The vibe: a loud sit-down Japanese restaurant famous for its generously portioned ramen dishes, located behind Piccadilly Circus.
What’s cool: Shoryu’s menu includes a glossary on the last page, which helpfully simplifies the Japanese terms you find dotted through the descriptions. Plus, this particular branch has the largest selection of sake, shochu and umeshu, with over 130 to choose from.
What’s not cool: you might have to wait for a table, they don’t take reservations. At 7pm on a Thursday evening when we visited, there was a queue of about 12 people waiting [outside, in the rain] for a table.
Don’t be alarmed by: the bang of a loud drum when you enter the restaurant. It’s the staff welcoming you in. For the first fifteen minutes or so, you’ll be startled by it every time someone new comes in, before slowly becoming accustomed to it.
We drunk: Kirei Momoshu plum wine – peachy and fruity liqueur with “added youthful hyaluronic acid” according to the menu, ooooh! It was sweet and refreshing and didn’t taste alcoholic, although it was.
We ate: Shoryu Buns (£4.50 per piece) – nice, but Ippudo and Bao’s hirata buns are way better.
Shichimi Mushrooms (£5.50) – avoid.
Chicken Karaage (£6) – chunks of tender chicken with a tasty dip. Get this dish.
Salmon sashimi (£9.90) – yum.
Miso Wafu Chicken (£11.50) – the ramen dish was good, and huge, enough for two people!
Final thoughts: the portions at Shoryu are generous, and provide good value for money. The food is good too, I’d give it a 6.5/10.
/// The Curious Londoner 
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