Locate in Central St Giles, the restaurant will initially offer a menu of Hakata-style ramen dishes based on a tonkotsu broth developed by Ippudo founder Shigemi Kawahara, with fresh noodles made in-house daily.
"Tonkotsu ramen has a pork broth base. Ippudo’s signature dishes include variations of this – the Shiromaru Classic, a traditional white pork-based broth ramen and Akamaru Modern, a bolder, richer tasting broth seasoned with garlic oil and Ippudo’s secret miso paste (Umami-dama)," said Swann Péré, the marketing coordinator who is heading up the Ippudo's London launch.
"Both varieties include freshly-made noodles (made in house daily) that are topped with chashu, bean sprouts, and spring onions. Vegetarian versions of both the Shiromaru and Akamaru will also be available, made from a rich seaweed and mushroom broth topped with noodles, fried tofu and bean sprouts."
A range of side dishes including pork Hirata buns will also be available from September, and in October the menu will be extended to include some Japanese-British fusion dishes exclusive to the UK.
"There will be several dishes on the menu that marry Japanese flavours with high quality British produce, which are likely to include a special Ippudo Japanese-style fish and chips," said Péré.
The 80-cover restaurant will be split over two levels – a ground floor and a mezzanine – with an outdoor space that will open in the summer.
“The restaurant will have authentic Japanese interiors with a black and red colour scheme include a specially designed Fuji designed wall,” Péré.
“Special details throughout the venue include a traditional Japanese drum and decorative traditional Japanese lacquerware bowls adorning the walls.”
Ramen King
Kawahara, dubbed the ‘Ramen King’, launched Ippudo in Hakata in 1985 after developing his own interpretation of tonkotsu ramen, a dish which has been evolving in Japan for 300 years.
The group now has over 80 stores in Japan, and opened its first international outlet in New York in 2008 before expanding to Australia, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Taiwan. The spokeperson told BigHospitality there are plans to expand further in Europe, although there are no further details at present.
Ippudo will join a growing number of ramen restaurants in the Capital, including Shoryu Ramen, Bone Daddies, Tonkotsu, United Ramen and the recently opened Kanada-Ya.
Ippudo London will open at Central St Giles, London, WC2H 8AG in September.