Bum Bun BLau Cafe with BeeHive (ブン ブン ブラウ カフェ ウィズ ビーハイヴ) Tokyo

Recommended bowl: A ramen cafe and bar

Both a café and a ramen shop, this awkwardly named but surprisingly high-quality spot owned by master Naoki Saito has been among the few ramen-ya selected for the Michelin Guide to Tokyo. The plastic plants and J-pop-inspired local pub décor certainly don't put one in mind of elite-level ramen, but the food does not disappoint.

Several varieties of ramen are available here — shio, shiru-nashi, tantanmen and more — but we recommend the tokusei shoyu. The soup is a dark, satisfying shoyu with chicken oil. The noodles are unexceptional, but the toppings are prepared with true care. Sliced negi, flame-roasted pork, juicy chicken chashu, handmade wontons, a small pork meatball and a sprig of mitsuba pack out every bowl.

This is a great shop to visit with friends. Order a few different bowls for everyone to share. In the summertime, the café also serves an impressive collection of hand-crafted kakigori shaved ice desserts. A nice neighborhood shop, worth multiple visits to explore the menu. The bizarre name apparently comes from a Japanese TV show.
Several varieties of ramen are available here — shio, shiru-nashi, tantanmen and more — but we recommend the tokusei shoyu. The soup is a dark, satisfying shoyu with chicken oil. The noodles are unexceptional, but the toppings are prepared with true care. Sliced negi, flame-roasted pork, juicy chicken chashu, handmade wontons, a small pork meatball and a sprig of mitsuba pack out every bowl.

This is a great shop to visit with friends. Order a few different bowls for everyone to share. In the summertime, the café also serves an impressive collection of hand-crafted kakigori shaved ice desserts. A nice neighborhood shop, worth multiple visits to explore the menu. The bizarre name apparently comes from a Japanese TV show. Less