Any time we get a chance to eat some good ramen, it doesn’t take much convincing. But when the weather gets dreadful, our urge for a warm bowl of soup only gets stronger. Thankfully, Philly has several places to hit up when you’re in the mood for long noodles of tonkatsu, shoyu, or really any kind of ramen. Here are 11 excellent places that are serving great ramen in the city right now.
THE SPOTS
When the seasons change, one of the first things you probably want is a liter of hot broth to warm you up. Neighborhood Ramen, one of the best places to grab ramen in the city, has you covered on that front. When you stop by the Queen Village noodle shop, try the shoyu ramen. Each bowl has a couple of pieces of pork chashu seeping with flavorful chicken broth, house shoyu, and toppings like scallion, menma, and ajitama.
If you’ve ever driven past Race & 9th, you’ll notice a line growing around the corner. And no, it’s not people forming up to play minigolf at Franklin Square—everybody’s waiting for fantastic ramen from Terakawa. One of our favorites is the mildly spicy tan tan ramen that’s bathing in spicy miso and chicken broth, minced pork, bean sprouts, and chopped scallions.
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The tonkotsu ramen at Tomo Sushi & Ramen is the perfect cloudy soup for every cloudy day. At this Old City BYOB, you can get rich and creamy broth topped with bamboo shoots, scallions, red ginger, but it’s the pork base and tender pork belly that steal the show.
We don’t know if it’s the broth, thick slabs of pork belly, or the chewy noodles that make the cha su ramen from Da-Wa: Joseph’s Sushi and Ramen one of our go-tos. OK, it’s all of it. From the sauce flowing with chili oil to the smokiness of roasted corn, it all comes together to make a soup that’s just spicy enough for you to feel some heat but not so overpowering that it takes away from its buttery pork-flavored broth.
The brisket ramen at Cheu Fishtown is more satisfying than a barista spelling your name right on the first try. The brisket is soft, juicy, and incredibly flavorful. It’s not every day you see a matzo ball in a ramen bowl, but the combination really works in this delicious and spicy dish.
Center City's Aki Nom Nom Ramen is one of few ramen spots in the city offering outdoor seating. Whether you’re inhaling the fragrant Karai Tonkotsu on their outdoor setup or taking it to go, the earthy spice of the black garlic oil and the rich and milky broth make this a dish that’s hearty and silky smooth.
One of our favorite dishes at this Chinatown restaurant is the Megumi spicy miso ramen. With curly noodles, heaps of cabbage, fried burdock root, onion, and chashu swimming in the bowl, the only time you’ll pause while eating is deciding whether to use your spoon or chopsticks for the first bite.
The soft wavy noodles in the Zenbu No-Se Ramen at this University City spot are great for making sure you get those extra drops of broth with each bite. And this tonkotsu-broth option feels like it has more toppings than South Street has bars. There’s marinated chashu pork, corn, menma, red pickled ginger, kikurage, a half-boiled egg, naruto, nori, sesame, and scallions, all sprinkled with roasted garlic oil on top. From the nutty flavor of the garlic to the tangy ginger, each element of this soup just works.
Spicy things are a dare for some people. The same reason behind letting wasabi wage war against your sinuses whenever you eat sushi is similar to why many grab a bowl of spicy katsu ramen at this Manayunk spot. The deep-fried pork loin is great for sopping up every drop of their signature fiery sauce, but we definitely recommend having a drink on-hand.
Even though it’s one of the spicer ramens at this Center City spot, the Hakata Ramen is still nicely balanced with pickled cabbage, red ginger, seaweed flakes, and a marinated egg. Plus, the tender char siu melts in your mouth. This creamy soup has some sweetness from the cabbage and ginger while also bringing some heat with its fiery pork base.
There’s something about eating a bowl of ramen that makes us feel like we’re getting a warm hug from the Phanatic (in a totally safe and nonthreatening way, of course). And that’s exactly how we feel when eating Yamitsuki’s veggie miso ramen. This bowl is long-weekend level restorative, with salty and miso flavors coming through in every spoonful of the broth that’s covered in sweet corn, scallion, bamboo, and bean sprouts.
