On our first night in Kyoto, we headed for dinner at Gogyo Ramen. The restaurant is in Kyoto’s city centre right behind Nishiki Market.
You will know you are in the right place when you will see the queue in front of the restaurant and flames coming out of the kitchen. “Flames you said?” Yes I did! Gogyo’s signature dish is ‘burnt’ ramen, so to prepare it they literally have to burn it!
After queuing for a good while, we finally made it in and sat at the bar in front of the kitchen. Great way to have dinner while watching a pyrotechnics show!
One big big BIG highlight of our dinner at Gogyo was the staff! They were the nicest waiters we could have wished for! They helped us with our bibs (I told I am not good with chopsticks!) and when I said I had never tried plum wine they immediately offered me a glass of it ‘on the house’. By the way, if you have never tried plum wine, make sure you do, it is delicious!
Genuinely friendly is the best way to describe the staff there!
Now to the food! Ramen can be extremely filling so we didn’t go too crazy with our order to make sure we could finish our dish (I hate wasting food!). We ordered fried gyozas as a stater, which we shared. They were really good and one plate was enough between the two of us, knowing what was coming next…
For mains, we both went for the signature dish, the burnt ramen. Andrew went for a version with more toppings, I went for the regular one.
The taste is a lot stronger than a normal ramen. It is very smokey and it does have a burnt aftertaste so I am not sure everyone would like it. I found the texture to be oilier too but overall we did very much enjoy it.
As long as you are not expecting a classic ramen like at Ichiran, and that you are open to trying new flavours, you will love the burnt ramen of Gogyo!
Also, if you are going, make sure to say ‘hi!’ to the lovely staff for us!
Claire Imaginarium 
Interesting. I have tried a lot of ramen but never burnt ramen. It is now on my list for my next trip. Thanks!
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