Ikigai Ramen — Restaurant in District of Gungahlin

When me and my group of friends made the pitstop here after our long trip @the snows On a cold SUNDAY evening, you’d think A nice bowl of Ramen would add a nice warm, heartfelt meal to feed the soul.

Unfortunately, You don’t get that here!

Initially, we were very impressed by the ambiance, and were kindly greeted to our table. The waiter whom we asked for recommendations honesty just recommended every item on the menu. (VERY USEFUL)

When placing our orders we were then hit with the EFTPOS machine to pay after we just ordered???! Why do you expect customers to pay first before even getting their meal??!

Honestly, this would’ve been fine if we were repeated what our order was for confirmation, or even shown the order on the ipad she was ordering from! (RED FLAG)

We then received our orders with the starters setting the bar high. We ordered the karaage and chips with wasabi mayo which were the highlights of the night.

Then came the mains, we initially received all our mains then got slapped with an extra dish we didnt order??? We then proceeded to inform the waiter of this and they said that we ordered this extra chicken katsu dish. HOW ARE WE MEANT TO KNOW WHAT WE ORDERED IF WE PAID FIRST AND HAD NO ORDER CONFIRMATION? (by the way I’ve never tasted a more dryer chicken katsu in my life)

The worst part of this all, is that they refused to refund the extra dish and did not acknowledge that they had made an error. On top of that the waiter said ‘don’t worry you can enjoy this on top of your ramen’. Way to add insult to injury.

The ramen, we can all agree was absolutely shocking. When you see noodles cover the bowl more than the broth in ramen you’re already in for a bad trip, especially in tonkotsu ramen. What’s worse is that the broth was lackluster and dilute in its flavour profile with the sides like the chasu given being very miniscule. MIND YOU THIS IS $26 a bowl PLUS $1.50 or what not for an egg.

With all the ramens I’ve tasted in Sydney and in JAPAN, this place is unworthy to be called a ramen joint.

What an...

Recently, my trainer and I decided to cap off a grueling gym session with a meal at Ikigai Ramen in Gungahlin, and let me tell you, it exceeded all our expectations. When we arrived without a reservation, the place was bustling, a good sign by any standard. The host greeted us warmly and managed to find us a fantastic spot at the bar window. He was upfront about a slight wait for the meals due to staffing issues, but this transparency only added to the exceptional customer service.

To tide us over, we ordered the Miso Crab croquettes as a starter. These were no ordinary croquettes; they were creamy crab delights, perfectly balanced with miso butter, burnt mozzarella, togarashi, furikake, and spring onion. The flavors were complex yet harmonious, an appetizer that set the bar high for the main course.

For our mains, we went all-in on ramen: I had the Tonkotsu, featuring a creamy pork bone broth, wheat noodles, chashu, wood ear mushroom, menma, spring onion, ajitama, furikake, and mixed sesame. My trainer opted for the Shoyu Miso, an umami powerhouse with curly wheat noodles, charred tofu, BBQ shiitake, bok choy, togarashi corn, nori, ajitama, and spring onion. Both bowls were culinary masterpieces—delicious, gorgeously presented, and leaving us savoring every last spoonful.

Despite the venue being near its closing time and short on staff, the service never faltered. The team remained friendly, attentive, and incredibly helpful throughout our meal. Their commitment to customer satisfaction was as impressive as the food itself.

I can't recommend Ikigai Ramen enough. Whether you're a ramen aficionado or a newbie to the scene, this place offers a sublime dining experience you won't want to miss. I'm already looking forward to my next visit. A...

Owned by a lovely Filipino family, we were keen to support especially as we had had their ramen before at Sunday in Canberra's Ramen Nights on Friday and Saturday nights. The atmosphere, ambience and interior are beautiful, love the location, the mechanical ramen bowl, the seating, the tree in the centre of the location and the clock! The service has always been great, would be great for Apple Pay to be incorporated so we don't have to take out our cards to pay especially since we order at the table. Kitchen were a bit slow but since we came in on their second day, perhaps they're still getting into the momentum of things. The price isn't unreasonable but compared to other well known and established ramen places like White Chaco and Ramen O, there is quite a bit of difference especially on Sundays when there is a surcharge but that can be the case for several places so that's fine. $26 for a tonkotsu ramen bowl is quite expensive. The pork ramen itself is delicious, love the egg, bamboo, noodles and broth and of course the amazing chilli paste, it's just quite expensive and $9 for 3 takoyaki balls were also a bit steep but since it's seafood, it's also understandable. We also tried the chicken ramen, the katsu curry and the black sesame ice cream and they were all amazing! Will definitely be back and will likely visit often but since the price is a bit high and the kitchen service is quite slow, I can't see this as a place I would visit too often for lunch or if I'm after a quick but delicious meal which is a bit of a shame. But congrats to the owners! Hope there will be more ramen types...