Shoryu, London.

Another ramen post! The last time me and my boyfriend went to Shoryu was sometime last summer and at the time we didn't think it was anything special. Ever since then we have been having our ramen fix at Bone Daddies so a couple weeks ago we thought we'd give Shoryu another try (just to make sure). This time we visited the Soho branch...

The first thing I usually take notice of at a restaurant is the menu, not the actual food but the design of the menu. Being a design student makes me take notice of these things and usually a well designed menu gets me pumped up and somehow gives me big expectations for the food! I have to admit it is a little silly but I do tend to judge a restaurant by its visual identity, sometimes when I'm looking for places to eat you'll hear me say "hmm, the food looks good but I don't really like the logo" haha. 

Anyway I think Shoryu's visual identity is great so I instantly gave them some brownie points for that!

The restaurant itself is lovely, comfortable seating (we're not too fond of the high stools at Bone Daddies), lots of wood (always a plus) and the right kind of lighting. 

The post-ramen stretch.

We both went for the Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu, mine with the original hosomen and his with the matcha hosomen. We were expecting them to taste different but they tasted exactly the same to us, the only difference was the colour. 

The first thing I noticed was the noodles, there was something unusual about them and I think it was because they were noticeably harder than the ones at Bone Daddies? I weren't a fan of them though and the whole bowl of ramen itself was just... "blah". Everything just tasted bland which is a shame because it looks delicious! 

Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu // £11

We also ordered a side and a sushi roll. I found it strange that our ramen came out in about 5 minutes and these didn't come out until we were about halfway through our bowl of ramen. The Gyozas were surprisingly tasty but the "Dragon Roll" was no Dragon Roll. I've never actually seen a Dragon Roll like this before, for the price I was expecting a bigger stuffed roll topped with avocado? This was pretty much a very standard sushi roll and the worse Dragon Roll I've ever had. The texture was also all wrong & it just stuck to the insides of my mouth! The best part about this dish was the ginger, at least there was a best part?

Hakata Tetsunabe Gyoza // £4 & Dragon Roll // £13.50

I was really hoping to like Shoryu but I was left quite disappointed by the food which is a shame because everything else is great. The best part of our entire meal was probably the drinks (any of the Calpico drinks are tasty!). A lot of people do love Shoryu though so maybe we just chose the wrong dishes or maybe it just isn't suited to our tastes but I won't be going back anytime soon. 

Food: 2 / 5

Atmosphere: 4 / 5

Service: 3.5 / 5

Value: 3 / 5

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Shoryu Ramen (Soho)

3 Denman Street

London

W1D 7HA