Meshikou
Meshikou carries local reputation as one of the city's steadier ramen rooms, part of the broader ramen depth that has built up on the Columbus side of the metro. The format stays counter-forward and casual, built for a straightforward bowl rather than a production, which is the point for a weeknight order.
What to orderCurry ramenVegan ramenOolong mule Call DirectionsFull review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details
Curry Ramen Two Ways, Cocktails Included
Curry ramen brings Japanese curry into the bowl for a thicker, spiced broth that stands apart from the shop's classic tonkotsu.
One of two vegan ramens on the menu, built to prove a plant-based broth can still carry real weight.
Oolong tea and ginger beer turn the standard mule into a lighter, tea-forward sip alongside the noodles.
Meshikou has built its name on a curry ramen program broad enough to cover both camps of ramen eating: brothed for the deep, coconut-warmed version, and brothless for a coated-noodle style closer to mazemen. Both come up in the same breath as the appetizers and soju that round out a table order, and the flavor consistency between the two suggests a kitchen that treats curry as a technique, not a single recipe. The vegan program stands out as unusually deep for the format: two full vegan ramens plus a brothless vegan option, a spread most ramen counters in Columbus do not attempt at all, let alone execute well enough to win over people who came in skeptical. That kind of range signals a kitchen thinking about ramen as a category rather than a single bowl to defend.
On the drink side, Meshikou separates itself from the standard ramen-bar setup with an actual cocktail and beer program, not an afterthought taps list. The oolong mule gets called out specifically, tea-forward and built to cut through a rich bowl the way a Moscow mule cuts through heavier food, and it points to a bar program built with the menu in mind rather than bolted on. Soju shows up too, giving the room a Japanese-Korean crossover on the drink side that matches the flexibility on the food side. The room reads as built for groups: casual, comfortable splitting appetizers and comparing bowls, the kind of place a table can order six different things and everyone leaves satisfied.
Pricing lands in the moderate range, which keeps it accessible as a regular rotation stop rather than an occasion room. Service gets credited alongside the food, which matters in a format where timing between courses and drink orders can make or break a group visit. Columbus's ramen tier tends to split between quick-serve noodle counters and more composed rooms; Meshikou sits on the composed end without pricing itself out of casual reach, carrying real local reputation claims in that lane.
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Columbus, OH, 43235
Order one brothed and one brothless curry ramen for the table to compare, and pair either with the oolong mule rather than a standard beer if cutting the richness matters more than matching it.
