Menya Ramen House Reviews Summary

Food Quality and Taste

Pros:

• "London's best authentic ramen. The broth was palatable, the egg was perfect."
• "Very good broth and extra hard noodles. Menya ramen has a very distinct taste."
• "Broth and noodles are top notch! Definitely on par with the peak of the London Ramen destinations."
• "The soup base tasted exactly like the Nissan instant noodle soup which costs only 50p in the supermarket."
• "Broth is so delicious, rich and well seasoned. The pork is tender, the noodles the perfect firmness."
• "Ramen is excellent! Its run by Koreans, but they take pride and produce excellent food."
• "Had the Karai ramen at level 2 spiciness and my god was it spicy. Still, the broth was very aromatic and the pork was really tender."
• "Really great ramen! Very tasty and a really nice selection of meat and vegetarian ramen and side dishes."

Cons:

• "The soup base is strong in flavour (probably from MSG) but the textures are watery."
• "Ordered also gyoza as a side and it was quite a disappointment that it was not the fried ones we normally had in Japan but only water boiled."
• "Well, the broth is really not that good.. it’s way too salty and real ramen shouldn’t be like that."
• "The ramen was good, but frankly fell short of expectations. Kimchi was crunchy and delicious, while gyodza, simmered, but not seared, were fairly average."
• "The broth is bland, the noodles soggy although I ordered them firm."
• "Very underwhelming food if you like Japanese meal."
• "The food was average, fairly mediocre and nowhere near as good as some of the ramen places we have eaten at in Sydney."
• "When you order Ramen here you could find black oil(basically ashes from meat I guess)."

Service and Staff

Pros:

• "Good quick service."
• "Staff amazing friendly, with big smiles and always ready for help if u need anything."
• "Staff are friendly and helpful, if you're not quite sure what to order."
• "The staff is super friendly. They will help you decide what to order."
• "Staff were very friendly even though they were EXTREMELY busy and under a lot of stress."
• "Immediately shown to a table by a very polite waitress."
• "Friendly staff and excellent ramen."
• "The chef personally served the ramen and even came out to ask each patron if the food was alright."

Cons:

• "Not a fan we had to pay extra for Chilli, staff would benefit from a little engagement with the customers too."
• "Waited another 10 minutes to order our food but no one bothered coming over to our table despite us trying to get their attention."
• "Waitresses asked to get our own glasses and order was wrong."
• "The owner/was highly unprofessional, particularly when we asked to explain our situation to him and he shouted at us in front of the entire restaurant."
• "The waitress was reluctant to give us an extra plate and bowl for us to share the food out on."
• "Terrible service, waitress was rude and asked me to order for the whole group as though taking our individual orders was too much work for her."
• "We were treated horribly. Was supposed to meet up my friend, her husband and their 1 yr old baby. The owner didnt allow us to eat there because we have a baby with us."
• "Extremely bad service attitude!!!!!! asked for hot water to eat my cold pills and was told they don’t have it."

Pricing and Value

Pros:

• "Price wise average."
• "Not too busy at lunchtime when we went. Only point worth taking note of is that they currently accept cash only. The nearest cash point is about 7-10 mins away, but so long as you don't mind the walk or come prepared then the food itself is lovely!"
• "Delicious ramen and not the most expensive in London thankfully!"
• "Highly recommended! Absolutely amazing! The food is always perfect and the staff always on point!"
• "Unbelievably good little ramen spot. Broth is so delicious, rich and well seasoned."
• "Hands down the best ramen I've had in London. The place isn't big and can get busy, so best get there around opening time."
• "Yes, it’s true, the broth is outstanding. Subtle and smooth, not bitter as can happen with tonkatsu, if done incorrectly."
• "I tried lots of tonkotsu ramen places in London and almost all of them is way too salty! Menya Ramen is thankfully not like that."

Cons:

• "Central location so it's a bit pricey 💸."
• "Only giving one star because our bill was more expensive than expected and when we queried it, we were told: * The menu prices didn’t include VAT! * We were charged twice for the tea."
• "Overall not bad, tonkotsu broth could be improved by being more 'silky' (more collagen needed). Free water although you need to help yourself and annoyingly cash only although there is a cash point around the corner."
• "Please beware their menu prices are exclusive of VAT which is not legal as per U.K. consumer regulation (food VAT is a compulsory tax that you can’t recover under any means)."
• "The food here is not reasonably priced, mediocre quality and the owner created a terrible, intimidating experience for us."
• "A surprise find! This little restaurant is hidden at an alley across the road, nearby the entrance to British museum. It serves mainly Japanese ramen. We tried gyoza ramen and love the rich and creamy broth. It was really delicious! Reasonable price."
• "The prices here are also affordable at around 11 Euros. The service is friendly too!"
• "Excellent Korean style ramen spot, quite different to the typical Tonkotsu style ramen that is so popular across London."

Atmosphere and Location

Pros:

• "Great little place. Enjoyed our lunch here."
• "Small Japanese ramen shop located in a fairly busy tourist section near the natural history museum."
• "The shop is pretty small with a few tables outside. Only 2 indoor window seats. Pretty cozy during cold seasons."
• "Cosy local ramen place - and they now accept cards too."
• "A simple, lovely, mum and pop, ramen gem tucked away in a tiny shop."
• "This is a really really lovely place. The interior and ambience is friendly and pretty."
• "It's a little restaurant, tucked away near the British museum. With a short, unpretentious menu, simple seating and attentive staff it seems to be perfect for a tasty lunch."
• "Walked past this store and decided to give it a go with my Girlfriend. Came here on a Sunday night at 7pm."

Cons:

• "The problem with being inside is that the food smells stay with you."
• "The venue was nice and clean. Excellent service. However the seating towards the back smelled rather musty."
• "Not what you get exactly on the streets of Tokyo but ticked the boxes."
• "We left a very famous nearby restaurant because of the atmosphere, and decided to try this place instead."
• "The rice balls are lovely, I haven’t have spicy food for a while, the spicy rice ball is a bit spicy to me, but just lovely."
• "I was visiting London from Sydney, Australia, and took my three children and mother for lunch at this venue after our visit to the British museum."
• "My friend and I went to try out the gyoza ramen but the broth today was really disappointing-- it lacked the flavour of a proper Japanese broth."
• "The restaurant owners are extremely extremely rude, the food is mediocre."

Payment Methods

Pros:

• "Of course they do take card payments."
• "Wonderful experience. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The food was soul soothing good. I was able to pay with my card."
• "We have lunch there. Wait for food for more than half hour even the restaurant is not busy. The ramen is tasteless i mean the stock water made from pork. It should be tasty. So here is not original ramen like ippudo or kanada-ya. So please avoid it. Cant believe how much people give this 5 stars. Did they ever eat a proper original ramen? In addition staff here dont understand much in english and very rude."
• "The best ramen i have ever had in my life. It had roast pork in it that must have been slow cooked for 24 hrs. It fell apart when i touched it with chopstics. The pork had this incredible glaze. The egg was runny in the middle. I ordered the spicy one ramen and it was satisfying hot. The broth was fabulous with some really interesting flavours. i did not want it to end! Presentation was great.Try this place. So so good."

Cons:

• "They were cash only when we visited."
• "Also strangely this place only accepts cash - be warned."
• "EDIT: THEY ONLY TAKE CASH. See my original review below, but I won’t ever come back here."
• "Only point worth taking note of is that they currently accept cash only."
• "Please note they only take cash and it’s a bit of a pain."
• "Have to change my five star review to four star. They don't take card!"
• "Ramen lunch, somehow they had a sign mentioning cash only."
• "This is the best ramen I’ve ever had! We had miso ramen and veggie miso ramen and it was mouthwatering delicious. The staff is lovely and friendly and they take pride in their ramen art. 10/10. Cannot recommend this enough!"