Best Ramen in London - Kanada Ya

As mentioned in my Shoryu review, Ramen is a meal I am very drawn to, I can never say no when someone suggests going for some. What isn't there to love, flavourful broth, one of my favourite cuts of meat (pork belly) and noodles you can eat for days! I've usually gone to the same places over and over but I've recently been to a place that I have already visited 3 times, Kanada Ya!

Before reading any restaurant's menu, I always head for the about/story page first, just to get a feel for what it'll be like and this one has to be my favourite one yet! The backstory for Kanada and his restaurant is in the form of a comic book which you can see here. I won't copy out the entire story but the gist is Kanada was a Keiran racer 20 years ago until he got a really bad injury to his shoulder, he then decided to learn how to make ramen from the masters as he loved it so much but kept being turned away. So he enrolled in ramen school but already knew everything being taught and wanted to experiment and so Kanada-Ya was born!

The restaurant itself was very simple, about 50 people or less could probably be seated at a time. The menu definitely reflected this, 10 different ramen dishes are on the menu, 3 sides and 6 toppings/extras, which gave me a bit of insight on how the meal was going to go. Whenever a restaurant has a smaller menu, I always assume the food must be good because if you've only got a couple of items, you must be making them well. Ramen restaurants, especially the new ones in London, tend to go overboard with the different options, possibly in a bid to be the one that stands out against the rest but Kanada Ya seemed different from the get-go. Even before we could go in, it was made really clear that you couldn't get a table unless your whole party was present. Basically, they didn't have time to waste! Luckily, I was blessed with a punctual lunch date and we got a table without a hitch.

Before our meal had even arrived, one thing I definitely appreciated was our waiter. He was really on the ball, usually when there's a rush, waiters will do everything they can to avoid any eye contact with you but it was the opposite here. As soon as you even looked like you needed help, there was someone by the table ready to answer any questions.

Now on to the food! As simple as the menu was, making a choice took forever, everything looked amazing. Deep down, I knew I had to try the Gekikara, ramen with pork, corn-fed chicken bone broth, spicy 'tan-tan' minced pork belly, wood ear fungus, spring onion. Anything with a touch of spice is always my first choice. I was also really pleasantly surprised when I saw you could choose how you wanted your noodles, I've never experienced this at any other restaurant and it only made the ramen that much better! I chose hard noodles with some karaage chicken and extra pork belly slices as some sides. If you love fried chicken then you have to get the karaage and the Japanese mayo, there has never been a more iconic duo!

Once I had taken my first bite, I knew I had made the right decision. The pork was so tender, it actually got difficult at some points trying to pick it up with the chopsticks but it was perfect with the broth. The broth was delicious, the spice was perfectly balanced and not overpowering at all, this has to be the first bowl of ramen that I finished completely. Before this point, I had never eaten or even heard of minced pork in ramen but it was the best part of the ramen, the seasoning was beautiful, so flavourful but it didn’t make the rest of the dish too salty or take away from the pork belly slices (clearly not as I ordered a whole plate extra). It was honestly one of the best meals I have had in a while and I can only imagine how good the other ramen dishes are.

If you’re on the hunt for the best ramen in London, then you need to head to Kanada-Ya because their ramen is anything but mediocre. I would definitely recommend only getting one side (if you can) as the portions are huge and they’re too good to waste!

Kanada-Ya has locations in Angel, Piccadilly and Covent Garden, they also do a lunchtime special for only £10.50!