London Ramen Hunting: Hakata, Bermondsey

If you search ‘best ramen in London’ or ‘top 10 ramen restaurants in London’, always the same names come up. It almost makes you think there is some kind of ramen mafia family operation going on in London. I have never seen Hakata in those lists, perhaps they were late with their ‘rent’ or something.

Well, if I may start with a conclusion, Hakata serves tasty and hearty ramen at a fair price and you definitely should try them out.

Named after an area in Fukuoka Kyushu Japan, Hakata is a ramen restaurant + bar in South London.

Unsurprisingly, Hakata specialises in Kyushu style tonkotsu pork broth. They also offer soy sauce, miso and salt based broth. What’s great about Hakata’s menu for vegans and vegetarians is that they offer exactly the same options (shitake mushroom version) for non meat eaters also. All ramen are £9.95 which is 1) reasonable for London and 2) budget conscious patrons like us can focus on what they want to eat rather than what they can afford. I think there are many different ways restaurants can show their hospitality and this was definitely one of them.

C and I both ordered Kumamoto ramen. Kumamoto is another region in Kyushu and Kumamoto ramen is characterised by its use of garlic oil and fried garlic. You can read my Kumamoto blog here.

C had a pork broth. He said the chashu pork slices were the best he has had in London yet.

Mine was a vegetarian/vegan shitake mushroom broth which came with fried tofu, soya mince, spring onions etc…

Vegetarian ramen often taste a bit like afterthoughts, but this was not the case here; the broth had that comforting ‘umami’ which is the heart of good ramen, the tofu was silky, the vegetables were all fresh and prepared well and the soya mince gave that extra texture that was needed, showing the chef’s good attention to details.

They cook your noodles to your preference: soft, hard or very hard. We both went for ‘very hard’, it felt more like ‘hard’ to me, but the noodle was still very tasty. Our ramen came with sesame (in a grinder), chili oil and a small bowl of home made chili jam which we happily emptied. 12.5% service charge will be added to your bill.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be one of the best ramen we’ve had in London so far.

You may be thinking, ‘but what is Bermondsey and where is Bermondsey!?’ – I know. It is not the most convenient location especially if you’re in London only for a few days of sightseeing. We live at the other end of London. Would I go all the way to this part of South London for Hakata’s ramen?

Absolutely yes.

Hakata, Bermondsey

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Value: 4/5

Would I visit again?: 5/5

Ramen Authenticity Level: 5/5

*Ramen happiness Level: 4.5/5

*Sometimes a bowl of ramen brings your whole body and soul happiness and reminiscence regardless whether or not it being ‘authentically Japanese’. Let’s look at a couple of examples.