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Adelaide’s best ramen

CityMag searched the streets of Adelaide to find the best places for a hearty bowl of ramen to slurp this winter.

Aug 07, 2025, updated Aug 07, 2025

We know what you’re probably going to be doing at home in Adelaide this wintertime: jealously watching people online eat an egg salad sando at 7-Eleven and list the ‘best meals in Tokyo’ through TikTok.

You can’t deny it; we all wish we were in Japan right now (let’s ignore the fact that two out of three CityMag taste-testers have already holidayed there in 2025).

So, in response to this travel trend, we searched far and wide to find the best places to eat ramen this winter.

We’ve measured the dishes based on a few of our regular metrics such as location, tastiness, balance and Grammable (where we’d post this on Instagram if we were influencers).

We’ve also judged the bowls on their saltiness and aroma (how much oomph did the bowl give us when it was first placed onto our table).

So read on and get your slurping skills ready for Adelaide’s best ramen this winter.

When I was in Japan

$25 from Kazumi Ramen, The Parade

From the first steps we took into Kazumi Ramen on The Parade, we were instantly transported back to Japan. This hidden gem looked exactly like a ramen place you’d stumble across in the back streets of Tokyo – there was bar seating, an open kitchen and Japanese designs inside. This ramen packed a punch. It was a considerably large bowl (we’d hoped as much given the price point was more expensive than others we’d tested) and the toppings were generously spread out across the broth and noodles. We assume the egg was marinated in soy as it boomed with flavour from the first bite (do note that you have to add it on and doesn’t already come with the ramen). The meat – wagyu beef – although large was rather hard to eat, given our below-average chopsticks skills. But once you chowed into the block of wagyu and found the soft, melt-in-your-mouth section of the meat, it was all worth it.

Claudia's pick, for its ability to transport her back to her recent Japan stint.

The enigma

$19 from Ryo’s Noodles, Gouger Street

When we arrived at the Gouger Street noodle bar, we were concerned to find it empty on a Thursday lunch time. But any fears disintegrated as soon as the scent of a soy-flavoured tonkotsu broth wafted over our table. As we indulged, other patrons filtered in. The colourful bowl was plated well, making it highly Grammable and included bok choy as well as shallots, setting it apart from the others on this list. The real showstopper was the egg, which stood out to our whole team of taste-testers, with a yolk that had a satisfying sourness. The noodles had some slip-factor and the pork was simply good, but not a standout compared to others on this list, making the bowl an enigma that we were eager to figure out. The broth packed a salty, oniony punch that rounded out the dish. Overall, the heartiness of this ramen proved Ryo’s knows comfort food, so we’ll be back.

Helen's pick, for its egg that packed a flavourful punch.

Slip city

$20 from Minimono, Rundle Street

This beige bowl is more than meets the eye, with a well-balanced broth boasting garlic and sesame. The Rundle Street noodle joint is unassuming, and you might miss it walking down the busy street, but it’s worth the stop, especially on your lunch break as the service is prompt and the pork oh so tender. While we did score a whole egg in this bowl, it wasn’t halved, so this reporter’s novice chopstick skills were put to the test. We’ve dubbed Minimono’s offering ‘Slip city’ because of the buttery noodles, another amateur chopstick barrier. But, the noodles being fresh and handmade were a standout. Only one of our taste-testers made it to the bottom of the bowl with ease which indicates the hearty serving size and bang for your buck.

Jayde's pick, for its abundance of toppings and tasty bits.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

$19 from Umai Kitchen, Union Street

Umai Kitchen’s ramen was our Goldilocks moment. There wasn’t one specific element that stood out to us, but everything was just right. Its strong oniony flavour was an interesting change and different from the saltier, tonkatsu broths we also tested. This broth, in particular, had a higher viscosity as well. It lacked that liquid transparency (not upset about it, though, as it seemed to marinate the meat and toppings). But we must take a moment for these noodles! The perfect thickness, easy to pick up and just enough chew to keep us satisfied – they were the hero of the ramen. Unlike other ramen joints we had ventured to in both Japan and Adelaide, Umai isn’t a small, confined space, rather an open, large restaurant with lots of natural light. We adored this, particularly when photographing the damn thing. Canpai, Umai Kitchen.

Where there’s smoke

$25 from Yuna, Henley Beach Road

Yuna is a newer player on this list, opening in April 2024, just before the Japanese cafe trend really kicked off in Adelaide. They’ve got comforting sandos, specialty Ona coffee and cutesy matcha on the menu, but we only had eyes for one dish. You really had to bury your nose in the bowl to catch the aroma of this one, but when it hit the table, it was the pork that captured our attention. The pork had a beautiful char on it, but remained tender, making it delightfully smoky and flavourful. Our only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of it, particularly for the price point, which was one of the highest on the list. While we’re in a critical mood, what is it with only getting half an egg in ramen these days? We hope the egg shortage will be over soon so that we can restore balance in our ramen bowls.

The old reliable

$19 from Contemporary Japanese Deli, Grenfell Street

At every ramen stop on our journey so far, we’d always asked for tonkatsu ramen. This was no different at Contemporary Japanese Deli, but we were warned that this would instead include pork katsu over the regular boiled sliced pork pieces we’d eaten at our earlier ramen stops. Don’t get us wrong, we love a pork katsu (in early 2024 we even scoured all of Adelaide to find the best katsu sando). But in a ramen? We were hesitant. But as soon as that big bowl of noodles hit the table and we were graced with the presence of our lunch, any apprehension toward the fried meat went out the window. It was juicy and the perfect crunch to our otherwise noodly, liquidy dish. It didn’t have our favourite noodles or our favourite extra toppings, but this meat in broth is worth coming back for alone.

This article first appeared in the 2025 40 Under 40 edition of CityMag, which is on streets now.