Best Takeaway Ramen in Melbourne

by Callum McDermott

Updated August 13th, 2021

Winter in Melbourne can be miserable at the best of times. Throw in a pandemic – and the lockdowns, cancelled plans and half-hearted Zoom calls that come with it – and you’re practically guaranteed a rough time.

Good food can help and thankfully, most of the city’s restaurants are open for takeaway. But if you and lasagne are on a break, and you’ve stopped seeing eye-to-eye with pad thai, consider a big, hearty bowl of ramen on your next takeaway night.

Ramen’s the ideal winter soup: rich, protein-packed broth; carb-y noodles that are heavy on slurp; garnishes galore. Plus, it reheats better than many other takeaway options and is highly customisable to your own taste. Ramen houses across town are still open, and many of them deliver. Here are the best of the bunch.

Shop Ramen Fitzroy
Restaurant
These soups are sold in nifty DIY kits. With minimal effort, you can prepare your ramen at your leisure and it’ll taste like it’s just come from the kitchen (which it will have). The menu has something for everyone – toppings include pork belly (shoyu or yuzu shio soup), a beef tan tan men, and a barbeque chicken miso. There’s also a great miso-tofu vegetarian ramen. Place your order before 6pm this Friday for next-day pick-up or delivery Saturday.
Shop Ramen Preston
Restaurant
Shop Ramen’s Preston kitchen is also at full pelt. You can pick up your order from this location too.
Hakata Gensuke Hawthorn
Restaurant
This is one of several Hakata Gensuke outposts, but it has an exclusive ramen the others don’t: aka tonkotsu, a mixture of pork broth and spicy cod roe paste. It’s worth a go. Cod roe pops up elsewhere on the menu too, as it’s a staple ingredient in ramens from the Hakata ward of Fukuoka on Japan’s southernmost island. Order here. Delivery is also available through the major platforms.
Hakata Gensuke Carlton
Restaurant
Carlton’s Hakata Gensuke outlet also has its own specialty: shoyu ramen, which involves a tonkotsu broth delicately blended with soy sauce. Order pick-up here. As at Hawthorn, this Hakata is on all of the big delivery apps.
Shyun Ramen Bar
Restaurant
In addition to a great range of classic ramen, Shyun Ramen Bar has a substantial line-up of dry-sauce ramens – noodles and toppings minus the broth, which resemble pasta dishes somewhat. Check the menu and call (03) 8394 5971 for pick-up orders. If you’re after delivery, Shyun is on all the major platforms.
Wabi Sabi Salon
Restaurant
This Smith Street diner has a versatile menu of Japanese classics – from katsu curries to bento boxes – but the ramen is particularly worthwhile. There are two options available (a shoyu style and a tan tan men), both of which can be made vegetarian. The salon is jumping on the cook-at-home format with its own kits.

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Tamura Sake Bar
Restaurant
Also in Fitzroy, Gertrude Street’s Tamura Sake Bar has once again flipped the switch and put together a lockdown menu. In addition to Teishoku and a luxe uni-starring bento box, there’s a lone ramen and a soupless mazesoba on offer. See the menu here. To order, call (03) 9417 1992 or text your order to 0488 210 011. Pick-up from the bar or delivery on the major platforms.
Mr Ramen San Midcity Centre
Restaurant
“Keep calm, eat ramen” is this MidCity noodle joint’s calling card – a fine prescription even at the best of times. Known for creamy, Hakata-style ramen, Mr Ramen San is doing a parred-back selection for takeaway and delivery. Its partnered with all the major delivery apps, but it’s also doing its own rounds for no extra charge. Find your suburb in the weekly delivery roster here.