The menu is kept pretty simple - total of 4 ramen options for $16 per bowl ($15 for the tofu). There were rice bowls and buns as well, but I figured I should go with ramen as per the restaurant's namesake. I loved the pork belly and wished there was more of it! Unfortunately this is where the love ends. The broth was completely lacklustre, and tasted like a whole lot of powered stock got dumped in water. Very one dimensional. Everything else, including the noodles, was so so. I guess my non-hipster palate just couldn't make heads or tails out of the flavours. Seating is also quite limited, so as soon as you put your chopsticks down, they place the bill on your table to say sayonara. read more

See all

On the corner of Johnson and Smith Street is a bright neon sign that signifies the home of North side ramen. Shop Ramen is a small joint with one large communal table, and series of two seater slots along the wall. The hip hop and tunes and easy going atmosphere sets the tone, you are in for a night of Collingwood style shenanigans. Unfortunately for vegans there is only one main dish (vegetarian ramen) and mango and coconut shake. The famous vegetarian buns aren't vegan which is a disappointment considering the huge number of places in the CBD that can serve up vegan options with no problem. The vegetarian ramen is a hot bowl of creamy garlic broth, served with a healthy dose of greens and some seriously tasty mushrooms. Packed into the bowl are Shop Ramen's hand-made noodles, which were absolutely perfect. Throw in some sriracha sauce and some pepper and you have some of the tastiest noodles this side of the city. The service at Shop Ramen was fantastic, with servers quickly seating us and taking our orders. They actually stuffed up the order and only delivered one meal, but to their credit a second meal was delivered in under two minutes. So why three stars? The atmosphere feels "so North," sporting the cool vibe that plagues the streets of the area. And while the ramen was delicious, there was nothing here that absolutely blew me away. Don't get me wrong, I'll be coming back here for more tasty ramen, and you should too. This just isn't the best restaurants of the area. read more

Shop Ramen - Mango and coconut shake - Restaurants Near Me - Fitzroy, VIC

See all

It pains me to have to give 1 Star as this restaurant is quite close to where we live and I would LOVE to have a killer neighborhood ramen spot within walking distance to our home. However, the 1 Star is for negligent hygiene and food handling practices. My husband and I sat there and watched a front of the house employee compose someone's appetizer with her bare hands. She did this more than once, in plain sight, and we sat and watched in horror and disgust. This is the same employee who was touching her hair, touching the cash box, taking payments and handling drinks. We were able to get a video of her in action. It was awful to see, especially since at that point I was almost done with my bowl of ramen. The next day, I started experiencing severe abdominal cramps and nauseas followed by several emergency trips to the bathroom where I'm sure you could guess what unpleasantries occurred. I have, unfortunately, experienced food poisoning before and have no doubt that the unclean practices at Shop Ramen are what have caused this grief and discomfort. Husband has the same symptoms. read more

Beware!! Staff have no sense of food safety or hygiene. The staff handle cash and then prepare your food without gloves . How do people get away with this. I guess a little bacteria doesn't worry anyone. read more

Shop Ramen - Restaurants Near Me - Fitzroy, VIC

See all

I really like the idea of Ramen, and then I eat it and regret it. NOT THIS TIME! Ramen here tastes good for you. Granted I had the vegetarian option which was made with cashew nut broth - I know amazing right - but the vegies were cooked to perfection, the broth was delicious and the noodles moorish. Usually I struggle to slurp up my broth and finish the noodles but this dish did not defeat me, nor did I feel overfull at the end of this pleasurable experience. My dining partner and I didn't opt for the bun, or the pie as the ramen alone was plenty enough. That said I will definitely be back for bun. Not sure about pie, the option on the night we went was pecan, but never say never. VERY reasonably priced, delicious Japanese fare in a funky little fitout on Smith St. Oh and make sure you add the garlic bomb to your ramen. It is literally the bomb. Arigato Shop Ramen! read more

Yep this place is still popular and you will need to put your name down for a table but I reckon it's worth it. Been here a couple of times, the buns are always really fresh and moreish. But just have one if you're going to have ramen, you'll never eat it otherwise! I went for the chicken ramen and the cut of chicken was really good, it was a whole piece and it was really tender and broke up really easily. No gristle, no yucky bones to pick out. The broth was miso based with a generous amount of noodles. It all tasted really fresh and 'clean' as in I'm pretty sure there's no msg in the food. This is definitely a place to go when you want something delicious but not super unhealthy. You don't feel guilty eating here, well I didn't anyway! Can't comment on the desserts as I am always too full to try them, or the milkshakes as I tend to go for a beer. I only wish I could but even I know my limits. In short, definitely worth a visit, if you can go out of peak hours all the better. read more

Fuck yeah Shop Ramen! I miss you :((( I have eaten all ramen options and they are a delight. I have dranken(??) salted caramel and matcha milkshakes and omg. I have watched others eat buns with great sadness and jealousy. Who even has room left for pastries? A better man than I, that's who. read more

Tofu ramen dish here is the BUSINESS. Order a side of the shitake mushrooms and kick back at the small table out front. 5 stars. Good stuff. Fair priced. Nice staff. No complaints. read more

In Sydney, Ramen means Ippudo for me. But Shop Ramen is the place where you can regularly come either for lunch or dinner. The taste for ramen soup just nice. Noodle is way toooooo soft. I prefer harder noodle for ramen though. Give options for soft or hard noodle, then i will give 5 stars. read more

See all

Shop ramen is a very hipster and cosy restaurant. It is not your typical bowl of ramen but it is full of flavour and delicious! Hits the spot every time! My favourite is the beef brisket ramen. Yum! read more

See all

Give credit where credit is due, I say, so a couple of thumbs up to these guys for having a crack at setting up a ramen shop. The fit out is on trend with the local hipsters and so is the food - and this is Shop Ramen's greatest advantage; these poor unsuspecting hipsters don't know any better... Shop Ramen's USP is apparently the "hand made" noodles. Whilst this statement is partially true (I guess they mix the dough by hand), never in my 30 odd years of eating ramen from the north to the south of Japan have I ever seen it made with a pasta machine. Oh yes, folks, if you were expecting to see a Japanese guy flipping and stretching dough into skinny silky strands and twisting it into knots that go straight into boiling water and then rich, thick broth that has been simmering for days you will be sadly disappointed. That said, the 'nouveau' style ramen is not bad and perfect for the hipster palate. However, ramen is all about the broth and I would say the broth here is only a notch above the higher end instant noodles you get at asian stores for a dollar. The Korean miso looks deceptively like tonkotsu (southern style pork broth) but it's disappointing, suffering from an identity crisis of not being spicy enough to satisfy a hankering for Korean style soup nor rich enough to be Hakata style. The pork belly ramen with shoyu broth is better. The soup has a good blend of slightly sweet soy. The cha-shu is good, too. The Chinese style buns are tasty and make for a nice consolation price for the absence of gyoza on the menu. My hipster dining companions were happy and I dare say would not cope with an authentic ramen experience complete with slurping and drinking broth straight from the bowl. They 'liked' it. read more

I really like this place! The menu is unique, it has a bit of a Western (hipster) twist to Japanese food. I had the beef brisket ramen, and it was delicious and full array of different flavours. The peanuts were good. read more

I recently purchased a cold brown rice bowl from this establishment and was LESS THAM PLEASED when the server informed me that they would not allow me to take the leftovers home due to "health and safety" when previously this has NOT BEEN THE CASE.. I really needed these leftovers, I could not finish the whole meal and would have appreciated to have it later. this situation stuffed me around so hard. I'm running on empty til tomorrow now. No thanks read more

OMG - these are Ramen Noodles to die for! I had the Dan comprising cape grim beef brisket, radish, Sichuan pepper, celery, salad greens, marinated egg, peanuts, black vinegar, chicken and dashi soup, and of course, noodles for $13.50. Forgot to mention that I opened with a pork belly bun, which was equally delicious, for the princely sum of $4. Dinner done and dusted for a grand total of $17.50 - value, value, value. read more

It's okay, not amazing. I've had better Ramen from Korean restaurants in the city and in Box Hill. A bit expensive. The sparkling apple and matcha was delicious. There is a weird long white light in the middle of the communal table which is blinding. Wouldn't rush back. read more

Awesome ramen some of the best stock and the noodles are absolutely perfect. Could be a bit bigger but honestly hard to fault. One of my favourites. read more

It's as though some white guy started a restaurant based on a story he heard once about an actual ramen bar. Except that story has been twisted and distorted by the ravages of time, so drastically, it's barely related to its namesake. My partner and I went to this establishment after a few drinks one night, in the hope of some lovely Japanese ramen. We should've known better when we walked in and all the wait and kitchen staff were Caucasian 20-somethings. We ordered two steamed pork buns (not entirely dissimilar to Vietnamese steamed pork bao) along with chilled sake for two. Vietnamese cuisine at a ramen bar (which is something the Japanese really have on lockdown), was strike one. Strike two was the sake. We each received a small ceramic cup of sake. Not a normal 30-40ml ceramic cup, but a small mug, full of house sake. My partner ordered the pork belly ramen, which was relatively uneventful, except that the pork belly had been fried like bacon and contained a small tree of what we can only assume was a leafy herb or some such. I ordered the "beef brisket" ramen, and added the melted American cheese for a dollar, because at this point I was committed to the ride, and had to see where it ended. I received my ramen, which was essentially two minute noodles, cooked in beef stock and soy sauce, with a chunk of beef with a slice of cheese melted on to it. It was like eating a liquid, noodle-based, cheeseburger, with no pickle. I feel like this restaurant is an example of what happens when white people think they're being fancy with "fusion cuisine", by poorly appropriating someone else's culture. read more

The one vegan option is pretty yum, but nothing to write home about. Mango coconut smoothie was delicious. Service was pretty great after being slow to seat. The long table in the middle is a little off-putting. Overall feel was...every other stale hipster restaurant with hip hop. Good enough to go to if you're close by, but not worth making a trip. read more

Terrible service. I had specifically made it clear when I arrived that I would be paying by card and that I had to leave in 25 minutes (I had to leave to make it to a doctor's appointment) and the very nice waitress said that would fine. My meal arrived, and admittedly I refused to eat it or pay for it because I had no cash and no time to get any. A male staff member took great offence and was very aggressive, refusing to let me have my attempt to draw their attention at their hopelessly slow payment process (which he attempted to blame on the malfunctioning eftpos machine, but in fact their system is hopelessly slow in any event, because they require patrons to line up to pay). Instead, he told me to leave and not come back. I called him a mildly rude name that rhymes with fickhead as he hightailed it back to the kitchen and I then proceeded to leave. As I was about to walk out the door he walked up and, getting in my face, repeated to tell me to leave and not come back (as if I needed reminding and as if I ever would) even though I was already at the door. read more