Eunpyeong ramen restaurant open at 5pm, with parking: Oreno Ramen

I was walking along Bulgwangcheon stream and looking for a late lunch spot when I ended up at Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong. Honestly, I'd been curious about this place for a while. When I came by during cherry blossom season, I passed it and saw such a huge crowd that I thought, 'how good must this place be to have this many people?' This time, I combined my walk with finally trying the ramen I'd been curious about.

Where is Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong, and when can you get in without waiting?

Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong is right next to Bulgwangcheon stream, so it's an easy stop during a walk. I drove there, and parking was available too, which made the visit more convenient than I expected.

We timed our visit for 5pm, right as break time ended. Thanks to that, we got in without any wait at all. But a little while later, customers started trickling in one by one, and by around 5:20pm the place was fully booked... waiting had begun 🫢

Ordering at the kiosk: menu prices, plus free rice and kimchi

Right when you walk in, there's a self-service kiosk where you order first. The menu is simpler than I expected. There aren't many ramen types, which actually made choosing easier.

What we ordered:

• Tori paitan ramen
• Kara paitan ramen
• 2 soft-boiled eggs

Rice and kimchi are provided free. You can select them when ordering, or just ask a staff member while eating.

Inside Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong: bar seats, green tea ice water and hair ties

The interior had more seats than I expected. There are bar seats good for solo dining as well as table seats, so it looked like a comfortable place to eat alone too.

Green tea ice water was already set out at the table, and since it was a hot day, having something cool to drink was great. It felt like they'd thought about even these small details, which made me happy for no reason haha.

They also had hair ties on hand, which women might need, and pickles were set out at the table too, so I could take as much as I wanted, which was convenient.

What does the tori paitan ramen taste like?

First up is tori paitan ramen. Tori paitan is made with a chicken broth base, so it had a strong creamy, nutty feel.

This is apparently Oreno Ramen's signature dish, so it's the one I was most looking forward to, and the rich, nutty flavor of the deep chicken broth was quite memorable. It seemed like a flavor no one could dislike, so I understood why it's the best-selling menu item.

Kara paitan ramen: how much the spice changes the chicken broth

Kara paitan is tori paitan with spiciness added. Visually, kara paitan doesn't look that different from tori paitan, but once you mix in the broth, the flavor is clearly different. Between the two, kara paitan was personally more my style.

It was moderately spicy, so it felt less heavy, and the broth itself was so tasty that mixing rice into it after finishing the noodles worked really well too haha. It's the same chicken broth ramen, but the spiciness alone makes it feel quite different, so if you're visiting with someone else, ordering one of each to compare seems like a good idea.

Free refills on noodles, rice, broth and kimchi

One of the things I liked best about Oreno Ramen is that noodles, rice, broth, and kimchi are all refillable for free. Even one bowl of ramen is quite filling, but if you want more, you can add noodles or rice, which felt like good value.

We were already full so we didn't get a refill ourselves, but watching the table next to us refill, it looked like it wasn't just noodles added — tsukune chashu (skewered chicken meatball pork belly) came along with it too, making it look even more generous. Next time I want to come with a little more room in my stomach and properly try the refills.

Is Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong worth it after a Bulgwangcheon walk?

After trying it myself, I understood why this place usually has a long wait. If you like the deep, nutty flavor of chicken broth, I'd recommend the tori paitan; if you like a bit of spice like me, go for the kara paitan.

It's right by Bulgwangcheon stream, so it's a great combo of a walk followed by ramen. Best of all, timing our visit right as break time ended meant we could eat without any wait, which was great. If you're planning to visit Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong, try aiming for right after break time like I did 🤍

Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong: address, hours and parking

• Address: 366 Bulgwangcheon-gil, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:00–22:00 (break time 14:30–17:00)
• Parking: Available (lot behind the restaurant)