Silverlake Ramen

Their veggie ramen is VEGAN. Take ALL my money! I can’t remember the last time I had ramen anywhere and never thought it’d be an option again after becoming vegan. The noodles were the perfect chewiness and there were a variety of veggies and a lil bit of salad. The broth tasted a bit too ‘peanut sauce-​y’ but overall being able to savor a huge bowl of ramen again gets another star.
Yes, parking’s a nightmare and you’re gonna wish you had someone to cuddle with ’cause the place is tiny so the wait is kinda lengthy and it can get seriously cold outside. But the ramen will warm, warm, warm your tummy :)

Spicy Tonkotsu with pork belly and an egg. Damn. Just damn.
Use the valet because parking in the neighborhood suuuuuucks.

Would have given this place a 5 star but had to minus one for service.
The place is rather small with limit parking. There is street parking and at the time, paid parking only. The inside fit not more than 20 people comfortably and best suited to fit no more than 2 people per party. They had some bar style seating outside but it was just to cold to sit out there. (no heat)
Service was decent. Biggest gripe about this place is that they are their to push you to sit down, eat, pay, and leave as quick as possible to sit down the next group. Their policy it, must have everyone present to take a seat. Perfectly understandable but seriously, they were not going to sit my girlfriend and myself because I wanted to finish my phone call outside. Also, they immediately see if you are ready to order no more than a minute after they sit you down and pass you their menu. It’s like they assume you know what you want to order, and if you don’t they’ll give you a death stare.
Between me and my girlfriend, we both ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen and the Shoyu Ramen with pork belly. For a side, we ordered the crispy spicy tuna. The crispy tune was delicious. Rice was crispy and not too chewy. Tuna was on point and flavorful. The same can be said about both ramen. Soup was a little thicker than normal but flavor really rich and good. Pork Belly was perfect, fatty and meaty at the same time. I will be getting the pork belly add-​on the next time.
Overall, really good food but not a place you want to go if you want a relaxing time to eat.

Came here on a super busy day around 9 so the place was packed with people. Parking was a nightmare even with valet parking as the lot was ridiculously tiny. We waited nearly an hour and a half to get in. The interior is tiny, cramped, and noisy. The food was generally very good and the menu seems quite limited which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The ramen was top notch ramen although a bit too salty for my taste yet the quality of the pork was great.
In short, I would avoid this place due to the mess of people you’ll encounter trying to get a table. There are plenty of ramen establishments which are just as good but much more accessible.

I came in for a late dinner, around 9pm on a Tuesday with a couple friends. There was a decently long wait list, and we put our name down while we decided to look at other options in the area that wouldn’t have such a long wait (we were reeeeaaallyy hungry lol). As we started to walk away from the restaurant to check out some neighboring places, a kind stranger approached us and told us not to leave in case our name gets called, since they’re really good about getting people in, and he wouldn’t want us to miss out on their ramen. So, we decided to take the gamble and wait, and sure enough, we didn’t have to wait too long before we got called.
The space inside is small and intimate, not good for groups of more than 3 or 4 (I’d say it’s most ideal for parties of 2), and be prepared to unintentionally listen in on the conversation of the group next to you, because that’s how close you’re gonna be. But this is such a minute detail compared to the food and service that you get. Right when we sat down, our server brought us glasses of water and immediately took our order (we had already decided what we wanted while we were waiting outside). I went with the original tonkotsu with a soft-​boiled egg added in, and my two friends ordered the spicy tonkotsu and the veggie ramen. All three orders came out FAST, which is the way ramen was originally meant to be; get in, eat, and get out. But the food itself felt like something that would have taken time and attention. When I took my first bite, I knew that the random guy who told us not to leave was right; the broth was so flavorful, the noodles the perfect texture, the egg yolks cooked right in between runny and solid, and the chashu pork belly – MY FAVORITE PART – thick cut and golden crispy. The entire bowl was an experience, to say the least, and the three of us pretty much ate in silence because it was just that good.
Our server was quick to give us our check right when we finished, in a way that felt like he was still respecting our time and dining experience, but doing it quickly because of the crowd waiting to be seated. Even though everything was fast, I didn’t really feel rushed, which is something that’s really difficult to achieve as a restaurant. Props to you, Silverlake Ramen, you guys are doing it right.
And if the guy who told a group of three girls that it would be worth it to stay is reading this, THANK YOU.

The ramen here is consistently good. Tasty rich pork broth without being too salty (even at the the bottom of the bowl!), and the noodles are cooked al dente. I had the tonkotsu ramen with pork belly, and it’s nice thick piece of pork belly that is seared on one side to add a little crunchy texture. The amount of pork belly was much more generous in the past, but in order to keep prices as they are, perhaps they’re cutting back on the amount of pork belly you can get?
I ordered gyoza (fried) for an appetizer, and they arrived deep fried. I thought «fried» meant «pan fried,» but I was wrong, so next time I’ll order the steam variety, which is pan fried to a crisp on the flat side of the gyoza. It was still pretty good though.
My friend ordered a vegetarian ramen. She enjoyed it, though she annoyed as to how Silverlake Ramen and many other places that offer a vegetarian version, like to garnish the top of the bowl of ramen with a handful of raw mixed greens. Here, they even tossed it in a vinagrette. She wanted a nice hearty bowl of ramen and did not need to have a salad sitting on top. I also do wonder why many of these places feel that they must westernize a bowl of vegetarian ramen with a salad on top? I wouldn’t want that either. She ended picking all the greens off before eating her bowl of ramen.
Food and service is good here. However, if they are busy and have a line outside, be prepared to be somewhat rushed — they give you the menu to look over while you’re waiting for your table; once seated, they immediately ask for your order. When you look like you’re done with your food, they’ll quickly come over and ask if they can take the dishes away. Once that happens, next minute you’re handed the check. Don’t get me wrong. They are super efficient and good at turning tables over quickly to keep their customers from having to wait so long. So, just be prepared if you go there during busy times.
When are they not busy? Usually within the first hour of opening for lunch and for dinner.
Valet parking is available for $ 5

Best ramen I’ve ever tasted in my life! Now I’m no ramen expert ramen but I know good food when I taste it. Let’s just say that this place has me craving for more all the way from the east coast. There was literally blood, sweat, and tears put into the ramen I ordered. My ramen was the basic option with chicken and it was D-​E-​L-​I-​C-​I-​O-​U-​S. It was so comforting. The broth was thick, warm, and very flavorful. The seaweed was perfect, and the noodles… oh the noodles, we’re just everything I needed and wanted at that moment.
My friends and I waited for almost an hour just to try this place, and it was well worth it. The place is very popular, and the space is very small. I’m not a fan of excessive waiting time so because of that I can’t give this place 5 stars. If this place opened up a bigger space, that would be amazing. It’s clearly already in high demand, and I completely understand why. Whenever I visit LA again, this will be my first stop!

It’s really not that special guys, get over it.
There’s only a wait because the restaurant is tiny.
The broth is nothing special, the ramen is bland.
This place needs to stop happening. They do give you a lot of noodle, verdict: meh.

I think I’d like their ramen better if their chashu was better and also get more of it. Their ramen is good — have tried the Tonkotsu Ramen and Tonkotsu Spicy Ramen. Both are great and pretty solid, but the chashu/​pork belly — wish it wasn’t hard and crispy. I like my chashu in ramen to be soft. How am I supposed to slurp down my ramen when there’s a hard pork belly stopping me to actually chew hard on?! And you only get one… I guess I just need to add more for extra. They start to get a little nazi when it gets closer to closing time and start hassling you to pay and not linger around. I respect that no one wants to work late after hours, but it’s a little annoying when you’re just trying to enjoy a good meal with friends.

Long lines=very good food!
We waited on a Saturday night for 45 minutes to get seats. It’s a small hole in the wall business. They are known for their PORK BELLY! They got thick cuts of belly meat with your ramen. The soup base is so flavorful and the ramen has the right texture of chewiness.
Located in a small plaza, they got valet for you in the parking lot but cost $ 5. Rather find free parking on the streets and walk over.
I got to try the pork belly bun which was so yummy! Every bite of the bun has the juicy meat and the fat of the belly is running down your fingers.
Spicy Tuna on crispy rice comes with 2 pieces. Wish it was more. Rice was very chewy and crispy and a big scoop of spicy tuna on top. Pretty good light appetizer.
The spicy tonkutso ramen got it in mild spicy and it wasn’t that spicy. Could have order it medium for the extra kick. Thick cut of pork belly. Writing this review makes me hungry…
Definetly a place a try when you are in LA! The long line is worth the wait. Or if you dont’ want to wait that long, order it to go. But the point of eating ramen is sitting down and enjoying a nice hot bowl of ramen noodles.

I was on the brink of giving them 3 stars but I’m feeling generous lol I just think my expectations were too high as it was overhyped, in my opinion.
After numerous attempts to try it here, we finally decided we’ll deal with the wait and on a Saturday night, we waited an hour for a table of 3. It was good, but not worth the wait.
Spicy tonkotsu ramen: Everything (broth, noodles, egg, veggies) was perfect in this lovely bowl, except for the pork belly. Maybe it was an off night for the pork but it was too tough and chewy for my taste. I’m used to it melting in my mouth and falling apart in the bowl. This one I had to bite and rip off pieces with my teeth. To me, you should be able to break it apart easily with your chopsticks. Not the case at all here. Maybe it’s due to the thickness of the cut but I guess that’s their style…. The broth and noodles made up for it though because both were amazing!
Shoyu ramen: Same as above. The broth and noodles were fantastic but same situation with the pork belly.
Salmon poke rice bowl: Another item I had an issue with. If you look at the picture I uploaded, you can see there is barely and poke on it. Come on guys why so stingy? Other than that it was good.
Chicken karage: Very good and hot. No complaints here.
Parking is a pain and service was decent once seated but I won’t be coming back since there are other ramen places I like better plus I won’t have to wait an hour or more to be seated. Prices were average at about $ 10 — $ 11 a bowl with add-​ons of egg and pork belly (no, they’re not included).

I have to agree with other Unilocalers. Silverlake Ramen serves the best ramen bowls in the Hollywood — Los Angeles area. I got dinner here on a Friday night, and despite the 1.5 hrs of waiting to be seated, I would be down for another ramen adventure at Silverlake!
So this is Hollywood. Silverlake Ramen is located on Sunset Blvd. There’s too many pedestrians roaming the streets. Lots of drivers speeding to road kill anyone. With these circumstances, beware that street parking is not recommended. Pay $ 5 for valet parking, and save yourself from stress.
*Recap of my food*
I ordered a bowl of Tonkotsu Spicy Ramen with Pork Belly. I requested extra toppings of dried seaweed and black garlic oil on the side. The cooks took about 15 mins to prepare my ramen.
Before grabbing a complete bite, I tried a spoonful of the broth. Oh my, it tasted so creamy and thick! Loved it! The ramen itself was soft and can be devoured by one swallow! A liberal amount of green onions are added too. I’m amazed by the pork belly. It’s cooked well done and doesn’t taste tender. A little crunchy on the outside though. Only one piece of pork belly is served.
*Verdict*
Four Stars. Amazing ramen. Superior customer service. They greet and salute to you in Japanese! Will try to come back on my next Hollywood adventure!

This Place Is Hands Down BOMBDOTCOM Ramen I have ever had.
It was 5 of us on nye. The Best last meal of 2015!
Everything we ordered was cooked very well.
Food: chicken ramen with garlic black truffle oil, corn, egg, was my pick. Also gyoza with my own sauce I made to dip it in which was: siracha, lemon, and, sugar. You must try it if you enjoy savory sauces.
The noodles were so nice and tender, the broth was light and just great flavors to warm up your tummy!
Plus washing it down with Hot Sake was the best cap to it all. Not gonna lie, every single item we ordered was cooked with lots of TLC. I got lucky to try the pork belly ramen, the bao, and steamed mushrooms. That my friends ordered.
Décor’: small but cozy sits about 30. Dim bright lighting, one restroom. Very clean. Tables, and tea house style seatings.
Service: our server was amazing he took care of us, and when he forgot to bring out the Asahi beer, and we canceled the order. He hooked us up with a hot sake on the house! I appreciate the great service and now I see why many come here and wait in the cold for this ramen joint!
I will return some day and eat to my hearts content.

I’m going to have to upgrade my rating because the last ten times I’ve dined at Silverlake Ramen everything has been excellent.
Here are some of the things I like:
— The bowls of ramen are huge. I can’t order anything else because I can barely finish.
— The prices are good and they take credit cards.
— You can order all sorts of extras for your ramen like broccoli, garlic, and lots of other things.
— They have a great vegetarian ramen. I am hooked on that.
RENOVATIONS DONE AS FOLLOWS:
— New benches along the side.
— Curtain by the door must prevent flies from coming in.
— New shops have popped up in the strip mall such a cool Pet Supply Store and a cute boutique.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ME TO THE OWNER:
— Fresh paint
— New roller blinds for the windows and a good window cleaning.
— An awning for shade while you wait outside would be nice. Maybe a retractable awning if the landlord would approve it.
MISC. INFO:
They are going to open a new restaurant in Highland Park and I can’t wait to go there since it’s closer to home.

Came here yesterday Sunday around 1:00pm for lunch with my party of 3. My brother drove in a separate car so he was having trouble finding parking so he came 20 mins later. There were 7 parties in front of us, and even though my brother came late, our kind waitress still tried to save us a table since the parties after us were too big to sit at the 3 person table. We all got there and were finally seated around 1:30. Not too bad of a wait for a weekend (: and was entirely worth it!
First of all — order the mint yuzunade! It is a super yummy and refreshing drink, tart, sweet, and minty all in one. Definitely a great contrast to the rich broth of their ramen.
Food we ordered:
Spicy tonkatsu ramen — just as I was commenting how they add a scoop of spicy sauce on top of the protein of choice so you are allowed to customize your heat level, my brother decided to mix it all into his bowl. And wow all that was spicy! But if you like spicy, it is bearable — def clears the sinuses. But yes, you can choose to add as much as you want. Like that is is customizable!
Tonkatsu ramen — I prefer the normal version to taste the broth and I don’t handle spicy too well — creamy, rich, and hits the spot. One of the best ramen I’ve had for sure!
Definitely get the pork belly if you’re able to eat pork — thick slice, and tastes so different than what I’ve had in other ramen.
Add toppings too! I like adding corn and black garlic oil to mine.
Portions are big — I ended up finishing only half my ramen and took the rest to go. Finished half a yuzunade and took the rest to go too! The boys finished their bowls, and they told me they were so stuffed. Filling portions !
For good ramen, and kind service — come to Silverlake Ramen!
Parking: can be a beezy — if you’re lucky, you can park in their small lot — but best bet is street parking. Might as well walk off the ramen belly you’ll get afterward.

Well worth the hour wait! Be warned: you WILL have to wait at least a little bit if you’re here for dinner. Boyfriend and I came on a Monday at 6:30 and waited a good hour for a seat!
And boy oh boy was I glad we waited. We both ordered the tonkotsu ramen ($ 8.95) w/​various toppings ($ 1 – 1.50 each). Let’s break it down by component:
Broth — The first thing you should do is taste a spoonful of the broth. Right then and there, you will fall into a state of euphoria that won’t go away until you finish eating. It’s THAT good. I’ve had plenty of ramen before but this broth was something else. It was so amazingly rich in flavor but not oily — I didn’t feel weighed down by it even after drinking half the bowl! Undoubtedly the best part of the dish for me.
Noodles — These are thin noodles that were cooked just right. They were soft but still had a good chew to them. Delicious to slurp up the soup with.
Meat — You get a choice of pork belly or chicken with your bowl. Choose the pork belly! It’s one large piece that’s a perfect balance of crispy and soft. It had a good balance of fat to meat too.
Toppings — we added black garlic oil, soft boiled egg, and corn.
+ The black garlic oil came on the side but I didn’t taste too much of a difference to the broth after adding it in… I honestly think there is enough flavor to your ramen without it so I’d actually skip it next time.
+ The corn was super fresh, just like the spinach, bean sprouts, and green onion that come with your bowl. And they give a good portion of it too!
+ My favorite though was the delicious, perfectly cooked EGG! The yolk was runny and you could taste the soy sauce flavor of it. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it… DEFINITELY add the EGG to your bowl!
Service — yes, we waited for a long time but once you get inside, you can see that all the staff are hustling. We were attended to quickly and our food came out in a very good time. We sat at the bar and witnessed the craziness of the kitchen — props to the guy in the blue Dodgers hat who assembled our ramen!
I really can’t wait until I’m back in town again so I can have another delicious bowl of ramen. Bravo, Silverlake! Don’t change one bit!

Silverlake Ramen is one of my favorite ramen spots in LA for sure! My favorite things to get here are the spicy tonkatsu with pork belly (+ add egg) and the pork belly bun. The broth is creamy and you only get one fat slab of pork belly, but it is all so good! I also love that it is open late until 2 am because I can eat ramen all day :)
Cons– long lines and parking. If you don’t care about grabbing a table inside, you can order at the register and just sit/​eat outside at the counter. It’s a lot faster especially when there’s like 10 parties ahead of you. Parking can be found in the lot if you are super lucky, but other than that it is just street parking.

The best ramen I have had in LA with spiciness.
Ordered:
2 tonkatsu ramen, one with egg, one with corn
1 chicken ramen
1 extra broth
1 banhmi pork
1 spicy tuna crispy rice
4 draft asahi beers
Total came to roughly $ 64 and with tip over $ 70.
Very rich broth and super soft chasu makes this my favorite ramen place. Only down fall is… food came out and I had to step out for a phone call and the noodles soaked up a lot of the broth in a matter of minutes. The noodles get soggy quick.
Party of 3 seems to wait longer than a party of 2. Arrived around 6 pm on a Wednesday night and waited about 30 — 40 minutes. A party of 2 were seated much quicker.
Very friendly staff, food comes out quick, and draft beers are always a plus. Definitely will be visiting often, especially during the chilly winter days of SoCal (sarcastic burrrrr).

Delicious Tonkutsu Broth. Rich and flavorful. Hard to believe that I didn’t get overwhelmed by the Tonkutsu. Noodles were just the way I like them, and the pork belly topping was pan seared before serving. The restaurant was just about to close, so service (or looking for parking) was not really a prevalent issue for us.
Mint-​Yuzunade though … YASSSSSS GAGA.

Man what is it with ramen places and long wait times? Oh wait, that’s probably cause those places are delicious. As with Daikokuya or Shinsengumi in Little Tokyo, Silverlake Ramen has a wait time. The only problem is that there isn’t much to do around the area but wait.
The place is small and cozy but the ramen is quite spectacular. Tonkotsu ramen is the way to go; I don’t think I’ve tasted such a good broth before, it was so rich and rich and then some. They serve it with pork belly which is simply mouth watering. One bite into the pork belly and I had to physically restrain myself from swallowing the rest of the pork belly whole. I’d have to say that this is definitely on my list of «delicious ramen places to go to out of the 1 million other existing ramen places».
Service is decent, they cycle through just enough to fulfill your needs. I did think it strange that when we were waiting, they’d periodically call out names to check if we were present, not to seat us. Regardless, I’m very content with the quality of the ramen, broth, noodles, and pork belly which definitely makes up for the 30 minute wait.

After a 2 month hiatus I’m back!!! Silverlake Ramen is that good.
Seeing it constantly on Instagram I’ve always wanted to try it. I suggested it to my coworker (a fellow foodie) and he went twice in one week. Sold.
I’ve been feeling under the weather lately so I made my husband take me. We got there at 9 on a thursday night and the line is still bustling to get in. We put our name down and we get in 30 minutes later. Not bad considering how the restaurant is tinyyyyy.
I already know what I want. Something spicy and rich to chase the cold. I opted for the Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen with extra Chasu Pork and bamboo.
When it came out we were impressed by the size. The bowl looked huge but after taking one slurp of the broth we realized it wasn’t enough. The bowl was actually very shallow and it was so delicious!!! After eating half we contemplated getting extra noodles. Glad we didn’t. The broth is so rich and pork belly is so fat we were unbuckling our pants after ¾ of the bowl. It was amazing. So perfect. Maybe I’m overselling it but its been less than 12 hours and I’m already looking to see when I can go back.

Honestly one of the best ramen places I’ve had in LA. I would probably say my top 5 or 4? Everything about the spicy tonkotsu ramen is delicious and I usually don’t like the pork in the broth, but they have this pork belly slice that is amazingly thick and flavorful, making you Unilocal for more (get the pun? haha!) The pork belly was crunchy on the outside, and fatty on the inside. Its flavor was also different from the rest of the soup so you can tell that it was cooked separately from the broth because of its distinct taste. Usually I don’t finish the pork in my ramen because it usually just tastes like the broth and it’s a bit unnecessary, but this was the only place I devoured the pork belly!
I basically liked everything included in the ramen. The broth was very flavorful yet it wasn’t too fatty/​oil and thick! The ramen noodles were not too thin and not too thick and not too soft and not too hard, just in the middle and cooked just right! Also, the vegetables, which consisted of green onions, spinach, and seaweed, were different from other ramen places so kudos to the restaurant’s originality!
Honestly, making this review makes me crave it :(! MUST GO TO SILVERLAKE AGAIN!

My trip here was motivated by Bryan R.‘s Unilocaleview. Bryan’s review was so tempting I had to go. And did I ever. I’ve visited a few times. Silverlake Ramen is located on Sunset in the neighborhood of Echo Park/​SilverLake land. Everybody talks about hipsters coming here. It’s almost like it’s a reason not to come here. LA is one big hip city. LOL. It is unlike any other ramen place I have visited here and in Japan. It’s truly different, so different ramen freaks are loving the difference. Here are some components of the tonkotsu bowls here that are standouts:
1) The broth– SR claims the broth is simmered for 16 hours. Yes, you can tell, deliciousness ensues in any preparation that makes its primary component, the broth, low and slow. There is milky unctuousness to the broth, something most people are not accustomed to in a tonkotsu preparation– I’ve never even had this quality of broth even in Japan. But I like it, it’s got umami.
2) The pork belly is no sliver of chashu that we are all accustomed it, it’s ½ — ¾ of an inch, piece of belly, grilled to brown on one side. When you bite into it, I totally agree with Bryan this pork belly is out of this world, crazy good. It’s sooo scrummy, I’ve witnessed diners ordering a second piece. This one towering giant guy ordered 4 pork bellies… Woweth!
3) The noodles are supple, thick (er) than most ramen joints. It’s not curly like some hard core ramen freaks would prefer; it’s not smooth and thin like Hakata Shin Sen Gumi; it’s not like the noodles at Umemura or Mr. Ramen, and certainly, not like Daikokuya’s, or TOT’s. A bowl of this ramen in tonkotsu broth, a side of garlic oil gives it a teasingly flavorful accent to this ramen experience that makes for good slurping. Add a side of chile paste to taste and that sends this bowl of ramen to the level of a 5 star joint.
Less ½ star: The wait staff is exhausted, so accustomed to the high turnover and high service expectations; they seem to be on autopilot. I think the owners here should give ‘em a vacay and a raise. :)
Were I to eat ramen with hipsters again, I’ll eat here. But hip or not, SR speaks volumes to the uniqueness of the bowls they serve up: heartier noodles, THAT pork belly and THAT richly bold broth so unctuously bold and different… is an experience no other ramen place can duplicate. Silverlake serves up ramen soul food, 2die4.
Thanks for the lead Bryan R.
Visits: 5+
Tip: Wait is upwards of 45 min during the dinner hour. Sometimes I’ve arrived at 4:30 for an early dinner. Parking is insanely crazy. Parking is free on on the street, Sundays :) But no fret SR is open late, like 3am.