Bone Daddies - Review

My rating out of 5: 5

The best ramen in London. Goodbye Wagamama and hello Bone Daddies. For me, there is always a mental foody benchmark with which other versions are compared.  Burgers are either better or worse than McDonalds. Pizzas are in competition with Pizza Express and the humble sandwich either falls short of or exceeds the Pret Normal. Ramen for me has to exceed the student holy grail named Wagamama, that place where your treated like school children and forced to sit on a long bench packed with strangers. That place where they scribble your order onto your placemat incase you change your mind when it arrives and where "your food could come at different times because it cooks at different speeds." We know food cooks at different speeds, so why not do what most restaurants do and devise ingenious strategies for coping with this small issue?!

Soft Shell Crab with Chilli Ginger Sauce

Thankfully, Bone Daddies has got it all right. It's officially my go-to place with a group of friends when we're walking around Soho and want a guaranteed delicious, fulfilling and all round great place to eat. Situated on 31 St Peter Street, you'll see a black fabric covered entrance which sometimes has a long queue outside, full of hungry diners awaiting their ramen feast. Upon entrance, you're greeted by a friendly, outgoing member of the waiter staff who will see you to your seat straight away. Amongst the loud music, the atmosphere is buzzing with young, enthusiastic people passionate about great food. The attention to detail is fabulous; on the table, you're presented with a white, plastic Bone Daddies bib for the messy pups among us. What makes me laugh every time are the black hair ties presented in a little glass jar, so the ladies can release their inner cavewoman and not worry about getting their hair being covered in the delicious ramen juices. 

First things first, drinks! The drinks menu is fantastic ranging from soft drinks to 'hard' cocktails and 'harder' spirits. I've never been disappointed with the drinks so will recommend the ones I've tried before as I simply can not choose the best. I've had the delicious mango and passionfruit Chuhai 2.0 cocktail (£8.20), the Tokyo Mule which contains rum, yuzu, shochu, ginger beer and bitters (£8.50) and the Prosecco Brut Zonin (£5 a glass) - not all in one sitting mind! But chose what you fancy as you really can't go wrong. I would say not to order the green tea however because at £3, it isn't worth it and you may as well spent another couple of pounds on something more special. 

Let's move onto the starters or so-called 'snacks'. I'm going to recommend three of my favourite snack dishes which are great for sharing. The soft shell crab served with a green chilli ginger sauce (£8.50), the gorgeous tenderstem broccoli with yuzu kosho mayo (£4.50) and finally the sweet spicy pig bones (£8) which is my friends and my personal favourite and can be found on the specials menu on the wall. 

Sweet Spicy Pig Bones

OK, ramen time! Now, I am a massive chicken lover and the first time I came to this ramen bar, I had the Tantanmen 2 which was very delicious, but having tried a couple of the pork dishes, I really do believe they're the ones to get. I am yet to try the seafood Kimchee ramen, but every time I've had the perfectly tender pork it's been fantastic. The noodles are hands down the best I've ever tasted and the flavours are clean and punchy served with an abundance of energy. No matter how many times I've said to my friends 'you'll have to help me finish this,' I always manage to finish it with absolutely no help at all. It's just too good! The only disappointment about this bar is the confusing opening and closing times:

Mon 12pm-3pm & 5.30pm-10pm
Tues & Weds 12pm-3pm & 5.30pm-11pm
Thurs, Fri & Sat 12pm-12am
Sun 12pm-9.30pm

You can understand my confusion when I went with a couple of girl friends on a Monday evening and by 10pm, the lights were on, the bill was on our table and we were given all the signals possible to politely ask us to leave. I guess it's my fault for not looking at the closing times beforehand but either way, the waiting staff were very up beat and happy to have us and a few more diners, even though we overstayed our welcome by 30 minutes (sorry!). All in all, Bone Daddies is a fantastic place to eat. The waiting staff are fun and efficient, the atmosphere it buzzing and the ramen is the best you'll find with a price that won't give you a minor heart attack when the bill arrives to the table. No doubt I'll be back again very soon!

Bone Daddies: 31 Peter St, London W1F 0AR