How to start this one? I was craving for some ramen… WHAT on EARTH were they doing?!?!?!?!

 

First of all, the original Hakata concept was simplicity and rustic feeling. So WHY on earth did they glam up and botox the London branch? That’s right, I felt that they’ve BOTOX the place.

This was EXACTLY when something bad happened to a good concept.

 

Alright, beside the deco outrage. The second evil was the menu. Their menu was also bizarre. They fusion-ed it up and smacked on a major load of western food into it. So that’s not discuss this part. Perhaps I was the minority here. I went to Ipuddo expecting to see & eat Ipuddo traditional food.

 

Some good came out of the fusion I suppose. My hubby loved the cheese croquette. *if you don’t like camembert, you will not like this one

Up next was the Okonomi modern style…(it was underwhelming and lack character in taste) As in the noodles were not fried enough at the base for it to have the okonomi texture. The taste was almost 100% the sauce. *Kansai style with noodle base

This was when I needed to drink. Their plum wine on the rock was decent though.

ippudo london-4015

Anyhow, here came the noodles. I was not happy with the taste or the noodle texture.

Briefly, I’ll comment on the Akamaru:

  • Soup = low aroma, high fat taste and more salt than flavour
  • Noodle = I asked for hard and it was soggy.
  • Meat = In Japan (+Hong Kong and Shanghai), I get 6 slice, but in London it was 2 slice. The meat itself was tender, but blend in taste.

So no more comment from me, otherwise, I’ll have to resort to swearing.

 

Akamaru modern

Spicy Tonkotsu

Miso Tonkotsu, London exclusive

In short:

  • Far cry from the Hakata store. (even when comparing to the Shanghai branch, this was a total shocker)
  • Ippudo concept was essentially trashed aka simplicity / focus on ramen
  • Kitchen was clearly unable to differentiate the difference between hard noodle vs soft. Why did the waitress bother to ask us?

 

If you’re looking for a ramen fix in London. I do not recommend this place at all. You will NOT get your fix here.

 

How to get here?

Ippudo, London

3 Central Saint Giles Piazza Saint Giles High Street London WC2H 8AG

Telephone: 020 7240 4469

http://www.ippudo.co.uk/

*I don’t recommend this place at all, especially for those who has been to the Japan ones.  This is more of a warning to not go type of post.

This was not a sponsored post.

 

Like I said in previous posts. Dining is a very subject / personal experience.

 

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Author

Salut, I am Joyce. 30 something living in Paris. Appreciate little things and share giggles. Prudent, no nonsense reviews. #ExploreLaughRepeat

9 Comments

  1. Ya’re Free to Express Whatever Negative View on One Restaurant in Ya Blog.

    But, Hey, AT LEAST YOU SHOULD EXPLAIN What’s The Base of Ya Negative Point of View.

    Ramen Broth of Ippudo is TOTALLY BIZARRE ?
    Their Exclusively Thin Noodle ( Very Acclaimed & Reputable World Wide ) is Very Nasty ?
    Their Price Tag is ABSOLUTELY RIP-OFF ??????
    Or ALL OF THEM ?

    Have You EVER BEEN TO Any Branch of Ippudo in Japan ?
    If So, Was It in Tokyo ? Or in Kyoto ? Or Their Native Land Hakata ??????
    Or Have You Ever Been to Any Outlet of Ippudo in N.Y., Singapore, Taipei, Sedney, Paris or Shanghai, Soeul ?
    If You Complain About The Standard of Ippudo in England is RELATIVELY LOW Compared With Other Outlets Inside & Outside Japan, In WHAT WAY ??????

    Yelp’s Review on Ippudo in East Village in N.Y. Already Exceeds 8,000 and FULL OF 4 Stars & 5 Stars.
    And Review on Their Second Site in West Side in N.Y. is Also Accumulating Close to 2,000, Full of 4 Stars & 5 Stars TOO.

    And Review on Ippudo Outlets in Other Continents Are BASICALLY VERY POSITIVE TOO As Far As I Read in Local Dining Out Informatives & Blogs.

    You Think Such Positive View Towards Ippudo is BOGUS FABRICATION ??????
    Or YouThink Reviewers Are ALL ” Dumb & Blind ” in Tastewise ??????

    I Think It’s The Other Way Around( This is Rather American Expression ) !
    I Think It’s The Other Way Round( This is English Ver. ) !

    • Thank you for the passionate comment.

      1) I have been to Hakata (home and the station branch), Tokyo Ginza, Shanghai (metro city and pudong), Hong Kong (forgot the branch name). I am planning to try the Paris one when I move there later this year.
      2) Compare prices across the world is probably useless. E.g. Japan’s akamaru is approx £5.20, Shanghai £6.7 and London’s is £10. BUT, I feel that they are over priced because it felt like fill the gap food to me and I can find cheaper non chain store variety London.
      3) Soup base. Compare to Japan and even Shanghai, the London branch soup lack aroma. I don’t know how to explain, but to me a great soup base should have alluring aroma. The JP, CN and HK ones all have this, strangely, London’s did not. The soup also lack that full body and lack richness in taste, it was tasting more oily than flavourful.
      4) Noodle. Like I said in the post; I asked for hard noodle and they gave me soggy (seriously mashy / over cooked) noodles. So hating it was my only sensation at that point.
      5) I don’t read other people’s reviews after I have try out a place / before I write my review, because food/dining is very personal and subjective, I don’t want to be influenced when I write my piece. How others rave about it will not change my opinion or the reality that I had.
      6) I obvious don’t think any review is dumb. Review = sharing of thoughts and experience. How can that such a subjective topic be dumb? I do find having no opinion at all a lot less intelligent.

    • Thank you gir the support, Sue. I had postponed publishing this post for a while, was worried that it sounded too negative. Sadly, that was really how I felt.

  2. A very yummy-yummy post, Joyce 🙂
    As I already told you, next year I’ll be in London so, I will re-read your post before I will go there 🙂

    • Thank you, Monica. Ippudo London is not good. Please save your money. Perhaps I should do a recommemdation list instead of individual restaurant post. Lol.

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