Gangnam Station ramen at 5pm on a weekend, no wait: Oreno Ramen

A Gangnam Station restaurant good for solo dining, Michelin Bib Gourmand Oreno Ramen Gangnam is at 28-9 Teheran-ro 1-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 2F.

Oreno Ramen Gangnam hours and how long the weekend wait is

Oreno Ramen Gangnam is open daily from 11:00 to 20:30, with last order at 20:00.

I visited Oreno Ramen Gangnam, a ramen restaurant that made it onto the Michelin list in Korea. The flagship is in Eunpyeong-gu, but it's so popular that several branches have opened since.

We visited around 5pm on a weekend and got seated with no wait. By 5:30 seats were already filling up, and by the time we finished eating, only bar seats were left.

A Bib Gourmand restaurant serving a single bowl of ramen with real polish

Oreno Ramen, featured in the Michelin Bib Gourmand! Bib Gourmand is given to places offering great food for the price — think good quality at a reasonable price rather than just 'cheap and tasty.'

Walking in, there's a long row of bar seats, which makes this a great pick for solo dining near Gangnam Station :)

We sat at a table, and ordering was done at the kiosk right from our seats.

Oreno Ramen Gangnam menu and prices

The menu at this Gangnam Station spot, great for solo diners, is very simple. You just choose between tori paitan or kara paitan (spicy). We ordered one of each, and since eating tsukune (grilled chicken meatball skewers) in ramen sounded unusual, we added one too.

On the table were pickles, a hair tie, cups, and a small pickle plate. The great thing about Oreno Ramen is that noodles, broth and rice are all free refills..! A dream for the guys out there, right?

My partner wanted beer with the ramen, so we ordered a bottle of Cloud haha :) Very much a Japanese vibe,,,!!

The banchan (side dishes) were kimchi and pickled ginger. You get a lot of pickled ginger at ramen places, and it pairs surprisingly well, doesn't it?

How spicy is the kara paitan at Oreno Ramen?

This is the kara paitan I ordered. It keeps the rich, savory base of chicken paitan while adding a spicy kick. I'd say it's a touch milder than Shin Ramyun.

Rather than just being spicy, it's the savory, rich chicken broth combined with a sharp heat that hit the spot for Korean taste buds. It cut through richness nicely — perfect for my palate.

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Japanese ramen, but true to its Michelin reputation, Oreno's ramen was clean-tasting, with noodles that were chewy yet soft in just the right way — a flavor Koreans would love.

Inside was chicken breast chashu, and eating it alongside the broth felt like getting a protein boost — the kind of thing guys would especially appreciate lol.

Tsukune (chicken meatballs) dipped into the ramen broth

The tsukune arrived too. I'd only ever had tsukune at izakayas, so eating it with ramen felt like something new. The staff actually told us to dip it into the ramen broth!

It slides right off the skewer, so you just drop the pieces in one at a time — super juicy and delicious!

Zero gamey chicken smell at all!

What does the tori paitan chicken broth taste like?

This is the tori paitan my partner ordered. The broth is white, thick and creamy. Compared to pork-based tonkotsu, the distinct savory, clean taste of chicken really won me over.

There's an egg inside too, and with chicken breast chashu and egg together, it felt like a really substantial bowl. Adding an extra egg is ₩1,000 — if you love it, it's worth adding.

I've heard you're not really supposed to drink the broth with Japanese ramen, but it was so good I finished it all,,, I really don't like ramen usually, but true to this Gangnam Station solo-dining spot's reputation, this was the tastiest ramen I've had in Korea... I'll definitely be thinking about it again!

Is there a restroom inside Oreno Ramen Gangnam?

I didn't expect a ramen restaurant to have an in-house restroom, but Oreno Ramen Gangnam has a clean one right inside, which makes it a great spot for a budget-friendly date too haha!

Great value, Michelin Bib Gourmand — Oreno Ramen is a Gangnam restaurant I'd really recommend! Plenty of couples were there on dates too.