Looking for a vegan restaurant in Brisbane with a fun theme? Then you might love Neon Ramen, a vegan ramen bar in Everton Park with an anime and cyberpunk theme. Here the food comes in generous portions – served in cute cat bowls – and vegan food lovers can sink their teeth into various replica meat options that taste pretty close to the real deal.
Word of warning: best book in advance as Neo Ramen is typically packed. My partner Nikki and I experienced this the hard way, when we turned up and no tables were available. Second time’s a charm apparently, as this time we’d locked in our little neon adventure for 7pm on a Saturday night.
The Atmosphere
We entered a slender, packed restaurant, with people sitting on high bench-like tables and padded stools down the centre. Thankfully there was also a long bench running beneath the windows around the edge of the restaurant, as this allowed space for a lot more people to slurp big, cat-eared bowls of ramen while looking out into the night air. We soon found out this would be our experience too, and we took a seat and scanned the menu beneath the pink, cherry blossom ceiling.
After ordering, I had a look around the restaurant, admiring the neon signage, the cyberpunk artwork and the anime depicted on the walls. If you love your Japanese anime, you’ll enjoy the atmosphere of this vegan restaurant in Brisbane – as there’s artwork of the Japanese animation Bleach here, amongst others. I chatted with the owner Bella, and she told me local artists (her friends) designed all the artwork.
As the lighting is beneath the pink floral ceiling, the vibe is very pink, although combined with the neon signs and the anime, it also looks very cool. In all, it feels very Tokyo-esque, particularly as the restaurant is so slender and makes the most of its space. Additionally, the two times I’ve visited it’s been packed!
The Food – Vegan Restaurant in Brisbane
Here you choose ramen under the ‘make your own menu’ section, which has at least four options under each of the ramen’s four stages – the broth, the noodles, the protein and toppings. As I was doing a review, I felt compelled to try the ramen, and I went with a shitake mushroom broth, pink ramen noodles, katsu chicken alternative and pickled ginger. If you’re after big portions, this place has them!
So how did it taste? My broth was light and a little sweet, while my noodles were thin and pink. I liked the broth, but I must say I didn’t love it. The noodles were a little on the soft and mushy side, although the katsu chicken was fun. It tasted a bit like chicken and was crumbed and heaped into my bowl beneath a small mountain of pickled ginger. I enjoyed the different textures and my ramen overall, but I would have preferred it a little less sweet and the noodles to be more ‘al dente’.
Nikki ordered the ‘Tan Tan’ broth (mildly spiced sesame), with gluten-free ramen, impossible beef and kikurage (wood ear mushrooms). Nikki thought it was tasty and pleasant, although she isn’t a fan of ‘pretend meat’ and said it would have been nicer with tofu. Tofu is on the menu if that helps make your decision a little easier! One good thing about the ramen is each choice comes with bean shoots, fried shallots, spring onions, greens and nori.
We also ordered Dashi fries, as they were gluten-free (Nikki is gluten intolerant). These came with sriracha and wasabi mayo and were delightfully crispy. The wasabi mayo was definitely a fun addition, as I helped myself to more than a few fries.
This would normally have been more than enough food, but as I was writing this review I felt I had to try something else and I went for the ‘cheeseburger bao’, as a friend said she’d enjoyed the bao here on her visit. Well, I can attest to the same. The bao is good! The buns were nice, soft and fresh tasting – like little white cushions of joy. They were filled with a vegan beef patty, cheese, pickles and a ‘special sauce’.
I’m not sure what was in the special sauce, but the combination of the sauce, patty, pickles, cheese and bun was uber-tasty. I must say though, I was stuffed by the end of it all, particularly as I’d tried to consume all the ramen broth out of my thunderous cat bowl when I probably should have left it!
Additional Food Options
Neon Ramen also serves up a variety of snacks and sides, baos, main meals, kids meals and desserts – apart from their ‘make your own’ ramen menu. As Neon Ramen doesn’t appear to have a food menu on their website, I’ve added it below.
The Service
As 30 minutes had passed and I still hadn’t received my beer, my fears were soon realised. They were going to bring our entrees, mains and drinks at once. As I’m a former chef and I’ve worked in hospitality for roughly 15 years, I knew the waitresses weren’t completely aware of what was going on in the restaurant. This put me off a little at first, particularly as I really just wanted to have a beer and soak up the atmosphere (rather than have a beer with my soupy ramen), but after chatting with the ladies, I felt a little more understanding and happier about the situation.
The ladies here were really sweet and polite for starters, and when I chatted with the owner Bella after our meal, she told me they had only been here for two weeks and were still trying to get a grip on things. So, word of warning – go in there with a bit of patience, an open mind, and things will turn out alright! The vibes here are good after all.
The Drinks
I ordered a Kirin Megumi beer in a bottle, which I enjoyed, and my partner ordered a Rose Quartz cocktail. The cocktail had pink gin, triple sec, crème de cassis and lemon. Nikki reported this was too sweet for her liking, saying it tasted a bit like creaming soda. Other drinks you can get at Neon Ramen are Asahi beer, about a dozen cocktails, coke, sprite and sparking water, house iced tea, house sodas, thick shakes and iced fruit frappes.
My Thoughts Overall
We had a fun night at Neon Ramen, as we loved the atmosphere, the artwork, the friendly waitresses and the owner Bella – whom I had a nice chat with at the end of the night. I did feel the service could be improved upon and we felt our ramen was good but not excellent, although the bao was delicious and the fries were nice and crispy. In all, I would recommend Neon Ramen for a fun night out. Chatting to Bella, it’s clear she’s put a lot of hard work into the place, and it shows. It’s apparently always packed and people love it here, so make sure you book in advance!
Check out my video below for a better idea of Neon Ramen.
Go For:
the bao, the big portions, the friendly vibe and atmosphere.
The Vibe:
Tokyo cyberpunk
A Few Fast Facts
- Neon Ramen is open from 12pm to 3pm and 5pm – 8:30pm Tuesday to Sunday, and 5pm – 8:30pm on Monday.
- There are a few gluten-free options at Neon Ramen, although I wouldn’t say they’re extensive.
- Make sure you book in advance as the place is typically packed.
- Neon Ramen is located in Brisbane’s Everton Park, which is about 10 kilometres from Brisbane CBD. Everton Park train station is about 3 minute’s walk to Neon Ramen.
- Veganyumm Bakehouse downstairs is an excellent vegan bakery!
- For more info, check out Neon Ramen’s website.
