Downtown Riverhead has a new Japanese eatery.
Takkii Ramen, which focuses its menu on the popular noodle and broth based dish, opened in June on West Main Street just west of Griffing Avenue.
Takkii Ramen is a part of a small chain of Japanese restaurants started in Pennsylvania. Khalid Masrour of East Setauket and Alex Duan of Mount Sinai, who opened up Rakkii Ramen in Smithtown in 2019, said they decided to open their second ramen restaurant together in Riverhead after customers who live out east said they wanted a location closer to home.
“We thought Riverhead would be good for us because of the revitalization and to get closer to our customers,” Masrour said.
The restaurant is colorfully decorated, with Japanese lanterns and lamps strung about, and paintings in Japanese art styles on the walls.
The restaurant offers a variety of ramen dishes with different broths and protein options, including chicken, pork, beef, tofu and seafood. Both Duan and Masrour said their favorite menu item is the spicy miso ramen, which contains chashu (pork belly), ajitsuke tamago (ramen egg) and narutomaki (fish cake), in a pork broth seasoned with spicy garlic, miso and garlic oil.
“That’s one of our best sellers,” Masrour said.
Anyone who isn’t into noodles can find things to eat in the restaurant’s appetizers and the menu’s “beside noodles” section, which contains a variety of Japanese-style rice bowls. “We understand that some people don’t want ramen,” Masrour said. The restaurant also serves a variety of beverages, including boba (bubble) and fresh fruit teas.
“This place took us a while, but I think we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve,” Masrour said.
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