FLAME RAMEN — Restaurant in Memphis

“Flame Ramen: A Bowl of Questions, a Spoonful of Hype”

I debated with ChatGPT for hours before we came here. No joke. Reddit was screaming “Go to Kami!” like it was the ramen promised land, but I had a gut feeling and a baby in tow — and Flame Ramen looked like it had the space to breathe.

We’re a little family on a food quest, originally from California (land of elite broths and bougie noodles), now living in Arkansas, where expectations come seasoned with realism. I wasn’t looking for Tokyo in a bowl. I just wanted something soulful, warm, and honest.

And what I got… was ice cream for reviews.

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🅿️ Parking or Puzzle?

Let’s start there. Parking? Tight. Like… Hot Wheels tight. We squeezed into what felt like the last 6 pixels of asphalt, mid-intersection, like we were playing ramen Frogger with a stroller.

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🪑 Vibe Check (with a Warm Breeze)

Inside? Clean. Chill. Spacious enough for our 7-month-old, which was a rare and welcome surprise. But heads up: it was warm. I’m not sure if their main AC was down or just overwhelmed, but they had a portable floor unit blowing full blast like it was in a final boss battle with the summer heat.

I expect some warmth with an open kitchen, but if you’re hoping for crisp, cool indoor comfort — maybe pick a cooler day.

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🍜 The Ichiraku (Miso)

My bowl was called Ichiraku, and I had high hopes. Spice level 2 delivered a good kick upfront, but as I kept eating, the broth started to taste like miso’s ghost — a whisper of flavor hiding beneath the heat. Once the spice wore off? Honestly, the soup felt flat. The miso base had heart, but not much depth.

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🍖 Char Siu / Meat Situation

The thin pork slices? Delicious. Crispy-edged, flavorful, just right. But the larger pork belly pieces were tough and not melt-in-your-mouth like I’d hoped. More “firm handshake” than “warm hug.”

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🍜 My Wife’s Tonkotsu Supreme

She had the Supreme Tonkotsu, and while I didn’t sample it myself, she seemed pretty happy with it — and her bowl was empty fast. I can’t speak on it personally, so I’ll keep that one in her lane.

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🍺 Bonus Round

They serve beer, which is always appreciated. And the staff was genuinely great — kind, fast, and attentive. Zero complaints there.

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🍦 About That Ice Cream

Here’s the thing — on every table, there’s a sign that says: “Leave us a review, get free ice cream.” They never say it has to be 5 stars, but let’s be honest… if you’re dangling ice cream, the temptation is real.

And suddenly, it clicked why Flame has so many Google reviews compared to somewhere like Kami (which Reddit insists is the holy grail of Memphis ramen). It’s not all hype — but it might be slightly sweetened.

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🎯 Final Take:

Would I return? Probably not — but I’m glad I came once. The meat had character. The miso had mood swings. The space worked for our little family. The service? Solid.

Next stop: Kami Ramen. I owe it to myself (and my taste buds) to see if Reddit was...

I came in on a rainy day around 11:15am for lunch. It took the staff about 7-10 minutes to even acknowledge I was waiting to be seated. There was about 3 tables that had customers in them, so not very busy. Once I was seated I had noticed water drops on the table and ignored them. Then I ordered my food which was the Karaage Donburi and the green tea cheesecake dessert. The food itself was really good, except for the cheesecake was still frozen when they brought it to me. During the meal I noticed I kept getting rained on and drops of water kept trying to hit into the food. I had notified the staff and they did not try to move me into a different seat. Instead, they acted like they already knew that there was a leak. The staff also acted like they didn’t care about any of the customers. They only came over to take my order, bring me said order and when I called them over to notify them about the leak. They did not feel very welcoming. I have been to this location before at the same time and I had a way better experience. However, that was three months ago. I don’t know what happened since then. I just know that I’m very disappointing and probably will not be coming back and I do not recommend eating here unless you want to get soaking wet while...

I had originally planned on going to another Ramen place in town, but I went to the wrong one and they only had poke bowls. Frustrated, I did a search for other Ramen places in the area. I chose flame Ramen by sheer coincidence.

The parking lot may be small, but that’s because this place focuses on quality, not getting as many customers as they can into the place. You walk into a long wooden bar much like Japanese Ramen bars overseas. Customer service is absolutely on point. They know how to watch for your mannerisms to know when you still need a moment with the menu or when you are ready to order.

I got the Red & Black Tonkatsu Ramen, fried pork gyoza, and a matcha bubble tea. All of these had both of the flavor that I expected from having them at other places plenty of times, but also being top-quality. You can absolutely taste how fresh everything is. The bowl of Ramen is big enough to satisfy, but not so big that you feel guilty and feel like you need to take the leftovers home.

Even the seating is awesome. Wooden booths with individual cushions on each side give this place an extra touch of class.

10/10 - Would Recommend (There’s only two gyoza in the photo because I already ate several others since there...