Banki Ramen in Florence

Banki Ramen: the first ramen bar born in Florence

The Banki Ramen had already caught my attention for a long time. I had heard great things the quality of this Ramen bar and also some friends of mine confirmed that restaurant was good. Before going, I did a little checking on online forums and various search engines.

I found that has great reviews on TripAdvisor but that does not have its own website but a small facebook group created bypassionate customers, “Estimatori del Banki Ramen”.

Opening hours

The Banki Ramen has a very unusual opening timetable (on sunday and on monday is closed, from tuesday to Saturday 19.00-22.00, lunch only on Saturday 12.30-14.30); I have heard that the bar does not take reservations and that it’s always packed so I went very soon (7:30 pm). I thought to find easily place, but I had to wait for a while: the bar, reflecting the original Japanese Ramen-ya, is very small, thankfully they are very quick in the service and we waited only 10 minutes before we were accommodated.

The bar

The restaurant is very basic in a small fund attached to an ItalianCoffee Bar. There are, of course, on walls and on the entrance the classical references to Japan and most of all there are the mythical red curtains with ideograms in the entrance of the bar, a must in the Japanese imaginary.There is also a fune reminder where the “4 good rules to eat the tamen” are remembered.

The menu

The meno is very simple with 10 kind of Ramen, one is for summer, the Gyoza (grilled ravioli with meat) and rice, is possible toset a combined menu to taste multiple types of Ramen. I think that to judge the quality of a restaurant we shouldn’t necessarily order the most elaborate dish so I ordered a classic Shoyu-Ramen: noodles with soy sauce broth, boiled egg, pork, cabbageand seaweed. Excellent! Very good and delicate were also the Gyoza that I never miss when I go to a Ramen bar.

In conclusion…

In summary I can confirm that the service was speedy, very helpful staff, affordable prices (we spent 64€ for 4 Ramen, 4 Gyoza and 3 Asahi beers 50cl), and most of all the Ramen was very good! Remember to go very early and, if possible, to avoid Saturdays or you could not find place.
It only remains for me, therefore, to try to do it at home by following a recipe of master Hattori Hanzo or inspired watching the movie Ramen Girl (2008).

Recommended: Absolutely Yes!