Kendall Noodle Bar Near Me: Z Ramen's Spicy Bowls on Mills Drive

Z Ramen, at 8352 Mills Dr in Kendall, is a neighborhood ramen shop where the house bowl, the Spicy Z Ramen, is $14.75 on the restaurant's own online-order menu. For anyone in southwest Miami-Dade searching noodle bar near me after work, it has a practical edge: it stays open until 10pm Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and until 10:30pm on Friday and Saturday, with a menu that runs from Japanese ramen to Korean and Thai stir-fried noodles.

Z Ramen sits in The Palms at Town and Country shopping area off Mills Drive, and it is built for locals rather than food tourists. The website keeps it simple, describing a restaurant dedicated to serving the finest and freshest foods, and earlier versions of the site from 2022 already listed this same address with dine-in and take-out service. That makes it a Kendall fixture for at least four years, without the hype or the lines of the Brickell and Wynwood ramen bars.

Diners seem to like it that way. Google Maps showed a 4.6-star average from 493 reviews in October 2026, and Spicy Z Ramen is the most common dish tag in those reviews. One recent reviewer praised the comforting bowls of ramen, which is a fair summary of the appeal: an easy, consistent bowl close to home, with enough variety that a family can each order something different without anyone settling for a side dish.

Order the Spicy Z Ramen first. The menu describes Japanese ramen noodles in a spicy pork broth, topped with scallions, bean sprouts, a hanjuku soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, seaweed and fish cake. It is the only bowl named after the restaurant, and the dish Google reviewers mention more than any other. If you want the same toppings without the heat, the Tonkotsu Ramen at $14.25 uses a creamy pork broth with the same scallions, sprouts, egg, bamboo, seaweed and fish cake.

Chicken broth fans have two options at $14.25: the Miso Ramen, with a miso chicken broth, and the Shoyu Ramen, made with the kitchen's own soy sauce and chicken broth. The black garlic ramen is $14.75. Vegetarians get the Vegetable Miso Ramen and Vegetable Shoyu Ramen, both $14.25, with a vegetable broth, zucchini, spinach, scallions, bean sprouts and bamboo, which is a better meat-free selection than many ramen shops in Miami offer.

Every ramen can be upgraded, and the add-on list is where the bowl gets personal. Char-siu pork belly is $3.50, beef is $3, and chicken, pork or shrimp are $2.50 each, with tofu at $2. An extra portion of noodles is $2.50 and an extra egg is $2. Shrimp tempura can be added for $3.50. For a hungry diner, the Spicy Z with pork belly and extra noodles is the most filling order on the menu.

Our honest take: skip the Korean Shin Ramen at $13.50 if you came for Japanese-style ramen. It is built on a spicy chicken broth with kimchi, egg, bean sprouts and spinach, a different style of bowl altogether, and it makes more sense as a pick for someone at the table who already loves Korean instant-style ramyun than as an introduction to what Z Ramen does best.

The stir-fry noodle section is the reason Z Ramen works for groups. Every dish is $13.25. The Yaki Udon is stir-fried with the house sauce, bean sprouts, onion, scallions and cabbage. The Spicy Udon adds a homemade spicy sauce and peanuts. The Korean Spicy Cheese Noodle tosses Korean noodles with onion, cabbage, scallion and spicy sauce under melted cheese, and the Pad Thai Noodle uses Thai rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts, the house Thai sauce and peanuts.

There is also a Korean Fried Noodle, with bean sprouts, onion, egg, cabbage and scallion, and a Japanese Curry Noodle Bowl at $13.50. Proteins for the stir-fries follow the same pricing as the rice bowls, from $2 for tofu to $3 for beef, and you can add more noodles for $2. If your group cannot agree on ramen versus something saucier, split one Spicy Z and one Korean Spicy Cheese Noodle.

The starters lean toward shareable snacks. Takoyaki, five octopus balls with Japanese mayo, are $8.75, and the Pork Bao Bun, three buns with sweet sauce and cilantro cucumber, is $10.50. Chinese scallion pancakes are $8.75 for eight pieces, and pork or vegetable pot stickers are $7.50 for six. Bubble teas are $6.25 in flavors like taro, Thai tea and coconut, and fruit slushies such as lychee and mango are $6.75.

Save room for dessert, because this is where the menu gets playful. The Dirty Bread, deep-fried bread filled with Nutella and topped with homemade coconut milk, is $9.75, and the Thai Donuts come with condensed milk for $7.25. The Vanilla Crepe Cake, $7.75, stacks thin crepes with whipped cream and Nutella and comes with fudge ice cream and crushed Oreo.

For a coffee before or after dinner, Pura Vida has a Kendall location at 8525 Mills Dr, Unit 301, just up Mills Drive, and Google Maps listed it as closing at 9pm in October 2026. If you are coming for lunch and want some fresh air, Kendall Indian Hammocks Park at 11395 SW 79th St is a short drive away and opens at 7am, which makes it an easy morning stop before an early bowl.

Z Ramen is at 8352 Mills Dr, Miami, FL 33183, in Kendall. Hours are Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm, and Sunday noon to 10pm. Orders for pickup go through order.zramen.com. Without a car, Google Maps routes riders on Metrobus Route 88 from Dadeland North Metrorail station, about 26 minutes door to door.

Prices from the online-order menu: Spicy Z Ramen $14.75, Tonkotsu Ramen $14.25, Yaki Udon $13.25, Pork Bao Bun $10.50 and bubble tea $6.25. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for more Kendall dinner spots open late, or for a dessert stop near Mills Drive.