Ramen Del Barrio

Finding an extra $20 bill in an old coat pocket is great, but there’s something even more exciting about finding it in an unexpected place, like on a sidewalk or hiding right behind your ear. It’s how we felt when we stumbled upon Ramen Del Barrio, a Japanese-Mexican fusion ramen stall in the food court at the grocery store Hana World Market in North Austin. Located roughly between a donut shop and a makeup stand, this is home to one of the most unique (and tasty) bowls of ramen in the whole city. 

photo credit: Richard Casteel

The dining area has all the expected sex appeal of a grocery store food court (no kink-shaming here), but the heavy wooden accents and hanging paper lanterns make sitting at the bar here feel a bit like you’re at a small ramen shop in Tokyo—just as long as you don’t look behind you. You’re not here for the ambiance. You’re here for inventive Mexican-Japanese dishes like the ultra-savory mole tsukemen, a bright and refreshing aguachile mazemen, or charred yakitori-inspired lengua tacos, served still sizzling on the skewer on a warm corn tortilla, glazed in a sweet piloncillo tare.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

While you should probably start with a few yaki-tacos, the star of the menu here is the carnitas tonkotsu bowl. On paper, it reads like a taco—there’s buche and cueritos, grilled pepper, cilantro, onion, and salsa. On the table, it’s a bowl of ramen that spent its formative years in Mexico. Because under all those toppings, you’ll also find a big pile of springy ramen noodles, shoyu tare, and a rich and creamy tonkotsu broth that stands up to the best in town. Both carnitas and tonkotsu are long, labor-intensive preparations of pork. Combining them into a soup seems so obvious in retrospect, that we can’t help but wonder why it’s taken so long to come into this world. And all of a sudden, the lime wedge on the side feels like more of a final puzzle piece than the estranged role it would probably serve at an old-school ramen shop. 

Ramen Del Barrio isn’t the first place in Austin to test out how well Japanese and Mexican flavors blend together, but it might be the most seamless and unexpected. Maybe we’re just looking for more excuses to eat tacos, or maybe we’re just realizing that the 6,700 miles between Mexico and Japan are a lot closer than they sound. 

Food Rundown

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Yaki Tacos

Think yakitori-style skewers paired with corn tortillas and salsa. The meat arrives on a skewer that you can cleanly remove before wrapping the whole thing up. Our favorite is the lengua—the beef tongue is slow-braised resulting in a pull-apart texture with just a little bite—but the pork belly is a close second. Definitely add one or two of these to your order.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Carnitas Tonkotsu Ramen

The broth is a fairly classic tonkotsu, made from boiled pork bones, with a rich and fatty texture. But it’s topped with everything you’d expect to find on a taco—onions, cilantro, charred serrano, a lime wedge, and a handful of carnitas, blending shoulder meat, stomach, and skin for a fun combination of textures. We recommend ordering a side of salsa macha to go with it.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Mole Tsukemen

Most tsukemen we’ve had pairs thick and chewy noodles with ultra-rich, salty dipping broth, and Ramen Del Barrio’s is no exception. Except here, instead of a pungent, fishy broth, it’s a thick and savory mole that’s almost too rich to eat on its own. This is a great dish for mole lovers, but might be a little too much of a good thing for the casual enthusiast.