Straight up, no fuss and authentic ramen from the not long opened Kanada Ya on St Giles High St.
Surrounded by other Korean and Japanese restaurants, Seoul Bakery is around the corner and Ippudo is quite literally a stone’s throw away, Kanada-Ya fits in perfectly as another one of London’s pocket sized Asian eateries.
When we arrived there was a queue the length of, and past, the front window which was a good sign and nearly all the anticipating diners were Asian which is an even greater sign as far as authenticity goes.
No gimmicks here, just a simple menu of three types of ramen dish; Original, Moyashi and Chasiu men, starting from £10 up to £12.50. The toppings are just as straight forward with a choice of three as well as the options of extra nori and extra noodles.
What I did love was the option of how you preferred you noodles; soft, hard or extra hard.
Inside is as simple as the menu, a small dining area with everyone seated where they can fit – we were placed on a table opposite another couple, the four of us sharing the one square table. Almost communal but not quite. The restaurant was busy and full but this didn’t detract from the minimalism of the decor but instead added to that real Japanese tonkotsu bar feel.
The staff were great, helping us with the menu and taking the orders down on their little iPads. We found out the difference between Japanese lemonade and UK lemonade (there isn’t any other than a slight a mispronunciation lol) as well as that Kanada-Ya stands for Kanada Family and that Mr Kanada is a real man who is still alive. Learn something new every meal huh.
Service was prompt and the bowls were amazing. Noodles cooked exactly how we liked them, both of us opting for different softness, and the broth full of flavour from the 18 hour pork bone.
I’ve recently got into black garlic (it’s tasty and full of antioxidants, check it out) so had to order the black garlic sauce with my bowl as well as the hanjuku egg which set it off perfectly.
If you don’t mind a little bit of a queue, and I’m sure there will be a few as more people visit, then definitely add Kanada-Ya to your list of London ramen bars to do!
