Ramen
Rich tonkotsu, bright shoyu, spicy miso: the bowls worth a winter wait.
Akahoshi Ramen
Sapporo-style miso with house noodles, widely called the best bowl in the city.
Ramen Wasabi
One of the city's most reliable tonkotsu bowls since 2010.
Menya Goku
Ramen Wasabi's sister shop, with a nutty, tingly tantanmen.
Rudy's Ramen
A simple menu done right. Yelp ranks it the top ramen in Illinois.
Monster Ramen
Beef-bone gyukotsu ramen, rare in the US, with noodles made in-house.
High Five Ramen
A basement counter with about 15 seats serving fiery spicy tonkotsu.
Strings Ramen Shop
Fresh noodles daily, plus a ghost-pepper challenge visitors remember.
Ramen in a winter city
Chicago's long winters make it a natural ramen town. Logan Square has become the city's unofficial ramen row, but good bowls are all over.
Common styles:
- Tonkotsu: a rich, creamy pork-bone broth
- Shoyu: a clear, soy-seasoned broth
- Miso: a hearty, fermented soybean base, often Sapporo-style
- Tantanmen: nutty, spicy and sesame-forward
Good to know: the most popular shops are small, and the lines get long on cold nights. Go early or be patient.
Warming noodle soup, part two: see our picks for pho.