Ramen lovers have reason to fall in love with Ho Chi Minh city. The city has a thing for a variety of Japanese cuisines, especially ramen. In this blog, our locals drill down to the best ramen restaurants that save you from browsing between options. These places are highly ranked for Google reviews and recommended by insiders.

IPPUDO Best Ramen in District 1

IPPUDO is renowned as a Japanese franchise ramen chain in some big cities like New York, L.A., London, Melbourne, and Singapore. This globally loved brand is now franchised to Viet Nam and located in the city's prime locations.

Stay on the corner of Thai Van Lung and Le Thanh Ton streets, it's easy to find the place. Their ramen is well known for its rich and creamy broth. Another best thing on earth is that you can decide how your ramen will be done—more tender noodles, hotter broth, or less salty. All unique requirements are met for your appetizing.

Inherited Japanese design style, the restaurant leverages the spacious space with plenty of seats but still manages to ensure the guest's privacy. The food and little details guarantee the best experience: helpful, attentive, quick-to-respond staff, spacious parking areas, and a helpful guard.

Must-try dishes: Akamaru special & Karaka Special Ramen, spicy options, and seasonal ramen.
Price range: from 170.000 VND / pax
Locations:
📍District 1: 31 Thai Van Lung Street, Ben Nghe Ward, D1, HCMC.
📍District 7 (more spacious): Lot MD2, Golf Nam Sai Gon, Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phu Ward, D7, HCMC.

💡

Local tip: We suggested booking your table in advance as it gets crowded very fast, and you may get a time limit.

Torisho - the authentic ramen taste

Located in the "Japan town" of Saigon, this interesting little place oozes an authenticity commonly recommended by Japanese ex-pats living in Saigon. Torisho embraces authentic Japanese style with a cozy atmosphere, ambiance, decoration, and music that makes you feel like you're in Japan. Not to mention the price is super reasonable for ramen lovers.

They have a great selection of skewers and drinks. You'd love to spend hours here downing delicious Sapporo draft or Sake and eating delightful yakitori.

We recommend all front seats emerge with an authentic Japanese vibe fully. A little bit of smoke from the grill stove, for sure; you will get a smell after getting full 😉 If you plan to go with a group of friends, the seats upstairs are available for a group of 3 or more.

Must-try dishes: Yakitori and Sapporo on draft.
Price range: from 200.000 VND / pax
Locations:
📍District 1: 11B1 Thai Van Lung Street, Ben Nghe Ward, D1, HCMC.

💡

Make sure you reserve a table by calling ahead. Spots are hard to come by after 7 pm.

Mutahiro's Masterful Chicken Ramen - The hidden gem

Tucked away in the “Japan Town,” Mutahiro is dedicatedly owned and run by a Japanese owner and chef. The restaurant is well known for its rich ramen soup and famous chicken ramen. They offer quite a wide range of ramen with a straightforward menu. You don’t have to browse for 20 minutes to decide on your dishes. The restaurant opens until 2 in the morning, so it’s the best place for hungry people who just got off a late party or simply ones with late-night ramen cravings.

The special note about this place is that it serves authentic Japanese ramen with soy sauce and chicken broth soup. The broth has depth, and you can choose between salt-based or soy sauce-based, which is a massive plus for Japanese since there are many ramen shops serving pork broth soup but serving soy sauce-based soup is rare.

Must-try dishes: Chicken Ramen.
Price range: average 150k+/pax
Location:
📍8A/G8B Thai Van Lung, Ben Nghe, District 1.

💡

Local tips: The menu here focuses a lot on different types of ramen, so don’t expect a wide variety of other Japanese foods.