Miso ramen with wood-ear mushrooms:a lighter alternative to the signature tonkotsu ramen. (Ethan Weiser’22/Staff)
A good bowl of ramen can be warm, comforting and the perfect fare for a cold winter’s night. Some of the Columbus’s best ramen is served at Fukuryu Ramen, with Upper Arlington and Dublin locations, and if you are up for a bit of travel in Melbourne, Australia.
The Upper Arlington location is on 1600 Lane Avenue. The strip mall is new, but Fukuryu already looks comfortably nestled between a yoga studio and credit union. Open the door and the aroma of fresh, hot, Japanese food comes out, and a small restaurant with a bit more than 10 tables comes into view.
The menu includes nine different ramens: five are more traditional offerings, while the other four are modern takes on the classic. The modern options feature combinations that are unique to the restaurant, but the menu stresses that none of them are fusion. Fukuryu Ramen is not a one trick pony as the name would suggest, though. Japanese curry, steamed buns, soft serve ice cream and a variety of small plates complete the menu.
The most popular ramen is the Signature Tonkotsu, a rich, luscious pork-bone broth ramen that will set you back at $11.90. Two more adventurous options are the black or red dragons, two of the modern ramens that cost $13.90 and $12.90, respectively. The red dragon is the spiciest ramen, with a chicken broth and chili pork. The black dragon mixes squid ink into the traditional broth with black sesame and enoki mushrooms. In addition to the ramen, pork steamed buns ($5.90) and matcha soft serve ($2.90) are not to be missed. The restaurant also offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
After ordering at the counter, the service is quick with getting piping hot food delivered to your table in 10-15 minutes. The food takes a few more minutes to cool off, giving ample time to add your own seasonings. Chili sauce and sesame seeds are provided at each table and add a another level of flavor to the already complex ramen. While the prices run high, the taste and comfort provided by the ramen makes it all worthwhile.
The Upper Arlington and Dublin location hours are 11:30-2:30 for lunch everyday, and 5:30-9:00 for dinner on Sunday to Thursday, with the closing time extending to 9:30 on Friday and Saturday.
Dublin: (614) 553-7392. Upper Arlington: (614) 929-5910. https://www.fukuryuramen.com/
