Following its rather upmarket take on conveyor belt sushi with Omotesando’s Kaitensushi Ginza Onodera, the operator of NYC’s Michelin-starred Sushi Ginza Onodera now takes a similarly elevated-yet-casual approach to ramen. Noodle Ginza Onodera, the group’s first venture into this field, is again located in fashionable Omotesando.
Onodera has tapped a perhaps unlikely figure to head up its debut ramen joint. Keiichi Terada has won acclaim (and a Michelin star, four years running) for introducing wood grilling to French cuisine at the group’s Makiyaki Ginza Onodera restaurant.
The less-than-predictable choice of chef, though, brings something special to the (usually) humble bowl of ramen. Noodle Ginza Onodera’s soup, which is slowly simmered with roast duck and a variety of aromatic vegetables, is intended to reach the heights of umami. The egg noodles themselves are custom-made to an exclusive recipe using only flour sourced from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. For the full expression of Terada’s vision of gourmet-level ramen, try the Noodle Ginza Onodera Supreme, which features truffle wontons among its toppings.
This restaurant looks set to be the template for Onodera Group's future ramen-centric openings both in Japan and internationally, in the same way the group has rolled out branches of Sushi Ginza Onodera across the globe.