I have found the best ramen in Barcelona! This place is turning into one of my favs in the city. Find out more about Ramen-ya Hiro in this post.
I have discovered this ramen place through a friend who recommended it. We had dinner there before our saturday night out! The place opens at 20h30 and we decided to arrive at 20h because she said there was always a big queue and they do not accept reservations! Alas… a lot of people had the same brilliant idea so we had to wait 1h30 (in the cold, brrr) before we could get a table. If the length of time you spent queuing to eat is a sign that a place is good then this one must be amazing…
Ramen-ya hiro, the place…
Anyway, when we were finally close to the door, the waitress asked us if we wanted to be seated at the terrace or inside. It was way too cold to be out, so opted for inside. We are still in wintertime, even if it is a Barcelona winter time! Inside, the place was small and packed. There were a few tables and some stools at the bar. And…there were a lot of japanese people eating. That would include my left handside neighbour. Second good sign!
Gyoza from Ramen ya-hiro
Thankfully, two seats freed up at the bar so we could take them. Our spot was great as well because we could watch the cook in the open kitchen: how he manipulated the different pans on the stove, cooked the noodles etc.
The menu is quite simple: a few starters, a few rice dishes, a few desserts and two types of ramen: with a miso base and with a soy sauce base. We placed our order: a dish of gyoza to share and a miso ramen each. They had a few selections of extra toppings for the ramens. One of them was butter. Butter? Mmmm…Interesting. My mentioned left handside neighbour ordered it in his soup. The way he slurped at it, it must be delicious. But tonight, we will just have the normal ramen. No toppings (yet) please!
What a yummy ramen!
So what is a ramen? A ramen is a very popular japanese dish. It is a soup dish with Chinese-style wheat or egg noodles served in a very rich broth. In Ramen-Ya Hiro, they have a miso and a soy sauce flavoured ones as mentioned above. The dish already includes toppings like a soft boiled egg and cha-su (this is the one I got). And the bowl size is enough to fill you for the night. Check out the picture above to get an idea!
The food verdict? Well both gyozas and ramen were seriously delicious. The broth was tasty. It did not leave my palate indifferent. It also made me want to go back for more in a very near future. And maybe then I won’t have to wait that long… But honestly, I think the wait was worth it. This is the best ramen I have had in Barcelona. And guess what? The prices are very decent. 7.50 euros for a bowl. I can only recommend the place!
https://www.facebook.com/RamenYaHiro
Address: Carrer Girona, 164 – 08011 Barcelona
Opening hours: Monday, tuesday, thursday, friday and saturday. Only evenings on wednesdays and closed on sundays
13:30 – 15:30 & 20:30 – 23:30