Ebisu and Nakameguro are areas situated not far from Shibuya. Ebisu is renowned for its upscale restaurants, shops, beautiful gardens, and the shopping center known as Ebisu Garden Place, making it a prime destination for adults.
Nakameguro is easily accessible from Ebisu on foot and boasts a creative ambiance with art galleries and cafes scattered throughout. Along the Nakameguro River, you’ll find cherry blossom-lined paths, offering a breathtaking cherry blossom tunnel during the spring season. Furthermore, it’s home to numerous restaurants and bars, ensuring a vibrant nightlife.
In this article, we will introduce the top 10 recommended ramen restaurants in the Ebisu and Nakameguro area.
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10. Tsunagi らぁ麺屋 つなぎ
Tsunagi’s Miso Ramen sets itself apart from the famous Sapporo-style miso ramen. Its soup combines animal-based broth with dashi to prevent the dashi aroma from overpowering, creating a unique and flavorful profile.
What truly distinguishes this ramen is the carefully crafted tare, which blends six different types of miso. The result is a gentle, universally appealing flavor. The miso soup maintains a moderate thickness with the addition of back fat, creating a delightful level of richness.
Tsunagi Details
9. Tsukumo Ramen Ebisu Honten 九十九ラーメン 恵比寿本店
For a unique dining experience, head to “Tsukumo Ramen Ebisu Honten,” where you can savor an uncommon dish – Cheese Ramen.
The specialty of Tsukumo Ramen Ebisu Main Store, as depicted in the photos, is the Cheese Ramen, featuring a generous mound of cheese. It starts with a miso-flavored tonkotsu (pork bone) soup as the base, to which they add copious amounts of long-aged cheese from Hokkaido. If you’re a cheese enthusiast, this ramen will undoubtedly become a favorite. And for those who crave even more cheese, there’s an option to add extra cheese for a fee, so don’t miss it. The cheese on display within the restaurant also adds a unique touch to the experience.
The unexpected combination of cheese and miso, harmonizing with the tonkotsu soup, creates a delightful fusion. Mixing the cheese with the noodles is highly recommended to fully appreciate the flavors.
Tsukumo Ramen Ebisu Honten Details
8. Kitakata Ramen Ban’nai 喜多方ラーメン 坂内 恵比寿店
Located just a 2-minute walk from Ebisu Station, you’ll find “Kitakata Ramen Sakanai Ebisu Branch.” The main branch, “Sakanai Shokudo Honten,” was established in 1958 and is a well-known, long-standing ramen shop with a reputation as one of the three major ramen shops in Kitakata City.
Even after over 60 years since its founding, Kitakata Ramen Sakanai remains nationally renowned in a city where more than 120 ramen shops are scattered throughout Kitakata. Their hallmark is the clear, salty pork bone-based soup, generously poured into the bowl’s rim. It’s light in body but deep in flavor, creating a unique taste that can only be experienced at Sakanai Shokudo.
The slightly thick, hand-kneaded, high-water-content medium-flat noodles pair exceptionally well with the soup, making it a delightful combination.
Kitakata Ramen Ban’nai Details
7. Menya Sou 麺屋宗中目黒店
“Menya Sou” opened its doors in 2007 in Takadanobaba, a well-known battleground for ramen, and in 2009, it claimed the title of the best salt ramen in Japan according to a Japanese gourmet website. Now, it has a branch in Nakameguro.
The interior of the restaurant exudes a stylish atmosphere with a black-based decor. Although there are only nine seats at the L-shaped counter, the use of high-backed chairs ensures that there is no sense of crowding, allowing patrons to enjoy their meals in comfort.
The signature menu item at this restaurant is the “Special Salt Ramen,” known for its refined, translucent broth. By skillfully blending their special salt with the umami of chicken and seafood, they create a bowl that balances a refreshing taste with depth and richness. It’s a high-quality dish that offers an elegant flavor without leaving you feeling unsatisfied.
Menya Sou Details
6. Jinruiminamenrui Tokyo Honten 人類みな麺類 東京本店
This popular Osaka queue-worthy restaurant now has its branches in Tokyo, offering ramen with a touch of sophistication and renowned for its thick and tender chashu.
The menu boasts three distinct ramen options that provide a blend of nostalgia and innovation. “Ramen Genten” encapsulates the original essence of ramen, while “Ramen Micro” allows you to savor the umami, bitterness, and saltiness inherent to soy sauce. “Ramen Macro” stands out with its seafood-based broth and light soy sauce. Each ramen offers a unique and flavorful experience.
Inside the restaurant, there’s a noodle-making room where you can enjoy house-made noodles.
One highly recommended option is the “Ramen Genten.” Abundantly infused with bonito, it offers a sense of nostalgia with a touch of sweetness from the soy sauce in the aromatic oil. The soup is crafted without chemical seasonings, resulting in a gentle and delightful flavor, and the house-made noodles have a satisfyingly chewy texture that complements the soup wonderfully, making it exceptionally delicious.
Jinruiminamenrui Tokyo Honten Details
5. Mitsuyado Seimen Nakameguro Branch 三ツ矢堂製麺 中目黒店
Located just outside the south exit of Nakameguro Station is “Mitsuyado Seimen,” a stylishly lit restaurant with a spacious seating capacity of 44. What’s unique about this place is that it offers terrace seating, a feature not commonly found in ramen shops.
The charm of this restaurant lies in their homemade noodles made from domestically grown wheat. Their tsukemen, in particular, is very popular and allows you to savor the deliciousness of their dedicated homemade noodles directly. They also offer a variety of unconventional tsukemen options like “Toro Yamaimo Tsukemen” and “Tsukimi Natto Tsukemen,” which you won’t typically find at other places.
One highly recommended option is the “Yuzu-Flavored Tsukemen” (810 yen). It features a subtle and refreshing hint of yuzu, which adds a light and tangy flavor to the rich and flavorful broth, making it enjoyable from the first bite to the last.
Don’t miss the opportunity to savor the delightful combination of the chewy homemade noodles and the flavorful broth.
Mitsuyado Seimen Nakameguro Branch Details
4. AFURI Ebisu AFURI 恵比寿
AFURI Ebisu, with its mountain illustration inspired by Mt. Afuri, is known for using the natural spring water from Mount Afuri (Afuri-yama) in Kanagawa Prefecture to create its soup, giving rise to the restaurant’s name.
The soup base options include a “Light” broth, which is made by simmering chicken bones for 10 hours and then adding a seafood-based dashi to extract the flavors of the ingredients in a balanced and meticulous manner. Alternatively, you can choose the “Rich” option, where the “Chicken Oil (Chiyu)” and ginger are added to the base, creating a flavorful and creamy broth.
Moreover, it has been featured in American Express member magazines as one of the world’s finest ramen restaurants.
One of the highly recommended dishes is the Yuzu Shio Ramen. This salt ramen features a light soup with the fragrant essence of yuzu, creating a harmonious balance across all the toppings.
The seared chashu imparts a deep umami flavor, leaving a delightful aftertaste.
AFURI also has a location in Nakameguro, so using that option is another possibility.
AFURI Ebisu Details
AFURI Nakameguro Details
3. Murata 中華そば むら田
In the Nakameguro area, a long-standing and relatively popular ramen shop is Chukasoba Murata. Although it’s a bit of a distance from Nakameguro Station, it’s located along Yamanote-dori, making it easy to find, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting to Chukasoba Murata.
Chukasoba Murata’s specialty is their straightforward, classic soy sauce ramen, diligently crafted by the owner. It may not have particularly strong individuality or impact, but the soup, made without relying on artificial seasonings, is truly delicious.
Additionally, in the Ebisu and Nakameguro area, soy sauce ramen shops like Chukasoba Murata are relatively rare, so in that respect, it might be a valuable find. Their menu is quite diverse as well, which is another feature of Chukasoba Murata. If you visit, you’re sure to find a ramen you’d like to try.
Murata Details
2. Ebisu Ramen Kamuro らぁめん冠尾
Let me introduce Kamuro, a ramen restaurant that opened in 2017, known for its dedication to using domestically sourced ingredients.
The soup at Kamuro resembles a creamy potage, crafted exclusively from chicken, water, and domestically sourced materials. It’s a smooth and easy-to-enjoy soup without any undesirable flavors, making it a recommendation suitable for anyone.
The noodles are medium-thick whole wheat noodles with a rich wheat aroma and a pleasant chewiness.
Opt for their specialty dish, the Special Chicken Paitan Ramen, and you’ll find it adorned with flavorful chashu and a colorful variety of vegetables. It not only looks visually appealing but also provides a hearty portion.
Ebisu Ramen Kamuro Details
1. Ayagawa 手打 親鶏中華そば 綾川
Ayagawa is a popular ramen restaurant known for its specialty, which is ramen made with handcrafted noodles, just as the name suggests. Located approximately a 5-minute walk from Ebisu Station’s east exit, it initially gained notoriety for the enormous queues when it first opened but has since settled down.
Ayagawa’s noodles are made using blue bamboo, resulting in slightly irregular curls and a unique texture characteristic of handcrafted noodles. Depending on the day, you can choose between thick or medium-sized noodles. The soup, made with chicken, and the satisfyingly chewy meat, particularly the chicken, offer a delightful taste that may not be readily found elsewhere.
One of their signature dishes is the mini-donburi served as a side dish, which perfectly complements their ramen. It’s highly recommended to enjoy it as a set with their ramen.
Ayagawa Details
