Homemade Ramen Aoba — Restaurant in Kyoto

A tiny ramen shop that delivers big on flavour. We happened across this place when walking to Shintou to buy knives. Seeing the extremely high ratings, we decided to pop in.

The first thing that impressed us was the quality service. The owner speaks great English and was very welcoming. I do not eat meat and normally, ramen shops require me to wait outside while my wife eats. The owner here was very happy to let me take up one of his six seats and let me order rice and any other side dish I could. I ordered a number of eggs and some sake. The eggs were absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked, jammy on the inside with exquisite flavour.

My wife said the ramen was extremely good as well, with a soy sauce and chicken broth. The noodles especially had perfect texture with a great bite and nice bounce. The soup tasted extremely clean and was very refreshing, which is quite different from some other ramen soup we had where there was obviously a lot of fat in the soup. The chashu was perfectly cooked and extremely tender.

The reason for the texture in the noodles was very clear in the restaurant. There were multiple large (20kg) bags of flour in the corner and a noodle roller in the store itself. Additionally, we noticed that the owner was marinating some pork for chashu as well. When the store calls itself Handmade Ramen, it really is 100% hand made.

We especially enjoyed watching the owner at work. When building a bowl of ramen, his every move was precise and calculated with nothing wasted. It was almost like watching a dance as the owner assembled the ramen, sliced the hunk of chashu on a meat slicer, garnished the bowl with vegetables and then lovingly pouring the soup over and bringing it to customers.

We definitely very highly...

Homemade Ramen Aoba in Kyoto is one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gems tucked away quietly on a side street. It’s a true hole-in-the-wall spot—small, unassuming, and easy to walk right past if you’re not paying attention. When I stepped inside, there were only two other customers—young women quietly enjoying their bowls—and immediately, the smell of rich, savory broth hit me.

That alone told me I was in for something special. The chef, who seemed to also be the owner and manager, let me know there were only a few seats—six, to be exact—and there were signs posted clearly on the door. At first, I wondered how a business this tiny could survive. But once I tasted the food, I understood completely. The ramen was incredible—complex, deeply flavorful broth, with perfect noodles and toppings that didn’t need any extra flair. Everything about the space was clean, quiet, and meticulously maintained. I had it with a dry 0.0% Asahi

The chef was kind and spoke enough English for food and service basics, making the experience smooth even if your Japanese is limited. Highly recommend stopping by before braving the crowds near Pagoda Street. It’s the kind of spot that feels like a secret—you almost don’t want...

We went in for a late lunch and only waited around 5-10 minutes to be seated. The restaurant is very small, only about 6 seats, but very cozy and you sit directly across the chef preparing the meals. The chef takes care of everything, there's no other staff in the restaurant - kudos to him!

The ramen was absolutely delicious! All components were very tasty and the broth is very flavourful but still light enough to be drinked. Along with the ramen we also got an unlimited supply of water to drink which was great.

The chef was very welcoming and friendly and spoke English very well. It was a joy to watch him prepare the ramen and he was very attentive, obviously passionate about his work.

Please don't be discouraged by the ratio of locals to tourists that visit this restaurant - while the restaurant is marketed towards tourists with its English name, menu and English speaking chef, it's an authentic experience in a little corner of Kyoto that...