The best ramen places in Manchester

For many, New Wave is the benchmark. The go-to when it comes to the best bowls of steaming broth and noodles. It’s an entirely justified stance. After starting out in the Mackie Mayor foodhall (where it still has a kitchen), it opened its first dedicated restaurant on Tib Lane in 2023, after a crowdfund saw them reach their target in double quick time. It’s gone from strength to strength ever since, with a regularly changing menu, takeover collabs with other top tier ramen joints around the country and some blinding DJs on the weekends too. Don’t sleep on the no-ramen dishes though. The skewers and crab toast are exceptional. The hype here is very real indeed.ItL

A Northern Quarter favourite, Ramenshop (formerly Tokyo Ramen) pack ‘em in daily, the windows inevitably steamed up from the boiling vats of stock on the stoves. The menu is brief and to the point, and all the better for it. Their chicken bone broth is eyes-roll-over good, rich and restorative, with specials drifting in and out too (we’ll never forget the soft shell crab tantanmen). The sides are essential too. Kick things off with a few pieces of their majestic fried chicken, served up with sweetcorn kewpie, yeast furikake and chicken salt, before the main event.

Founded by chef Teddy Lee, who’s also a trained sushi master, this mini chain started in Edinburgh and Glasgow, before slowly migrating south. The Manchester branch opened in 2023, and is generally packed. All made with 8-hour broths, the black garlic tonkotsu, karage chicken and super-spicy ‘hell ramen’ bowls are effortlessly slurp-worthy. Maybe take a bib for the inevitable splashing.

Derived from the ‘hakka’ people of Northern China and the ‘Po’ from Poland (reflecting the origins of the founders Simon, Kit and Krzysztof), this light and airy izakaya is pretty unique. Not least because the ramen is stunningly good – their tan tan and tonkotsu are quite honestly among the best in the city – but this east-meets-west take on the ramen has a cellar full of Polish, Moldovan and Japanese wines too.

Not strictly ramen, Mr Su’s Chinese soup and rice noodles are an absolute must, plus there’s a pick n’ mix vibe going on too, with pots of vegetables and meat to add to your steaming bowl of goodness. Plus, they do some of the very best homemade dumplings in town, and for a super-reasonable price, stuffed with beef, lamb or vegetables.

With more than 20 years serving elegant dishes to the people of Manchester, Samsi is one of the longest-running Japanese restaurants in the city. And with very good reason too. As you’d expect, their ramen is reliably great, from its spicy tantanmen and jigoki (with extra spicy chicken thighs) to its invigorating seafood kaizen.

A chain, but something of a boutique chain, with a bunch of branches in London and a few others scattered around, including one in Fukuoka, Japan, which is surely a healthy endorsement. Despite its chain-ish leanings, the broths on offer here are often cited as some of the best to be found outside Japan. The kotteri hakata is dense and rich, the floating eggs with yokes as orange as can be, with the ‘dracula’ tonkotsu is loaded up with black garlic. It’s proper.

Arriving from Leeds, House of Fu has proved a hit on this side of the Pennines since arriving in 2023. The ramens – notably the tantanmen – are rich and soothing, with the likes of soy-braised beef, marinated tofu, barbecued chashu pork adorning these generous bowls. But it’s more than just a ramen spot (oh, and the prawn toast is next level). They’re in the bottomless brunch rotation too, as well as having karaoke booths in the basement, not to mention the downstairs cocktail bar that can convert into a group karaoke situation.

Rarely not completely packed out, this small but perfectly formed ramen spot is a gem in the Chorlton dining scene. They serve up great sushi and fabulous tempura, as well as their generous bowls of noodles. And if you’re feeling particularly brave, they do their signature ‘sumo challenge’ – a vast bowl of broth you could swim across, that you have to nail in 12 minutes. They do some great lunch deals too.

Super authentic ramen and sushi in the heart of Chinatown, you can either grab plates from the conveyor snaking through the restaurant, or order a cauldron full of excellent soup noodles at Wazuzhi. Their signature tonkotsu is a belter, and they do a very decent weekday lunch deal as well, perfect for pay day.u

If you can tear yourselves away from their spectacular soft shell crab bao bun, pan-Asian eatery Suki Suki on Deansgate does a mean line in ramen bowls from their arch on the Deansgate side of the Great Northern. Along with the shoyu and tonkotsu, they’ve got char sui pork, karaage chicken and curry scented numbers too. But if you can’t forget about the soft shell crab, luckily the ‘chefs kiss’ signature bowl comes with one thrown in.

With a wealth of Far Eastern cuisine on offer – from authentic Chinese barbecue to Tibetan and Malaysian delicacies – Hello Oriental’s ramen bowls are also worth seeking out. Of particular note, their spicy Korean style ‘carbonara’ ramen, with katsu-style chicken, aubergine or prawns. A worthwhile step out of the comfort zone.