KOI Ramen Bar (Elephant Park) — Restaurant in London

Tonight, I decided to stop in after a long day of travelling and realizing there was no food at home. First, I was taken aback by the dirty atmosphere and the cleaning products situated near the cooking area. When I asked to place my order, I was instructed to use the kiosk station instead. To my surprise, there were only three customers and four staff members, yet there was no appreciation for customers and no welcoming atmosphere. They are situated in a neighbourhood where they should get to know their customers.

After placing my order for one dish instead of two, I inquired whether there was MSG in the food. I was told that all the dishes contained MSG, with potentially one exception. It seemed like the staff wasn’t fully aware of what they were serving. I mentioned that I would return my order in a few minutes, only to find out that they hadn’t made it yet! The guy seemed to think I was foolish because his excuse for not preparing it was that they only cooked in front of the customers.

It gets worse: three Uber Eats drivers arrived to pick up orders that were already waiting. I took the food home, and my daughter declared it was the worst-tasting ramen she had ever tried! We live next to this restaurant, and I’ve only eaten there a couple of times in the four years we've lived in E&C. which were not great experiences. And tonight will be my...

Had been looking forward to this opening as I walk past everyday on my way to and from the city. Popped by here last night for dinner and came out super happy and full bellied.

I ordered the gyoza and white ramen. The noodles themselves were awesome. Still left with a little bit of a bite. The broth was full of flavour and not too salty as I find with other ramen shops across London. I had the option to add ginger, sesame and chilli oil as extra toppings. These really helped with the flavour.

The gyzoya themselves were certainly something to shout about. Certainly one of the best in London I've had so far. Really light, thin pastry and pork filling that melts in your mouth. Not too oily either. Mine could have been crisped up on the pan a tiny bit more, but still enjoyed them thoroughly. To top it all off, prices I thought were very fair and reasonable for such a tasty meal!

Some suggestions I'd love to see:

1. Have small tissue/napkin dispensers next to the cutlery pots, would be helpful
2. More variety of topping options, maybe beansprouts?
3. Be a bit more generous with the pork slices
4. Noodle amount sizes: e.g 200g/500g
5. Noodle hardness: soft/regular/hard

Either way, lovely cosy ramen bar, with super friendly staff. Will definitely be back again and...

Rendered speechless by the poor customer service. Checked online and physical menu, wanted a highball, but it was not listed on the ordering page via QR code in store. Asked a staff member over the counter if they sell highball, she answered no. I was speaking with moderate volume, which was fairly audible by the other two staff (seems like the chef and his assistant) presented at the counter. Therefore, I ordered a beer instead. When the beer was served by the staff, I clarified with her the reason of highball being unavailable since it’s on the menu, she replied saying they do sell highball and asked if I wanted to order. When I confronted her with her incorrect information over the counter earlier, she was absolutely unapologetic- her response was ‘oh okay’. Throughout this conversation, other staff were silent. What a response. Staff members might be less fluent in English but they did not bother to confirm my enquiry. Tonkotsu base wasn’t thick, barely had any charsiu served. It was a disappointing visit. There is no reason to check out this store when there’s plenty of high quality ramen...