Why: menu is diverse and will please everyone, and execution and price are great. You can be assured of great service and same quality food.
Highlight: Silverlake's Tonkotsu ramen is the creamiest and the black garlic topping lends the most umami flavor. They also are the most consistent of all the ramen places here. Oh and they have amazing Tsukeman (dipping) noodles.
#2 Umami Ramen House
Why: the boba teas are good, they are super generous with their toppings and the broth is rich.
HIghlight: Umami has the best spicy Miso Ramen. They're generous with their toppings as well.
#3 Kaedama
Why: super local favorite, broth is tasty with added chili oils and the variety of toppings are great!
Highlight: you can get a FREE extra serving of noodles if you say “Kaedama” (dine in only)
#4 4Tacos4Tacos4Tacos and 4TacosWest
Why: it's a different version of ramen with birria de res as a broth base. It's Mexican style with limes and chilis to spice things up.
Highlight: they have the cleanest and least greasiest consomme and include a birria taco as a dipper!
#5 Matsuharu
Why: it's authentic, maybe too authentic; the pork was amazing, but the MSG levels were off the roof! I was chuggjng water the whole time and long after.
Highlight: It's simple but has the “Hakata Style” tonkotsu ramen and the addition of the “Beni-Shoga” or red ginger adds authentic taste.
#6 El Charlatan
Why: photographs beautifully, but everything tasted the same, they go overboard with their inhouse Togarashi. They sprinkled it on everything, yet their broth was still bland.
Highlight: toppings were good, fried chicken was on point and the “Ajitsuke Tamago” or ramen egg was perfectly creamy.
#7 Gom Ramen
Why: super cheap and filling Korean style ramen.
Highlight: it's a lot of food for a cheap price, but if you want to actually have any flavor you need to ask for a side of the hot sauce.
#8 Yamaguchi Ramen
Why: this is for the old spot off Mesa on the Westside. The baos were good and the pork had a great smoky char. But Yamaguchi ramen's was soggy and the pork was unforgivably chewy.
Highlight: it had mushrooms in the broth which added depth.
#9 Jun's Ramen
Why: it was bland and had a lot of msg but had a good variety of toppings though.
Highlight: lunch specials are a great deal.
#10 NoMi
Why: it was pretty and had lots of toppings, very generous. However it was decorated like a fan boy's wet dream of “Asia” where all the different cultures like Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese were all meshed together as a big fantasy version of itself. The same thing went on in the menu. Clearly someone doesn't understand distinct ingredients and flavors. It's as if I said that now Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Mexican cultures and dishes that had all the different ingredients are now “Latin”.
Highlight: dishes photographs well.
Bonus Ramen (homemade)
If I wanted Tonkotsu Ramen, I can just make it at home with ingredients I got from Costco. Just add Kewpie Mayo and grated garlic to imitate the rich broth taste.
