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Ramen Restaurant Chain Encourages Diners to Eat Alone

By Rosa Goldensohn | March 10, 2015 12:42pm | Updated on March 10, 2015 6:15pm
 Ichiran Ramen in a stall in Harajuku, Japan.
Ichiran Ramen in a stall in Harajuku, Japan.
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Facebook/Ichiran Ramen Lovers

CHELSEA  — An intensely solitary ramen experience will be soon come to West 20th Street, DNAinfo New York has learned.

At Ichiran, the only option is tonkatsu ramen, a pork-based broth ramen, according to the Japanese chain’s website. Each bowl is served in a single-person booth fitted out with dividers so customers can focus on the soup alone.

Human interaction is limited, according to the restaurant’s “System Guide.”

“At Ichiran we don’t diversify our menu, but concentrate only on Tonkotsu Ramen,” the website says.

"Our mission is to deepen the flavor of every bowl, each one of them involving the work of over 40 specialists.”

The ramen empire, which has been dishing out tonkatsu ramen since the 1960s, has been planning a New York debut for years. The company is currently designing the space at its new location at 123 W. 20th St., according to the building’s superintendent, Louis Diep.

Customers at Ichiran buy a ticket from a machine specifying any additional items they might want with their ramen and then find a vacant seat, according to the guide.

Each ramen is customizable, and noodle refills are available if you eat the first serving but leave half your soup.

Customers are encouraged to “concentrate on the flavor,” which means slurping in silence.

At a recent Community Board 4 meeting, one neighbor who declined to give her name said she was upset that the “fast food” chain was moving to the block, and suggested it would be more at home near the McDonald’s on Sixth Avenue. 

Diep could not confirm an opening date. 

Ichiran did not immediately respond to a request for comment.