Though it seems simple, being noodles and broth, good ramen is complex, and great ramen is hard. The quality lies in the secrets of a chef’s technique. The 2025 readers’ choice Best of the County winner is Uchiwa Ramen (pictured above). For the rest of the Marin Magazine‘s Best of Marin County ramen picks see below.
Our 2025 Dining category sponsor is Rodney Strong. View the rest of the Dining category here.
We’ve broken it down by region: Central and Northern Marin.
Central Marin
Chonmage
San Rafael
Recently new owner Bobby Chen stepped into the role of keeping Chonmage’s reputation thriving; he’s even earned a Ramen Sommelier Certification in Japan, making Chonmage Ramen the only ramen restaurant in Marin County with a certified ramen chef. Japanese classics like tonkotsu, miso and shoyu are available, as are a couple of house favorites like the black garlic oil ramen or a fully vegan, gluten free option.
1020 Court St, San Rafael, 415.419.5919
Menya Shono
San Rafael
Photo courtesy of Menya Shono
Noodles from ramen master Tomoharu Shono, who has multiple restaurants in Tokyo and San Francisco, are made in-house, the custom flour blend ground on an imported Japanese stone mill for a slightly chewy texture designed to the master’s specifications for flavor and impeccable freshness. Crafted exclusively for the San Rafael location, toripaitan is the new trend. The broth is chicken instead of the traditional pork and its lighter style is meant for every day eating, but traditionalists can still get Shono’s Marin-influenced version of shoyu and matcha ramen, too.
908 Fourth St, San Rafael, 415.448.5277
Uchiwa Ramen
San Rafael
As Marin’s first ramen-centric spot years prior, Uchiwa serves the classics with a strong local reputation. Owner Kevin Fong says the tonkatsu — a cloudy, slow-simmered pork bone broth — remains his most popular menu item.
821 B St, San Rafael, 415.524.2727
Northern Marin
Masa’s Sushi
Novato
Widely recognized for their work in sushi, the chefs turned their attention to another popular culinary export from Japan, dropping ramen onto the menu earlier this year. The singular ramen on offer is named for a coastal town on the northern island of Hokkaido. Tonkatsu broth is thickened with miso and topped with braised pork belly, corn and a golden-yolked egg. It’s a carnivorous bowl a fisherman would be proud to eat.
813 Grant Ave, Novato, 415.892.0081
Dining Sponsor
Rodney Strong
Rodney Strong was an acknowledged visionary who understood the potential that Sonoma County’s soil and climate held for producing world-class wines and was one of the first to plant Pinot Noir in Russian River Valley and the first to produce a Chalk Hill appellation Chardonnay.
Rodney Strong | Healdsburg | 707.431.1533 | rodneystrong.com
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