Venice Ramen

Tucked away in a Marina del Rey strip mall, Venice Ramen’s name is misleading in more ways than one: Chef-owner Hideko Mochizuki actually hails from Tokyo, where he already operates four successful ramen shops. At Venice Ramen, he takes an old-school approach to the art of ramen. The shop makes noodles from scratch in two styles (thin and straight or thick and wavy); serves a more traditional tonkotsu in both shoyu and shio versions that feels light-years away from the fattier broths more easily found around town; and most notably, opts for hard-boiled eggs steeped in soy sauce for several hours over the more commonplace jammy soft-boiled eggs. Beyond tonkotsu, Venice Ramen also serves an equally worthy chuka (clear chicken- and pork-based) broth with the thicker, wavier noodles, plus a straightforward plant-based option topped with bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots and plenty of other veggies.