WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – The food scene in Walnut Creek has gone wild over the last few years. There’s more restaurants packed into the city’s downtown than nearly anywhere else I can think of in the East Bay.
One specific type of restaurant, though, is rising even faster in WC. Walnut Creek is fast becoming the ramen capital of the 925.
The rise of Walnut Creek’s ramen scene started with Ramen Hiroshi. I’ve been going there for almost a decade, and was very pleased that Ramen Hiroshi survived the pandemic.
Recently, the restaurant has added a permanent (and permitted!) parklet in front where you can sit and eat your soup. That’s a great thing, since Ramen Hiroshi’s store is quite small inside.
The soup is amazing, though. Ramen Hiroshi’s pork bone broth in its Tonkatsu soups is truly stellar–creamy and rich, and the perfect complement to curly noodles.
MayMay’s cravings, still fairly new itself, also apparently has an extensive ramen selection. In this case, you choose your packet of instant ramen from a shelf (they have all kinds of obscure Japanese brands) and then make it as a special “ramen bar” in the store.
Soon, though, Ramen Hiroshi and MayMay’s will have some company. Two brand new ramen shops (yes, two!) are slated to open in Walnut Creek in 2026.
Mensho Ramen is a Tokyo-born, chef-driven ramen brand known for rich broths and some higher-end topping combos (think duck, wagyu, truffle-y flavors depending on the bowl). Mensho was founded in 2005 by ramen master Tomoharu Shono.
It’s coming to 1512 N Main Street. Look out for their creamy chicken broth especially.
The other exciting newcomer is Marufuku Ramen, which is under heavy construction at the moment at 1630 Cypress Street. They are focused on Hakata-style tonkotsu (pork-bone broth), paired with ultra-thin noodles. Their broth is made by boiling pork bones for long hours (often described as 20+ hours).
I’ve been to their location in San Francisco, and it will be a treat to have their soups in Walnut Creek.
It might seem a bit strange to have so many ramen places suddenly pop up in one town. But these things do tend to arrive in clusters. Last year and into 2025, Walnut Creek got tons of new ice cream places.
Soup and ice cream. Not a bad thing for a town to stake its name on!
