Tonkotsu

I lunched at the recently opened Tonkotsu on Dean Street the other day.  Having not had ramen since chancing upon an amazing little place in a dingy foodhall in Sydney's Chinatown eons ago, reading reviews of this place reignited a hankering for the stuff. 

Opened by these folks it's pretty much the only one of it's kind here, claiming to bring us Londoners proper ramen.  Obviously, ramen is available elsewhere, but here it's the star, the one thing they do, with a few token sides.  I had high hopes.

I went for the Tokyo spicy ramen (£9), which is not spicy at all, but I'm okay with that.  I wasn't disappointed, flavourful stock and great noodles.  Slurping is encouraged, but I didn't.  There's a veggie option and a classic Tonkotsu, the most expensive option at £11, I'll definitely be back to try.  They're making fresh gyoza too which looked good.

Service was attentive, erring on over the top, we were asked by every person in the place a number of times if everything was ok.  Yup, still ok, thanks.  Kind of sweet.  Once they're bedded in I imagine they'll loosen up a bit. 

If ramen's not your thing, best not go because it really is pretty much all that's on offer here, but who wouldn't love a steaming bowl of noodles with meat, half an egg and some hearty broth?  Satisfying, filling and it made my face go all red and glowy!

Tonkotsu
63 Dean Street
Soho
7/10