Shoryu Ramen

Name - Shoryu Ramen

Location - G3-5 Kingly Court London W1B 5PJ

Cost - Affordable range of starters between £2.50 - £16.00 and mains between £9.00 - £12.50. The desserts also vary between £4.50 - £6.50.

Star Appetizer - Shoryu Buns

Star Main Course - Kotteri Hakata Tonkotsu

My Rating – 4/5

Usually when I want to go to a Japanese restaurant I first have to consider how many scraps of metal I have in my wallet, but not this time my friends. This time I found myself fist bumping the heavens in joy over how affordable great Japanese cuisine can be. Shoryu Ramen is a magical place that provides authentic culture, amazing food AND great prices, all in one big bowl of ramen. The fact that it only opened in 2012 and has already received a recommendation in the Michelin guide 2014 just speaks to how good the food is, despite its reasonable price. I actually never thought I would ever find a Japanese that could provide the whole "package". Their servers are nice, the atmosphere is buzzing, the interior is cool, the price is right and the food is prepared with love and affection (aw, isn’t that nice?). Website here - http://www.shoryuramen.com/. As soon as my girlfriend and I walked into this fine establishment we were greeted by smiles and a very delightfully bubbly waitress. I had a smile on my face before I even sat down.

The menu itself draws inspiration from the Hakata district of Fukuoka city on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan, and is a celebration of great Japanese Ramen (no, not sushi). Everything on the menu was a top seller in my eyes, and now that winter is creeping up on us I just had to get my hands on a hot bowl of refreshing ramen. Menu here - http://www.shoryuramen.com/stores/71-carnaby/categories

Shoryu Ramen have really homed in on some absolutely delicious drinks that fuse western classics with eastern twists. Their unique specials include - Yuzu Mojito, Sochu Sour and the Wasabi Martini. I highly recommend trying any of these smashing innovations.

Shoryu Bun –This bun was absolutely mind boggling, both in terms of flavour and texture. The bun itself was soft, light and rich, while the pork belly spoke volumes in terms of its sexy glazed surface and its fiery flavour. Some people could possibly say that their bun contains slightly too much mayo (namely my girlfriend), but that’s just the way I like it.

Tiger Prawn Tempura – Tiger prawn tempura must be very hard to get wrong, because I have never had a bad experience with this dish. The prawns were fresh, and the crunch of their golden outer shells was just exquisite. If you are unsure of what to have, this is always a safe bet. Let other people live dangerously.

Black Sesame Tofu – The tofu held itself together very nicely, unlike the cheap stuff that always crumbles into a million bits. The addition of black sesame made for a very lovely light pallet that slipped down the throat like a… (Enter generic pretentious description).

Yotsumi – This is a chicken thigh with teriyaki glaze. The glaze itself was perfectly distributed and the flavour came through without drowning the actual chicken.

Chicken Kara Age – The chicken was crispy, golden and absolutely splendid. A slight drizzle of lemon and some light mayo later and I was in heaven. This was by far my favourite starter (apart from maybe the bun), and although I usually never like to think that a simple chicken can be so good… oh baby, it was good.

The ramen – Hakata tonkotsu ramen is a style of ramen made with a thick, rich, white pork soup and thin, straight ramen noodles. While my girlfriend opted to go for the traditional “Origin Tonkutsu”, I tried my luck with a much richer “Kotteri Hakata Tonkutsu”. Both of these were absolute stunners! The noodles were extremely flavourful and the broth was thick, juicy and perfectly infused with the taste of both the tender meat and the fresh selection of condiments. If you are unsure about ramen I would definitely recommend trying either of these, as they are both quite simple and yet bold in taste.

Dessert??? How uncultured could I possibly be??? Hold up. The Japanese culture is not completely opposed to a bit of sweet heavenly goodness. Mochi is a very popular little dessert that allows the rest of your food to sink down very nicely. It is essentially a sweet sticky rice cake with a flavoured truffle centre. You should definitely try their matcha mochi, with an after dinner cocktail if you’re feeling naughty.

So forget everything you thought you knew about expensive fine Japanese cuisine, because there is a new, fairly priced king in town! All I can say is that I had an absolutely wonderful time at this place, and although I usually come up with something constructive or critical to say, I can’t really put them down for anything.

Shoryu Ramen Checklist:

• Parking – Do.Not.Park.In.Central.London.Ever.

• Host greeting - Very nice, and highly accommodating.

• Decor – Traditional Japanese with a few contemporary twists.

• Server – Was very easy to speak to and left all questions answered.

• Menu – Very easy to understand and is highly considered.

• Taste - Great standard and high quality ingredients.

#restaurantreview #shoryuramen #old