Like so many great cuisines, ramen started at the meeting of two cultures: it’s a Japanese take on Chinese wheat noodles soup. Even the name is supposedly borrowed from a Japanese take on the Chinese word (lāmiàn). In Berlin, though, the ramen offerings have been growing steadily over the years. Here is our pick of some of the best:
Cocolo Ramen
Not all that long ago, street food was barely a thing in Berlin, then along came Cocolo Ramen. Starting up as a food stall, it first moved to Paul-Linke-Ufer before moving again to Kreuzberg and Mitte. Tasty, reliable, always packed: there is no list of Berlin ramen without Cocolo.
- Cocolo Ramen Kreuzberg, Graefestr. 11, Kreuzberg, details.
- Cocolo Ramen Mitte, Gipsstr. 3, Mitte
Beyond Ramen
Ramen goes vegan. For years, fans of Japan’s most famous noodle soup didn’t have much of a meat-free option (the broth is quite often made with boiled animal bones). But at Beyond Ramen, this is turned on its head. Not only is the soup vegan, but even the popular meaty topping like TanTan or pink belly chashu are now meat-free. And it really works. Don’t forget to taste their delicious lemonade and tea, either.
- Beyond Ramen, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 5, Mitte, details.
Life Berlin
On a little corner of Maybachufer, find Life Berlin. Here you can not only tuck into excellent ramen, but also deep fried meat and fish dishes, all prepared in laidback Izakaya style. A plate of kara-age, a bowl of noodle soup, a cold drink: it doesn’t get much better.
- Life Berlin, Maybachufer 39, Neukölln, details.
Buya Izakaya Ramen
Recently CDU leader Friedrich Merz proclaimed that “Germany is not Kreuzberg”. Sitting at Buya Ramen on Reichenbergerstraße you can’t help but think “good”. This place is meant to be an izakaya, that is: a japanese pub. They’ve got delicious soup with homemade noodles with tonkotsu, tantan or shio broth. The shio is especially funky when embellished with the Japanese fruit yuzu.
- Buya Izakaya Ramen, Reichenberger Str. 36, Kreuzberg, details.
Takumi Nine
In true Japanese style, this place is small, always full and focused on one dish: ramen. They order their noodles from a factory in Sapporo and anyone would admit they’re fantastic. The most surprising thing about these noodles is their consistency: no matter how long you sip the intense chicken broth they remain wonderfully firm to the bite. It isn’t cheap, but the portions are hefty.
- Takumi NINE, Pappelallee 19, (entrance on Raumerstr.), Prenzlauer Berg, details.
- Takumi’9 Sapporo, Chausseestr. 124, Mitte, details.
- Takumi NINE Tonkotsu, Knaackstr. 99, Prenzlauer Berg, details.
Kuma Ramen
This one came to our attention during the pandemic, and has quickly become one of our favourites. Nam started selling his noodles over Instagram and then meeting customers with soup-kits outside an Asian supermarket. Things have moved on since then and you can now find his delicious offerings at the Markthalle Pfefferberg.
- Markthalle Pfefferberg, Schönhauser Allee 176, 10119, details.
Food Technique Berlin
The final entry on our list is also one of the most unusual. Another pandemic project, these soup-kits are still primarily available from a bucket lowered from the apartment window of Japanophile Christopher Selig. But don’t judge a soup by its bucket, this is incredible cooking. Our personal favourite is the mushroom shoyu ramen.
- Food Technique Berlin, pickup in Zionskirche and order online, details
