12 JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Oodles of Noodles THE TEN BEST RAMEN JOINTS IN METRO DENVER. BY GIL ASAKAWA Ramen has been commodifi ed. When you can run to the supermarket and buy packets of ramen for under a buck or have access to vendors offering instant ramen in a rainbow of fl avors and styles, why go to a restaurant and spend upwards of $20 for the real thing? Because it’s the real thing, of course. Or at least, it can be the real thing. Like instant ramen, the versions served in res- taurants have been commodifi ed, too, to the point that Yelp lists well over 150 eateries that supposedly offer the dish in Denver. But only a few actually serve legit ramen. Of the ones that claim to have ramen, some are just trying to make a buck off a culinary fad. Two Colorado restaurants made Yelp’s recent list of top-rated ramen spots across the U.S.: One is a Thai restaurant in Evergreen that doesn’t specialize in ramen at all and the other is Nami Ramen in Engle- wood, which features a hotate ramen, made with a clam broth and topped with scallops, a mainstay of Japanese seafood. Sadly, this Yelp-approved spot’s soup wasn’t very clam- fl avored, and the hotate turned out to be four thin, quarter-sized scallop discs. That’s why it’s worth searching for the real thing. Among the spots we tried while creating this list was Ramen 303, a small cottage run by a Thai woman who loves Japan and Japanese food, and serves both Thai and ramen. Despite the cultural mash- up that might have given us pause in the past, we found a lot to love about the spicy seafood tom yum, a version of the traditional Thai soup that included ra- men noodles. The noodles had just the right bite, and the bowl, unlike that at the Yelp-approved joint, was crowded with hotate scallops, shrimp, steak, squid, mussels, kamaboko fi sh cake and vegetables. Plus, it was $17.95 versus the other place’s $19.95 hotate ramen. After a lot of taste testing, we landed on this list that includes perennial ramen favor- ites as well as some new-to-us fi nds. Here are the top ten ramen joints in the metro area, listed alphabetically: 303 Ramen 5725 Yukon Street, Arvada The thing about cultural appropriation is that it’s everywhere, and restaurants often disguise themselves as legit purveyors of one cuisine when they’re not really doing it out of love and are just greedy. But some people focus on another culture’s foods out of appreciation, not appropriation, with respect for the culture. That appreciation is easy to feel at 303 Ramen, which is a Thai woman’s love letter to Japanese food, especially ramen. The Thai spicy seafood tom yum spin here is a winner, especially given the generous portions of seafood, and we’re looking forward to trying more from the menu. Bowl Izakaya 1232 South Hover Street, Longmont Bowl Izakaya is a third location for a northern Colorado chain with outposts in Greeley and Loveland, both of which serve a variety of Japanese and Chinese dishes. The beef ra- men, a rarity at ramen restaurants, includes thin-sliced beef as well as a large beef rib that’s a treat, albeit a messy one — perhaps the kitchen should pull the meat off the bone and serve it with the bone sticking out for show. The soup is a deep, beefy broth, and overall the dish is reminiscent of an oxtail ramen we once enjoyed in a Honolulu bowling alley. Dragonfl y Noodle 1350 16th Street2014 10th St, Boulder Chef and owner Edwin Zoe opened the original Zoe Ma Ma in Boulder with his mama, Anna, in 2010; later, they added a location at Union Station that sadly shuttered in 2025. But their legacy lives on in Denver with Dragonfl y Noodle, which opened on the 16th Street Mall in 2022 and also has a Boulder outpost. The downtown noodle joint is spacious with a modern vibe and pan-Asian offerings, anchored by handmade ramen noodles with a delightful toothsome fi rmness. The menu offers several ramen choices, including black tonkotsu, miso and even a high-falutin’ butter lobster ra- men. The tonkotsu isn’t traditional, but it is rich and slightly spicy, and infused with sweet marinated mushrooms. Just beware of the easy-to-add extras like a small egg and wakame seaweed, because the costs add up fast on the $17 base price. (The lobster ver- sion is listed at $30, but it does look alluring.) Kokoro 2390 South Colorado Boulevard 5535 Wadsworth Bypass, Arvada Kokoro has become such a familiar part of Denver’s dining landscape that it’s easy to let it slip your mind. Don’t. For one thing, Kokoro is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this month by offering 40 percent off meals all January long. And for another, although it built its reputation on its hearty, tasty beef bowls, Kokoro also serves a surprisingly good and always reliable bowl of ramen. Miso and shoyu ramen are the two op- tions available, and each comes with the standard slices of chashu pork, but order a side of the beef and put it on top for a blast of extra fl avor. You can do the same with the udon noodles (dubbed “splash”) and the yakisoba plates (“sobaghetti”), but with or without the extra beef, Ko- koro’s ramen is the perfect comfort food: quick, easy and inexpensive. Neko Ramen & Rice 4030 Colorado Boulevard Hidden in a Colorado Boulevard strip mall near I-70, Neko Ramen & Rice was opened in 2023 by Vincent Yu, a chef who’d sharpened his skills in fi ne dining restaurants but dreamed of opening a ramen shop. Joined by his sister, Joan, a busy kitchen crew and about a thousand maneki-neko (the lucky Japanese cats with the paw held up that are displayed along every wall), Neko brings legit ramen cred to a fast- casual atmosphere — the black garlic ramen is a reliable, satisfying favorite. It’s a bit out of the way, but once you know where it is, you’ll be making pit stops whenever you’re in the area. Ramen Star 4044 Tejon Street Chef and owner Takashi Tamai dedicates himself to making the best soup and bowl of ramen, as well as other Japanese dishes. He makes a terrifi c tonkotsu-style soup with pork and chicken bones simmered for four days, and he’s creative with how they’re served. His standard is the house Ramen Star, served with chashu and familiar ramen top- pings; the special ingredient are his noodles, hand-made every morning. A restless chef, he even added a chocolate ramen — which is not a dessert, and is packed with both umami and sweetness, a creation worth trying -- and also makes a top-notch truffl e ramen. On a recent visit, we tried the corn potage ramen, which is creamy, rich and satisfying. Sachi Sushi 7980 Niwot Road Market, Niwot Don’t mistake this Sachi Sushi with the restau- rant of the same name in Thornton — that one serves a large menu of Japanese food, but it’s unrelated. Only at the Niwot eatery will you fi nd chef and owner Tsukasa Hibino (along with one or two helpers when it gets busy), greet- ing customers, cooking and assembling sushi behind the counter in the back of the Niwot Market. He’s a veteran of the fi rst sushi bar in Colorado, which was inside Pelican Pete’s sea- food restaurant in Boulder in the late 1970s, and then was a mainstay of Boulder’s Sushi Tora. He opened Sachi Sushi in 2006 as a sushi counter and fi sh market where customers could buy fresh seafood. He now has a huge and loyal following that crowds the supermarket and fi lls the seating area, CAFE FIND MORE FOOD & DRINK COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/RESTAURANTS The black garlic ramen from Neko Ramen & Rice is topped with savory garlic chips. 303 Ramen in Arvada has been serving ramen and Thai dishes since 2018. GIL ASAKAWA GIL ASAKAWA continued on page 13
