ESR Around the World – London – Ramen Seto
This dining experience is from September 2008 while I was in London, England. I spent over a month in London; this was actually my first meal there.
I didn’t feel like blogging it at the time; we don’t blog all of our meals – you probably don’t want to know about the PB&J sandwich I had for breakfast today ;). However, since we’ve been covering a lot of ramen joints around town lately, I thought it might be fun to share a ramen experience I had outside of Vancouver.
Lucky me. My hotel was a short 5-minute walk away from Carnaby Street. Carnaby Street and nearby Oxford Circus center one of the busiest and densely packed shopping areas in all of Europe (the stores are heavily catered towards tourists though). Amongst the many stores, there are many pubs and restaurants as well.
The stores in London close early (7PM to 8PM). At the same time, the pubs fill up and spill out into the streets early. As I was weaving through the pub patrons on Carnaby Street, each with a pint of beer in hand, I came across a busy and charming ramen joint. I was severly jet-lagged, alone, and overloaded with all the new sights; I needed a comforting and familiar meal… so I gave Ramen Seto a try.
Like many of the pubs in London, Ramen Seto occupies 2 floors. The staircase to the 2nd floor was cramp and the stairs were worn and uneven. The buildings in London are much older than the ones here. They have a lot more charm and history. But how’s the food compare?
The miso ramen I ordered (£6.20) was rubbish. The broth was uninteresting, the noodles were overcooked and not very chewy, the meat was clearly warmed up from a frozen state, and the vegetables (some bean sprouts and a couple peas) were bland. I’ve made better instant ramen at home. The salmon sashimi (£5.50) sidedish was actually fresh and delicious. And the bottle of Asahi (£3.20) took away my guilt for not going to a pub on my first night. Despite that, I left Ramen Seto pretty dissapointed.
I thought Ramen Seto was another case of a bad restaurant taking advantage of an area frequented by many tourists (you can find these types of restaurants in any city), but reviews I’ve found online (e.g. here and here) suggests that the locals actually like Ramen Seto. Oh dear.
Unlike our other ESR Around the World posts, I do not suggest you check this place out if you’re in London. Instead, I’m going to suggest all Londoners to book a flight and come to Vancouver to see what ramen outside of Japan should really taste like.
A couple of months ago, while on a business trip to the US (Baltimore, to be more precise), I ventured myself to try sushi in that city in the US. Reason? To check about the quality of the sushi compared to that of Vancouver. The result… Well, in a way, it was almost the same as the one you experienced. A lot of locals consider it great but, to me, even many of the below average spots here (and, unfortunately, I have to say I have been in way too many) were superior to the one place I visited. I guess, since they don’t have a yardstick to compare these shops, they can only express what they perceive; in their case, it tastes “good” or “great”. So, don’t hold anything against them; they haven’t “seen the light”. :D
Very good point! Definitely agree.
The cliches “everything is relative” and “ignorance is bliss” would apply here I guess :)
Vancouver is not immune to that either. We’re lucky to have a lot of cultural diversity and lucky to be in close proximity to great produce and seafood, but it’d be foolish to think there aren’t better choices.
Oh well. More excuses to travel :)
Totally agree with your post. Went to wagamama b/c of all the hype and was extremely disappointed. The broth had no flavour! London has some work to do in the ramen arena! However, London beats us in terms of other foods. Middle-Eastern restaurants and the food markets trump what we have in Vancouver!!
I was disappointed by Wagamama as well!
I heard positive things about it, but it was pretty bad. Complete ripoff.
London is gigantic so I’m sure they have the best of the best in nearly every category, especially if you’re willing to dish out the $$$. Unfortunately, most places are either too expensive or too hidden for the average out-of-towner.
Overall, I didn’t have very good food during my time there. I think I ate at EAT and Pret A Manger more than anywhere else :)
The juxtaposition of the miso ramen and the slices of raw salmon I found very odd, as I wouldn’t consider them complementary in the same meal. :) Coupled with your exterior shot of a place I would never think would be a ramen-ya, makes for a really interesting look into this ‘attempt’ to bring a little bit of neighborhood Japan to touristy London.
My friends seem to like ramen very much, but I didn’t find them that nice, but after reading your post, I guess it’s because I’ve not had nice ones in London?