Friendly service, the karage chicken was quite tender and juicy however the ramen was a let down especially for the price vs portions. The ramen wasn't as flavourful as I expected. Between a group of four, we ordered: - Chicken Karage 👌 - Gyozas 👌 - Black tonkotsu The fried garlic and black sesame paste were very subtle in flavour. However the homemade ramen was cooked well. - Signature tonkotsu A classic tonkotsu, the flavours are what you would expect. - God fire A good amount of spice (for those who can't handle much spice)

Very good quality bowl of tonkotsu ramen. Noodles are a little too thin for my liking (lacking the firm bite). Broth is full bodied and rich but also can take it up a notch in terms of flavor. Place is family friendly, with high chairs for children.

Not sure how to rate service when we use QR code to order… and they just give us the food. The ramen was ok, it’s probably a bit too rich but without depth of flavour. The egg was delicious too!

Happen to come across this ramen place while walking around Bourke street and decided to give it a try. This ramen restaurant is located by Bourke and Russell street. We got the Signature Tonkotsu Ramen, the Black Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza. The soup for the Tonkotsu Ramen was mind-blowingly good. The normal soup is flavourful, thick and creamy yet it's not too salty. The noodle was the right hardness on normal. The Black Tonkotsu soup was also as good as the regular Tonkotsu with added garlic and sesame flavour. However the sesame flavour is a little mild. The gyoza was great with a crispy bottom crust with juicy pork inside. Totally recommended 👍👍

Really delicious ramen. Been here twice and had to queue up both times.. usually if you get there reasonably early for dinner it’s not too long a wait. They do serve you very quickly (and ordering is via QR code) so patrons are fed and moved out fairly quickly. I think the broth tastes great, always wish there was more of it. Consistent taste an service

My Australian uncle and cousin told me this is the best place to try Japanese ramen. I came here to try it out and found the taste to be very delicious, even better than in Singapore. The soup is thick and very nice. It's one of the nicest Japanese ramen places I've found in Melbourne city.

I really enjoyed the flavor of the ramen. Our group ordered the black tonkotsu, the classic tonkotsu and some gyoza. The broth tastes really rich without being too salty and the pork slices weren't dry. The ramen taste was boosted with the sesame, chopped garlic, and some chilli condiment. However the sesame was very mild despite putting a lot of it. The gyoza was also great. The one we got wasn't burnt and it taste best combined with the gyoza sauce and chilli sauce that came with it I highly recommend this place. It can get very crowded with long queues on peak hours. So be prepared to wait. The place was rather small and cramped, typical of a ramen joint.

perfect for those cold days, the shio ramen is a lighter tonkotsu broth compared to their signature tonkotsu ramen. The broth itself was so creamy and rich. The noodles texture can be chosen and there's options for additional toppings but it was on the slightly expensive side.

Everything is too perfect😭🫶 the noodle is thin and perfectly cooked, broth is v tasty, and the gyoza is goddessss. Such a big fan of hakata gensuke 5 out of 7 days im here😮‍💨❤️‍🔥

The best ramen I've had outside of Japan. Such a nice place, perfect for small groups and solo diners alike!

Queued for 15 minutes and it was absolutely worth it! Will definetely visit again although I’ll probably not get the spicy ramen again as I could not handle all the spice. Ramen was delicious, broth was comforting and flavourful. Gyoza are also recommended as they were crispy and fresh!

Very tasty ramen. Broth is nice and noodles are great. Very generous serving and reasonable price. Always a line outside worth the wait

There is always a queue and very crowded and noisy. A small space with little elbow room. A place where you pretty much just have your food and leave. You can opt to order via the QR code but you’ll have to pay by card (plus card surcharge) or order at the cash register and pay cash. We ordered the Signature Tonkotsu and God Fire. There are options for your preferred noodle texture - normal, soft, hard, very hard. Decide your preference for the level of saltiness of the broth - normal or less salty and your preference for the spice level for God Fire - levels 0.5-4. There are add-ons for topping choices. The broth in both were well bodied, slightly gummy from gelatine/collagen and perfectly seasoned. Noodles were well cooked with a good bite. Opted for level 4 spice level for the God Fire which was way, way too spicy. For lack of consistency- the the spice level 4 at the Hawthorn outlet was markedly less spicy. The broth at the Hawthorn outlet was markedly more “porky”. Overall, prefer this Russel St outlet. Tastier, no “porky” notes and more balance. There are accompanying condiments on the table - spicy vegetable, pickled ginger, sesame seeds and garlic. The serves seemed small but was surprisingly filling. Service was quick and friendly.

Best ramen place in Melbourne. I lived in Japan for over 3 years and Hakata Gensuke has the most real Japanese ramen taste. Price is obviously more expensive than ramen in Japan, but compared to other ramen store in Melbourne it's average.

This is seriously the best Ramen outside of Japan. The Signature Tonkotsu is so subtle in its flavour and there are some side dishes available if you still think you will be hungry (you won't). There may be a line to get in, but it's worth the wait. Staff are also very friendly and helpful. Ordering via QR Code. Definitely worth a visit for Ramen freaks!

Good ramen, quality broth. However, the bad thing is that they are expensive and does not offer any sales on extras. If you order the $18 basic bowl, you’ll only get 1 piece of meat and nothing else. 3 choices of toppings add up to 10.5, and they actually don’t do any discounts if you call the combo that has all 3. Overall pricy. Worth it? As a broke student I’d say if you have promotions (liven money, special day,…)

Was looking for a nice Ramen Shop while staying here in Melbourne for a night. Saw the reviews that this shop always have a queue. Having 4.4 rating at around 2k number of reviews I decided to give it a try. At the entrance, they have a self serve ordering and payment system beside the cashier desk and each table has this "scan me" ordering QR code which is nice and saves time for everyone. Had the Black Tonkotsu, 5 pcs Gyoza and the "popular" Karaage 3pcs. Had paid $29 in total. Black Tonkotsu Tender pork cha-shu wasn't tender at all and very chewy, this isnt what I expected. Broth is very nice Noodles wasnt in my preference when I asked for normal type of thin noodles, not thick nor soft just normal. I was looking for that a bit firm hand made noodles type. Hakata Hitokuchi Gyoza - was very nice served with soy sauce and citrus pepper as they call, for me it was chili paste. Chicken Karaage was crispy on the outside but a bit uncooked inside. Would have been perfect if cooked well enough, these might be frozen which wasn't thawed well. The spiced pepper powder was really nice. *order mayo if you're going to have this. Staff seemed friendly but I didnt get my food served as I had expected from a Japanese Ramen Restaurant that has queue. The elder lady was great and has a very welcoming personality. Restaurant interior was very nice. I came here for the food but it didnt meet my expectation. Hoping to dine in again next time I come back to Melbourne with my wife and get us both greatly satisfied with their work of art.

Nach ca. 20 minuten Schlangestehen (eigentlich hassen wir es) konnten wir mit QR code das menu lesen, bestellen und zahlen (eigentlich hassen wir sowas). Egal, das muss man akzeptieren, wenn man das wirklich excellente Ramen (man wählt zwischen einigen Arten und toppings) probieren möchte. Preise sind OK. Am Ende waren wir froh, dass wir es gemacht haben und schliesslich muss man mit der Zeit gehen ;-)

When I had ramen here five or six years ago, it was delicious. Today, on my revisit, it still maintained its delightful taste. Thanks to the increased number of chains, there was no waiting, and the addition of a new menu was a pleasant surprise. I hope the flavor remains consistent for my future visits to Melbourne. Thank you for offering such delicious ramen. Wishing you a Happy New Year and prosperity!

Ordering your perfect Ramen – Ramen that is exceptionally made and tailored to you perfection! So; let’s break it down… Atmosphere: **** Excellent and welcoming greeting by all staff when you enter in such a welcoming traditional style. The Beachwood settings, the outstanding decor, the literal multi-facet seasoning trays with fresh garlic, ginger and so many others to run with for your order. They do have a toilet for customer use – but my only gripe is that it is so amazingly tightly packed for customers with the small venue, you feel like strangers should be part of your conversation. Customer Service: **** We are all use to the QR Code ordering system by now and ordering is through your mobile; I didn’t even ask about alternative payments. As this place is very small, they only have a very limited amount of customers to service, so once ordered your selection is cooked within 5 minutes and delivered promptly. Well Done! Food (Why we are here): ***** Ramen Bowl: God Fire I have to admit, the amount of options for my perfect Ramen bowl was almost bewildering. I could choose how hard or soft I wanted my noodles. My spice level, 0.5-4 (I love spicy but needed an average – 2 was spicy, and for chili lovers this is a great starting point) - I could add or remove any part of the dish I wanted. It was exceptional & so was Ramen that was delivered – it was so tasty! Everything I ordered was exactly to expectation. Overall: ***** The only thing that is holding this place back is the location and how many they can seat. It’s the only disappointing thing about this place – with a larger venue, their dedicated staff would own Melbourne Ramen. Hope to see them expand with the same quality throughout Melbourne and Victoria.

Dropped by for lunch. I was a bit disappointed. I got the Signature Ramen noodles 🍜 ($19) and my partner got the Vegy Ramen ($20). The Signature Ramen ⭐⭐⭐ With a thick meaty broth it was a nice combo with good noodles. Had 1 piece of char sui and some fungi. Simple and made well but expensive for what it was. Vegy Ramen ⭐⭐ It was just a vegy broth, very simple with no miso or soy. Honestly this was disappointing, and didn't feel like Japanese ramen. Got it with the "hard" texture noodles, but it was the same as normal. While ok, I think there are better options around in Melbourne for the same price range.

Been here with friends, yummy ramen!!! Delicious!!! So fast!!! The broth is so delicious!! They also provide fresh garlic, i love this the most 😂😂😂 i had black tonkotsu, the broth is so on point!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ramen smell so so good!!! The broth is so perfect well combination with their thin noodles Gyoza is authentic 😩😩😩

I usually handle spicy food well, but today I wanted to taste the broth more, so I ordered level 1. Ramen was good but extremely spicy, it overpowered everything else. I don’t think they actually read the level you choose, they just put a standard amount. The guy sitting next to me was also struggling. The space is small and today it was really hot and humid inside, the AC was off. You have to eat and leave as it is pretty busy. I would not stand in line to eat here again.

Yummy and good admosphere, I went with 2 friends. They ordered 2 signature Ramen that were delicious. For me, I ordered God fire with Level 2 spicy, normal soft noodle and level salty. the soup was perfect. Good smell and umami. This soup made my night fulfilled!!!

The ramen here is still good, but it’s gotten very expensive and the service was almost non existent. I was always a big fan of the OG Russell Street store but hadn’t been for about 12 months. It was a Sunday arvo around 5pm and it wasn’t busy at all. The new place next door had a massive queue though. Maybe Hakata has given up since Mensho the competition moved in next door? The serving size seemed a little small but it was the service that shocked me. Normally, Japanese owned and run places have fantastic service but today they just shuffled around and took their sweet time. Karaage came out about 10 mins before my ramen, too. Disappointing for somewhere that’s normally so much better. $30 for ramen with egg and 3 small pieces of fried chicken.

It’s definitely worth to wait on queue in front of the restaurant for this amazing ramen. The broth is so rich and tasty specially the God Fire and Black Tonkotsu. Went there more than 10 times it’s always awesome and very consistent !

The broth was sooooo good, rich in flavour but not oily. One of the best ramen I've had and I've have tried many! Friendly service but get here early or be prepared to queue. Worth the wait :)

Queued for about 20 minutes to get into the restaurant. Very limited seatings in there so highly recommend that you decide what you want when queuing. We ordered the God Fire Ramen and the seasonal AKA tonkotsu. Food portion was not big but enough for me. Broth was okay. I would prefer it to be little but more "thick" and "porky". The egg with runny yolk was very delicious though. Overall, it's a decent bowl of tonkotsu ramen.

Black Fire seems to be a seasonal menu item and I highly recommend that! So much depth in flavor with the mix of the God Fire + Black Tonkatsu. God Fire is my go to but when I tried Black Fire man that was good. Wouldn’t hurt to get more toppings! When picking your noodles though they don’t do it as hard. I ordered normal and it seemed so soft to me. The hard was the normal in my opinion. Would still keep coming back til I find a better ramen joint to satisfy the cravings

Ramen is pretty good, however not the best. Restaurant is quite small for how busy it gets but the service is really quick and they are very clean too. Would be great if there were more vegetables in the standard ramen without having to pay $2 extra. Overall decent but I know plenty of better ramen spots.

Maintain their standard in every visit. Tried the popular God Fire Ramen. U can choose the spicy level. Love to add the seasoning from the side. Sesame seed, ginger and the spicy pickle vege. Coming for one person but they don’t arrange other guest to sit next to u not like the one next door ( Jam Packed), have ur space to enjoy this bowl of goodness. Chau siu still melted in the mouth. However egg is not runny as it used to be. Enjoy a little lunch break while u don’t have to line up if u come at 12 pm. Line started after 12.30 pm. It’s rainy day and ppl still coming n lining up for this bowl of goodness, and it’s worth it.

What an amazing ramen bar! The 1st place two years straight as Ramen Champion speaks for itself. Every bit of the ramen was perfection - the flavour, the noodles, the thickness of the soup - exceptional. Better yet, all the staff seem happy to be hear screaming "Arigato!" as diners leave. The waiters made great suggestions of what to try. We came here when it wasn't busy, so there was a calm vibrant vibe. But I was told there's usually a long line to eat here. Lucky got us there wasn't one tonight. Yum!

This was our second effort to get into the restaurant. And we were so happy to be in here. The food was on the table in just 5 minutes after placing the order. Gyoza was great, I wish they had given a bit more of the red chilli paste along with it. A bit crowded, but that also confirms that they have fantastic food.

Lining up to get into this ramen shop. 0 regrets. Saw the menu while waiting and ordered straight away when got in. The soup were rich in flavour. Noodle was cooked in perfection. Definitely coming back for more! #bulgogi_n_rendang

Ate fire tonkatsu. You can choose spicy level from 0.5 to 4. I choose level 2 and i find it spicy, maybe i should have chosen level 1 :) to be able to enjoy it more. Karaage chicken is juicy and flavoursome.

waited a bit in line but it wasn’t too long. I ordered the god fire ramen, karaage, and pork gyoza Ramen - 4/5 broth was silky, noodles had the right chewy texture, toppings were just right for the bowl. The egg, sadly, doesn’t seem to be marinated. the broth lacks flavor - it felt savory but didn’t taste savory. definitely get the special type because the regular bowl looks sad. Karaage - 5/5 outside was crispy, inside was juicy. just so good and well done. the marinade was good too and it wasn’t too strong. Gyoza - 3/5 skin was crispy on the bottom and the filling was juicy but i did not enjoy the taste of the filling - the pork was too gamey.

Food 4/5 Service 4/5 Atmosphere 3.5/5 It was good, but the portion for the God Fire ramen was really small compared to what my friend got when she ordered her miso ramen. Place is tiny and gets really packed, don’t be surprised if you have to share tables. Also at $20 and doesn’t come with an egg (extra $2.50) 😢

The broth and the noodle were excellent, making Hakata Gensuke very outstanding from other ramen places. However, I was disappointed that the non-special dishes only came with 1 slice of pork and a bit of garnish. The egg was +2.5 and didn’t seem to be marinated. The service was good, fast, and friendly. I went there on a Sunday evening and I waited outside for 15-20 minutes. Bonus point for no weekend surcharge!

I came here for lunch. I got the seasonal special and my sister got the squid ink tonkotsu. This is one of the better tonkotsu I've had. I really liked the broth and portion sizes. You got good value for money. There are some really good side dishes as well, like the gyoza.