The city’s ramen scene has grown significantly over the past decade but it’s a suburban Palatine strip mall restaurant that’s churning out some of the finest tonkotsu in Chicagoland. A 15-hour cooking process yields a rich and intense pork broth that’s good enough to drink on its own. It’s paired with chewy egg noodles imported from the west coast and tender braised pork. The kitchen also serves a spicy Taiwanese-style ramen featuring chicken broth, ground pork, garlic, scallions, bean sprouts, and green chives. Ramen House Shinchan offers indoor and outdoor seating, and takeout or delivery via third-party services. There are sister locations in Vernon Hills and Glenview.

Hailing from the city of Kitakata, this Japanese chain has a busy local outpost in Hoffman Estates. The signature shoyu ramen is soy sauce-based and made with pork, while the flat wide-cut noodles are “hand crumpled” in-house, giving them a distinct texture. It’s all topped off with slices of chashu, braised pork belly marinated in soy sauce. There’s another location in Lombard.

Noodle enthusiasts journey to the northwest suburbs for what might be the best ramen in the area. This outlet of Hokkaido’s popular ramen chain, tucked away inside Japanese mall Mitsuwa, has a devoted following. It’s not unusual to see a long line of people snaking through the food court during lunch hours. Wait it out, though, and the reward is shio ramen topped with toroniku chashu — tender pork cheeks that practically melt in the mouth. Santouka offers indoor seating and takeout or delivery via third-party services.

Despite its name, this ramen destination is actually located in suburban Des Plaines. Acclaimed chef Kenta Ikehata, who helped open Tokyo-based chain Tsujita’s first stateside outpost in Los Angeles, whips up an incredible version of tsukemen. The cold, thick noodles from Sun Noodles are meant to be dipped in a chicken-vegetable-pork broth that’s mixed with miso pastes. On the less traditional side, there’s a white mapo tofu ramen that pays homage to the Sichuan dish with a chicken broth, silky tofu, and lots of spicy peppers. Chicago Ramen offers indoor seating or takeout and delivery via third-party services.

This Lakeview restaurant doesn’t always get as much recognition as some other noodle specialists in town, but its efforts are nevertheless deserving of praise. The ramen includes topping choices like pork belly, beef bulgogi, chicken katsu, and seafood.

Katie Dong, an alum of mini-chain String and a self-professed noodle obsessive, made a major splash in 2022 when she unveiled Monster Ramen, her first solo project in Logan Square. The sleek and sunny spot specializes in gyukotsu-style ramen, which draws its distinctive flavor from bison bone stock, and chicken-based tori chintan. Dong’s team also makes its own noodles — a laborious, 24-hour process that sets Monster Ramen’s bowls apart from the crowd.

Arguably Chicago’s most impactful new ramen restaurant in years, Akahoshi’s debut in late 2023 rippled throughout the city as chef and owner Mike Satinover put his online reputation (on Reddit, he’s known as Ramen_Lord) to the test in Logan Square. After more than a decade of study, practice, and sharing what he learned on social media, Satinover opened Akahoshi with a tight lineup of miso ramen, shoyu ramen, tantanmen, and aburasoba, along with chashu and ikura rice bowls. It was a near-instant hit, with reservations booked out through the end of the year — a pattern that has extended into 2024. But the team welcomes walk-ins, too, at the 55-seat restaurant.

Ramen is a labor of love and at Ramen Wasabi, it shows. Though the menu offers a selection of Asian small plates, ramen is the main attraction. Rich and creamy tonkotsu broth is slow-cooked for days and served with Berkshire pork belly, soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, scallions, sesame, wood ear mushrooms, and garlic oil. To dial up the heat, opt for the spicy roasted garlic miso ramen loaded with chili peppers.

Ramen’s spike in popularity in Chicago has drawn a number of Japanese chains to the local market. One of those imports is Kizuki, a shop offering choices that range from garlicky tonkotsu and light yuzu shio ramen to traditional tsukemen dipping noodles. A second location is in Lincoln Park.

Mussels, chicken tikka masala, and beef brisket aren’t common toppings in ramen but they’re what diners can expect to find at Oiistar. Try something a bit different with these modern takes on a classic dish. Options like the Tikkaman (chicken, masala, bean sprout, nori, roasted sesame, soft-boiled egg) and Musclemen (mussels, onion, chili pepper, scallions, bonito miso) are always reliable and comforting.

Prolific Chicago Chinese restaurateur Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan) brought new life to the former home of Imperial Lamian in early 2023 with the debut of Kyuramen, a New York-based chain that takes patrons on a tour through regional ramen styles: think shio ramen from Kyushu, shoyu ramen from Tokyo, and miso from Hokkaido. Its design is also striking, with a wall of honeycomb-shaped booths, intimate tables hidden behind noren (curtains), and a long counter with up-close views of the ramen-making process.

Boka Restaurant Group’s contemporary Japanese venue is an impressive tour de force. Whether it’s immaculate nigiri or indulgent meats cooked on the robata grill, diners can sample some of the city’s most luxurious bar snacks. On the building’s subterranean level, the Izakaya offers a more laid-back experience that echoes Japan’s bustling bar scene. The pub-inspired menu leans heavily on comfort, featuring “New Wave” Tokyo ramen with a chicken shoyu base. The restaurant is open for indoor dining and takeout or delivery via third-party services.

Canadian ramen chain Kinton selected Chicago for its first U.S. location in 2019. Known for reliable and customizable pork, chicken, and vegetarian bowls soup with a choice of thick or thin noodles, the chain also features sake, beer, and refreshing booze-free drinks like yuzu lemonade.

Noodles are a vital component of the best ramen and few take it more seriously than this Chinatown shop, which makes its own noodles daily, using a Japanese machine to impart a firm and chewy texture. There are five different broths available, and the brave diners who finish bowls of the level five “Hell Ramen” are rewarded with a free bowl, a T-shirt, and a gift card. The fiery soup is packed with Tianjing chili, Sichuan chili bean sauce, Thai chili, pequin chili, ghost peppers, and scorpion peppers. Additional Chicago locations are in Hyde Park and Lakeview where the company is moving to a larger location. Additionally, Strings operates a West Loop location call Gyuro. It specializes in gyokotsu.

This under-the-radar retreat in Bridgeport first opened in early 2020 and is steadily earning a local reputation for its rich chicken based-bowls with thin noodles. There are also plenty of porky tonkatsu options, like niku ramen with cilantro, corn, and pickled ginger, plus sides and rice dishes such as takoyaki and gyu don beef bowls.

While much of Japanese cuisine is steeped in history and tradition, ramen — an interpretation of Chinese noodle soups — is a relatively modern genre that leaves room for playfulness and innovation. That ethos has resulted in creations like birria ramen, a social media-informed cultural mashup that made its way to Chicago amid a wave of trendy birria dishes. TacoSur, which opened in spring 2023, serves a top-notch version featuring flash-fried instant noodles in rich, meaty broth.