Nanban

Spontaneously dropped in this little izakaya (bar) style restaurant, downstairs that is, upstairs is more table seating and reservation needed.
The different dishes looked very good, they are close to the market so expect fresh ingredients and changing menu. We really wanted to go for ramen but I am eager to try some of the other stuff like the lotus root chips, a curry or salad or even the Japanese burger, Sasebo.
We had two types of ramen, a Miyazaki chicken broth classic and one with a DIY (Dip In Yourself) ramen in creamy sesame oil, garlic chips and burnt garlic oil sauce. Both were really really very good!
They have one Japanese beer on draught, Kirin.
I ordered an extra portion of noodles for 2£ because the sauce was too good.
Nice atmosphere, good value for money, attentive staff, would definitely come back to try other dishes from their menu.
Upstairs there are tables in some kind of carts, reservation is needed, which look like a fun way of seating for a small group of around 4 to 6.

It’s been a long time coming but finally made it down to see Chef Tim Anderson’s (ex master chef winner) fruition in South London for some Japanese soul food.
Cold days call for hot soup. Ramen to be precise at Nanban for me. Curry Goat Tsukemen with dipping noddles. It was nice. Can’t help but feel the noodles are not too my liking. Tasted like super noodles (sorry Tim). Maybe it’s because the noodles are so thin and I prefer thicker udon like ones out of any but want keen on those. Sticking together as some points. The sauce dip was nice. Not as rich as I expected but nice all the same. That (hidden) tea pickled egg inside the broth though. Wow, loved that.
Turned up for lunch first thing when opening on a cold day and it was empty but I saw people coming in about 1pm onwards. It’s a much bigger space inside than you realise and has a nice upstairs seating area. I prefer looking out onto street on albeit some wooden stools (that were fine to sit on).
Special mention to the karaage chicken. One of the most moist juiciest I’ve had in London to date. Get those for sure. So good I forgot to add or dip them in the species ribman yuzu hot sauce that I was admiring as I waited to be served! Gutted.

Nan, ban, thank you ma’am.
Went into Nanban worrying that their vegetarian options were going to mug me off, like vegetarian options usually do. I was wrong though. Staff were friendly and the food came quickly. I also think the price was very decent considering the portion size and the quality of the food.
I’ll just do a quick run-​through of the food I had: —
Small plates: —
Grapefruit Shichimi Salad — Grapefruity. Spicy. Decent.
Yaki-​Imo — Posh baked potato. Decent.
Karashi Renkon Chips — Crisps out the packet. But decent.
Large plate: —
Mojiko Yaki-​Curry — Delicious mess of rice, egg, Japanese curry sauce, melted cheese, and vegetables. Top notch.
Only downside to the whole thing was — where’s the soft-​serve ice cream which they said they had on the online menu! Sort it out!

David Bowie is dead. DEAD. I need to go to Brixton. Now. I need music. I need comfort. I need a stiff drink. Now.
So it was, on the worst of terrible days, that I found myself in Brixton and in need of nourishment — of more than one kind. I had already fought my way to front to see the mural and take in the messages and photos of love and sadness.
I had visited the Ritzy’s lovely sign «David Bowie, Our Brixton boy, RIP».
It was cold and I was in a somber mood looking for comfort food. I recalled that Nanban was in Brixton, and that Nanban (or more specifically Master Chef Tim Anderson) had borne the most incredible and unique burgers I had ever tasted at the 2015 National Burger Day.
I beelined for the restaurant, around the corner from Ritzy on Coldharbour Lane. I was welcomed by a friendly hostess and Bowie tunes (of course, of course!). I was invited to pick my own seat in the nearly empty upstairs area, and choose a stool by the big window overlooking the street below.
The service was terrific. Helpful, attentive, quick and sweet (a very japanese take on hospitality and service in general). I love ramen but none of the five or so on the menu caught my fancy. I was here for that burger anyway: the Saesebo (£12 including fries).
It had burnt garlic mayo, charred mince beef, lettuce, tomato, american cheese and a wonderful spicy sauce.
A gin-​fueled cocktail arrived (the Pink Lady, it was only ok), the Bowie tunes kept coming (thank god), other diners filled the empty seats (mostly couples and small groups), eventually my burger arrived.
It was as delicious as I remembered. It was also super messy. The server thoughtfully brought more napkins, refilled our waters, asked if we were ok. On an existential level? Shattered. On a dining level? Just fine.
We asked for the bill and she quickly returned so we could pay and be on our way in this crazy, Bowie-​less world we now live in.
Nanban was so, so good for me. It offered what I wanted and what I needed. I could go on, for a little while longer at least.

It’s pretty good! But there’s a couple of things missing I can’t quite put my finger on it.
The menu changes regularly which is great. I love the idea of a salad that is market dependant and fresh. We got a Brussel sprout salad which was lovely and Christmassy but didn’t really fit in with the other flavours and probably needed some more Asian kick. The soups are good but needing a bit more kick too. But beautifully presented. I had the seafood and veg with wasn’t really that veg and but had 6 morsels of seafood and was pretty hearty.
The best thing I have had yet was a trip and Mung bean salad/​stirfry which was kind of similar to a pad Thai sans noodles. The veg curry has a big bit of melted cheese on it which took a bit of getting used too but was good for a hangover (and kind of reminded me of Uni mystery cooking days).
Whine list is short but nice. Lots of craft beers to choose from. Lots of rice wine.
I like all of the presentation and design of the menus, logo, book etc. The space itself could have been used a little more effectively but the details especially with the cork are beautiful.
Best visited in pairs.

A really good spot to get some Japanese food alongside quality beers. The food itself is eclectic, tasty and well executed. The beer list, too, is eclectic, reflecting the preferences of the restaurant’s founder, Tim Anderson, and featuring a few beers made specially for or in collaboration with the restaurant (from Pressure Drop and Wild Beer Co.), along with Rochefort, Siren and Kirin. The venue itself is very clean and linear. The staff is friendly and on top of their game. The value is, overall, very good.
I would highly recommend a visit to this place if you’re looking for a good meal accompanied by a nice beer.

Finally made it here for dinner this evening. Made it in for 7 and managed to get a seat at the bar quite quickly.
Pluses:
Overall I would say I enjoyed my Miyazaki ramen, particularly the noodles, the bbq chicken and the tea eggs, and would say that the ramen was taste-​wise overall the best that I’ve had in London to date. There’s a good shochu/​sake selection and some interesting seasonal dishes on the menu (reindeer/​turkey ramen… intriguing…). My fellow diner got the vegetable curry and thankfully the kitchen was also able to add in chicken for a bit more substance, it looked quite tasty
Minuses:
1) Service was friendly but more than a bit disorganized. After the meal the hostess asked if we wanted both the 1 dessert item being served, which turned out to be a pricy coconut mochi ice cream, and beer, which raised question marks in my mind.
2) Low fullness/​price ratio — there should be an option for a ‘large size ramen’
3) Also the bottles of shochu were quite dear… for example IIRC a bottle of ‘Kurokirishima’, the internet tells me that same bottle is sold in the store in Japan for less than a tenner… even taking into account import and transport costs the Japanese grocery in Brewer St. sells the same bottle for something in the less than £30 IIRC in the restaurant it was northward of £50
3) odd condiments for a ramen shop. There was black pepper available on the table, but no chili oil, sesame grinder, or garlic etc. I didn’t ask to see if they were available but will do so next time
Anyways, there is still more to explore on the menu here so I will have to try back again at some point, especially with it being in South London, but for now 3 stars…

Excellent little Japanese pop-​up restaurant with a really convivial atmosphere and delicious food.
The ramen is excellent and and all the starters original and tasty. Also tried their Japanese-​inspired burger which is delicious. Have been there 4 times and not disappoints once — really happy that this place opened up on our doorstep. Even bought the chef’s cookbook!

A fantastic addition to the Brixton foodie scene. It’s a limited menu, but everything on it is done really well. Fantastic ramen, with amazing tea-​stained eggs, awesomely creative starters and just really satisfying overall.
Come here for a relaxed foray into Japanese izakaya cuisine, with some global influences. There are home classics from Japan (some version of noodles with roe), as well as stuff we would know better in the UK (ramen, kaarage, eel).
The chef has travelled and worked all over Japan, and you might even recognise him from Masterchef!
It’s a great spot — friendly staff who always find you a spot, give good recommendations, a selection of sake /​beers /​cocktails and some brilliant food to boot. A welcome addition to Brixton!

Finally. I’ve been waiting patiently for Masterchef winner Tim Anderson to open his restaurant. After many rumours, he has finally brought his Japanese fare to Brixton
Described as a ramen and izakaya place, the menu is divided into 7 ramen, a burger, a rice dish and 9 small plates. There are noticeable elements of Caribbean cooking in some of the dishes
I chose the kumamoto ramen, which most resembled my favourite tonkotsu. For me, ramen is about the broth. Here, there is the satisfying richness that comes from long, patient simmering of pork bones but it had an odd thick consistency, almost like a roux had been mixed in to thicken the mixture. A shame as the rest of the bowl was exemplary
I had some goat curry tsukumen (dipping) curry. Nice hot curry. Not suitable for tsukumen
A grapefruit shichimi salad was refreshing but the portion was small
So want to love this place but can’t help feeling that Japanese food, especially ramen has moved on in London

Decided to try this joint a chance as it’s in our neighborhood and figured it was worth a try. Made an extremely early 5:30pm reservation on a Saturday, arrived 30 minutes early to a near empty restaurant and were taken upstairs — there was a table of 2 seated at the 8-​seat window bar and a table of 4 in a booth. We were told we had to either squeeze in right beside the couple at the window (because a 4-​seater couldn’t sit beside us if required??), or sit at a bar looking down the staircase (enticing!) — keep in mind this was just after 5pm in a near empty restaurant. We looked at the overpriced ramen menu, read a few reviews and decided against giving the joint a try, as the atmosphere of an empty staircase view wasn’t quite enough to tempt us. The host told us 130 people were booked, but I’m willing to bet all of those window seats would’ve remained empty for the entire thirty minutes it may have taken us to eat the our bowls of ramen. Needless to say, we can’t comment on the cuisine, but the atmosphere and host service ain’t nothing to brag about.

Offensively stingy portions, exorbitant prices, broth that leaves your mouth feeling like you’ve quaffed a tube of vaseline and a spiel about the special ‘Cypriot potatoes’, which it turns out are just regular potatoes, but which you pay £4 for half of one. Slip on some salmon chinos, embrace gentrification and give your bank account the clean out the good people at Nanban seem to think it needs.