Love Ramen

I walked to the restaurant from Montefiori hospital, where I was dropping off my home sleep apnea test.I had worn out my legs walking down a steep, Pittsburgh hill. I got into the restaurant and then fell down on the floor. Many thanks to the staff of Love Ramen, who picked me up off the floor and fussed over me.

The food was delicious and the service was really good! Would highly recommend to anyone visiting the Pittsburgh area

My favorite hidden gem in Pittsburgh, so much so that I was reluctant to share my review to keep in on the DL! Small, quaint restaurant on Fifth Ave that has confusing and minimal signage, hence why I call it a hole in the wall. It's right next to Cane's and Gussy's so just look for the signage with Chinese characters next to them. I can't even count how many times I've been here but I most recently stopped in last week and had a great experience as always. This is a build your own hot pot bowl. So not the traditional hot pot meal with the pot of 2 broths in front of you and you add/cook your toppings inside. But rather, you pick and choose from a variety of toppings, noodles, proteins, and finally your broth to complete your bowl. They price your bowl based on the weight of your toppings that you pick out (I don't remember the price per oz). I will say that you should not get carried away with the toppings because the price will quickly catch up to you. My normal bowl will cost around $12-15 but I decided to treat myself to a bowl with more toppings and my bowl was around $27 but it was so worth it. I usually go for the mild mala tang (麻辣烫). If you can really handle spice go for the medium mala tang soup base but be warned, Sichuan peppercorns will really numb your tongue!

Super cool diy ramen/hot pot bar! It is a little expensive if you eat a lot. Pay with cash and you can get a slight discount. I've had the tonkatsu ramen which was good but get the mala if you go. There's no waiters, you just pay at the counter and pick up when ready. It's a pretty small place so it may be hard to get a table if it's busy.

I love the personalization of this location, truly a hidden gem hidden in between chain restaurants. The variety of food you can choose from is amazing & some items rotate daily. I love how many different flavors of broth you can choose from (my favorite is the mild spice level of mala flavored soup) & that you are able to make your own sauce as well! The food generally takes not very long, but it does get crowded in the dinner hours.

SO GOOD! GO TO LOVE RAMEN! You won't regret it. Nothing like a build your own ramen spot.

Authentic as shit. Build your own bowl, no place like it. Small, intimate, crowded but worth it. Don't think you're gonna find better ramen in the Burgh

Basics to Love Ramen:1) Hard to find since sign really is not visible! Look for Chinese wording of Fifth Street and inside has a reddish theme.2) Not obvious walking in what they serve. There is a $/oz sign on the right and what appears to a buffet area of cold items. Multiple types of noodles, meats, and veggies are available. 3) At the counter there is a scale. Using the clues given above with no one at the cash stand to give guidance, I can only assume it is a self serve type place where they cook what you choose. Sure enough, an individual emerges from the back and explains just that and realizes he has to refill the metal bowls up front used to grab the ingredients. Now it makes sense.I grab a bowl and start to load up with noodles, fried egg, veggies, meats, and the like. The total came out to about $28 and enough for two people.Overall, the ramen broth has decent flavors, the noodles came out a bit overcooked. Tip here is to get the minimum amount and do not get too greedy on variety! 3.8888 stars.

Very good food, as a college student on a budget the "weigh your meal for the price" system works well. Definitely plan on coming back in the future. Only downside is there is not a sign out front so you just have to watch to make sure you don't miss it!

So tasty!! First bite took me my surprise with how good it was. I keep coming back for more. Love it so much that I want to gate keep