Noodle Bar Near Me in Silver Lake: The Original Silverlake Ramen

The first Silverlake Ramen is still on Sunset Boulevard, at 2927 Sunset Boulevard in the small Silversun Plaza. It opened in 2012, its pork broth simmers for 16 hours, and the bowl most people come for is the Blaze, a spicy creamy tonkotsu. The brand now runs more than 30 shops across eight states, but if you are searching noodle bar near me on the Eastside, this is the room where all of it started.

Silverlake Ramen was started by two chefs, Jitaek and Thomas Aono, according to the brand's own About page. Aono moved to Japan at age four and later spent five years learning under a ramen master with 45 years of experience. Jitaek began as a dishwasher at 16 and was an executive chef by 24. Two sushi restaurants he opened before this one failed, and he and his wife funded the ramen shop on nine credit cards.

The shop opened in Silver Lake in 2012; a Mountain View Voice report from 2019 dates the first location to that year, and the food site Umami Mart published a visit from opening day in October 2012. The founders chose the name for the neighborhood itself. Their About page explains that Silver Lake's free-spirit and casual vibe was exactly the kind of room they wanted to build, an unpretentious ramen bar rather than a formal Japanese restaurant.

The Blaze is the house signature. Time Out's 2024 write-up describes it as a spicy tonkotsu with thick cuts of pork belly, green onions, spinach, bean sprouts, dried seaweed, garlic sauce and chewy noodles, all in a rich pork broth cooked for 16 hours. It is creamy rather than clear, and the spice is built into the soup instead of being a side condiment. If you only order one bowl on your first visit, this is the one most regulars point to.

For a milder bowl, The Classic uses the same creamy pork broth with black garlic oil, and the Garlic Truffle adds an earthier finish. The menu also carries a Shoyu and a hotter Shoyu on Fire for anyone who wants a soy-based soup, Tsukemen dipping noodles served with the broth on the side, and a Cajun Mazemen, a brothless bowl. Vegetarians are covered by the Veggie and Spicy Veggie ramen, so a mixed group can all order from the noodle section.

The side dishes are few and built to go with ramen: gyoza six to an order, a pork bun, and chicken karaage, the Japanese-style fried chicken. A sensible order for two is one Blaze, one Classic and a plate of gyoza to share, which lets you taste the spicy and the plain versions of the same 16-hour broth side by side. If you plan to eat slowly or take photos first, ask for your noodles on the firm side so they hold up in the hot soup.

The Sunset Boulevard shop is a compact room in Silversun Plaza. When the Daily Trojan reviewed it in 2017, it described a few booths, single tables that staff pushed together for larger groups, and a six-stool bar facing the open kitchen. That bar is the best seat for one or two people, since you can watch the cooks build each bowl and you avoid waiting for a table to free up. A group of five or more should expect tables to be joined, which takes time on a busy night.

Because the original is the most famous branch, plan around the room's size rather than hoping for a big table to open up. The easiest workaround is to order ahead: the official website links to online ordering for each location, including the Sunset shop, so you can collect a bowl and eat at home. If you want to dine in, come outside the main dinner hour, or come alone and take a stool at the kitchen bar, which turns over fastest.

The single room on Sunset turned into one of the best-known ramen names in Southern California. Time Out called Silverlake Ramen arguably the most popular locally owned ramen spot in Los Angeles, and listed branches in Koreatown, Highland Park, Downtown, Santa Monica and Long Beach. The official locations page now lists shops in California, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Utah and Arizona, more than 30 in total, yet the Sunset Boulevard original remains on the list with its own phone line.

That growth is the main reason to visit this address specifically. Every later branch copies the menu, but only the Sunset room is the shop the founders paid for with those nine credit cards, in the neighborhood whose name they put on the sign. Sitting at the bar facing the open kitchen, with Sunset Boulevard traffic outside, gives you the version of Silverlake Ramen the founders described: casual, quick and built around one rich bowl of tonkotsu rather than a long, formal dinner.

Silverlake Ramen sits on the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that runs between Echo Park and Silver Lake. Heading west along Sunset brings you toward Sunset Junction, the heart of the neighborhood's shops and cafes, where the small public Sunset Triangle plaza sits by Griffith Park Boulevard about a mile away. It is a pleasant walk on a cool evening, past independent shops and bars, and a good way to settle a bowl of rich tonkotsu before heading home.

The original Silverlake Ramen is at 2927 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026, in Silversun Plaza. Metro bus Line 2 runs along Sunset Boulevard with stops at Sunset and Parkman and at Sunset and Descanso, close to the shop. Order the Blaze for the signature spicy creamy broth or the Classic for the plain version, add gyoza to share, and take a bar stool if you are dining alone. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for more Eastside ramen picks.