Soup Ramen: 2 Great Ramen Bars in Dún Laoghaire and Smithfield

A number of small, unique businesses thrive within the Dublin area, and Soup Ramen is no exception. Settled in locations both in Smithfield and Dún Laoghaire, Soup Ramen has made a name for itself by opening Soup in Dún Laoghaire initially in 2018, then Soup 2 in Smithfield. The two restaurants offer an enticing range of Asian food and drinks for visitors and residents of those areas.

Soup Ramen – Soup in Dún Laoghaire’s Layout

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Image: The Irish Times

Soup Ramen’s Dún Laoghaire location consists of an indoor seating area and an outdoor seating area. The indoor seating area consists of a minimalistic, yet lively setup with wooden furnishing and indoor plants (a view of the interior is shown above). Complementing the indoor seating area of the restaurant is a shaded outdoor seating area with fewer seats, which is especially nice in the summer months. It also features wooden tables and chairs, paired with decorative flowers for good measure.

Address: 28 George’s Street Lower, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin

Opening Hours:

Monday

12pm – 3pm

Tuesday to Thursday

12pm – 9pm

Friday to Saturday

12pm – 10pm

Sunday

1pm – 9pm

Soup Ramen – Soup 2 in Smithfield’s Layout

SOUP 2 Pic
Image: Instagram

Soup 2 (Soup Ramen’s Smithfield location) is the other ramen restaurant Soup Ramen has besides its first Dún Laoghaire placement. Comparing it to Dún Laoghaire’s Soup, Soup 2 – which opened in 2021 – has a bigger space to work with than the original Soup, boasting more seating with a similar aesthetic to its Dún Laoghaire counterpart. What Soup 2 also features over Soup in Dún Laoghaire is its basement level housing a cocktail bar called Dashi, which has previously housed Babylon Radio events for internationals to connect in the past. 

Additionally, Dashi has recurring weekly events like Smithfield Creatives Open Mic on Tuesdays, and house music DJs every Friday. 

Address: 44 – 47 King St N, Smithfield, Dublin, D07 Y7AA

Opening Hours:

Monday: Closed

Tuesday to Thursday: 4pm – 9pm

Friday to Saturday: 12pm – 10pm

Sunday: 12pm – 9 pm

Soup Ramen – Menu

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Image: Instagram

The menus across Soup Ramen’s two locations are largely the same. It has a “Smalls & Sides section”, a “Mains” section, and a “Ramen” section to its menu. As for the drinks on offer, Soup Ramen in both of its locations offers a number of in-house cocktails, such as its Aperol slushie, made up of basil, infused honey, and prosecco (shown above).

Teriyaki Cauliflower Wings
Image: Instagram

“Smalls & Sides” is where the assorted side dish vegetable and meat offerings are outlined before the main dishes are offered to customers. One such piece out of this section is its Teriyaki Cauliflower Wings (in the picture above). The Teriyaki Cauliflower Wings are made of tempura cauliflower wings in teriyaki sauce, served with roast seaweed and wasabi mayonnaise.

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Image: Instagram

“Mains” is the section of Soup Ramen’s menu where you can pick your main course. An example of a main course from these restaurants is its Fried Chicken Burger. Also available as a vegetarian halloumi burger, the Fried Chicken Burger is served in a brioche bun, topped with house pickles, mixed leaves, mint yogurt, yangnyeom sauce, house fries, and smoked ketchup.

Chicken Ramen
Image: Instagram

Lastly, its “Ramen” choices showcase the four ramen bowls of chicken ramen, pork ramen, veggie ramen, and vegan ramen, Soup Ramen offered across the two locations. Its chicken ramen (as an example above) is loaded with 12-hour cooked chicken broth, house-made noodles, chargrilled chicken, miso pickled shimeji mushrooms, pickled fennel, pickled red cabbage, spring onions, pak choi, and seasoned free range egg. Whatever bowl you choose, the portion size is large, so it is recommended to order this on an empty stomach.

Both of Soup Ramen’s locations offer customers a fantastic Asian cuisine experience, no matter which location you go to. Whether it’s the original Dún Laoghaire Soup, or the newer Smithfield Soup 2 with its associated underground cocktail bar Dashi, Soup Ramen offers the best ramen and Asian cuisine within its areas. It will be exciting to see what direction the growing Soup Ramen brand will take next.

Matthew Lehane
Matthew Lehane

An upcoming MA graduate in New Media and Digital Culture in Utrecht University, with a BA in English, Media and Cultural Studies from IADT, and a QQI Level 5 qualification in Arts, Culture, and History from DFEI. The topics written (and edited) to date for Babylon Radio range from film, tourism, and photography, with a broader range to come during this internship and in future work.

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