restaurant i love: kitchen ramen, prague

after reading the inspiring new york times 36 hours in prague article, i realized i hadn’t been to prague in a minute and that it was time for a little restaurant and cafe research of my own, as well as visiting this giant antique fair that was going on at the new town hall (below) on karlovo namesti. the interior of the town hall is gorgeous (still kicking myself for not snapping any photos!) but as it was an antiques show, we quickly noticed that we were the only non over sixty or gay couple around. the fashion market was much more my thing!

i persuaded everyone to try this new ramen bar i’d read about, and having no other alternative, everyone was happy to comply. (who else is always the person that leads around the group?)

after a little trek to václavské náměstí (wenceslas square) from karlovo náměstí, we found the happening street of 28 října. there was plenty of outdoor seating available, but we chose to sit indoors because hot weather + hot ramen… you know. we were lead by a simple chalkboard sign pointing us in the right direction, as the actual restaurant is marked “the address idea”, owned by the same folks who brought us the delightful kafka cafe in the josefov district. (confusing, a bit of a branding issue that i hope they’ll sort out eventually)

the menu was FUN with about six choices of ramen ranging from fully vegetarian to totally NOT. they also offered other dishes such as a variety of asian salads and yakisoba noodle bowls. i chose the shio ramen, which was a big ol’ steaming bowl of homemade ramen noodles with pork, soft boiled egg, nori, chinese mushrooms, and scallions in a delicious broth.

not only was i completely pleased with this, but the drink i ordered was almost just as fun: a GIANT pitcher of cucumber & mint blended soda water! on the menu it’s marked as “house water: cucumber with mint” so i was expecting perhaps a large class, not a pitcher! a hush fell over the table when this funny green drink arrived. i could have not been more pleased at its taste or size– as it was a hot day, it was nice to have more than one glass of this refreshing concoction. the chef often stopped by our table to check on things and make sure everything tasted okay, particularly the house water, as this is a brand new joint and i think no one had yet ordered it.

the service was amazing (it defied the czech stereotype), the interior was funky and industrial, and a soft house type music played from the speakers. the doors were open and there was a lovely sunny atmosphere from the busy street outside filtering in. i will definitely be back to kitchen ramen next time i find myself in the center of prague!