The best ramen in Melbourne in 2024: slurp your way through these spots now

Though you can now enjoy subtler, lighter broths as part of the shop's brand new Tanrei series, it's mainly all about the tonkotsu broth at Hakata Gensuke: a satin-rich pork bone elixir that changes the lives of first-timers and innocent tourists in Japan forever. Try the black tonkotsu for a creamy pork bone soup with a garlicky and black sesame kick, or confront the spicy wrath of the God Fire ramen if you dare. You can customise everything from the toppings and noodle texture to the saltiness and abundance of spring onion. There are now outlets in Carlton, Hawthorn and QV too, but we reckon the OG on Russell St is the best. Fun fact: this tiny spot took out top gong in our Best Bang for Buck category at the 2015 Time Out Food Awards. 

If you're after a cheap CBD lunch under $20 that keeps you full until dinner time, Mr Ramen San is a godsend. In the belly of Mid-City Arcade, you’ll find the Hakata-style noodle shop tucked away on the Little Bourke St end, usually with a line outside the door. Like many others on this list, here's a purveyor also ladling a slow-cooked tonkotsu broth (24 hours to be exact) and house-made noods in a cosy, convivial atmosphere. Hot tip: vegan and vegetarian ramen options are available for your plant-based pals, too, and Mr Ramen San's are known to be very good. 

Mensho Tokyo is a famous ramen chain with outposts in Thailand, India, the US (including a Michelin-starred spot in San Francisco), and since 2023, Australia. Lucky for us, the first was erected right here in the heart of our fair city. There's only 28 seats so don't let a long queue put you off; if you're a ramen fanatic, it's worth the wait. There are six types of ramen on the menu, but on your first visit you should try Mensho's signature tori paitan ramen. It's a creamy, white soup made from a chicken, kelp and vegetable broth, served with insanely delicious duck char siu and fresh noodles. 

Just so you know how good it is, the ramen at Supernormal was brought back earlier this year in the face of increasing pleas. Usually a winter special, the dish's popularity encouraged Andrew McConnell and his team to bend the rules a little. We're told it rivals the famous New England lobster roll (and you may as well grab one of those, too, while you're there.) Priced at $24 a bowl, it's not the cheapest ramen on this list but certainly nor is it the most expensive. In other words, great value for a taste of McConnell magic. Over two days, Supernormal's chefs steep a double chicken stock with dried shiitake, kombu and white miso for depth. Upon order, it's poured piping hot into bowls with fresh noodles, grilled chicken, a soy-marinated egg and the restaurant's juicy prawn and chicken dumplings. Book in for lunch from Monday to Friday to try it.

Sitting only 19 at a time, Parco's warm and densely packed atmosphere often attracts queues of hungry patrons for one thing and one thing alone: its ramen. The noodles are perfectly springy and slurpable, most likely due to the fact they are hand-made daily. Topped with the usual suspects of a gooey dashi egg and bamboo shoots, there are also the welcome addition of seasonal greens. You'll find all the usual suspects here, but go for the truffle ramen if you're feeling a little bougie. The truffle's infused into the ramen with charred pork belly, dashi egg, spring onions, bean sprouts and shiitake mushrooms. Heaven in a bowl. Note: we're talking about the Moonee Ponds one here but there's a Collingwood shop, too!

The tiny shopfront is small but mighty, delivering great gyoza and Godzilla sized bowls of ramen with great umamiful broth. Get the buttered corn miso and always add a soft egg to up the richness. Always.

True foodies know that some of Melbourne's best lunchtime feeds lie far underground. No, but literally – underground. Ikkoryu Fukuoka serves up its 18-hour slow-cooked tonkotsu broths in a breezy city basement and you'll need to go downstairs to grab a bowl. But follow your nose to the secret space and you won't be disappointed. Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen's house-made Chikuhuo noodles are slender slivers cooked just right (Goldilocks approves!) and with an awesome range of customisation options. Enjoy your noods in a broth that's light or extra rich, and with an array of toppings designed to suit your palate. Oh, and you can get free refills! 

If the name ‘Tamura’ sounds familiar, it’s because this relatively new izakaya is the culinary brainchild of Fumi and Takako Tamura, the same owners behind Fitzroy favourite Tamura Sake Bar (where you can also get a pretty bomb ramen, by the way). Pop in on a Saturday or a Sunday from noon and you can try their tantalising Yokohama-style ramen special for $25. It's a soup of rich tonkotsu shoyu broth with medium-thick noodles, smoked cha-shu, half an egg and seaweed. If you're willing to cough up just seven more buckaroos, they'll even throw in gyoza, Japanese fried chicken, mapo tofu and more, plus rice! Yummo. 

Much in the same vein as French-Japanese fine diner Bansho or French-Vietnamese casual eatery Rue de Thanh, Snow Monkey blends East and West with astonishingly good results. The one-year-old shop has a location in both the CBD and South Yarra and was founded by two sport enthusiasts who bonded over their passion for skiing and Japanese cuisine. Trained in Le Cordon Bleu classical French cooking methods, owner Tommy Li partnered up with another chef and businessman who happened to share the same surname – and so Snow Monkey was born. Expect classic tonkotsu broth made from free-range pork and succulent, crumbed prawns to act as croutons. Ramen purists may turn up their noses, but we think it's well worth trying – and, of course, you can't go past Snow Monkey's signature lobster bisque ramen. So luxurious.

It's all about the tsukumen here. Your springy noodles and toppings are served separately to a really intense broth containing soy, miso, chicken and pork stock. The thick and chewy noodles are designed for you to dip in the broth. Once your noodles are finished, you're given dashi to dilute the broth so you can drink it like soup. 

This relative newcomer to Melbourne's ramen scene is led by French-Japanese culinary expert Ryo Northfield who's known for his contributions to numerous hatted venues around the world. His team of masterchefs painstakingly create silky rich broths and exquisitely balanced seasonings to curate a range that you'll definitely want to go back for so you can try each one. Bonus points for bangin' cocktails.

Central to Ramen Ramen's success is its meticulously crafted broth. Inspired by the Kyushu technique, the founder's broth is a labour-intensive process that begins with a 24-hour simmer, featuring a precise ratio of pork bones, chicken bones and other collagens. With three-day aged noodles and an array of quality additions, the result is a bowl of craft ramen you'd expect to cost $28 or more. But Ramen Ramen's mission is evident is to keep things affordable at around $17.90, making the shop a fantastic lunch option next time you're wandering around the Glen.

Though it's no longer open 24 hours a day, ramen chain Shujinko used to be the only option for partygoers hankering for the Japanese staple dish at unearthly hours. That was until Musashi Ramen entered the fold, an after-hours noodle-soup purveyor on Russell Street near Chinatown. Yep, you can get your fill here until 3am on Friday and Saturday nights. Congenial chants of irrashaimase! greet diners as soon as they step inside.

This little hole-in-the-wall in the hustle and bustle of Carnegie draws crowds in on a daily basis, leaving a queue streaming outside of its venue. There's something for those who have a hankering for a chicken broth, or those who seek out creamy pork broth – either available with added shoyu or miso – and the pièce de résistance: little corn kernels that elevate the texture of it all.

A well-loved haunt for both far-flung vegans and hipster locals, Neko Neko’s tiny room is at capacity just about every night of the week. It’s a big hit for lowkey dates and a safe space for solo diners to nurse a glass of natural wine from a window seat. By nailing humble and homey cooking, just with better ingredients and a daintier touch, Neko Neko ticks all the boxes, including a vegan-style ramen with tofu sponges, soy meat and sesame broth that's so tasty it could convert you over to the plant-based side for good. 

These guys have no qualms about not being authentic and that’s okay. The menu is a cultural mishmash of ramen, bao sandwiches and pies for dessert, but they take their ramen seriously: noodles are made fresh in-house, the tonkotsu is light and punchy, and the creamy veggie broth with cashew milk might just win over meat eaters.