Kanada-Ya 金田家

"Kanada-Ya makes consistently excellent bowls of tonkotsu ramen. They've got spots around central and north London—with the Covent Garden one being our go-to—but there's still always a line outside any of their Japanese ramen shops (even in the cold), and it’s absolutely worth the wait. There’s not a whole lot for vegetarians, so don’t bring them with the hope that there’ll be plenty of veg stock or tofu options. Do go for a casual, no-reservations spot where the atmosphere is full of the sounds of conversation and people slurping noodles." - rianne shlebak, jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, daisy meager

"Ramen is our favourite thing to eat when we’re cold, our favourite thing to eat when we’re sick, and for full disclosure, our favourite thing to sob into when the world has been incredibly cruel (read as: our train was four minutes delayed). It also happens to be one of the best things you can eat when you’re out shopping and need a quick and delicious power lunch. The place to do that in Covent Garden is Kanada-Ya. This Japanese mini-chain tends to always have a queue of students outside patiently waiting for a round of pork gyoza and tonkotsu, but you can queue virtually using this app. Plus, seeing as their big comforting bowls of noodles start around the tenner mark, any wait is worth it." - heidi lauth beasley

"The first Kanada-Ya set up shop in Fukuoka 10 years ago and now queues for all three London branches reach down the street. Kanada-san’s special 18-hour pork broth works particularly well in his truffle ramen which comes with chashu pork collar, spring onions, porcini truffle paste, white truffle oil, and seaweed. Kanada-Ya asks diners to choose their texture of their noodles, with ‘hard’ being recommended, and it’s always tempting to zhoosh said noodles more than necessary with the addictive takana (pickled mustard leaves) on every table." - MiMi Aye

"Kanada-Ya makes the most consistently excellent bowl of tonkotsu ramen anywhere in London. They've got four spots around central and north London now, but there's still always a line of students from Hong Kong and Japan outside any of their shops (even in the cold—usually a good sign), but it’s absolutely worth the wait. With the totally reasonable prices (just over a tenner for the basic bowl of noodles), it’s a good deal. There’s not a whole lot for vegetarians, so don’t bring them with the hope that there’ll be a veg stock or tofu option. Do go for a casual, no-reservations spot where the atmosphere is full of the sounds of conversation and people slurping noodles. Expect not to linger, but to leave happy." - David Paw