9 Of The Best Vegan Ramen Shops In Los Angeles

Two guys down nine bowls of vegan ramen in one day on a vegan ramen tour of Los Angeles.

1. Ramen Hood

Yes, that's a vegan egg sitting in the spicy ramen bowl at "Top Chef" winner Ilan Hall's all-vegan ramen bar, Ramen Hood. Ramen Hood is situated in the bustling Grand Central Market food hall.

The ramen (available both in OG or spicy style) is made with a creamy sunflower seed broth, and is filled with thick noodles and delicious veggies, including king oyster mushrooms. The vegan egg is a well worth it $2 add-on. It doesn't add a lot of flavor, but the experience, including biting into the juicy yolk, is terrific.

This is must-try ramen.

Ramen Hood is located Downtown in Grand Central Market at 317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013.

2. Shojin

Shojin is located in the Little Tokyo Shopping Mall, which is an experience in and of itself, but the all-vegan restaurant, which has the world's best vegan sushi, has the most attentive service. They take good care of you here. They'll place the napkin on your lap, or fold it up for you if you go to their bathroom (which is stocked with mouthwash, floss, shoeshine, etc), and show you the basket under your seat to leave your things. The sushi is so great, despite many trips to Shojin, neither of us had had the ramen. We were missing out.

We tried two of the four bowls of ramen on the menu: Ramen of the Century (pictured above) and the Spicy Black Ramen (pictured below). The Ramen of the Century is Shojin's creamiest ramen, made from tahini. It features homemade soy-meat, fancy mushrooms, grilled eggplant, and more. The flavorful vegan egg was a fun $3 add-on.

The Spicy Black Ramen has a spicy green chili and tamari broth that was, very, very flavorful. With black sesame sauce, tempeh, kale, and other veggies, there was a lot going on in this bowl of ramen.

Shojin is located in the Little Tokyo Shopping Center in Little Toyko at 333 Alameda St #310, Los Angeles, CA 90013. They also have a Culver City location

3. Tatsu Ramen

You are greeted at Tatsu Ramen by iPads, not people. You select your order on the touch screen, grab your receipt and then take a seat.

We ordered two bowls of the the default-vegan "Hippie Ramen." It's a garlicky bowl of veggies, fried tofu, and delicious noodles. You can add more flavoring at your table, including crushing your own garlic, but there was no need. It already tasted great.

Tatsu Raman is located in Melrose at 7111 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. They also have a location is West Los Angeles.

4. Orochon Ramen

Orochon Ramen is a popular spot in Little Toyko full with a mixed crowd of people.

We ordered vegetarian broth versions of the Miso Ramen, which is one of three flavors. The portions are huge (like Donald Trump "YUUUGE"), which is not what you want when you are on a vegan ramen tour, but great for when you are hungry.

You choose your spice level (we choose "Impact", which was a bit spicy. If you eat the spiciest in 30 minutes you can get your photo on their wall.) It's not a fancy place, just some medium-sized noodles, basic veggies, in a simple broth hit the spot.

Orochon Ramen is located in Little Tokyo at Weller Court, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St #303, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

5. Silverlake Ramen

Silverlake Ramen is a busy spot full of hipsters who we're sure have great disdain for hipsters. That is to say, it's in Silverlake. It was the busiest place we went on our vegan ramen tour. Their menu proudly exclaims that their broth is boiled for 16 hours for richness and taste.

The Vegetable Ramen has a miso-based broth, tofu, and so many veggies it's like a side salad fell on top of your ramen bowl. But the veggies are great, as is the ramen.

Silverlake Ramen is located in Silverlake at 2927 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026.

6. Jinya Ramen Express

Jinya Ramen Express is the Chipotle of Ramen, you select a broth and noodle type, and then walk down the counter choosing your veggies. Only the thick noodles are vegan, so we got those in the vegan broth. Many of the veggies are cooked in butter but the employee knew what was vegan.

The broth was creamy and less-oily and salty then some. Vegan add-in options include pickled ginger, tomatoes, tofu, green beans. cilantro, and sauteed onions. This was the seventh ramen spot we had visited that day and we still thought it was delicious. That's saying something.

Jinya Ramen Express is located in the Hollywood & Highland complex at 6801 Hollywood Blvd #317, Los Angeles, CA 90028. They also have many other non-express locations in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

7. Ramen Champ

Ramen Champ is a hip spot with black and white comic book art on the walls in a Chinatown shopping complex.

The Vegan Ramen should maybe be named the Green Ramen. It has a kelp-based broth, lots of baby bok choy, and comes with spinach noodles. We give them an A for effort for making something different. The spinach noodles actually taste like spinach (which is a good thing), they aren't just green. The cold, plain tofu didn't add anything to the dish though.

Ramen Champ is located in Chinatown at Far East Plaza, 727 N Broadway #203, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

8. Men Oh Ramen

Men Oh is based in Japan, where they have a dozen locations, and they have three locations in California. They are based in a place in Japan, they say, known for pig farming, so their big thing is pork. It's not surprising that their Vegetable Ramen, is not among the best we had in our vegan ramen tour.

We ordered the Vegetable Ramen without egg. It has thin noodles, a light kelp and shiitake mushroom broth and has a mixture of sea vegetables and traditional vegetables (corn, green onion). It's a little bit like a chef salad in a bowl of broth, but the pickled ginger is a nice touch.

Men Oh Ramen is located in Little Tokyo at 456 E 2nd St Los Angeles, CA 90012.

9. Fukurou Ramen

The Vegetarian Ramen at Fukurou Ramen, a fairy typical ramen restaurant, has a white miso paste and shitake powder-based broth. The tofu and veggies, including corn and broccoli, seem rather plopped into the bowl. Overall it's like a large bowl of miso soup with some vegetables thrown in. It was on the basic side, but when you're eating nine bowls of ramen in a day just one more bite can be a struggle.

Fukurou Ramen is located in Thai Town at 5103 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

My ramen baby, thanks to nine bowls of ramen in one day.

Our Previous Vegan Food Tours of Los Angeles