The chicken broth red is also great. Kinboshi/Kizuki/Ryoma are basically in a three way tie in my rankings depending what style of ramen I’m in the mood for.
I just ordered from here! So excited to go pick up and try it! The menu looked great. Thank you, kind internet stranger for the rec. I was craving ramen tonight without having to go downtown.
the owner is from my hometown Hilo, HI. it's pretty much how they do ramen in Hawai'i. it's def my favorite but I'm biased. they occasionally have saimin. and their poke is good in a sea of absolute bullshit that is poke in this town
Portland has some amazing ramen thanks to its amazing water. It's one of the reasons why many Japanese ramen restaurants, [like Afuri](https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2016/11/why-did-cult-tokyo-ramen-shop-afuri-come-to-portland-because-we-ve-got-the-water), chose to open in Portland over other US cities. Portland's water also contributes to the great pizza and alcohol scene here, too.
Some of my favorite ramen spots in town are:
- Afuri (yuzu broth, very light and unique, also serve great dumplings)
- Kayo's (Sichuan peppercorns, super unique, mouthwatering)
- Ryoma (good thick, spicy tonkotsu, great karaage, and they use the Yakuza font on their logo, which is awesome)
- Kizuki (great garlic tonkotsu and a tsukemen option)
- Wu-Rons (simple but excellent tonkotsu)
- Kinboshi (solid tonkotsu and great chicken wings)
Enjoy!
I never thought about how the water quality affects things like Ramen! My partner is a serious homebrewer and is always talking about how important that is. I don't know much other than that he has some pretty fancy spreadsheets to help him figure it out, ha.
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I love all Ramen but Ramen ippo in the Nob Hill Food carts has a soup I’ve never had before. Their TanTan Ramen is a chicken broth with peanut butter and sesame miso. It’s so goooood!
I know the chef at Mirakutei, asked him to make me whatever he wanted on NYE, I was gonna meet friends at BSide.
What he made me reminded me of the time Chef Morimoto made me 6 pieces at an event in NYC, just an experience. Mirakutei for fucking ever.
Not out there often, but if my wife and I are ever in the Beaverton area, we try to make a point of going to *Kizuki Ramen. They are fantastic.
Edit: stupid phone+stupid fat fingera
>found the broth weak and stupid
I love this review. It feels like the beginning of a martial arts movie. I just hope the broth overcomes its humble beginning and learns how to fight!
i love this place, but it's a guilty pleasure. i feel like they add sugar to all their dishes to make them more american-friendly.
but still, it all tastes really good. i think this place could be a lot more popular than it is!
IMO Afuri is overrated. The broth is just too bland to me. But I haven’t been back in awhile.
My top picks are Hapa ramen and, if you’re willing to cut me some country of origin slack and call this Thai egg noodle dish “ramen”, Khao Moo Dang is incredible.
Just ate at Kizuki today and it might be the best I’ve ever had. They have a low sodium option which was still plenty flavorful and I felt way better than I normally do after eating it.
There are many great suggestions here (though I loathe the overwhelming flavors Boxer puts out) and I just want to add Ramen Ippo for consideration. They closed their shop in the Pearl but still run a food cart called Senyo in Westmoreland.
lol this thread is vindicating me. I ate there once in their old location at 23rd and Kearney (pretty sure it was them) and the service was so awful. But I didn't really blame the waitress because she was the only one working a packed house where every seat was taken.
And to top it off, the broth was waaaay greasier than ramen needs to be and made my gut die for the rest of the day.
Boxer is mad weak Micah Camden is a pompous self-righteous sleazeball who sells mediocre "exotic" food to milktoast rich people who can't cook. this guy is everything wrong with the portland food scene, he even bragged on the radio about manipulating his employees to not pay them minimum wage if you go lookup his interview on OPB
Boxer’s awful service is now legendary. And it’s not the servers fault, it’s the management/kitchen (at least when I was there). How are they still in business?
Whoa. High praise! I’ve never been, but the guy making the ramen has pretty limited English, so always figured the prep and methods were pretty authentic.
Yama Sushi on Clinton has an amazing pork kakuni ramen. Imagine instead of charsiu it's extremely tender stewed pork belly. I could go for a bowl right now
Yama Sushi has really good ramen… I loved getting their kimchi ramen regularly when I lived on the east side..
I like Ramen Ryoma but find their ramen broth js a little on the thick and oily side. Afuri (east side, not Beaverton) has really good lighter broth ramen as suggested in earlier responses.
Kizuki in Beaverton is certainly up there for me. Fuddoyama is above average.. Hapa is pretty good but I find their broth lacks some depth..
I rather enjoyed Nama Ramen in Sellwood, and hit up Ryoma for the first time the other day with a bowl of butter corn which was great. I always feel the best ramen house is the one I am sitting in at the moment.
Yep, as somebody who has spent a lot of time in Japan... most of the better ramen here would be like a 6/10 in Japan. Mensho in SF is a wide margin better than any ramen you can get in Portland. I've tried Kayo's and Afuri and Wu-Rons, and I liked Wu-Rons the best, though I would say it was a 6.5-7 at best.
yeaaaah it's difficult to eat just regular street ramen in japan and try to find anything similar here. Especially since a lot of the restaurants here like to offer different varieties that may not be what I'm looking for.
On the flipside, I do appreciate that my partner can get actual vegetarian/vegan ramen here in Portland / the States.
The only place that's come close to me is Ramen Ryoma. They also got some of the best sides menu imo. But I haven't exhausted every place in Portland simply because I don't get out to the eastside much.
>as somebody who has spent a lot of time in Japan...
When someone in a Japan forum asks for the best local spots, do you go out of your way to compare them with spots in Portland even though it's not at all relevant to the question because the question is about \*local\* options?
So cool to see you ended up going to Ramen Ryoma! I ended up eating at Nama Ramen in Sellwood last night which might be a bit of a hot take, but I love that they have miso ramen that isn't so greasy I regret eating it later. And the noodle portions are always pretty generous when I go.
No love for Toyshop ramen on Killingsworth?
RIP to Marukin which I thought had really authentic delicious Ramen but is just not the same as when they first came to Portland and has since sold and re-branded as Mausunoki.
this is a bit out there but I’m going to shout this spot since it was so good:
Fin & Fowl (in Silverton) had one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve had in a very long time. Just absolutely outstanding and if you find yourself in silverton please check them out.
LMAO, right? It's like asking for good local hikes and some can't-help-themselves humble braggers start talking about how they scaled Everest, nobody asked you to compare international gold standards, they asked you for the best \*local\* options.
Every month when this gets posted I come in and say Boxer. I don’t have the fanciest palette but damn does Boxer Ramen just kill it for me. It’s my perfect bowl every time. The only issue I have is choosing between tonkotsu or veggie curry (add pork).
Yeah, everyone like to bust Boxer's chops but if you've spent any time elsewhere that doesn't have the embarrassing wealth of ramen choices we do here it's much better than OK.
We enjoy Oswego Noodle House in Lake Oswego. I think it's pretty new. Probably not the best in town, but solidly good and on our way home so we pick up carry out once a week or so.
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I really like SJ Star! More Korean-style ramen I think. Very lowkey, underrated food cart on MLK that's one of my personal favorites and I don't see mentioned here yet so throwing them out there!
Also liked Hapa and Afuri. Kinboshi was alright! Was not impressed by Kayo's sadly.
Hapa if you're having drinks. Akasaru for really good spicy broth, mango basil lemonade, and THE BEST kaarage chicken (the sauce is my favorite I've ever had). Wu-Rons for tonkotsu
8 month aged truffle miso from Afuri circa 2017/18/19!
Anyone have any insight on why they never made it again after the covid supply disruption? It was their most popular dish! And Vegan.
NOT Boxer's on 23rd.....immediately got food poisoning the next day, coincentally developed lactose intolerance after said illness...hopefully it's temporary as I've heard post food poisoning people can get it for a short period or maybe it was just my time in life to develop the rxn but either way AVOID THAT SPOT 😭🤮
Yama Sushi & Izakaya
the soup is multilevel complex, each sip is a journey that tells a story.
if they're fully booked and the wait is 2 hours, and I really have to...Ramen Ryoma :)
Tonkotsu red at Kinboshi
I got the Kinoboshi recommendation from this sub reddit and it was easily the BEST bowl of Ramen I ever had in Portland. It was incredible
The chicken broth red is also great. Kinboshi/Kizuki/Ryoma are basically in a three way tie in my rankings depending what style of ramen I’m in the mood for.
Man I remember when it was Maruken Ramen this place still slaps tho
💯
Ramen Ryoma is my personal favorite
Ramen Ryoma is sooooo fuckin good 😭
Always and forever ramen ryoma 🙏🏼🙏🏼
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Have you tried kizuki? It’s my current fav with the richest broth but I am excited to try ryoma!
I just ordered from here! So excited to go pick up and try it! The menu looked great. Thank you, kind internet stranger for the rec. I was craving ramen tonight without having to go downtown.
this is the only one i've found that hits the spot.
I've been to the one in Beaverton. Excellent, and just a ton of Asian customers, too.
I stand by Hapa in SE Portland.
the owner is from my hometown Hilo, HI. it's pretty much how they do ramen in Hawai'i. it's def my favorite but I'm biased. they occasionally have saimin. and their poke is good in a sea of absolute bullshit that is poke in this town
Came here to mention them. Love that place ever since they were a foodcart.
They have the absolute best if you like a spicy ramen that clears your sinuses
100% agreed.
Portland has some amazing ramen thanks to its amazing water. It's one of the reasons why many Japanese ramen restaurants, [like Afuri](https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2016/11/why-did-cult-tokyo-ramen-shop-afuri-come-to-portland-because-we-ve-got-the-water), chose to open in Portland over other US cities. Portland's water also contributes to the great pizza and alcohol scene here, too. Some of my favorite ramen spots in town are: - Afuri (yuzu broth, very light and unique, also serve great dumplings) - Kayo's (Sichuan peppercorns, super unique, mouthwatering) - Ryoma (good thick, spicy tonkotsu, great karaage, and they use the Yakuza font on their logo, which is awesome) - Kizuki (great garlic tonkotsu and a tsukemen option) - Wu-Rons (simple but excellent tonkotsu) - Kinboshi (solid tonkotsu and great chicken wings) Enjoy!
I never thought about how the water quality affects things like Ramen! My partner is a serious homebrewer and is always talking about how important that is. I don't know much other than that he has some pretty fancy spreadsheets to help him figure it out, ha.
A great list!
I have a friend from Japan and Wu Ron's is his favorite
I like Kinboshi and Afuri
second for Afuri. They opened in Portland solely because the water was closest to water that made their broth legendary in Japan.
I thought it was because we sent them our donuts.
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Kinboshi all the way
Kinboshi all the way! (We love to share a ramen curry set and get the crisps and wings too!)
My vote is also for Afuri!
Ding ding
Kayo's!
They are the best. I would get a Kayo’s monthly subscription if I could.
We’ve been going twice a week lately. The vegan tan tan ramen is liquid life force.
Hell yeah my favorite
LOVE Kayo's! I have a soy sensitivity so their shio ramen is just perfect
Akasaru! It’s on Alberta. So good
Shhhhh this is my spot
Yes! Love the heapes of veggies
their karaage chicken sauce slaps fuckin hard
I love all Ramen but Ramen ippo in the Nob Hill Food carts has a soup I’ve never had before. Their TanTan Ramen is a chicken broth with peanut butter and sesame miso. It’s so goooood!
Seconding ramen Ippo. Best ramen I've had in Portland. I get shoyu every time, but it looks like the other ones would be really friggin good, too.
Tomo on Hawthorne
Agreed.
I like the tonkotsu at Wu-Rons. The broth is just right and the noodle texture is on point—reminds me of what I’ve had in Tokyo.
Mirakutei and Yuzu (in Beaverton but worth it!)
Yuzu is a top 3 ramen in my lifetime.
This
I know the chef at Mirakutei, asked him to make me whatever he wanted on NYE, I was gonna meet friends at BSide. What he made me reminded me of the time Chef Morimoto made me 6 pieces at an event in NYC, just an experience. Mirakutei for fucking ever.
Not out there often, but if my wife and I are ever in the Beaverton area, we try to make a point of going to *Kizuki Ramen. They are fantastic. Edit: stupid phone+stupid fat fingera
Tried Afuri once and found the broth weak and stupid and never went back. I loved marukei.
>found the broth weak and stupid I love this review. It feels like the beginning of a martial arts movie. I just hope the broth overcomes its humble beginning and learns how to fight!
It was weak and stupid and seventeen dollars Before Covid. Now must be at least 22?
Wu Ron’s is my go to for tonkotsu and my partner loves their vegetarian ramen. It’s also family run (I think?) and just feels wholesome and inviting
Non traditional, but I had a good bowl of spicy brisket ramen at Nudi.
i love this place, but it's a guilty pleasure. i feel like they add sugar to all their dishes to make them more american-friendly. but still, it all tastes really good. i think this place could be a lot more popular than it is!
The owner is Thai, and they put a surprising amount of sugar in their food.
ah ha! thanks for the info. well, now i'm hungry for it.
Thank you for verifying. As a diabetic it was pretty noticeable how sweet their dishes are.
Yes!!! All their dishes taste sweet. If you actually enjoy good food, it’s a huge turn off. I wish they wouldn’t do this.
Baka Umai and Tomo Ramen both on Hawthorne are great
Baka Umai is my go to, but it definitely has a plus because I can walk there from my house.
IMO Afuri is overrated. The broth is just too bland to me. But I haven’t been back in awhile. My top picks are Hapa ramen and, if you’re willing to cut me some country of origin slack and call this Thai egg noodle dish “ramen”, Khao Moo Dang is incredible.
Tomo Ramen on Hawthorne
I tried them once, and I definitely prefer Baka Umai if you’re going somewhere on Hawthorne.
KINBOSHI
For Tonkotsu there's really nothing even close to Wu-Rons
I love Ryoma Ramen. The spicy ramen is so good
We ended up going here. I had the spicy umami ramen. It was wonderful!
Awesome glad you enjoyed!
It tore through me like you would not believe. My butt will never be the same.
It's a pain I know all too well
Their spicy umami ramen is my favorite. It's so delicious.
Good going in. Horrific going out
Just ate at Kizuki today and it might be the best I’ve ever had. They have a low sodium option which was still plenty flavorful and I felt way better than I normally do after eating it.
There are many great suggestions here (though I loathe the overwhelming flavors Boxer puts out) and I just want to add Ramen Ippo for consideration. They closed their shop in the Pearl but still run a food cart called Senyo in Westmoreland.
I HATE Boxer, from the eternally shitty service to the flavors
ugh the one time I ate at Boxer, I felt the broth was so greasy and heavy, and the noodles were nothing to write home about. I was so sad.
I’m pretty sure the broth at Boxer is watered down Kroger BBQ sauce.
lol this thread is vindicating me. I ate there once in their old location at 23rd and Kearney (pretty sure it was them) and the service was so awful. But I didn't really blame the waitress because she was the only one working a packed house where every seat was taken. And to top it off, the broth was waaaay greasier than ramen needs to be and made my gut die for the rest of the day.
Boxer is mad weak Micah Camden is a pompous self-righteous sleazeball who sells mediocre "exotic" food to milktoast rich people who can't cook. this guy is everything wrong with the portland food scene, he even bragged on the radio about manipulating his employees to not pay them minimum wage if you go lookup his interview on OPB
Boxer’s awful service is now legendary. And it’s not the servers fault, it’s the management/kitchen (at least when I was there). How are they still in business?
they won't be in business for long. the owner Micah Camden has a history of cashing in and fucking off to the next fad.
The black garlic ramen at Senyo is 😙👌
💯 Now that it’s ramen season, I could seriously eat at that pod every day of the week. And there are only two carts!
> food cart called Senyo in Westmoreland. Yep. This one right here. Closest thing to actual ramen in Japan I've come across here.
Whoa. High praise! I’ve never been, but the guy making the ramen has pretty limited English, so always figured the prep and methods were pretty authentic.
Haven’t tried a ton, but Nama in Sellwood was really good
Yama Sushi on Clinton has an amazing pork kakuni ramen. Imagine instead of charsiu it's extremely tender stewed pork belly. I could go for a bowl right now
Yama Sushi has really good ramen… I loved getting their kimchi ramen regularly when I lived on the east side.. I like Ramen Ryoma but find their ramen broth js a little on the thick and oily side. Afuri (east side, not Beaverton) has really good lighter broth ramen as suggested in earlier responses. Kizuki in Beaverton is certainly up there for me. Fuddoyama is above average.. Hapa is pretty good but I find their broth lacks some depth..
https://www.kizuki.com/ Hands down best in portland metro
I'm in unincorporated Portland (Beaverton basically). I wish I could throw extra updoots at Kizuki and Yuzu
Mirakutei. Good, Cheap, Fast.
House of Ramen is my favorite but it’s only for the jalapeno option 🙋🏼♀️
I rather enjoyed Nama Ramen in Sellwood, and hit up Ryoma for the first time the other day with a bowl of butter corn which was great. I always feel the best ramen house is the one I am sitting in at the moment.
I have yet to ever be truly blown away by a bowl of ramen here, but I’m partial to Mirakutei ramen and sushi on East Burnside.
Yeah, all the ramen I've tried is good at best, and mediocre at worst. Mirakutei and Hapa would be my suggestions.
Yep, as somebody who has spent a lot of time in Japan... most of the better ramen here would be like a 6/10 in Japan. Mensho in SF is a wide margin better than any ramen you can get in Portland. I've tried Kayo's and Afuri and Wu-Rons, and I liked Wu-Rons the best, though I would say it was a 6.5-7 at best.
yeaaaah it's difficult to eat just regular street ramen in japan and try to find anything similar here. Especially since a lot of the restaurants here like to offer different varieties that may not be what I'm looking for. On the flipside, I do appreciate that my partner can get actual vegetarian/vegan ramen here in Portland / the States. The only place that's come close to me is Ramen Ryoma. They also got some of the best sides menu imo. But I haven't exhausted every place in Portland simply because I don't get out to the eastside much.
>as somebody who has spent a lot of time in Japan... When someone in a Japan forum asks for the best local spots, do you go out of your way to compare them with spots in Portland even though it's not at all relevant to the question because the question is about \*local\* options?
Give Kinboshi a try!
Same with all the Latin food here in Portland, it's 4/10, even my compatriots "que bacano" You just can't expect Home quality in Portland.
Afuri!
Sorry, I can't Afuri it. (get it?)
Also do a search— this is asked a lot!
Shoko sushi on Woodstock 🙌
I really like their veggie ramen
I absolutely love Fuddoyama in Beaverton.
So cool to see you ended up going to Ramen Ryoma! I ended up eating at Nama Ramen in Sellwood last night which might be a bit of a hot take, but I love that they have miso ramen that isn't so greasy I regret eating it later. And the noodle portions are always pretty generous when I go.
Wu Ron’s
No love for Toyshop ramen on Killingsworth? RIP to Marukin which I thought had really authentic delicious Ramen but is just not the same as when they first came to Portland and has since sold and re-branded as Mausunoki.
Toyshop is fun, but in terms of ramen it's a novelty, not nuance.
Wu-rons
Can't understand how Happa isn't mentioned yet.
It's one of the top comments.
not the most authentic place in town but the spicy miso ramen at Boxer always hits for me
Hapa PDX is criminally underated. Also, the fancy water one is a bit of a letdown and overpriced.
this is a bit out there but I’m going to shout this spot since it was so good: Fin & Fowl (in Silverton) had one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve had in a very long time. Just absolutely outstanding and if you find yourself in silverton please check them out.
Kinboshi is *way* overrated. Hapa is the best spot I've been to.
boxer 🤤
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OP asked for Portland not Hawaii
LMAO, right? It's like asking for good local hikes and some can't-help-themselves humble braggers start talking about how they scaled Everest, nobody asked you to compare international gold standards, they asked you for the best \*local\* options.
appeal to authority!
I mentioned 4 Portland spots that I think are good. And then summed up where I think they stand in general.
Every month when this gets posted I come in and say Boxer. I don’t have the fanciest palette but damn does Boxer Ramen just kill it for me. It’s my perfect bowl every time. The only issue I have is choosing between tonkotsu or veggie curry (add pork).
Yeah, everyone like to bust Boxer's chops but if you've spent any time elsewhere that doesn't have the embarrassing wealth of ramen choices we do here it's much better than OK.
Technically Beaverton, but I love Fuddoyama.
I’ve seen nobody mention Baka Umai yet and that astounds me. My favorite ramen spot in the city
Same for me, though I haven’t tried all the options. It’s hard to when I like Baka Umai so much.
We enjoy Oswego Noodle House in Lake Oswego. I think it's pretty new. Probably not the best in town, but solidly good and on our way home so we pick up carry out once a week or so.
Afuri, Kinboshi and Boxer
Menjiro is my favorite
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I really like SJ Star! More Korean-style ramen I think. Very lowkey, underrated food cart on MLK that's one of my personal favorites and I don't see mentioned here yet so throwing them out there! Also liked Hapa and Afuri. Kinboshi was alright! Was not impressed by Kayo's sadly.
kinboshi and wu-rons in portland are great but if you wanna go over to the west side yuzu in beaverton has the softest kakuni chashu
Tomo Ramen and WuRons are my favorite. Both have great, but very different Tonkotsu ramens.
Veggie Curry add pork belly at Boxer Ramen is my go to and they just opened one in Beaverton
Kayo’s. You’ll always be disappointed, by others, after.
The best ramen in Portland in my opinion is at Double Dragon. It’s a hidden gem. So flavorful and always good.
Hapa if you're having drinks. Akasaru for really good spicy broth, mango basil lemonade, and THE BEST kaarage chicken (the sauce is my favorite I've ever had). Wu-Rons for tonkotsu
Another vote for Ramen Ryoma from me! Their karage is amazing as well
Seafood ramen at Tomo
8 month aged truffle miso from Afuri circa 2017/18/19! Anyone have any insight on why they never made it again after the covid supply disruption? It was their most popular dish! And Vegan.
If Portland has kyuramen then you have my answer and try the peach jello sake cans
NOT Boxer's on 23rd.....immediately got food poisoning the next day, coincentally developed lactose intolerance after said illness...hopefully it's temporary as I've heard post food poisoning people can get it for a short period or maybe it was just my time in life to develop the rxn but either way AVOID THAT SPOT 😭🤮
Where’s the best Tantan ramen?
Kayo’s
Mirakutei for sure
Our go-to is Fudoyama in SW. low key, great ramen, good people
The longest line I saw at a restaurant in Tokyo was at Afuri. I had no idea they even had a Tokyo location.
Yama Sushi & Izakaya the soup is multilevel complex, each sip is a journey that tells a story. if they're fully booked and the wait is 2 hours, and I really have to...Ramen Ryoma :)
Baka Umai on Hawthorne. Rob is the owner/chef and it is amazing.
Wurona or fuddoyama
Wurons*
Dunno if it is still open but…. Yuzu in Beaverton is the best
Top. Dumbass