Japanese Restaurant Chains in the UK
In the UK, there are chain restaurants offering Japanese and Asian cuisine founded by locals such as itsu, Wagamama, Yo! Sushi, as well as Japanese restaurants opened by Asians who relocated to the UK. But actually here also has well-known chain restaurants from Japan.
The following Japanese chain restaurants have opened stores in the UK, which makes us so excited and grateful!
Yakiniku Like
Yakiniku Like is a popular fast-serving Japanese BBQ restaurant offering various premium meats at an affordable price in Japan, can be found in London Soho. Except for the menu being in English, everything including the bbq set, tray, and one-person grill are almost the same as in Japan! It’s very authentic Japanese flavour. There’s more marinade in the meat, so the grilled meat is more tasty. This is a good choice for grilling meat alone!
Price: Kalbi Short Plate set starts from £12.25
Address: 47 Greek St, London W1D 4EE
Shoryu Ramen
Shoryu Ramen from Fukuoka Hakata, Japan should be the Japanese ramen chain with the most branches in the UK, with 8 branches in London (including Food Courts in shopping malls), as well as branches in Manchester and Oxford, so people who live in the UK should be familiar with Shoryu Ramen. The Tonkotsu Ramen is made with a rich 12-hour pork bone broth and thin straight ramen noodles topped with chashu pork belly, rich orange yolk nitamago, kikurage mushrooms, spring onion, nori. This is the authentic Japanese Tonkotsu Ramen.
Price: Tonkotsu Ramen from £14.25, early bird Mon-Fri 3-6pm from £9.9, Kids Set Menu £8.50
Website: https://www.shoryuramen.com/stores
IPPUDO
The well-known IPPUDO also comes from Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan. There are 4 branches in the UK, mainly located in the London area. IPPUDO London retains the original store’s signature ramen “Shiromaru” and the slightly spicy “Akamaru”. The must-order “Shiromaru” is made from a original creamy tonkotsu pork broth with homemade thin and straight noodles which adds a full-bodied and non-greasy taste. While it looks like a regular ramen, it will make you feel like “this is Japanese ramen” after taking a mouthful of it. However, the price is a bit more expensive than other ramen restaurants, but it’s fine to eat there occasionally.
Price: Ramen from £16
Website: https://www.ippudo.co.uk/
Marugame Udon
Marugame Udon is also a well-known Japanese udon chain with 9 branches in the UK. It offers a self-service style to enjoy the authentic Sanuki Kama Udon. Its udon noodles made with skillful hands in their open kitchen, the broths is flavour-filled, and the freshly fried tempura is topped with seasonings. That’s the Marugame Udon style.
Price: Pork Tonkotsu Udon (small) from £11.25
Website: https://marugame.co.uk/our-kitchens/
KANADA-YA
KANADA-YA, comes from Kyushu, Japan, has the same thin and straight ramen style as IPPUDO and Shoryu Ramen. There are 6 branches in the UK, mainly located in Greater London. Its tonkotsu ramen is made from rich pork bone broth with more than 6 slices of thinly sliced chashu. In addition to pork bone broth and corn fed chicken bone broth ramen, its Gekikara ramen (super spicy) which is loved by locals is also worth a try.
Price: Tonkotsu ramen from £15.75, kids menu £5.95
Website: https://www.kanada-ya.com/
SHUGETSU Ramen & Tsukemen
SHUGETSU Ramen & Tsukemen from Ehime, Japan, opened a store in the UK last year. It specialises in tsukemen and ramen. The soup base uses a special soy sauce, combined with homemade ramen, it has always received a lot of praise in Japan and Hong Kong. The London branch retains the rich taste and texture of the tsukemen of the original Japanese original store, so people who don’t usually eat heavy-flavoured sauces should beware that.
The editor tried both Tsukemen (dipping noodle) and Abura Soba. The noodles were very chewy and dipping from the soup. If you like umami flavour, the Scallop Oil Soba is recommended.
Price: Tsukemen from £15
Address：33 Old Bailey, City of London, London EC4M 7AU