Samurai Noodle put ramen on Seattle’s restaurant map back in 2006, before authentic, stand-alone ramen shops had landed here. Channeling the regional flavors of Japan, Samurai continues to offer a highly customizable ramen experience at its three brick-and-mortar locations and new mobile food truck. Visitors can choose from five complex, richly flavored broths, decide on the firmness of their housemade noodles, and pick from a bunch of extra goodies, such as pork slices, roasted seaweed, soft-boiled egg, marinated bamboo, green onions, bacon, and black mushrooms. Various locations, samurainoodle.com

First runner-up: Kukai

Second runner-up: Aloha Ramen

Honorable mention: Ramen Man, Suika Seattle

Read about the rest of the Best of Seattle Reader Poll winners here. If you didn’t get a chance to vote this go-round, make sure your voice is heard next year. Email us at bestofseattle@seattleweekly.com and we will let you know when nominations open for BoS 2017.