Best Ramen Spots Near El Monte, CA

Ramen is a delicious Japanese noodle soup that usually consists of a rich broth, a mix of vegetables, and a choice of meat such as beef, pork, or chicken. What makes this dish complete is the perfectly cooked ramen noodles. These dishes are often topped with a boiled egg to add some extra richness. If you enjoy ramen, you can consider checking out several places in and around the El Monte, California, area that serve it. Take a look at some of the best spots for your next ramen bowl, and get ready for a delicious experience. 

Tonkotsu House Ramen

Tonkotsu House Ramen first opened its doors in 2020, specializing in pork broth ramen. The restaurant is small but offers full dine-in service, takeout, and delivery. The extensive menu features a variety of pork-based ramen bowls and some vegetarian options too. 

The Tonkotsu Ramen is always a good choice. It consists of pork broth, pork chashu, a seaweed sheet, kikurage mushrooms, beansprouts, and a half soft-boiled egg. You can also get a spicy version of this bowl. The Tantanmen Ramen is also delicious. It has beansprouts, bok choy, corn, and shredded meat. It comes in a spicy pork broth, sesame paste, and peanut butter and is topped with half a soft-boiled egg. 

Ramen Ichiraku

Ramen Ichiraku draws customers for its delicious vegetable broth, the chashu, and the chicken ramen. This establishment first opened its doors in 2017, offering a welcoming atmosphere, delicious food, and helpful staff. If you’re new to enjoying ramen, the host or waitstaff can help you choose something from the menu, or if you’re already a ramen enthusiast, you’ll love your options. 

Some featured menu items include the Naruto Chashu Ramen with sliced pork, a fish cake, and pork broth, and the Stewed Pork Ramen with soft, perfectly cooked pork and pork broth. You can also get the Shabu Beef Ramen with beef slices in a pork broth and the Fried Chicken Ramen with deep-fried curry-flavored chicken in a pork broth.

If you enjoy seafood, the Seafood Ramen comes with grilled salmon, shrimp, and a mussel  squid ball. 

Ramen Yukinoya

Ramen Yukinoya is a locally owned restaurant that serves delicious ramen and more. The restaurant has a welcoming atmosphere with a few tables and a bar where you can sit and drink while enjoying your ramen. The menu offers several different types of ramen, and you can add sides if you want. 

The Tonkotsu Ramen consists of pork bone broth, chashu, bamboo, a fish cake, green onion, beansprouts, ginger, and an egg. You can get a spicy version of this ramen if you like a little heat. The Miso Ramen also has pork bone broth, and the Shio Ramen has a lighter, clear broth. 

The menu also features a hot and cold Tantanmen with a creamy, spicy broth, beansprouts, bok choy, and ground pork or chicken. The Veggie Ramen has a creamy vegetable broth and lots of your favorite veggies. 

Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

Kousuke Yoshimura started creating noodle shops in Hakata, Japan, then brought his noodle dishes to the U.S. before opening Hakata Ikkousha Ramen. His signature flavors are found throughout the menu, from the appetizers to the ramen. The Tonkotsu Ramen is his signature dish with broth that takes over 30 hours to prepare to create the perfect flavor. The Black Tonkotsu Ramen is made with the original tonkotsu broth and fried garlic paste, topped with noodles, pork chashu, mushrooms, and spring onions. 

If you like spicy ramen, make sure to try the God Fire Ramen. It adds Ikkousha’s secret spicy fire to the original broth and is topped with noodles, chashu, mushrooms, spring onions, and seaweed. The other spicy option on the menu is the Mentai Ramen. It has a special paste blend of spicy cod roe and the original broth. 

DashiWa Ramen

You’ll find DashiWa Ramen in Arcadia. This establishment specializes in Japanese ramen that is made without adding any extra fillers or dairy creams to make the sauce thicker. They create their broth the traditional Japanese way and fill it with fresh ingredients. This is a small establishment that provides excellent service. Although you can sit down, order your ramen, and eat it there, this restaurant also offers its menu items to go. 

You can get the Tonkotsu Original with mushrooms, beansprouts, green onion, chashu, seaweed, and an egg, or the Tonkotsu Black, which consists of the same ingredients as the original but with black garlic oil. The Tonkotsu Red adds a spicy twist with house-made chili paste. The Tan Tan Ramen is also a good choice. This ramen bowl has a creamy sesame base with bok choy, seasoned ground pork, beansprouts, chili oil, egg, green onion, and seaweed. 

Saikai Ramen Bar

Saikai Ramen Bar offers a modern take on traditional ramen. This Los Angeles ramen spot is just 20 minutes from El Monte. It’s owned and operated by chef Jimin Kim and his wife, Sandy Kim. They create and serve modern Japanese ramen and other small plates. Everything is made in-house with seasonal produce to create unique recipes. 

The menu features Shoyu Tonkotsu and Spicy Shoyu Tonkotsu made with a 24-hour pork bone broth, the house shoyu, pork belly chashu, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, green onion, and wild perilla seeds. You can also get the Vegetable Miso, Gyukotsu with a 36-hour beef bone marrow broth, and the Mazemen without broth. The Mazemen is made with temoni noodles, seasoned seaweed, spicy ground pork belly, cucumber, nira chives, and seasoned raw egg yolk. 

These are some of our favorite places to go when craving ramen in and around El Monte, California. If you know of a place that we missed, make sure to stop by Longo Toyota  and tell us about it. We’d love to go check it out. While you’re at the dealership, we can show you our selection of new and used Toyotas to get you around town and to your next ramen bowl. 

Ramen by Kanesue is licensed with CC BY 2.0

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