Ramen O' Bowl — Restaurant in Cambridge

Vegan ramen kitchen near Harvard Square with satisfying ramen and rice bowls.

With so many ramen shops around Harvard Square, Ramen O Bowl initially seemed like just another casual addition to the neighborhood. I recently took a visit to check them out, and the setting felt more akin to a vegan cafe than a traditional ramen joint. Given its focus on a limited selection of ramen alongside an array of smoothies and vegan pastries, I initially didn’t have high expectation for their food.

Thankfully, both the Malaysian Curry Ramen and Spicy Soy Bowl exceeded my expectations. The Curry Ramen, with its mild coconut milk base and an array of vegan toppings, showcased a depth of umami that is often challenging to achieve in a vegan ramen. The thinly-sliced soy protein, reminiscent of Spam, also added a pleasant level of savoriness to the broth.

The real surprise, though, was the Spicy Soy Bowl. Resembling a vegan poke bowl, it excelled in balancing flavors, incorporating pickled vegetables and classic poke toppings to create a dish that was satisfying.

While I still hold RedWhite's vegan ramen in high regard as the best in the city, Ramen O Bowl introduces its own unique and intriguing vegan offerings to the mix. Highly recommend giving them a try if you’re looking for casual yet unique vegan food around...

Ramen O' Bowl is finally open. They should have soft opening hours beginning around 7/5 or 7/6. We tried out many of the noodle items on the menu and numerous smoothies plus the green Thai tea. Our favorite noodle dishes were the Schacha ramen soup and the Tahini cold noodles. We also tried many of the spicy ramen soup and cold noodle dishes as well, I liked the Korean cold noodle the best from those, but I will say I don't generally love spicy food.

We didn't try any of the dessert or sushi bowls since we've had them all many times at their prior restaurant (Bayberry) and wanted to focus on trying the new items, but I will say their vegan desserts are delicious, the tiramisu is one of my favorites and the sushi bowls are yummy too and use a black forbidden rice mixture. Ruby, the owner, makes her own vegan noodles for the soups and came up with all of the recipes.

Please note that the restaurant uses both fresh peanuts and peanut butter in many recipes, so if you are allergic to nuts, please take this in to consideration.

The menu doesn't have any ramen dishes currently gf, but many of the sushi bowls and smoothies can accommodate gf dietary...

Ok so I know this is kinda my fault but I feel like this place isn't as up front about being a VEGAN RAMEN RESTAURANT as it should be!! I've got no issue with vegan food but I really was really craving some pork/chicken stock ramen and it wasn't immediately obvious this place was vegan.

All things considered though:

The spicy ramen was pretty good! The broth is hearty and has a really good velvety mouth feel characteristic of a traditional ramen stock. However, the protein on top was served cold which is an odd choice to pair with a hot soup.

The miso ramen was straight up not good. I'm not trying to be mean here, but it tasted like chalky water with a hint of miso.

Vegan ramen is tough to pull off and honestly Ramen O Bowl does a pretty good job all things considered. Just don't trick me into vegan ramen...