Bone Daddies! Could this be London’s best Ramen?

Being in a pandemic can make it particularly hard to enjoy a meal out, but so many restaurants are doing their best to keep their customers safe and still make a profit (or in some cases, just breakeven.) If you are confident in your ability to keep yourself and others safe too, then why not take the time to eat out! Support a business AND get out of the house! It’s pretty much a win-win situation. We, the writers at People! Just Say Something! decided to enjoy an evening out at a locally famous ramen bar that has been growing for the last eight years. Bone Daddies describe themselves as a ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Ramen Bar’ that want to challenge the way that people perceive Japanese food!

During our time living in London, we have tried a range of ramens from a few popular restaurants, but Bone Daddies was more than a meal; it was an experience! They strive for authenticity, providing a unique atmosphere reminiscent of your traditional Japanese ramen bars, but with a rock ‘n’ roll twist that keeps you vibing along to your favorite old school anthems while enjoying some hearty soul food!

First Impressions

We decided that we needed to see where it all began, to eat at the original Bone Daddies of Soho! From the outside, this seemed like an unsuspecting gem with its sleek black exterior and tall windows lined with large sake bottles! Though when we entered, the restaurant was smaller than what I was expecting it to be, but I would soon find out that size wouldn’t be an issue! As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by a server who kindly asked us to sanitize our hands and check-in through the NHS track and Trace - standard practice but it's still nice to see that they are happily complying to keeping us safe! We sat down in the back of the restaurant at a wall-mounted table facing a distressed mirror disguised by a window frame, giving us a view of the entire restaurant. We were not given menus because they QR codes on the tabletops for us to scan and view the menus on our phones in their entirety! I much prefer this option since it saves energy and recourses by not printing menus that are only going to get ruined over time! On a little shelf in front of us was a series of bottles and jars! We had a jar of homemade chili oil as well as a strained version in a squeezy bottle! We had cloves of garlic and a garlic crusher for that extra kick! We even had a little jar of hair ties for the long-haired patrons! It was both a tasteful and thoughtful setup!

What we ordered!

For myself, I had ordered the T22 (Pulled chicken, cock scratching, onion, bamboo, beansprouts, nori, shiitake mushrooms & Clarence Court egg) with extra Bok Choi for some more greenery which came to £12.40. I must admit that I have a terrible habit of digging in before remembering to take a photo! This is why the T22 does not appear as Instagram-worthy as the Yuzu Tonkotsu, not the restaurant's fault but me being too greedy!

Our other writer David decided to have the Yuzu Tonkotsu (Fried cha shu pork belly, spring onion, bamboo, beansprouts & Clarence Court egg) with extra nori and cock scratchings! Coming to £13.30. He had a little more self-control and managed to take a photo before enjoying his meal!

Overall, both ramens were wholesome and rich in flavor! Every single bit was a collective explosion of different elements that worked beautifully together to create a dish that fed your soul! Truly living up to the hype in our opinion! Separately, the T22 had a sly kick of spice with a sweet after taste which only left me wanting more until I eventually ate myself into a food-coma! While the Yuzu Tonkotsu had a tangy aftertaste left by the fried pork belly that complemented the rich, fatty broth! We both added a tickling of the chili oil which surprisingly enhanced the taste of the broth while adding a zing of umami!

Alongside our ramens, we also ordered a portion of Honey BBQ chicken wings for £6.20 from their Christmas specials. These were divine! Such tender chicken beneath a beautifully spiced, and crispy skin that was dowsed in a seductively sticky BBQ sauce! The sprinkling of sesame seeds gave them that extra subtle taste to the already wonderful amalgamation of flavors!

The sake!

Neither of us had tried Sake before and had been meaning to for some time, so this seemed like the perfect time! After finishing our ramens, we ordered two glasses of the Sparkling MIO for £5.80 each, which was a sweet, sparkling sake. It’s safe to say that we were both absolutely blown away by the taste and cleansing sensation left in our mouths!

And for Dessert!

We had never tried Mochi Ice cream before so we seized the opportunity by ordering two rounds of three mochi ice cream balls for £4.95 per round! The first round was Strawberry Cheesecake, Green Tea, and Chocolate, with the second round being Mango, Raspberry, and Salted Caramel! Every single bite was so intensely flavorful that between each Mochi we would take a sip of our Sake to cleanse our pallets to fully appreciate the rich tastes of these sweet treats!

Final Thoughts?

Overall, Bone Daddies has absolutely lived up to the hype that we had heard for so long! Something that added an incredible level of character to the whole experience was the surprise waiting for us in the bathroom! A fun addition for us, though it may be a little too vulgar to show here on Vocal so you’re just going to have to see for yourself!

We would highly recommend taking our time to visit Bone Daddies for the meal of a lifetime! We loved our experience so much that we decided to take a little souvenir back with us: a Bone Daddies Ho-Ne Sake!

I would love to visit their other venues and try as many different dishes as possible to see just how far their authenticity goes!

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