There is no shortage of good ramen in Sydney, with the popular Japanese creation rightfully treated as an art and held to a high standard. The presence of such quality, from the CBD to Kingsford to Crows Nest, forces many ramen-focused restaurants and stalls to constantly up their game but none can really compare to the following 13. The following list is not ranked because it’s just too damn hard to sort! You’ll need this guide as we venture further into winter, so we suggest adding these to your to-do list!
Ramen Zundo (World Square)
The noodles are thick and chewy, the consistency is one of the finest you’ll find in the city, and their tonkotsu is incredibly rich and packed full of flavour. Ramen Zundo has fast become a favourite go-to of ours and it’s very accessible location should keep it as one of the essential visits for ramen lovers across Sydney. The venue is just really cosy as well! Perfect for a quick bowl of ramen (or try their curries – equally fantastic) before a movie at the nearby Event Cinemas.
644 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9264 6113
7 days a week; 11:45am to 9pm
Yasaka Ramen (CBD)
Not for the faint-hearted, the broth here is pretty full-on. Not quite as thick as Gumshara, but heading in that direction. It’s delicious ramen, but note that it’s on the pricier side. Once you’ve ordered the must-have extras like the grilled chashu and eggs, you’re probably lingering around the $20 mark. Reportedly Yasaka are opening up a Neutral Bay store soon, so keep your eyes on their social channels.
126 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9262 9027
7 days a week; 11:45am-9:30pm
Rising Sun Workshop (Newtown)*
The newest entry on this menu is also one of the most talked about openings of the past few weeks, already attracting a huge crowd to the King Street ramen bar slash motorbike workshop. It’s a unique fit-out and gives Chef Nick Smith a perfect platform to deliver some of the area’s best, along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that pull on a range of Japanese eats. Choices of ramen are kept limited, but that’s working in your favour because you’ll want The Shio over and over again, it’s a big bowl of gorgeous, rich ramen that uses truffle salt from Italy, lava salt from Hawaii, and pink Murray River salt to create its unique flavour, soaking into generous portion of kurobuta belly chashu. Seriously, if shio-based ramen is your go-to then this is your culinary dream come true. Those after something heavier can slurp on The Darkness, which is a soy based ramen leaning closer to tonkotsu, thick with chicken and pork broth.
Corner Lennox St and Mary St, Newtown
7 days a week 8am to 4pm; + Thurs-Sat 6pm to 9pm
Chaco Bar (Darlinghurst)
Head to Chaco Bar and grab the Fish Salt Ramen. It’s incredible. Chicken and fish stocks are blended and balanced with standard ramen toppings and silky wontons floating around, providing a depth of flavour you’d only come across at the very top of Sydney’s ramen bars. We’re all benefiting from their relatively recent decision to expand into ramen from their already popular yakitori options. Unfortunately they are only doing ramen from Wednesday to Saturdays, from 12pm until sold out, and they really aren’t able to make enough to satisfy demand so our suggestion would be to get down as close to midday as possible.
238 Crown St, Darlinghurst
(02) 9007 8352
Wed-Sat 12pm until sold out
Ramen Ikkyu (Haymarket)
Massive pork rib ramen at Ramen Ikkyu
If your favourite Ramen joints in Sydney aren’t in humble food courts then you’re doing it wrong. Ramen Ikkyu isn’t something you’d stumble across on a casual stroll down Chinatown’s Dixon Street, you have to head on up to the top of Sussex Centre Food Court if you want to find Chef Haru Inukai’s pride and joy. My recommendation would be the Pork Rib Ramen ($20). Finishing this comes with certain bragging rights so make sure your stomach is pretty empty before you slurp and chew your way to glory here, you’ll be working through a deliciously full-flavoured heap of tenderous pork that slides straight off the bone as soon as you touch it, soaking even more flavour into that beautiful, well-balance tonkotsu broth.
Shop F1A, 401 Sussex Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9281 0998
Sun-Wed 11am to 8:30pm; Thurs-Sat 11am to 9pm
On Ramen (Haymarket)
On Ramen is small and cosy, located on a little corner near the tram tracks in Haymarket. Recently they’ve become known for their Ramen Burger, but one shouldn’t look over their ramen offerings. I’m still a bit upset that they no longer have their duck ramen (it fell off the menu when they changed management a few years ago) but their current offerings are all as equally satisfying. There’s some inconsistency here (they do have ‘off’ days) but disappointments occur very rarely, and I should know, I eat there almost every other week when winter rolls around.
4/181-187 Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9211 6663
7 days a week; 11am to 10pm
Manpuku (Kingsford)
Probably hailed the best ramen in the Eastern Suburbs. The broth at this Kingsford ramen shop is super-tasty, the egg perfectly cooked, and you can even add a huge spoonful of butter to your bowl to make it heartier.
Address: 482 Anzac Parade, Kingsford NSW 2032
Phone:(02) 9662 1236
7 days a week; 11:30am to 9:30pm
2067, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood NSW 2067
(02) 9884 8861
7 days a week; 11:30am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 8:30pm
Gumshara (Haymarket)
Eating World is one of the best places in Sydney. Hands down. The food is always so very affordable, and it’s made by people who actually know what they’re doing. This hawker-style dining space is big on authenticity and have a wide scope of food from the variety of regions represented. Most popular here is Gumshara for their ramen, and it’s for a very good reason. Gumshara is widely known for their Tonkotsu, a very satisfying ramen with rich, creamy, and buttery broth. Their Garlic broth is equally fantastic, and the toppings they offer – from bbq pork slices to dumplings – all add their own magic to the ramen. Be warned though, this will stay with you so, like Ikkyu, make sure you have a lot of stomach space.
211/25-29 Dixon Street, Haymarket NSW
0410 253 180
Sun-Mon 11:30am to 8:30pm; Tues-Sat 11:30am to 9pm
O-San Ramen (Haymarket)
A satisfying bowl of Ramen at O-San
O-San is kind of the new kid on the block and it’s one which has been gaining a lot of traffic lately. It’s located down in the cosy Dixon House Food Court and is run by award-winning chef Chef Kazuteru. The Tonkotsu is very thick, similarly to Gumshara, and the noodles are nice and light. The seasoning is thoughtful, balancing the ramen well so the broth holds most of the wow factor from it’s strong presence of pork marrow. Another strong offering here is the Spicy Ramen with a chicken broth, but be warned, this is FAR from mild.
Dixon House Food Court (Cnr Dixon & Little Hay St, Haymarket)
Sun-Mon, Wed-Sat 11am to 4pm and 5pm to 8:30pm (closed Tuesdays)
Ippudo (CBD, Chippendale)
The consistency across this chain is like an art, and you are guaranteed satisfaction whenever stepping into any restaurant belonging to the incredibly popular brand. The trick is a lot of pork – and I mean A LOT. Like many other joints on this list you’ll want to stick with the Tonkotsu with the lovely, juicy rolled pork belly.
Westfield Shopping Centre, 5021/188 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 8078 7020
Mon-Wed 11am to 10pm; Thurs-Sat 11am to 11pm; Sun 11am to 9pm
Central Park RB07, Lower Ground Floor, 28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008
(02) 8036 4534
Mon-Fri 11:00am to 9:30pm; Sat 11.30am to 9.30pm; Sun 11:30am to 8:30pm
Ryo’s Noodles (Crows Nest; Bondi)
Unlike many other joints on this list, Ryo are at their best when you order anything but the tonkotsu. Don’t get me wrong though, the tonkotsu is quite good, but what you really want here is some shio chicken broth, it’s the reason many ramen fanatics around Sydney flocks to Crow’s Nest time and time again for this. More recently, they’ve expanded to Bondi Junction as well, and while the consistency isn’t quite as on-point as the original, the quality hits more often than not.
125 Falcon Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065
(02) 9955 0225
Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 11:40am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm (closed Wednesdays)
106 Ebley St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022
(02) 9387 8858
Mon-Tues, Thurs-Sun 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 9pm (closed Wednesdays)
Menya Noodle Bar(CBD)
If you want broth with a seafood base, then no other ramen joint does it better than Menya. They are pretty proficient with everything else as well, particularly chicken-based broth. The Chicken Katsu Ramen is my pick here, at $11.90 you get a generous amount of crispy, moist pieces of chicken bopping up and down in a steaming hot, flavour-packed soup with thin noodles. Similarly to Ippudo and Ikkyu, Menya is known for it’s consistency.
Shop 2, 1 Market St, Sydney
(02) 9267 4649
Mon-Sat 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm (closed Sundays)
Hakata-Maru Ramen (Haymarket, Chatswood)
Ramen inside Market City at Hakata-Maru
Why is it that so many good ramen joints are in food courts? Hakata-Maru is located inside the Market City food court and has a mean black garlic ramen. A bonus is that they’re on the cheaper end of the spectrum (but are also slightly smaller in their portions). Grab a bowl from $7.80 and enjoy, then if you want some extra noodles just go up and fork out a few coins!
9-13 Hay Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9281 6648
7 days a week; 11am to 7:30pm
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Originally published on 28th April 2015. Updated with new additions. Article by Chris Singh, Sarah Han, and Nicholas Langley.
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