Ramen Renaissance: Exploring the Las Vegas Valley’s Booming Bowl Scene

The year was 1967 — a big one for Las Vegas. Elvis and Priscilla were married at the Aladdin, Siegfried & Roy and their tigers debuted at the Tropicana, daredevil Evel Knievel made his infamous attempt at jumping the Caesars’ Palace fountains. 

And then there were Sam and Aiko Nakamishi — an enterprising couple who moved to Las Vegas to open the city’s first Japanese restaurant, just blocks from Las Vegas Boulevard. Nearly sixty years later, Osaka Japanese Bistro still lures fans to its original location, known for its decently priced lunch specials, including steaming bowls of simple ramen — holding their own against the dozens of ramen shops that now dot the valley, from Strip to suburbs.

Looking for the perfect bowl? Start on Spring Mountain Road, the busy heart of the city’s Chinatown—where no fewer than half a dozen highly rated slurp joints can be find in a matter of blocks— and work your way out from there.

Ramen Sora

Most of the Vegas ramen restaurants offer a mix of the same styles, like Shoyu (soy) and Shio (salt), all with springy wheat noodles. Like the rest, this Sapporo, Japan import puts its own stamp on the genre by offering something slightly unique; in this case, that’s Sapporo-style ramen, known for its thick miso pork broth and egg noodles, plus toppings like corn and butter, the perfect tonic for those Hokkaido winters. 4490 Spring Mountain Rd.

Ramen Boys

Style choices at this social media-famous spot just off the Spring Mountain strip run from standard to wild, with a truffle-scented shoyu ramen as a signature — alongside tsukemen, the hearty, creamy pork ramen where you dip the typically thick noodles into the broth. 3650 S. Decatur Blvd.

Monta Ramen

Revolutionizing the modern ramen scene in town when it opened back in 2010, this Chinatown classic is known for its hearty tonkotsu ramen — a rich broth made by boiling down pork bones, pork fat and collagen — all in the style common to Kurume, a small town in Kyushu, at Japan’s southern tip. 5030 Spring Mountain Rd.

Neko Ramen

More like a fun fast casual spot that happens to serve ramen than a traditional parlor, this relative newcomer is an excellent fit for the uninitiated. Here, all bowls can be served with either shoyu, tonkotsu or miso broth, from the fragrant Umami Black Garlic ramen to the Spicy Neko, with its creamy orange broth that fans call a must try. 5115 Spring Mountain Rd.

Ramen Hashi

Not everyone loves pork broth — which is fine, because chicken ramen is a world worth discovering on its own and popping up on more and more menus across the country. Here, ask for the tori paitan ramen, a creamy broth — like tonkotsu, packed with fat and collagen — except made with bird only. 5808 Spring Mountain Rd.

Ramen Tatsu

Japanese curry is an experience unto itself, with entire restaurants both here and in Japan dedicated to the comforting culinary art form. But at this easy-to-like spot, you can sample one of the country’s best domestic fusion experiments: curry ramen. Here, you get a blended broth of chicken, pork and beef, plus curry sauce — a hearty mix made even heartier with thick noodles and fat slices of pork. 3400 S. Jones Blvd.

Momofuku 

When you want good ramen on the Strip, go big at David Chang’s NYC import tucked into the upstairs of the Cosmopolitan, splashing out (but not on your shirt) on a bowl of the lunch-only, house shoyu-style, topped with pork belly and pork shoulder and a slow poached egg; ask for a little of the house chili crunch. Evenings, there are expanded offerings, including a seasonal truffle ramen. 3708 Las Vegas Blvd.

Best Friend

Birria, a Jalisco-style broth traditionally made with goat meat, might at first seem like an unlikely base for ramen, but anything goes in Los Angeles, where people—Roy Choi, proprietor of this Park MGM staple among them—long ago figured out that the soulful stew is the perfect base for a bowl of satisfying noodles. It’s buried on the menu here—and worth seeking out. 3770 Las Vegas Blvd.