4 ridiculously good & authentic Ramen places in Vienna for those oodles for noodles

On our hunt for one of THE soul foods of Japan, we couldn’t leave out the popular ramen place of the first district, Shoyu Ramen. The interior is rather simple, maybe a bit cold, but with the various bits and bobs around the restaurant, and the friendly waitress, you’ll get that feeling of ‘omotenashi,’ aka. Japanese hospitality.

At Shoyu Ramen, there’s a total of 6 beautiful noodle-filled broths to choose from.  We ordered two bowls (for the sake of give you a good overview – everything we do is for you) – the Seafood Ramen and the Green Ramen. The Seafood is a mix of prawns and homemade fish balls, also known as fish pie (kamaboko), while the vegetarian option known as the Green Ramen, comes with seasonal veggies, egg and spring onions bobbing about in a vegetable broth. You can also order this as Vegan, in which the egg noodles are supplemented by rice noodles.

There’s the option when you’ve really got a hole in your stomach for ramen to upgrade your bowl to XL, but the normal sized bowl is already a big serve. It’s written on the menu that once you go ramen you never go back, you’ll always want more – this is true at Shoyu Ramen. The Ramen is full of the multi-flavoured sensation that makes this an addictive dish.

We recommend… going XL with their soups and telling us how you managed to slurp this much soup!
We love… that you can choose which noodles (udon, rice, soba) to have in your Ramen

This Izakaya (an informal Japanese pub, neither restaurant nor tavern) is serving up traditional Japanese snacky food with inventive twists. Styled on these globally trending casual Tokyo eateries, this place serves beautiful Japanese food with a great love for detail and taste.

There are a total of 5 ramen to choose from that you can also pair with a flight of 3 sake. The crowd favourite here we are told is the Tonkotsu Ramen (an intense pork broth with stewed pork). But we go for the AKA Ramen, with braised and then glazed pork, and a black bean paste added to the broth.

On top of the curly noodles rests half an egg that has been marinating in soy sauce for over 4 hours. The broth is spiced with a Japanese seasoning called taro and is finished off with soy sauce and the natural glaze from the pork. It is a family recipe, Woflgang explains, that he’s learned from his mother-in-law. Upon the first slurp, we want to ask Wolfgang where his mother-in-law is so we can hug her. So. Much. Flavour.

A good ramen is as comforting as it is tasty and the ramen at Okra Izakaya delivered, nay…surpassed, these expectations.

Good to know… reserving is highly recommended. You might even be assigned a 2-hour time slot on the weekend.

We also recommend… you take a look at their desserts. While they are not typical Japanese, they are made with the same elegance and flavour as the rest of the menu.

Located in one of the last places you’d expect to find it in the 2nd’s forgotten Vorgartenmarkt, this little ramen bar is serving up fatty pork soups that taste authentically Japanese, and fusion ramen dishes that are inspiring some serious slurping.

Every bowl of steaming ramen that comes out of the open kitchen pays respectful testament to the Japanese tradition of the noodle soup ramen at the Mochi Ramen bar.

It’s set up like a traditional ramenya, with it’s long bar crowded with stools, running along the open kitchen. And when sitting at one of those stools, if you look left and  right, you’ll see right into an old butchers on one side, and a fish shop out of the 50ies on the other, and then you’ll probably smirk like we did at the realisation how out of place Mochi’s new ramen bar really is here at the old Viennese market square.The Mochi crowd, who began some kind of genetically modified sushi bar (meaning the place is a fusion of a German Kneipe and a sushi bar), have always been big on presentation, and they do not disappoint with their version of the Ramen. Each bowl showcases it’s own look.

The most traditional of the the ramen on the menu, the Tonkotsu, is a murky light brown bowl of tasty pork-based broth, set off with bursts of colour from spring onions, a lettuce leaf, and bits of corn bobbing about. The soup is also served with a generous helping of impossibly tender braised pork, a boiled egg – and, of course, ramen noodles. The strands (made by Mochi) are superior to many a noodle strand we’ve slurped at before. The vegetarian variety, the Mushroom Miso Ramen, is full of flavour and flair. Layered and arranged in a way that makes it a pleasure to eat, we couldn’t get over the overwhelming taste of the Shitaki mushroom-infused broth. Whatever ramen you choose though, you’ll be glad the spoon is bigger than your mouth.

Check out our full review of Mochi Ramen bar, here. 

We recommend… being adventurous and trying one of the many Sakes on the menu
We love… the interesting drinks menu, which includes a number of wines we’d never heard of (which is a good sign) and a few craft beers

Oreno Ramen is the newest joint in town dedicated their kitchen to Ramen, and it just so happens, that they know very well what they’re doing. Their broths are piled in with fresh, quality ingredients and they take several hours to make. Plus, their noodles are the real deal, imported direct from Japan.Their Kyushu-style Tonkotsu Ramen, with a cutlet of pork floating in a bowl of pork bone broth is up there with the best. The flavours of their broths are some of the most intense we’ve tasted. Plus, it’s a fun looking joint, with a canary yellow colour theme.