The 13 best ramen restaurants in Boston

The sparse setting at this Davis Square ramen joint allows guests to solely focus on the steaming bowls of delicate, Osaka-style ramen in front of them. Fresh ramen, tender pork and flavorful broth anchor each bowl. Tsurumen opened in Boston with the goal to only operate for 1000 days, however, in July of 2021, the team announced it was here to stay. Check their social media for special collaborations with different chefs if you want a guaranteed spot, or just go when you’re hungry for excellent ramen and wait in line. It’s worth it.

Open since 1990, Sapporo is still a top choice for a quick bowl of satisfying ramen when you’re hungry and in a hurry. You can post up at one of the bar seats or benches, or take it to go and enjoy it back at your desk or kitchen. You’ll find a surprisingly extensive (and well priced!) menu featuring a choice of ramen soup base—soy sauce, miso, spicy miso, curry and more—with toppings ranging from ground pork to veggies.

The Back Bay location of this Japanese chain is a prime spot for students and tourists to get a fast, nourishing bowl of ramen. The signature tonkatsu is made by simmering pork bones for 20 hours, resulting in a deeply flavorful broth. Santouka also offers the lesser-known toroniku ramen, made with tender pork cheek meat. The vegetarian option—featuring menma, kikurage mushrooms, soy-marinated wheat gluten and umeboshi—makes a real argument for meatless ramen.

This Connecticut-based ramen joint has locations throughout New England, and opened up spots in the Seaport and Brookline this past year. The restaurant specializes in ramen and pho, but they also offer boozy bubble tea, like the creamy Thai iced tea spiked with whiskey. The spicy miso ramen has a nice kick but won’t have you reaching for your drink with every slurp, and the tonkotsu is made with a Hakata-stylem 24-hour pork broth that’s packed with flavor.

This tiny shop in Brookline serves Sapporo-style ramen and boasts only a few tables, as well as counter seats that let guests watch the chefs at work. The simple menu includes miso, shoyu, shio and tan tan options. The broth is made with both chicken and pork, and is packed with rich flavors. Ganko is dedicated to their wok-made ramen, and their expertise shows in every delicious, filling bowl. They’re also planning a new location in Braintree in the summer of 2024.

This unfussy Japanese eatery serves a menu “based on the traditional vegan dining style of Buddhist monks,” so all of the options are plant based. However, lack of meat doesn’t mean lack of flavor here. The restaurant's Dragon Breath ramen is rich in umami and spicy notes, and is made with vegan meat, tofu, mushrooms and more.

This tiny Cambridge ramen spot is as quirky as it is delicious. From the cheerful shouts of “Irashaimase!” welcoming each customer to the singular focus on Jiro-style ramen, you’ll almost feel almost like you’re in Japan. Huge bowls of ramen feature thick, house-made noodles, and you can add an extra portion of the sweet, savory beef to most bowls (which you absolutely should do). The restaurant’s name means “talk about your dreams,” and you'll likely be asked to share yours out loud with everyone after finishing your meal, so be warned. The popular shop recently opened a second outpost in the Seaport.

This quirky izakaya, located within the Fenway area’s Verb Hotel, gets creative with maki rolls, robata, a large-format tiki drink menu and off-the-wall dishes like the BLT okonomiyaki. Chef Rob Wong's ramen is equally edgy, featuring a 48-hour chicken broth. Choose from the Funky Chicken (soy-marinated egg, menma, robata-grilled koji chicken) or the Spicy Miso (hatcho-miso, spicy pork, corn tempura, menma and soy-marinated egg).

Take a trip on the Red Line to Quincy for ramen made with a savory, pork bone broth, with tonkotsu, miso and tan tan on the menu, along with a vegetarian option. All can be made spicy. Sushi and donburi are also available, if you’re in the mood for more than noods. The restaurant has two more locations—one in Boston’s Back Bay (called Berklee Noodles Factory) and the other in Waltham.

Head to Newton for bold, flavorful ramen selections. Alongside rice bowls and pan-Asian small plates, the ramen list here is a major draw. Choose from paitan, miso, shoyu or seasonal option (e.g. pumpkin). Each bowl comes with ingredients like wood ear mushroom, pickled bamboo shoots and white kimchi, and add-ons are available. If you just can’t decide what to order, the “Chef’s Ultra Ramen” provides a substantial taste of just about everything. The restaurant serves beer, wine and cocktails by the can—try the Iwai Yuzu Highball!

With locations in NYC and Taipei, Totto Ramen sports some serious street cred. The paitan-style ramen is thick and hearty, with house-made noodles. The broth is chicken-based, rather than pork, with miso and spicy options available. Get your bowl with char siu pork or chicken. (There’s also a vegetarian version with a seaweed and shitake base). Customize your bowl with toppings like spicy bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms or a seasoned boiled egg. If you’re really hungry, go for the oversized mega ramen that includes all the pork variations.

This newish (they opened in 2022) ramen shop in Harvard square is described as a “Japanese ramen izakaya” tavern, and they serve ramen inspired by the Boso Peninsula, with a rotating menu of ramen with names like emni, meaning savory, and karami, meaning essence of spiciness. The shop also offers a variety of umami-rich small dishes like norishio fries, ponzu shishito, edamame shiro-miso hummus and sushi.

Chef Tracy Chang helmed the ramen pop-up Guchi’s Midnight Ramen, and her famed bowl is now on the menu here at Pagu alongside modern Japanese small plates. House-made alkaline noodles rest in a bowl filled with flavorful broth, pork belly, umami oil, nori and a six-minute egg. Enjoy this satisfying bowl in a sleek, welcoming space in Central Square.