Karai Ramen Bistro — Restaurant in Jacksonville

This is the best ramen in the country—let me tell you why.

My family and I are full-time RVers, traveling the country in search of new experiences and great food. In October 2023, during a stay in Jacksonville, Florida, we first visited Karai Ramen Bistro, and it quickly became a highlight of our travels.

From there, we began a journey across the entire United States, making it a point to try ramen everywhere we stopped. We traveled through the southern states, from Florida to San Diego, up the West Coast to Seattle, across to Montana, through Missouri, New York, and Maine, and everywhere in between. We’ve sampled ramen from coast to coast, across big cities and small towns.

Finally, after a year-long adventure and many bowls of ramen, we made our way back down the East Coast to Jacksonville—and straight to Karai Ramen Bistro once again. This time, we made sure to tell the owner, Levi, and his wife that their ramen is the best in the country.

You can truly see and taste that Levi has a passion for cooking. Every bowl reflects his dedication to creating rich, flavorful dishes that he loves to share with others. From the perfect broth to the tender noodles and carefully crafted toppings, it’s clear that Karai Ramen stands in a league of its own.

Not only is the ramen exceptional, but the staff and environment make the entire experience even better. The team at Karai is friendly, attentive, and welcoming, creating an atmosphere that feels like home. The space is cozy yet vibrant, perfect for enjoying a bowl of comfort food at its finest.

No, we don’t work for Karai. We’re simply messengers sharing our journey and this incredible discovery: If you want the best ramen in the country served by wonderful people in a great environment, Karai Ramen Bistro is the...

TLDR at the end.

I will never give a 5 star rating for any store except Terakawa Ramen in Philadelphia (that place makes the best ramen that I've had when considering the whole dish). But this place is pretty great.

The chashu (pork belly or pork shoulder) is the best chashu I've had. Melts in the mouth like the best of them but also has a unique flavor.

The broth I've had so far (and I will update as I return) is okay. Though I'm not super into Shio, so the other broths would probably rate higher for me.

EDIT: I have now had their shoyu and it was fantastic. Pretty much the perfect bowl.

The noodles are okay. They have a tendency to not want to leave the bowl, making it hard to slurp them.

The toppings are good except I wish they would do a soy sauce brined soft boil egg too, just because I personally love those. What they do is cool too (it's like this...cooked yet liquid egg), but still I like my brined eggs.

But the biggest advantage, and the reason they get such a high rating is because unlike other US shops...this place is fast ramen. Like go in, order, and it's out in like 5-10 minutes if you just order ramen. That is huge, especially considering how quality this ramen is. This places them in the top 3 ramen shops I've gotten to eat at.

Here's the ranking list if you're curious (will update as I try more places):

Terakawa (Philadelphia) Karai (Jacksonville) DOMU (Jacksonville) Ippudo (New York) Meijin (New York) Oishii (Jacksonville) Yama Ramen (New York)

Also the owner and staff are awesome.

TLDR: tasty ramen that is also...

I cannot, and I do mean this, cannot overstate how exceptional this place was. The meat was of the highest possible quality, the ingredients were all fresh and expertly prepared, the broth was brewed with passion, and every morsel of the appetizers was an S tier experience of its own. The Gyoza and Takoyaki were incredible but the Tonketsu... good lord the tonketsu... the pork was so soft and tender inside it was like liquid, when bitten into, and the breading and coating was still so crunchy and crispy. It was PERFECT.

Price wasn't horrific either. most bowls alone hovered between the $10-$16 range which was more than fair. with extras and fixings, plus an appetizer you'd look at probably about $20 a plate, $25 a head with drinks and shared apps.

Waitstaff was not just courteous, knowledgable, and prompt, but incredibly friendly and charismatic. Everyone in that facility treated us like we were their best and only customer. Tip generously, as they deserve and work for it.

if I could give only one con to this place, its that they do not have fountain or bottomless soft drinks. Its all canned but that is completely negligible in the face of the quality of the cuisine.

And one final word to the wiser. The red sauce on the table? in the tiny little jar with the small spoon? TREAD. LIGHTLY. it doesn't seem so bad at first but that concoction is so incredibly spicy that i was sweating at the table, and I once did a shot of sriracha as a joke. I don't know what's in it, and it IS delicious, but if you don't enjoy heat, DON'T USE IT, or use...