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Ramo Ramen – The Filipino-Japanese ramen house that made its mark in Kentish Town – has opened a snazzy new hang in Soho. It’s a narrow but slick joint, serving up creative fusion dishes and promising plays on your boring old broths, with a strong emphasis on seafood.
The interiors are simple and stylish. With lots of natural wood and rattan chairs, it’s inspired by Filipino island beach huts but is clad with mirrored walls and white strip lighting, elevating it to an art-deco-esque sophistication. It’s the sort of place you’d take a date if you wanted to impress but not seem like you were trying to impress, if you get me – they even have Aesop soap in the toilets.
I kicked things off with an amaretto sour, which came promptly and was almost too easy to drink. To start, I ordered a selection of ‘snacks’, but snacks they were not. The portions were gargantous and I had to hold off from over-indulging to save space for the ramen.
The roasted scallops – drenched in fishy bagoong butter and zingy calamansi citrus – were spectacular on the eye, the meat itself soft and plainly inoffensive. I mopped up the juicy remains with the thick, spongy Pandesal bread, made by Ramo’s sister, Panadera Bakery. An interesting brioche-like garlic bread, which resembles a greedy slab of French toast, it was tasty, but one slice was more than enough.
A refreshing counter to this was the cold octopus kinilaw salad. Normally, I’m weary of the wonky, muscly texture of tentacles, but this chopped up seafoody spin on pico de gallo was definitely a moreish highlight, along with the subtly sweet cassava bites which looked and tasted like patatas bravas with an edamame purée.
It would be rude not to mention the two new showstoppers exclusive to the Soho menu: the lobster and crab ginataan ramen and the wagyu bistek donburi. The majestic lobster ramen’s heavy coconut and cream broth was incredibly dense in flavour and boasted a fragrant fishy aroma. My dining companion’s wagyu dish was reportedly rich and flavourful, with magenta melt-in-your-mouth steak and deliciously meaty caramelised onions.
Sadly, my miso mushroom ramen showed no sign of the padron peppers and roasted tomatoes it promised from the menu. Although the broth was hearty, the milkiness somehow overwhelmed the miso. Next, the oxtail kare kare ramen was way too heavy and lacked the freshness of greens to cut through the intensity of flavour. There were also a few things unavailable on my visit, including the miso baked shrimp dumplings and newly introduced pinoy caesar salad, and they brought out a guava daiquiri instead of a mango margarita (but it tasted so good it didn’t really matter).
Despite the slip ups Ramo Ramen has all of the essentials. The portion sizes are good and the bowls are deep, food comes fast. Service is smiley and welcoming. As ramen places go, it’s on the more spenny side – especially if you go for the flashier dishes. But the lobster crabby broth? Brilliant.
The vibe: Understated chic with a relaxed confidence.
The food: A subtle twist on two island cuisines. Heavy on texture and dense in flavour.
The drink: Sharp cocktails, sake, and a compact wine list.
Time Out tip: Ask the bar for an off-menu saffron negroni for a bitter punch to the palate.