Shop Ramen Preston — Restaurant in Melbourne

Shop Ramen is a neat little addition to the restaurants in Preston. It is situated away from the expected marketplace and lies instead along a mostly-industrial zone of Plenty Road. The giant neon sign by the window makes it easy to identify. The shop is quaint. It puts the small in small business. Nevertheless, it looked to be immensely popular with the locals. As we were greeted by the wait staff and seated, I noticed many takeaway orders being collected – an indication that business must really be doing well. Looking around, many of the customers are indeed millennials and hipsters. The menu is simple – a double sided laminated A5 paper. I opted for the Shoyu Ramen while my partner went for the Tan Tan Men. The wait time wasn’t too bad. Ramen is dreadfully difficult to make. A genuine tonkotsu (pork bone) broth requires many hours of slow-cooking. Alas, Shop Ramen offers no such pleasure. They only offer shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt) and miso(fermented soybean) broths – essentially third-rate versions. Don’t expect any pork flavours here. The food presentation was clean and tidy. The age of social media has really encouraged restaurants to make their food Instagram-worthy. The presence of fresh ingredients did their best to add to the flavour of the dish. However, there is simply no saving a poor broth. Don’t get me wrong – the broth is good – for a vegetarian base. These bases are easy to make - it tastes quite similar to the instant ramen I can purchase. I did enjoy the cuts of pork in my ramen. However, the addition of fresh ingredients simply doesn’t justify the $19.50 price tag. If I look for ramen, I want a tonkotsu broth. I will be happy to pay a premium for it. Shop Ramen does not offer such a version of the broth. However, they still charge you that premium price tag. They did their best with a vegetarian broth. However, at the end of the day, it’s just like putting lipstick on a pig. Except there is no pig...

● Feb 2025 ● 3 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ On a hot day 34 degree but we feel like ramen night. The ramen was good but beef brisket was quite dry and it wasn't just for the ramen but beef brisket bun as well. Service was okay, pretty average, it's a shame not seeing smiley faces. I think the price has gone up a little bit too but the portion seems to be a little less. Anyway, we still come back for the ramen here. Thank you for your service.

● Jun 2024 ● 3 stars 🌟 🌟🌟 Winter night with hot ramen ... it was good as always, flavor wise. Only mark one star down this time for the tangled noodles 🍜 still in the bowl as photo attached. However, staff was quickly offer to take it back and cook us another one. I'm sure it's an honest mistake. Buns were good and ramen tasted great. Although, we felt like the portion is a little bit smaller especially the bowl that my partner had a tangled noodles. Anyway, we would still come back here for ramen. Thank you for your service.

● Mar 2024 ● 4 stars 🌟 🌟🌟🌟 Feeling like ramen and of course we come to Shop Ramen. Buns were good, soft and tasty. Ramen was nice too. So it's consistency because we were happy with last time we came. Thank you for your service.

● Aug 2023 ● 4 stars 🌟 🌟🌟🌟 We usually go to the one in Fitzroy on Smith st. This is the first time in Preston branch. Soup is good 👍 ramen noodles were a bit undercooked but okay. Average service and good vibe. Bonus is that it's closer to home than the other one so we'll come back for our ramen fix. Thank you for...

An open space retro vibe chill joint with a simple menu with consistent dishes that hit the spot.

It was just me I finished work on a weeknight and was looking for place close by for a quick feed before meeting friends.

Travel: took me 30 mins by train from Collingwood Plenty of street parking 8 min walk from Bell train station Tram stop near by

Seating: sit by yourself at the low communal table or at counter, 2 at short table or group at 4 at high table on stools. Can sit 7-10 people on communication if you’re a big group. There’s a park bench inside to sit while you wait for take away.

Food: all looked good in photos from other reviews, I ordered the beef brisket ramen which had decent servings of brisket for the price - melted in my mouth. Came out quickly in 5 mins.

Cute tote and tshirts available for purchase on the wall.

It’s clean, good food and service, good acoustics is bonus so conversations are muted and peaceful so good place to catch up with people.

They have a 45 min seating limit which was perfect I was out in 20.

10/10 will...