Ramen Danbo

Ramen Danbo opened its first store in Chikushino on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu in 2000. And it might have stayed only there if it hadn’t managed to top a Japanese television poll of the best ramen joints in Fukuoka Prefecture. The shop’s popularity blew up, and soon Ramen Danbo had locations across Kyushu, and then Japan – and then the world.

In 2019, a store arrived on Merivale Street in South Brisbane (following a 2017 launch in Southport that quickly became one of the Gold Coast’s most celebrated ramen spots).

Australian restaurants sometimes have a habit of gussying up ramen, but Ramen Danbo follows the lead of other Brisbane joints such as Taro’s, I Like Ramen, Hai Hai, Genkotsu and Hakataya, offering high quality food at a reasonable price.

The noodle soup that made Ramen Danbo so popular in Japan is a pork bone tonkotsu broth enlivened with a house-made special sauce. The soup is run through a specially imported Japanese filter that helps maintain consistency across the chain’s many stores.

Ramen Danbo lets you fine-tune noodle firmness, richness and spice, and the shop has vegan and vegetarian alternatives that Hosaka-Zaniewski is particularly proud of. The vegan dish uses a miso base with kombu stock.

Beyond noodle soup, Ramen Danbo serves regional-style gyoza and imported beers from brewers such as Asahi, Orion and Suntory Premium Malts, with plum wine available for non-beer drinkers.