Thanks to Katie B for stepping in as interim Yelp Ramen Club organiser in Josy A's absence Ramen Club 8.0 took place at Ribon and Katie went to great lengths to make our booking and also to make sure that they had ramen available - for large parties, it's best to warn them as they only make a limited amount of broth each day When you get to the restaurant, don't be put off by the fact that the ground floor looks shut because it is shut! Descend the stairs to the subterranean dining room. Our party of 15 took over most of the main dining area though there are private rooms, which also offer karaoke The starters were my favourite part of the meal with the black cod and chicken karaage being top of my list even though the portion size was tiny for the cost. As far as ridiculous prices go though, I think my glass of orange juice from a carton for £3.30 was criminal - I can get 2 litres of Tropicana for less. Other starters like the pork and kimchi were rather bland The ramen was a disappointment. The broth was rather bland and the chashu was dry. Perhaps in keeping with the rather mean attitude to the volume of food served, there was no egg. In an age when Bone Daddies and other ramen joints in London have raised the bar, bowls like this won't cut it any longer It was a really fun evening but the food wasn't up to scratch, especially the ramen. Roll on, Ramen Club 9.0! read more

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Thank you Katie B for being a star and getting such a huge crowd of us involved in ramen club!! Ribon was a strange ramen experience...ramen is only listed as a side note on the specials menu, but after seeing a photo of their ramen in the magazine "zoom Japan", I was keen to try it. Ramen: The miso soup was really good; hot and delicious... BUT my noodles seemed like over-cooked, squidgy cup-ramen noodles. I liked the toppings, but I was sad not to have an egg, and the cha siu was forgettable. So all in all the ramen isn't as good as many of the other ramen-joy-lands in London. Plus they took aaaaages to make, even though Katie had told them in advance that we would order lots of noodles. Izakaya menu: We also tried the agedashi dofu (really nice, but without much dashi!), the karaage and the gyoza. They were all lovely, and the general izakaya menu sounded full of tasty dishes. I'd be up for trying more of them. Other: A group of my friends from Japan have been here several times, and they all really liked it... so I know this place could be amazing. I'll have to come back to try non-noodle items, and to have a sing in their karaoke booth. read more

Ribon - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

Can't seem to find good chicken teriyaki - this place is really authentic which is awesome but the chicken teriyaki dish came with a mouthful of hidden chicken bones in it -- boo Chicken teriyaki skewers were more fatty, served over rice and the teriyaki sauce seemed home-made but really sweet. Moderately priced, small place, and sort of daunting in terms of restaurant decor upstairs but the food isn't bad. Sushi was pretty fresh so I'd probably just get that next time instead. read more

Such a cute little restaurant. The owner paints wonderful oil paintings and hangs them all over. The bottles of booze on the wall all have little aprons. It's really charming. The food was absolutely delicious, and I'm very glad that we came here. read more

Ribon is across the road from my office, literally. And I am a bit of a sushi-vore - okay, a lot of a sushi-vore. Thing is, I never gave Ribon a chance - and preferred walking 10min to St-Pauls and buy myself an overpriced and yucky sushi platter from Itsu or Wasabi when I had sushi cravings. Well I was stupid. After working here for nearly a year, I decided to give it a go - and what a brilliant and amazing surprise! Their take-away section for lunch lets you chose between a selection of sushi-platters and bentos, as well as about 10 different cooked dishes from gyoza to Katsu. (No ramen here!) All hot dishes and bentos are £7.50 each, and their selection of sushi/sashimi goes from £2.5 to £5 - meaning you can have a VERY decent sushi lunch under £10 - which is actually very good value for money, considering their sushi are actually really good. I have yet to try some of their hot dishes, but Ribon is definitely somewhere you want to go to have lunch if you are in the City Thameslink/St-Pauls area. The 5 stars goes to: - Good value for money dishes - Friendly staff - SUSHI - Variety of what is offered - Boost up the reviews that are below I do need to go there for a proper meal someday, but hey - I won't be trying the ramen ;) read more

Ramen club 8! It was my first ramen club and, it being down the road from my office I couldn't say no. It was a bit confusing when I got there as the upstairs was closed and you end up walking down a spiral staircase to get to the restaurant. The decor is rather... eclectic with paintings of horses and Renaissance women and various scenic pictures as well. The servers were dressed in traditional looking clothing which was pretty cool. We were a huge group and all of us ordered the ramen. I had an avocado roll for a started and it was really yummy! The rice wasn't too sticky and the avocado tasted fresh. The ramen was pretty good. It wasn't amazing and I ended up adding quite a bit of chilli oil to give it some more flavour. As ramen is not one of their main menu items I wouldn't mind coming back to check out their other dishes. The company was the best though and I had a really good time meeting new people! read more

Apparently yelpers want ramen. And ramen we ate. Was it my favourite ramen ever? No. I'd go to Ittenbari or Bone Daddies (or perhaps even Shoryu) before coming here again for ramen. Was it bad? No. Just those other places are good. This was fine. Admittedly, it was a bit of an atypical experience in that we were in a massive group of 17 people. We had made a booking ahead of time and warned them we wanted ramen (it isn't on their normal menu). They gave us the options of tantamen, tonkotsu, miso, konbu, or shoyu ramen over the phone, and I told her to surprise us (they only make one ramen per day and it rotates). They chose my personal favourite, miso ramen. The broth wasn't as rich as other miso broths I've had, but still quite tasty. Alas, the noodles were rather overcooked... but perhaps because that is because they aren't used to 17 people ordering ramen at the same time? We also had a few starters, and these were excellent: Agadashi tofu, miso aubergine (I forget what this is called in Japanese), tonkotsu, and a tofu salad. The only forgettable one was the tofu salad (though still quite tasty)... the Agadashi tofu and aubergine were both absolutely delicious. Ambiance/service-wise, though it was slow, the service was SUPER nice. The space isn't exactly something to brag about, but it is actually kind of quirky/homey in its own way with its eclectic mix of über western oil paintings (think 19th century ladies in frocks) contrasted with western-style oil paintings of eastern things. My particular favourite was the mother and baby horses nestled together. Kawaii!!! It is actually quite 'authentically' Japanese in aesthetic, but not in the way that most people perceive Japanese style to be. Sort of more in the western fetish sense... but anyhow, I digress. So what's the verdict? I'd come back here for other food for sure, but would probably pass on the ramen. It is clear that they know what they are doing and cater to largely Japanese clientele. read more

I probably passed by this place a few dozen times before I had dinner here. Probably would have passed by it a few more dozen times and never ventured in had it not been the destination of choice on one Saturday evening organized by the Tokyo analysts. Still, I was doubtful, as the place looked positively dismal from the outside. Interior decor wasn't much better, but they WERE renovating the ground floor. But! Not to judge a book by its cover (entirely), I was game, and had some great food with wonderful company. The items that seemed to fare best were the small dishes. In particular, the chicken karaage was fantastic -- super crisp on the outside and absolutely juicy (on the verge of total fat, really) on the interior. Honestly, who doesn't like some fantastic fried chicken? (And no, this is WAY better than Fantastic Chicken and all of its late-night drunken food brethren.) Sukiyaki was also fantastic. Lots of veggies, lots of meat... all in a savory broth cooked tableside. Bit expensive, but if you're splitting with a few people (it's meant for 2), it's worthwhile. They also have a karaoke room for those who would like to belt out a few songs. Oddly, the room is situated in the restaurant so every time someone opened the door, we all had a peek of what was going on inside. Looked like everyone was having a grand time. Only thing I probably wouldn't recommend straight away is the sushi/sashimi. It's not that it's bad.. it's just that it isn't great. If I crave sushi, I'd rather go to Miyama and sit at the sushi bar, eating my £1 quality sushi instead. But if you ever have an itch for Japanese food and you're in the area, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT go to Yo Sushi. Go to Miyama, go to Ribon -- do not submit yourself to the enthralling conveyor belt and sacrifice your belly for it. read more

After reading the most recent reviews I felt extremely compelled to write my first Yelp review ever, despite having used the website for years - and that tells you something about this place. It definitely deserves WAY more than the current three star rating (although I wouldn't mind keeping the place to myself either of course!) What struck me is that all the latest reviews are almost ONLY for the ramen. Okay guys, I get that you went there for a ramen club, and everyone has the right to write a review, I'm with you there. But this restaurant does not market itself as a ramen place in any way, so I think it is a much too biased and unfair review of it as an actual restaurant, especially judging from how it took down the average rating greatly. As for my own review, Ribon is one of the restaurants I always drool about during daytime and want to come back to, despite having a gazillion Japanese favourites all over London. I remember the first time I went I was a little taken aback at the fire escape staircase leading down to the restaurant, but then the cosy atmosphere enveloped me as soon as I descended. It is a little ways away from central but it is well worth the trek, the main reasons being: Pros: - Super cosy ambience (one of my requirements for my regular hangouts), with plenty of nooks and crannies. Good for both dates and friends! - Very good at Japanese food overall, especially the Salmon Teriyaki and gyoza as I often have these. My Japanese friends have liked the food (and the place!) as well. - An absolutely lovely manager - I assume she must be - that greets everyone in Japanese, always has a bright smile on her face and is very welcoming (actually I have noted that she always speaks in Japanese even to those who do not speak it which is curious, but quite cute) - Usually not busy at all due to it being a little out of the way from the hustle and bustle. Possible cons: - The only cons I can think of may well be that they do not specialise in anything so I am not surprised if the ramen is not noteworthy, but then again I would deem it better to go some-place that does. - At times it has been a little tricky to pin down a waiter by the usual eye twinkling and waving, usually due to us sitting at one of the more hidden tables. So to end this rather-very-long review (oops), I would say that the ambience, price range and food quality definitely creates a winning combination! read more

Don't hear English? That's a good sign. Ribon is a decent japanese spot conveniently located in the City. The sushi is not bad at all - much better than the chains that litter London. This is not Nobu but you can find a solid sushi lunch for 15 quid. Not sure what to eat? Order the Big Ben which has a bit of everything. Better for lunch than dinner, I will return. Warning: if you go after hours, prepare to hear moaning downstairs as this eatery doubles as a karaoke lounge. Economies of scale tbd... read more

The Ribon is located almost in front of my office, and that is all the better for my colleagues and I. What makes Ribon really convenient for people who have no more that 10 min to pick their lunch is how efficient they are at handling take-away orders (they have a dedicated aisle). In addition the service is professional and courteous. Food wise, this is clearly not the best Japanese food I have had BUT their sushi, bento-box and katsus are really good specially when you take into account their low price tag. Many people complain about the ramen, but as I have never had them, I could not possibly comment. To sum up, this is a good place to grab your lunch from if you work, possibly amongst the best in the area. I would highly recommend it to people that are currently buying their sushis from the likes of Wasabi and Itsu (yuk) as it is a league above. read more

The food is so authentic and a million times better than Itsu or Wasabi... but it does have some food safety issues. It has a poor food hygiene rating, which I found out but blissfully ignored for some time but then I found a fuzzy tomato in my salad so I have been taking a break from the place ever since. Their lunch takeaway is great though, especially the salmon teriyaki and the pork katsu, and the hot food comes with the salad that has a great miso dressing but may or may not be fresh. So enjoy at your own risk. read more

This is an excellent place to come for Japanese food. It's on two floors and I've only ever managed to eat downstairs. The food is gorgeous, there's a lot of choice and there's a lot of it. The waitresses are all Japanese and main lady is a lovely and graceful slightly older Japanese lady. The decor has obviously not been touched for quite some time and there are individual rooms where you can eat and, in the evening, take part in karaoke. My most favourite place for japanese food. read more

The best sushi ever! Nice and cosy, not formal. Excellent service. Karaoke downstairs if you're that way inclined. mmm plum wine. read more

you forget you're in london here. food is good, staff is incredibly polite and kind. kind of hard to find, thru a door, another door, then down stairs. but hella worth. recommend. also they have plum wine which is kind of hard to find. and they give you tea after dinner. read more

Ribon is my favorite place for Friday dinner. It doesn't only have bento box served for a quick lunch, their dinner menu is amazing. Try the Japanese soya milk hot pot - that's the best for winter. read more