Ramen Kagura, Madrid’s (almost) perfect ramen bar

Located on Calle de Las Fuentes, in between metro Opera and Plaza Mayor, lies a Japanese restaurant serving unbelievably tasty ramen, with heaping portions at an affordable price. I’m tempted to call Ramen Kagura perfect, yet the service could have been much better. To be fair, the food did come out in a split second after ordering.

I went to Ramen Kagura for the first time on Saturday with a big group of friends, three of whom are Japanese (also the ones who recommended we go here). Almost everyone at our table of seven had also dined at Madrid’s most celebrated ramen bar, Chuka, where you basically have to fight to get a table. Naturally, a conversation comparing the two ramen bars did come up. We concluded that Chuka has better-quality ingredients and a chic décor. But when it comes down to it, Ramen Kagura‘s noodles simply hit the spot; plus it wins in terms of convenience (getting a table is easy) and bang for your buck (for under €10 you get a delicious and very filling meal).

You can order from several different types of ramen bowls, mostly made with pork-based broth, vegetables, and your choice of shoyu or miso sauce. Broth-less, cold and vegetarian versions are also available, as well as rice dishes and sushi (which we didn’t try). Each bowl comes with your choice of 100, 200 or 400 grams of ramen noodles, prices ranging accordingly from around €8-11. I ordered the 200-gram bowl and it was gigantic. James and Edison ordered the 400-gram bowls. Needless to say, they were very happy campers. We devoured everything and there were no complaints regarding portions, taste or price.

I’ll let the poor service slide. Perhaps we just went on an off day. Since the food was oh so good, we’ll be going back again and again and again…

Info

Web & Facebook

Address: Calle de las Fuentes, 1

Metros: Opera or Sol

Hours: Monday through Sunday: 1pm-4:15pm / 8:30pm-11:45pm

More Asian restaurants featured on Naked Madrid:

• Kintaro – Oy Vey
• Sumo – This Japanese restaurant’s name says it all
• Tuk Tuk – Asian-inspired street food
• Chuka Ramen Bar – Madrid’s hottest ramen restaurant
• Hattori Hanzo – Japanese food, straight up. No sushi.
• Nippon 2 – top quality yet affordable sushi, finally!
• Soy Kitchen – a fusion of Asian flavors
• Karachai – A cozy and elegant Thai restaurant in Alonso Martínez