Ippudo Villiers St — Restaurant in London

My first visit to Ippudo was in Osaka, Japan. It was far and away the best ramen joint I'd been to - hearing there were branches in London blew my mind and I endeavoured to give them a shot. They didn't disappoint. Service is similar to Japan and other UK ramen bars, with the waiter announcing your arrival to the kitchen and bringing you a glass of tap water while you order. They were very friendly and courteous throughout the visit, giving their opinion on certain dishes when asked and serving food/taking away plates efficiently. The food itself was fantastic. The pickled cucumber is the best I've had in London, and the chicken karaage was delicious - crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. I ordered the standard pork belly ramen, but the largest portion. Presentation was fantastic - the toppings are brought out on a separate plate for you to add to the ramen yourself, in addition to the toppings already in the bowl. The tonkotsu broth was lovely, thick and gelatinous just like it should be, with great flavour. My partner ordered the spicy vegetarian ramen, which put her through her paces despite her love for heat. The heat added to the flavour, rather than masking it, and resulted in a fantastic broth. I can happily recommend this restaurant for anyone eager for some authentic Japanese ramen, and I'd place it top of my list for ramen...

Wonderful food:

The gyoza wrapper was thin and delicate, the tonkotsu broth was rich and creamy, the shio was slightly less creamy with a bit more salt flavor, the spicy broth was reasonably spicy, I asked for more hot oil. One absolute standout was my egg, and the pic shows it after sitting in my broth for a few minutes. The egg was wonderfully flavored and the yolk delightfully creamy.

Service: Well it was busy, but not terribly so, no lines. We (4) were seated quickly, and had our orders placed in less than 10 minutes. Food delivery was quick, but not as quick as I’ve heard some places doing, but hey I thought they did a good job getting everyone food fast. They were extremely polite, offering to help, quickly getting us more water and (in my case) extra hot oil.

So why only 4 stars? Well perfection is difficult to achieve. We’re I able, I’d probably give them 4.3 stars, the egg was great, and the chashu good, but I have had a bit better chashu. However the overall whole definitely is great. We weren’t planning on doing any repeat visits on our trip, that plan might have gone out the window because of how good their...

About the place? Ippudo is a small ramen chain in london, its been on my list of places to try, but didn’t realise that there was one near the Embankment, so had to try it on a cold winters day.

What I ordered? Akamaru Tamago, Karaka Tamago, Crispy Gyoza, Pork Belly Chashu Buns and Ippudo Kara-Age.

How was it? Food was delicious, service was quick and staff friendly and very professional.

What I liked? Karaka Tamago, warm and spicy, was my favourite.

What didn’t I like? There was nothing not to like, everything was expected.

Would I go back? Yes, I love ramen and will possibly try one of the other branches next, this is local to my work place, I’m more than likely going to come here when I am craving a piping hot bowl of ramen.

On to the rating? Okay, my rule of thumb is to give a maximum of 4 stars on my first visit, as a five-star rating is mainly for consistency.

DISCLAMER: Please note all reviews are based on real visits to the listed establishment, items ordered, my personal experience on the day, and a true reflection...