Beneath Gimlet is a subterranean shrine dedicated to ramen.
Sibling team Ineke Ineke and Robin Christian opened Ikkoryu Ramen on Russell Street 10 years ago, specialising in Fukuoka-style ramen of Kyushu: silky tonkotsu pork broth and snappy chikuho noodles.
“For the first few years we copied the Japanese style,” Ineke says, “But we learned to cater to the different tastes of Melbourne.”
It’s a bit of a celebrity spot, with notable visitors like Jimmy Barnes, Evanescence, Australian Open players and K-pop stars. Following a three-month hiatus to repair water damage, Ineke and Christian have revamped and reopened.
Luscious tonkotsu is the core, but eye-catching signature bowls steal the show: bold black garlic ramen, spicy tobanjan and vibrant yuzu kosho.
Select your base, customise noodles, spice and broth thickness and add toppings. Aside from classic chashu pork, the slow-cooked pork belly is worth the upgrade for a literal melt-in-your-mouth experience.
The refreshed space has kept much of the decor—photographs and miniatures from Japan, a wall of sake behind the bar—but with a new mural by local Japanese artist Junko Azukawa and a tatami-style private dining area with 24 karat ‘temple’ wallpaper.
It’s been a passion project. Ineke and Christian came to Melbourne from Indonesia as students. They opened a cafe, then a nightclub and finally settled on ramen. Christian was inspired by years of visits to Japan.
They signed with Yamagoya Ramen who sent experts for months of training before opening in 2015. During the recent closure, Ineke and Christian went to Fukuoka to brush up on their skills.
“We trained, we tasted, we think our broth is similar to the best,” Ineke says, “But we like our noodles better. We use fresh Australian flour.”
The craftsmanship is no joke. There’s an immense process to have a bowl assembled in a few minutes. Each batch of broth takes 18 hours, noodles are handmade and cold toppings are prepared in advance—their marinated eggs alone need three days.
“We care about quality,” Ineke says, “We cook it with pride. We put everything we can into it.”
Non-ramen specialties include ribs, rice bowls and izakaya-style snacks of karaage chicken and gyoza dumplings. The katsu menu has panko-crumbed fried pork, chicken and vego options served with house-made tonkatsu sauce. To drink, a slew of imported bevs like sake, whiskies, shochu and frosty glasses of Sapporo.
For more of Melbourne's best ramen, head this way.
Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen has reopened at 27 Russell Street, Melbourne CBD. They’re open for lunch and dinner, 12-3pm and. 5-9pm, every day except Monday.
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