Ramo Ramen
Ramen and cocktails with a Japanese-Filipino fusion twist.
Halal-certified.
London has a rich and vibrant ramen noodles scene, from tiny hidden-gem izakayas to well-known franchises serving hundreds of bowls a day.
Ramen noodles are a great canvas for creativity, with almost every element of the dish able to be swapped out or reinvented to create a brand-new experience.
Ramo Ramen throws its hat in the ring with a Filipino take on the warm and soothing comfort food. We visited the Soho branch. It was a cozy but cool establishment, with funky pop art posters, ambient lighting, and a large bar for all your cocktail needs.
On top of that, they also have one of the best R&B playlists I’ve ever heard in a restaurant! Ramo Ramen uses traditional thin Hakata noodles for all of their ramen, experimenting more with adding Filipino flavours into the broth and meats. The Chicken Sopas ramen features the famous Filipino chicken adobo.
Lamb spiced with cumin and pulled oxtail is also featured on the menu, as well as a unique peanut broth in a few of their bowls.
However, Japanese ramen traditionalists will be happy to hear that familiar ingredients such as soft-boiled eggs, nori, menma, and enoki mushrooms still appear in most of the bowls.
During our visit, we tried vegetarian Miso Mushroom ramen and Sinigang ramen. The former was a pleasantly light and familiar ramen bowl, complex and cozy for any occasion.
However, the Southeast Asian flavors really shine in the Sinigang ramen. I can only describe the sweet and sour tamarind broth and freshly grilled king prawns as the taste of the sea on a tropical vacation.
We also tried the Prawn Tempura and Cassava Bites. They were great bar food companions if you are visiting for drinks, though they don’t bring anything special to the super creative ramen offerings.
Our trip would not be complete without a few cheeky cocktails. We had the Calamansi Margarita, which was a slightly sweeter take on the classic drink due to the use of the tart Filipino lime.
We also could not resist the Milo Old Fashioned. Many Southeast Asians know Milo to be a nostalgic chocolate drink, so it was surprising to taste that the cocktail was actually very strong!
Ramo Ramen deserves a few return visits to taste each and every one of their fusion ramen bowls and cocktails. Which is exactly what we did!
Location:
28 Brewer Street, W1F 0SR
157 Kentish Town Road, NW1 8PD
Written by: Mika Sudjarwo