Are you craving a good, hearty vegan ramen? Check out my Top 6 best vegan ramen places in London
Vegan sushi might be one of my top food choices, but vegan ramen comes right after. I can enjoy vegan ramen on a hot summer day as a comfort food, or on a cold rainy day—no matter the time of day, year, or occasion. Ramen is like a hug in a bowl.
With the increasing number of vegan ramen restaurants in London, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite spots for vegan ramen.
Here’s my Top 6 Vegan-friendly Ramen Restaurants in London
- Shoryu Ramen
- Koi Ramen
- Bone Daddies
- ItadakiZen
- Pho
- Wagamama
First of all, what is Ramen?
Ramen is a popular Japanese dish that consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in (usually) a meat or fish-based broth, often flavoured with soy sauce or miso, and topped with ingredients such as sliced meat, dried seaweed, green onions, and occasionally corn, mushrooms, or boiled eggs. It is a versatile and customizable dish with many regional variations in Japan and has gained international popularity.
Here are some key components of original non-vegan ramen:
- Noodles: Ramen noodles are typically made from wheat flour, water, salt, and an alkaline mineral water called kansui, which gives the noodles their distinct texture and yellow colour. The texture can vary from thin and straight to thick and wavy, depending on the style.
- Broth: Ramen broth is the soul of the dish and is made from various ingredients. The main types of ramen broth include:
- Shoyu (Soy Sauce): A clear, brown broth seasoned with soy sauce.
- Miso: A broth made with fermented soybean paste, giving it a rich and savoury flavour.
- Shio (Salt): A clear broth seasoned with salt, often lighter in flavour than soy sauce or miso-based broths.
- Tonkotsu: A rich and creamy broth made by boiling pork bones for an extended period, resulting in a hearty and flavorful soup.
- Toppings: Ramen can be customized with various toppings based on personal preference and regional variations. Common toppings include:
- Chashu: Slices of braised or roasted pork belly.
- Nori: Dried seaweed sheets.
- Menma: Fermented bamboo shoots.
- Negi: Sliced green onions.
- Ajitsuke Tamago: Soft-boiled or marinated eggs.
- Varieties: Ramen comes in various styles across Japan, with each region having its own unique twist on the dish. Some well-known styles include Sapporo (known for its miso ramen), Hakata (famous for tonkotsu ramen), and Tokyo (where shoyu and shio ramen are popular).
- Instant Ramen: In addition to traditional ramen served in restaurants, instant ramen noodles have become widely popular worldwide. These are precooked and dehydrated noodles sold in a package with a powdered soup base and often include additional seasoning.
What makes ramen vegan?
Vegan Ramen usually consists of clear or creamy miso broth, topped with mock meat, firm or fried tofu, different types of mushrooms, corn, sesame oil, chilli, spring onions and seaweed. Some places even serve a vegan egg.
Now that you know what ramen is, let’s check out where to find the best vegan ramen in London.
Can Vegans Drink Alcohol?
#1 Shoryu Ramen
Shoryu Ramen is my all-time favourite vegan-friendly ramen place in London. It is not fully vegan, but it does serve THE best vegan ramen in London, in my opinion. It has it all, from the creaminess and richness of the broth to tasty and chewy noodles and incredible toppings. I like my ramen with al dente noodles, miso creamy broth, and simple toppings such as fried tofu, chilli flakes, and seaweed. And Shoryu Ramen has it all.
if you visit Shoryu in London and if you consume alcohol, do not forget to try their sake too.
Fully vegan: No
Locations: Multiple locations around London
Price: ££
#2 Koi Ramen
Koi Ramen was my neighbourhood’s go-to vegan ramen place. Whenever I didn’t have time to make my own vegan ramen I would order it from Koi Ramen. They only serve two vegan options – the original – vegan ‘Old Skool Shoyu’ and Vegan Mellow Miso with wheat noodles, fried tofu, pickled ginger, onion and sesame oil. But both options are absolutely divine. I would always go for the latter. It is so hearty, delicious and filling.
Besides ramen, I would recommend trying their vegan gyozas too.
Koi Ramen has multiple spots around London so there’s no excuse not to try it.
Fully vegan: No
Location: Multiple locations around London
Price: ££
#3 Bone Daddies
Bone Daddies is a Japanese restaurant and ramen bar in London, another excellent vegan-friendly ramen spot that you can’t afford to miss. The portions are notably generous, and here’s a handy tip for doubling up: order your vegan ramen with an additional portion of noodles on the side. Since Bone Daddies serves a substantial bowl of ramen with an abundance of liquid broth, after finishing your noodles, you’ll still have soup left to enjoy with your second serving of noodles. Clever, isn’t it?
Fully vegan: No
Location: Multiple locations around London
Price: £
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#4 ItadakiZen
I already mentioned ItadakiZen in my Best Vegan-friendly Sushi Restaurants in London and also Top 10 Best Vegan Restaurants in London. Still, it seems Itadakizen is making another of my Top Vegan Restaurants in London list.
Itadakizen is a hidden gem for Japanese vegan cuisine. Owned by a dedicated team with a passion for traditional Japanese flavours, the restaurant serves authentic vegan sushi, ramen, and other Japanese delicacies, ensuring a delightful taste of Japan in every dish.
Vegan Ramen is rich, hearty and delicious. Served in their special ItadakiZen broth with marinated tofu, mixed stir-fried veggies, wakame seaweed and spring onion. Nothing less than glorious.
Fully vegan: Yes
Location: 39 King’s Cross Rd, London WC1X 9BJ
Price: ££
#5 Pho
Pho is a Vietnamese restaurant in London that serves not only vegan ramen but also vegan spring rolls, vegan curries, vegan pad Thai, rice bowls and salads. They don’t use any pre-packaged or frozen food at their restaurant; all the food at Pho is made fresh daily. Another great fact is that they teamed up with THIS ISN’T CHICKEN and more than 40% of Pho’s main menu is plant-based. Isn’t that incredible?
But let’s talk vegan ramen at Pho. Don’t come at me, I know Pho serves pho and not ramen but I still wanted to add it to my vegan ramen in London list. On Pho’s current vegan menu, you can find tofu & mushroom pho, 3 mushrooms pho, hot and spicy tofu/vegan chicken soup etc.
What is the difference between ramen and pho?
The difference between Pho and Ramen is the noodles in pho are soft and translucent, usually made of rice flour, and the noodles in ramen are firm and chewy, usually made of wheat. Pho also has clear broth and ramen is usually creamy and rich. Traditionally, ramen also contains a boiled egg on top whereas pho doesn’t.
Fully vegan: No
Location: Multiple locations around London
Price: ££
#6 Wagamama
Wagamama is a well-known restaurant around London and they launched their newly improved vegan menu. One of my favourites is Wagamama’s vegan ramen – yasai gyoza ramen. It is made of steamed yasai gyoza, udon noodles, vegetable broth, roasted bok choi, chilli sambal paste, spring onion, coriander, chilli oil and a side of gyoza sauce. Tell me that doesn’t sound divine.
Another one of my favourites is, as they call it “Our vegan hero.” it is called Kare burosu ramen with shichimi-coated tofu, grilled mixed mushrooms on a bed of udon noodles in a curried vegetable broth.
Fully vegan: No
Location: Multiple locations around London
Price: ££
Summary – Vegan Ramen in London
I hope this post helps you discover one of the best vegan ramen places in London. There are more vegan ramen places I want to explore, such as Hakata Ramen, but these are my current top favourites.
Let me know in the comments below if you tried any of these already.
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