Ippudo Ramen, Central Saint Giles, London, WC2H 8AG. (Near Byron and Zizzi.) When one is leaving the country
What We Ordered:
- Hirata® Buns
- Hirata® Samurai Chicken Wings
- Tori Kara-Age
- Ebi-Pan
- Akamaru Modern ramen
Ippudo London is the first European flagship of the world-renowned ramen emporium Ippudo.
With this in mind, I was especially excited to get stuck in to a bowl of broth and ramen to combat the October chill - and that it did. We arrived and were told there would be a 30 minute to an hour wait, which with Covent Garden just a stone's throw away, we were okay with. It's worth noting that we didn't actually end up waiting that period of time and were called over just 20 minutes later. Greeted by a super friendly team who were unfailingly helpful, we ordered and chatted away.
To start, Hannah and I shared the Hirata Samurai chicken wings which were supersized and oh so good. I really, really recommend these: covered in a sticky, sweet teriyaki sauce with a kick, the meat was tender and flavourful. We also shared a portion of their Hirata pork buns which was also good but nothing special compared to the ones I had at Flesh & Buns. Sarah opted for a Ebi-Pan, some tiger prawn toast, which looked insanely good.
For mains, Sarah opted for Tori Kara-Age chicken thighs which looked next-level good. You can't beat fried chicken right? Hannah and I were food twins as always, opting for Akamaru Modern ramen, a heady combination of their original pork broth, homemade thin noodes, pork belly chashu, beansprouts, sesame kikurage mushrooms, spring onions and garlic oil, with a seasoned boiled egg. I would definitely place this in my Top 3 ramen meals in London. Maybe even top 2. The noodles were just right, toppings en pointe and the broth was full of flavour, light yet filling and warming.