30 editor-picked ramen spots across 6 cities.
A guide to ramen restaurants worth a trip, by city. We list operators, signature dishes, and the rooms locals book first.
Bakudanya is the Shintenchi shop that pushed Hiroshima tsukemen beyond the city: cold noodles dipped in a chilli and seafood-stock sauce you grade yourself.
Signature: Hiroshima tsukemen
Order: Hiroshima tsukemen, choosing your own heat level
Tip: The dipping sauce comes in graded heat steps, so order low on a first visit and add chilli powder at the table.
Chukasoba Youki has cooked one dish in Eba since 1958, and its soy and pork-bone bowl is exactly what Hiroshima people mean when they say chuka soba.
Signature: Chuka soba
Order: Chuka soba, the only thing the kitchen makes
Tip: The Eba flagship shuts on the 1st, 12th, 13th and 26th of each month, so check the date before crossing the river.
Bakudanya sells Hiroshima tsukemen for under 1,000 yen in Shintenchi: cold noodles with cabbage, cucumber and a chilli dipping sauce you grade yourself.
Try: Hiroshima tsukemen
Tip: Heat runs on a numbered scale, and asking for a lower number costs nothing and keeps the sauce readable.
Lucky Belly is the Chinatown Honolulu ramen and bao shop Dusty Grable and Jesse Cruz opened in 2012, the room that ushered in the neighborhood's modern.
Signature: Belly bowl ramen, Pork belly bao, Spicy chicken bao
Order: The Belly Bowl ramen and the pork belly bao.
Tip: Kitchen runs to 23:00 Friday and Saturday. Across the street is The Tchin Tchin Bar, run by the same team for a nightcap.
Lucky Belly in Chinatown Honolulu is Dusty Grable and Jesse Cruz's 2012 ramen and bao shop that helped launch the neighborhood's modern restaurant generation.
Signature: Belly bowl ramen, Pork belly bao, Spicy chicken bao
Order: The Belly Bowl ramen with pork belly, bacon and shoyu egg.
Tip: Kitchen runs to 23:00 Friday and Saturday. The Tchin Tchin Bar across the street is the nightcap.
Shoyu Shop at Strange Bird in Irvington, Indianapolis pours deep shoyu broths and runs tantanmen, with a tiki cocktail program from the host bar.
Signature: Tantanmen, Shoyu ramen
Order: A bowl of shoyu ramen and a Tantanmen to share, plus a tiki classic.
Tip: Closed Monday. Strange Bird's bar runs late on weekend nights.
Sarah Gavigan's Division Street ramen shop in The Gulch, Nashville opened 2014 and remains the Gulch's reliable bowl. Walk-in friendly, kid-friendly.
Signature: Tonkotsu Original, Karaage chicken
Order: Tonkotsu Original with the runny egg, karaage to share.
Tip: The private karaoke room books for groups of six; happy hour 16:00-19:00 runs $5 small plates.
JINYA Ramen Bar on N Western Avenue brings Japanese ramen craft to Oklahoma City with tonkotsu and vegan broths and high-quality toppings daily.
JINYA Ramen Bar on N Western Avenue brings Japanese ramen craft to Oklahoma City with tonkotsu and vegan broths and high-quality toppings daily.
The 24-hour neon dragon ramen on Dotonbori: ¥800 tonkotsu-soy at any hour under one of Osaka's most famous illuminated canal signs, always busy.
Tip: At 02:00 the canal is quieter and the ramen tastes better for it.
A ¥800 bowl of tonkotsu-soy ramen beneath the mechanical neon dragon on Dotonbori, open 24 hours. Osaka's most famous value meal on its most famous street.
Tip: Order at the vending machine inside; the basic ramen is ¥800, add extra chashu for ¥100.
The neon dragon landmark on Dotonbori canal, open 24 hours. Pork-based tonkotsu-soy ramen for under ¥800; kimchi and garlic are self-service at the counter.
Order: ['Tonkotsu ramen', 'Extra chashu', 'Gyoza']
More cities are in research. Want ramen covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.