Ramen Seto

It was Saturday afternoon and after a morning fascinating (and salivating) over Ramen Culture whilst reading the brilliant website Rameniac I was on the hunt for a steaming bowl in London Town. But where to go?

I decided on lunch at Ramen Seto, a small cafe on central Kingly St, just off Carnaby. Perfect for a welcome rest and refuel after a shop in nearby Liberty. The downstairs is small, with only about 8 tables or so which were all full. We were ushered upstairs which was quiet and, to be honest, a welcome break from the madness of Oxford Street.

The menu is quite varied with a variety of Sushi and Sashimi and hot and cold appetisers to start. There is then a choice of about 10 different types of ramen but with the noticeable absence of one of my favourites, Tonkotsu. Those who do not fancy ramen (?) can opt for the usual Teriyaki dishes, fried noodles or Japanese curries.



The room is a tad drab and could do with a lick of paint but we bashed on anyways. We were here for ramen. And tasty Ramen we got.

To start we got 6 pork and vegetable gyoza. I am not sure where I would get better in London. Really delicious. One side was soft and slippery with a beautiful, delicate crimping on the edge, whilst the other side was golden and crispy. On biting into the tasty looking morsels, we were hit with a juicy, porky goodness that keeps you wanting more. I felt you didn't really need the accompanying soy sauce as the dumplings were relatively salty themselves.



We also got a portion of the "rice ball with pickled plum". This was a bit underwhelming. I was hoping for a gooey, sour plum centre but actually the ball is pretty much plain rice all the way through. I found I needed to eat this with the assorted Japanese pickles to enjoy it.

Now for Ramen. We got one order of the Miso Ramen, which was topped with sliced pork, bamboo shoot, bean sprouts and half a boiled egg. It was pretty good sized portion and the flavour of the broth was above average.

We also got an order of the Negi Chicken Ramen which was much better. The clear broth was deep with roast chicken flavour and was full and lasting in the mouth. It was served with a large handful of spring onion and half a boiled egg. The roast chicken was delicious. Some bits were crispy, salty and lean, whilst others were juicy and fatty. At first I was a little hesitant of the fattiness of some of the meat, but as I started to eat it, I found the fat was packed with flavour and kept the chicken moist and moreish. I proceeded to devour the rest of the bowl. Recommended dish.

We decided to skip dessert, as I normally do in Asian restaurants.

Ramen Seto is better than the average Ramen cafe and worth traveling for. The service is reasonable, as long as you make the necessary adjustment to expectations when dining in an Asian cafe. For me, these little treats make a day of shopping in central London on Saturday possible. We are grateful. Our total bill was £25.

Monster Munch Rating: 80%

Ramen Seto
19 Kingly Street
London
W1B 5PY

0207 434 0309