Bone Daddies: Soho's self professed Rock n Roll Ramen Noodle Bar
I had my first taste of the ramen noodle craze that’s hit London at Bone Daddies. This uber-trendy ramen bar is located on Peter Street in Soho and I love the whole feel of the restaurant – from their signature Elvis icon, to the funky posters on the wall and pumped up music.
I decided to ordered the T22 – chicken ramen in a chicken bone broth. It was nice to dive into this comforting dish of stringy noodles with tender soft chicken, wholesome broth and crunchy vegetables but I got full rather quickly and I have to say, it felt rather one note after a while. There only so much noodles and soup I can eat and I was much more intrigued by their other options like curiously named ‘pig bones’ which I gather from a neighbouring plate looked like some pretty delicious pork ribs.
I still want to try out the other noodle bars in Soho like Koya and Tonkotsu so I will reserve judgement on Bone Daddies till I have. And now, for a alternative perspective, here is my friend and dinner companion Tom’s review of the same meal:
Intrigued by the prospect of Ramen noodles a la mode, I set foot into Soho on Saturday not knowing to exactly which of them we were heading. Arriving at Bone Daddies (A name conjuring different imagery to me), it was low key from the outside, with only a row of intriguing Japanese rice wine bottles and an orange glow indicating the snug atmosphere within.
Notably they had eye-catching Japanese posters paper-mached on the wall, and the branding was authentic, down to earth but nonetheless trendy. The menu was intriguing and not overwhelming in terms of choice, which was a good thing, given that I was hardly the expert in selecting from it. The staff were friendly and relaxed, and everything happened very rapidly once they'd settled us down.
"I think you should be adventurous" my companion said, early in the proceedings, and, not wanting to appear otherwise, I opted for one of the two dishes with chill and I waited with anticipation and an element of mild trepidation. This is the kind of environment it's good to be in when getting to know some-one: not too formal, but cool nonetheless, and whilst we chatted, glimpses of dishes arriving elsewhere, lent an assurance of deliciousness to come.
The starter, when it promptly came, was marinated raw salmon which was good. It seemed thirty seconds later our mains entered the plot, and they looked a lot more exciting: a medley of ingredients and flavours. Mine was pork, whilst hers was chicken. Her face lit up at her foods appearance, which was milder looking, and greener, though no less inviting than mine. Visually the contents of the large glazed terracotta bowl before me beheld the spectacle of a plentiful and eclectic ensemble of noodle orientated ingredients. Its variety seemed to offer a subtle assault course for the taste buds, that would inevitably play in the background whilst conversing ensued. Or so I thought, as my choice was certainly not light on the inclusion of chilli, and although this pungency was pleasurable, it packed a punch that paused the parlance more than once.
Having said that, it was funky food, it contained a seemingly bottomless pit of never-ending surprises; pork, noodles, soup, lightly boiled egg, crisp lemon grass for flavour, etc, etc, etc. It emanated a warm orange/red colour and an Asahi was a good refreshing choice to cool the palate. The only issue I took with it, if any, was that the noodles clung together with increasing determination as I dug deeper and as time went on. It became mildly awkward having to shift focus to prising the ingredients apart with subtlety, whilst maintaining the flow of conversation.
From not having known what exactly to expect, it was a fun and charmingly quirky, the serving plentiful to the point that neither of us finished, yet we seemed to acknowledge the onset of defeat in unison, and from there, the reasonable bill arrived swiftly and with that, we were back outside, casting backwards glances to assess Bone Daddies in hindsight, before we knew it. There didn't seem to be the same crowd gathered waiting to sit as we did so, which I expect was at around 9.30 pm.
I enjoyed it and would go again, though perhaps it would be interesting to see it in full 'media lunch' swing in the middle of the week. Wouldn't be so laid-back and cosy I'd expect though!
- Tom
Bone Daddies
31 Peter Street London W1F 0AR
Tel: 020 7287 8581 (No reservations taken)
Tube: Picadilly Circus / Leicester Square
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