon and you get chopsticks as well, but if you can’t use chopsticks you could ask for a fork and or use the spoon. The flavors were really nice and worked really well with each other. The broth was delicious. It came out hot but not too hot and if we had to say a negative thing about it, it would be that it was a little salty but not terribly and it’s better than being unsalted and bland. It was great how the chicken flavor in the broth really stood out and even paired nicely with all of the food on top. Overall the Ramen was great and we really do not have any complaints about it.
At the end, once you finish eating you can get a mochi. If you choose to pay with cash for your food, they give a free mochi. Otherwise you can just ask for it at the register. The flavors varied from Vanilla, Chocolate, Mango and Strawberry. All mochis were really good, they were not too doughy but had enough dough for the ice cream to taste really good. It was prepackaged, so they could have made the presentation better for them, but they still tasted amazing.
Menya Ramen House was next on our list. Located at 76 North Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, the outdoor and indoor appearance looked a little nicer than Tori Ramen Chicken, but they did not have as much space and occupancy for more people than Tori Ramen did. We sat down and for appetizers we ordered Ika Karaage which is fried squid, that was $8. Then we ordered regular Karaage that was also $8, which is fried chicken. We also got Beef Gyoza that was also $8. The food was quite good, the flavors were there. Although the sauce that they used on top of the Ika Karaage and Karaage were hit and miss with some people, overall the appetizers were good.
Then the ramen came out, we ordered Shio ramen and Shoyu Ramen. The ramens were both $16 each. The protein in both the ramens was pork but the broth and toppings were different. The noodles in the ramen were thinner than Tori’s and the broth was not as salty but also not as flavorful. The ramen was not bad though and was still good. There was also unfortunately no mochi. Both ramen places food came out around the same time but if there had to be one place that was quicker it would be Tori.
Out of both ramen places, Tori Ramen Chicken and Menya Ramen House, we believe that Tori was better for a few reasons. While it was close, these reasons are what made Tori stand out. For one, Tori was cheaper by almost $10 even though what we ordered were relatively the same. Two, the flavors between both broths were good but Tori’s had just something extra that really made it taste good. Also tori had a bigger menu giving more options for people. Three, Menya also did not have any complementary Mochi which also showed how Tori valued their customers more and gave them thanks for dining there. Both ramen places food came out around the same time but if there had to be one place that was quicker it would be Tori. Neither of them were relatively busy, but still Tori had more room to sit around. Although tori had more room, Menya had more of a bar to sit at and just order. But neither menus had special drinks, they just served the basics like water, sodas, and japanese soda.
Looking at all of the flaws Menya had Tori beat it and is the better Ramen house if you want to spend your money on ramen. It is more worth it with the service being better, the interior being cleaner, bigger variety in options, food being great with everything served hot and right away, and with their dessert options as well.
