Nanban

Japanese restaurant in Brixton, London SW9 8LF with MasterChef winner Tim Anderson. Ramen Izakaya and Cocktail Bar.

Nanban Brixton, Japanese Restaurant & Cocktail Bar

Mukashi means ‘old school,’ and our lunch ramen takes you back to basics – just hearty broth, slippery slurpable noodles, and a few simple toppings – feel free to add more!

Full ramen dishes also available as well us other lunchtime special mains.

Lunch menu Book a table online now, it's free with instant confirmation* for two to twelve guests.

Buy a voucher Enjoy happy hour on selected cocktails, beers, wines and spirits every day from 5pm - 7pm.

Drinks Menu Enjoy 25% off main dishes when you order between 5:00pm and 6:00pm Monday to Friday.

https://www.nanban.co.uk

Nanban Brixton review – Japanese food with a West Indian edge ...

Nanban’s kitchen doesn’t appear to have settled on a permanent dessert menu at the time of writing, experimenting with dishes such as ice cream mochi.

Although the slices of pork weren’t quite as good those available at dedicated ramen restaurants such as Muga, they were still pleasingly fatty and unctous, while the roasted garlic sauce and garlic flakes added a kick of smokiness and a crunchy bite.

Firm, wrinkly noodles and a rich runny egg were joined by a moist, meaty, intensely satisfying chicken thigh.

The latter greatly enjoyed the Miyazaki ramen, which was just as good before, and shared my low opinion of the deep-fried gyoza and the tame ackee korokke.

If everything on Nanban’s menu had been as rollicking as the curry goat tsukemen or the Miyazaki ramen, then it would romp home with at least a Four Star rating and an unconditional recommendation.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: NANBAN, THE IDEAL PLACE TO EAT ...

Nanban ticks the former’s box in every way, and is an absolute ripper of a restaurant – a one of a kind we should cherish if we value originality in the capital’s dining scene.

Fronting this ramen Izakaya (a kind of Japanese beer joint), the American born chef venerates this style of Japanese dining with an eclectic but focused menu.

The small bar offering a great selection of craft, mainly local, beers adds to the fun.

Spicy, sticky chicken wings and a selection of inventive small plates with a focus on produce from the market complete the bill.

An impressive sake selection is proudly visible to all on shelves behind the bar and the sake-tasting menu is an afformative and enjoyable way to drink at Nanban.

Nanban, London SW9 - restaurant review: A bit of Japan, a bit of ...

It takes some balls to present burgers in the Masterchef final, but Anderson's Tri-City sliders, celebrating LA, Tokyo and London, were – triumphantly – those balls.

Since becoming Masterchef's youngest winner, Anderson has published a book of his “Japanese soul food” recipes, Nanban, and run various pop-ups.

Other dishes draw inspiration – and ingredients – from the market, which despite the relentless march of the artisan pizza joints and brunch spots, still holds plenty of stalls selling Caribbean and African specialities.

Anderson is on view in the kitchen on my first visit, when we sit downstairs on stools at a low plywood counter, admiring the gins of Brixton, a spotlit gantry of artisan liquors.

Every dish is encoded with Anderson's personality and passion, but there's no drop in quality when we return on his day off.

Fay Maschler reviews Nanban: Soul food from the Far East | London ...

The maker of the movie Nanban would now have Tim open a revelatory restaurant in Laura’s homeland but first our hero, at Laura’s urging, applies to take part in MasterChef and creates a Japanese-y bento box as his audition piece.

The asperity of pink and white fresh grapefruit softened by a honey-mirin dressing, the mouthwash of cucumber slices and the crunch of brown rice all sternly piqued by shichimi chilli powder, is a combination like no other — madcap but mellifluous.

Acknowledging that he comes late to the London ramen scene, he writes rather touchingly in Nanban the book (Square Peg, £20 when bought at the restaurant) that “the ramen ship had set sail while I was building sandcastles on the shore”.

I have had more profound ramen at, for example, Tonkotsu and Bone Daddies and noodles made in-house at Nanban would benefit the cause but kumamoto ramen, with its burnt garlic and tea-pickled egg, is not to be sniffed at.

Partly thanks to Anderson’s genial persona, Nanban with the sub-title Japanese Soul Food (appropriated from the Ippudo group) fits seamlessly into Brixton.

Nanban | Restaurants in Brixton, London

The Kyushu-style ramen bar from former MasterChef winner Tim Anderson.

Like the chicken karaage: with its crunchy chilli-and-salt flour coating, it was good enough to rival the Keralan fried chicken at nearby Kricket (and that’s saying something).

It’s not at all ‘offaly’, just extremely tender, stir-fried with crunchy rice and sprouts, plus salty, sweet and sour flavours with a fiery hit at the end.

Large plates are good, too: mentaiko pasta (a retro dish found in hipster NYC noodle joints) was a little like a creamy cod roe version of a carbonara.

This reminded me of a rendang, with its melting, tender meat and intense flavours.