The best ramen we have ever had!

On our last day of our vacation in Berlin, we decided to eat at Cocolo Ramen. I had heard lots of good things through a friend and this experience made us want to eat ramen as every last meal of a vacation.

Tsukemono and lemonade

No reservations so we had to stand in line for about thirty minutes and in this time we could reminise about the nice moments we have had in Berlin. Entering the restaurant you are greeted by a cozy ambiance and kind staff. We recommend sitting at the bar, so you can watch the staff make your food! While the menu is greatly assembled we can assure you that it will leave you a bit indecisive. For our drinks we chose the homemade lemonade and for appetizers we chose the tsukemono and gyoza. The lemonade tasted super fresh and was not overly sweet, which we enjoyed. The tsukemono consisted of fermented and marinated cucumber and radish and was definitely a favorite. It had such a deep taste and almost tasted a little sweet, we would even come back if this was the only item on their menu. The gyoza was great but not outstanding, just well made and good tasting.

Tonkotsu Ramen

As our main we both had the tonkotsu ramen because I had tried it several times in different restaurants in Rotterdam and wanted to try it here. Tonkotsu is a type of broth that is based upon pork bones, and it has a cloudy appearance. The tonkotsu ramen at Cocolo Ramen contained pork slices, sweet pork belly, mushrooms, seaweed, green onion and an egg. When I tell you the we were silent the whole time we ate, except for the little gasps filled with awe about this soup, I am not lying. We were amazed by the many layers of flavor of this ramen. First you have the broth that is quite salty and has a deep flavor. Then you have the pork slices, that are super tender and have the classic pork flavor. The sweet pork belly was the best thing of this soup, it was so tender it falls apart when you pick it up. You could taste that it was marinated for a while, because the sweetness was tasted all through the piece of pork belly. The other toppings topped everything off, by adding other different flavors to the soup. From the green onion that gave a bit of freshness to the seaweed that filled it with that umami flavor that was missing. Although we have only tried the tonkotsu ramen, we can say this was the best ramen we have ever had and we still miss it everyday.

Yuzu and vanilla mochi

After this amazing main we were pretty full, but the craving for dessert was still there. We almost never get dessert but after only being suprised by every meal we ate here, we also had to try two of their desserts. We tried two scoops of their green tea icecream and a yuzu and vanilla mochi. The green tea icecream tasted very matt, like the taste of a sip of matcha or green tea. It cleared our palate for more sweetness to come. The yuzu mochi was kind of sweet and sour and the vanilla one was sweet. The yuzu flavored mochi was our favorite!

After this trip we have tried several tonkotsu ramen at different restaurants but we have not yet come to something better than this one. We also tried to make the tsukemono at home, but it is actually quite hard because you need a bit of equipment for it. For our last meal of our favorite vacation to be at Cocolo Ramen was kind of bittersweet, as it tasted amazing in the moment but still lingers in our minds as we try to find anything similar. I long for the day that I will be able to try anything as amazing as this! The overal ambiance of the place was our type of atmosphere. The interior was neat and the lamps created the most beautiful light that filled the room. The staff was so nice and helpful, they can guide you through the whole menu if you like. The prices are comparable to other ramen places, not cheap nor expensive. For the quality that you are getting though, I would say this is definitely a steal.