Koku Ramen — Restaurant in Ixelles - Elsene

For context: Me and my partner both work in the Ramen industry in Manchester, UK. Whilst travelling we love discovering other independent ramen shops in pursuit of perfect bowls.

Koku. They currently don’t take reservations, so we’d highly suggest arriving early doors as the seats go fast. Within 30 mins of opening, the restaurant was fully sat and a healthy queue right out of the door. During your wait you’re offered a drink whilst you wait which is a nice touch.

Service was super friendly and efficient for a small team. Despite the queue and wait times on food, the team was calm and composed. The interior was simple, yet warm and inviting. Smells were incredible, particularly the grilled gyoza served on the hot plate.

Ramen was fantastic, easily the best we tried in Brussels. You can tell the Ramen has been localised but no problem with that, this is Ramen Culture.

Karaage recipes differ restaurant to restaurant, but Koku have executed this style perfectly. Batter is light yet super crispy; it adheres to the chicken as opposed to breaking away. Seemingly they use whole skin on chicken thighs, 4 pieces per portion, great value.

Grilled Gyoza. I doubt that they are made in-house (we don't know a ramen shop who does). Yet again, they were perfectly executed in terms of cooking. Like every Ramen shop, the focus should be the Ramen - the main event. Everything else should only compliment the meal.

Ramen. Can’t say there is much room for improvement. Noodles were on the thicker side, firm and chewy. Bowl hot, broth hot. The fat on belly pork chashu was rendered beautifully, so so so gelatinous, and full of flavour (we need the recipe!) - also, a good thickness on the slice - the best ramen Chashu we’ve ever had. Tonkotsu her is honestly incredible - it's done traditionally correct and is perfect. The chicken broth was as you would expect from a great ramen shop.

The only personal disappointments, it's hard to find any negatives so these are very picky points. We would love to see a soy-sauce based chicken broth ramen from you guys and the incorporation of fish flavours. Egg was a little over and not as jammy as it should be, also lacked flavour in comparison to a traditional Ajitama (we suspect the cure time was shorter than desired as they seem super busy due the cold weather here).

Everything seemed to be carefully prepared from quality ingredients and to a high standard. This is an absolute diamond, in a bustling city with many choices for Japanese cuisine, this one has set the bar very high for Ramen in Brussels.

Please avoid all the gimmicky neon lit places you see in the city centre that claim to be 'authentic' just because someones dressed in a Kimono. Come to Koku.

Ordered: Ikei Koku Ramen, Yuzu Lambic Ramen, Karaage, Grilled...

Well did you know your mouth can have an orgasm ?? well I didn't. Koku ramen is literally heaven in your mouth. First off, the reception is on point, the waitresses and waiters are as kind as it gets. Then, the gyozas and the karaage are simply divine. But that's not what makes Koku the best. No no no !! The Koku special ramen. OMG. WHERE TO START? The broth is thick, savory, and warm. You can taste the authenticity. You can feel every hour that the pork spent marinating in that juicy bath of love. The noodles are just perfect, not too soggy not to Al dente, juste the perfect chewability. The Pork is just right, when you bite, the pork tells you his name, when you bite he bites BACK !!! In summary if you ever come to Brussels, if you are ever lost, if you are in need of love, if you need comfort, know that Koku is here. I have tried most of the tonkotsu ramen in Brussels and Koku is simply the best in Brussels, end of story Thank you Kokuuuuu ❤️ Thomas, your most...

The broth of the iekei ramen and their homemade noodles were incredibly good. One little thing that disappointed me was that the pork slice was at room temperature; they should have waited for it to warm up before bringing us our dishes. A ramen place I went to in Spain actually torched the slices right before serving, which warmed them up while also caramelising them a bit, making them taste amazing. I bet doing the same here would make their ramen stunning.

The only other gripe I have is the price. They're add-on based, so you only get a small sheet of nori, half a boiled egg, a pork slice and a bit of spinach as base toppings and have to pay extra if you want more. Drinks are also on the expensive side, at €4 for an Asahi beer and €5 for a half-litre water bottle... We ended up with a €39 bill for two people, which is quite expensive for ramen.

There's definitely some amazing potential here, so with some improvements I can definitely see myself giving this...