Ramen-Kingdom

The cult counter by Centraal is back after two dark years: same rich broth, new owner, same merciless queue.

For years this twenty square metre counter opposite Centraal was the city's cult ramen shrine: touch-screen ordering, a one-seat-at-a-time system, One Piece volumes between the chopstick pots and a giant Mario in the window, plus the bowl Amsterdam Foodie crowned Ramen Nirvana. Then it went dark for roughly two years. The comeback landed in spring 2026, and so did the queue, which on a weekend afternoon can pass an hour before you even reach the kiosk. The kitchen still pours that creamy, deeply savoury pork broth under charred chashu, and the kaedama ritual survives: keep your broth, hand over the extra-noodle ticket, receive a fresh tangle. Regulars from the old days say the bowls taste exactly as they used to. They also note the owner changed in the handover and the room runs slower than before, which is why our score stays provisional until we sit down ourselves. Bowls run about €20, portions lean Japanese rather than Dutch, and the spicy pork remains the order that built the legend.

Daily 12:00-22:00 under the new regime. Weekend afternoons the line can eat two hours; a weekday lunch or a Saturday after 20:00 gets you seated in minutes. One ramen per person minimum, no sharing, no reservations.

Photo: Amsterdam Wonderland