Ramen Ichiraku

is Naruto Uzumaki and Iruka Umino's favorite place to eat. It is run by Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. The two consider Naruto their favorite customer and have never viewed him in a negative light. In Part II, Ayame goes on a trip and Matsu and Nishi are hired to replace her. Both are fairly inept and either spill the ramen they serve or accidentally stick their fingers in it. The bar was destroyed during Pain's invasion and a new one was built sometime after the invasion.

Ichiraku Ramen is a common setting for various scenes throughout the series, often being visited by Naruto between arcs. An anime episode is dedicated to the bar, wherein Ayame is kidnapped and Naruto and his friends must create a perfect ramen recipe for a ransom. At the end of the episode the menu is updated to include diet ramen, which attracts almost every female character from the series (living and dead) to the bar. Ayame later convinces her father to convert the bar into a tsukemen shop, much to Naruto's dismay. However, after Pain's invasion, it was reistablished as a ramen shop, much to Naruto's happiness.

Background
Ichiraku Ramen was modeled after a real-life ramen restaurant, also called Ichiraku Ramen, near the waterfront in the city of Fukuoka, Japan, where the author of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto, apparently went to university (Kyushu Sangyo Daigaku) for a period of time according to local sources. It is next to a Yakiniku (Japanese Barbecue) restaurant (a possible reference that Kishimoto used as Chōji's favorite restaurant), a Chinese Food place, and a video game shop. Tonkotsu ramen (noodles in a pork broth) is served there. There are two Ichiraku Ramen locations in Fukuoka, one near JR's Kyu-dai Mae station very close to the university, and another in the downtown Hakata area. As part of the merchandise for Naruto, handkerchiefs are sold emblazoned with various Naruto characters in instant noodle cups labeled Ichiraku Ramen.