1/4
Ramenka
Kazinczy Street's Ramenka is undoubtedly one of the most popular ramen spots in town. Being situated in Budapest's unofficial ruin pub district definitely helps, but the quality and authenticity of the soup served here totally justifies the hype. The basic ramen (pork broth, a filling portion of noodles, egg, carrots and seasonal vegetables) costs 1850 forints. There are also other variations, like the chikin with chicken, beefoo (1980 HUF) with beef, shifudo (2380 HUF) with shrimps, and lamboo (2380 HUF) with lamb. The vegetarian version, waggie (1580 HUF), is served with vegetables only.
2/4
Komachi Bistro
Komachi Bistro on the corner of Kertész and Dob Streets has set the goal of bringing Japanese cuisine closer to those living in Budapest. The place, named after the 9th century poet Ono no Komachi, serves two versions of ramen: soboro-miso ramen (1480 HUF) is a minced meat version with miso base soup, while shoyuu ramen (1480 HUF) is a soy-based version, which is slightly saltier and more brown but also refreshing. It is immediately noticeable that the base soup is thicker and the noodles are also freshly prepared, making this place a superhero of Budapest's ramen spots. Plus, there are a great number of Japanese regulars here, which definitely says something about the quality of the place.
Address: Kertész Street 33.
3/4
Biwako
Biwako is a traditional Japanese fast food restaurant where ramen is cooked with selected ingredients imported exclusively from Japan. Soups are the backbone of the menu, and the other dishes mostly walk in their shadow. The soups are available in an almost infinite number of combinations. There are soy ramen noodles with pork, mungo bean and leek (1980 HUF - 2180 HUF), as well as four types of miso ramen (2080 HUF - 2280 HUF) with similar ingredients. The soups are prepared on the basis of old family recipes and we thought the flavours were refined and harmonious, while the noodles were especially delicious (home-made, we guess).
4/4
Itoshii
Itoshii is a quality restaurant that's, surprisingly, all-you-can-eat. The restaurant is out of the ordinary in every respect. You can place your orders on the tablets on every table and instead of the á la carte menu, you can eat as much as you want from a range of dishes for a fixed price. The selection, of course, includes ramen (yaki ramen yaksai ramen) and the soups served here do not have the conveyor belt taste you'd expect of a typical all-you-can-eat spot. Dishes here are prepared properly - and even if the soup is not as great as the legendary soup of momotaro, it is still good.
The prices are the following:
Lunch: Monday to Friday 5 680 HUF per person, Saturday and Sunday 5 880 HUF per person.
Dinner: Monday to Sunday 6 880 HUF per person.
Children (3-10 years) 3 500 HUF each.
Address: 1062 Budapest, Teréz Boulevard 55-57.
