Ramen Empire: best Japanese restaurants in Manchester for noodly soup

Suki Suki Street Food & Bar is a Pan-Asian street food bar located on Deansgate under the arches of the Great Northern Warehouse.

Wagamama St Peter’s Square is one of Manchester’s go-to spots for a casual curry or lunchtime noodles. Right in the middle of the city centre, seconds away from one of the main tram stops, it’s quick, easy, good value, and good quality.

Hakkapo is Manchester’s Izakaya – that is, a Japanese bar where people go to eat, drink and just generally hang out after a long day at work.

Zen Sushiya is a delightful Japanese restaurant specialising in sushi. It’s a charming place, with helpful staff dressed in traditional kimonos and the sushi is exquisite.

Beloved Leeds ramen hotspot House of Fu opened on Portland Street in October 2023. This Japanese restaurant and bar is renowned for its nourishing bowls of ramen, its small plates – and its karaoke booths.

Lucky Ramen & Sushi restaurant is known for its late-night dining offering of fresh bowls of stewed ramen that are carefully prepared by a head chef with over 15 years of experience.

Born in Edinburgh and now in Glasgow and Manchester, Maki & Ramen is a high-quality, quick-eats-style place that easily holds its own amongst the plethora of Japanese restaurants that have opened in the city centre recently.

After building a name and fanbase for itself in Mackie Mayor, New Wave Ramen have now got their own standalone Manchester restaurant on Tib Lane. It’s a stylish place with a minimalist, industrial feel, softened by the warm, low lighting and the friendly front-of-house team.

Shogun Ramen and Bar in Chorlton says it does Manchester’s cheapest ramen (from £7.99 a bowl) and we’ve no evidence to counteract that bold claim. But we’ve not listed it in our guide just because it’s day-before-payday-cheap. It’s here because it does ‘proper, traditional’ ramen and the folks of M16 can’t get enough of it. 

Shoryu Ramen is the first branch of the mini London chain to leave the capital. It’s located in Piccadilly Gardens but don’t let that put you off. The other eateries are, for the most part, bland brands with very little going for them but Shoryu Ramen is a ray of hope dedicated to The Land of the Rising Sun.

Spartan and stripped back is the only description for Tokyo Ramen – and that’s both the menu and the restaurant itself. With barely enough space to swing a noodle, the place only accommodates 20 walk-ins. It’s not a sociable place, more a utilitarian slurping station.