Kokura in Southwark

This charming Ramen eatery, several streets behind Southbank…is a gem if you’re in the area. Yes yes yes… there are a few complaints about this and that. When we popped in for lunch today, we were lucky to secure an empty table. The guy taking orders was friendly and polite. Our noodles were ready after a short wait. Broth delicious. Noodles superb! What more could anyone ask for…?

While the queues are long, there's a quick turn around. Food arrives reasonably quickly, and is tasty. I really enjoyed the karaage chicken.

Affordable ramen but nothing special…. It was a lunch time deal so it cost £7.50 but I’m not sure if I will be coming back with the full price

A very decent ramen place at a decent price. Ordered a gyu-don and was tasty as well. Dining place a tad crowded with limited seats. So come at non-peak hours where you will be served better.

I ordered their Tobanja Ramen, which is only ￡10.50, which is so affordable. It has a little bit of spiciness, which I think is just right. The soup base is rich and not greasy. I saw that there are two very large soup pots in the back kitchen. The soup base is made every day and is not a pre-made dish. Especially the barbecued pork, tender and tasty, cut evenly thin. The quality of the meat is top notch. The portion of noodles is just right.

Great atmosphere, food and price! I have travelled to Japan more than 15 times and this taste so authentic! Even better than those branded ramen places in London!

Tonkotsu ramen & karaage were great! I highly recommend karaage!!

I visited this ramen shop hoping to enjoy a high-quality bowl of ramen and ordered their signature Kokura Ramen. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. The pork broth was quite salty and lacked depth of umami, while the noodles were too soft and had a rubbery texture. That said, the pork chashu was delicious and well-prepared. I understand that it can be challenging to make authentic Japanese ramen in London, but based on my experience, I was surprised by the high rating on Google Maps. I appreciate the effort that goes into making ramen, but personally, it didn’t quite match what I was looking for.

Really great lunch place. The ramen lunch special is affordable and very tasty. There are a bunch of other options but it does get busy fast. Fast and tasty ramen 🍜🤤

Best value bowl of ramen in London. For about 10 quid you get a tonkotsu style ramen with charsiu, ajitama , bamboo shoots, seaweed, etc. It's a no bullshit place in this sense, no extra money for the ajitama like others. I'll be back unless they start increasing prices

Affordable ramen at Kokora. Overall authentic ramen served at this place however I would say they are on the salty side. The seasonal special Tom Yum is seriously good especially if you like a tangy broth. It is topped with shimeji and white fungas. The chicken broth for the other ramen is definitely chickeny but it tastes like stock made from chicken bones. The only gripe is that they no longer serve the raindrop cake but luckily I have tried it elsewhere.

My go to ramen shop in London, taste is authentic and price is very affordable.

Food is good but service for takeaway is very slow at peak times

Great walk in ramen place. I had vegan katsu curry - delicious vegetable fritter, sauce and rice. Also a cool range of drinks and seaweed salads/sides. Vegan options, ingredients and allergens labelled. Fresh and delicious! The classic ramen was good and the pork gyoza tasty. Helpful staff.

Frankly not a Japanese restaurant. Japanese restaurants pride themselves on their impeccable service. At kokura there is no service. The tori ramen was average and not very flavourful. Props to the chicken katsu curry that was a good dish. Otherwise I would not recommend and suggest spending your money elsewhere

Great place for cheap, comforting ramen if you are in the area. Prompt service, clean atmosphere

Love it! Cheap, quick and tasty!

Cheap and cheerful no frills cafe, food is very quick and cheap, but nothing special.

Does exactly what you'd expect from a ramen place. Gives you delicious, hearty ramen. No fuss, no bs, just delicious food. Favourite place in the area

I don’t know why there’s so many bad reviews about the quality of the food. I’m assuming most of them have never had REAL ramen from Japan. Luckily, I have plenty of times during my visit to Japan and I can happily say that out of all the ramen places in London, this has been the closest to the taste that I had during my travels there. Clearly, these one star reviewers don’t know what they’re talking about! The price also was very reasonable for the amount given. If you look at the shape of the bowl, you have way more than what you see, maybe it’s time to check your weight and eat less if you have a problem with the portions. 10/10 definitely come here for the authentic taste and quality products!!

Incredible prices for London. And they are actually Japanese 🍙🍙

Very nice! We had Chashu and Yamagoya ramens, along with chicken karaage. The self-service was efficient, and the food was ready very quickly. Everything tasted great. The space was clean and cosy, and the prices were reasonable.

The worst Ramen I’ve ever tried. They offer even less than shops in Tokyo (as we all know Japanese don’t eat much). And the taste is terrible. Pork is FINE but bamboo shoots are terrible, smell awful. The noodles taste like instant noodles, which shouldn’t be. Chicken is a bit more acceptable. A good thing is they do offer free water and you can get it by yourself

Lovely dinner spot and ramen hits the spot on a cold winter day. I got the Kokura ramen and my friend got tofu miso ramen, very delicious 🤩 Tables were available and there were no queues on a weekday as it is walk-in only!

Super tasty food and great price

Affordable and tasty ramen shop that can easily be reached as it is just 5 mins away from the station.

Easy food, simple menu, consistent good food, fast service and incredible value for money. It’s eat in food that’s costs less than a meal on the nearby markets - totally worth it

Kind of self service style, with buzzers. Tried the Kokura special, good price but unfortunately didn't really enjoy the broth.

Would not recommend, visited today with my brother who has a severe nut allergy and was told by one member of staff that only one item was nut free, to then be completely contradicted by another who said that item was the only one with nuts in. The chef then chipped in with completely different information. We had to leave as we couldn’t work out if it was safe for him to eat.

Food ok, not very much (pork katsu curry), good vibe though, toilet a bit odd and especially cold. All in all okay!

Small but nice place, very good my family loved it.

Best Value Ramen in London 10英鎊的拉麵，性價比之王👍🏻 This ramen restaurant is a great value and cheap! It tastes better than I expected. It's not exactly traditional Japanese ramen, just similar flavor from Ajisen Ramen 味千拉麵. But considering the food scene in the UK, it's quite tasty. At only £10 a bowl, it's a great deal! The signature pork ramen is better than the chicken flavour.

This was a very cosy, tasteful and enjoyable place! My friend and I visited this place for the first time. The food was delicious and had so much flavour! I can definitely see myself visiting here again. My thanks to the team.

I visited Kokura last weekend, and although I usually don’t enjoy pork broth, I decided to try the Tom Yum noodle soup with pork broth—and it turned out to be the best decision ever! The ramen was absolutely delicious, hands down the best pork broth ramen I’ve ever tasted. The balance of flavors in the Tom Yum was exceptional, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. We also tried the vegan ramen and the one with chicken, but the standout dish was definitely the Tom Yum. It was on a completely different level! I highly recommend Kokura for anyone seeking a unique ramen experience. I will definitely be coming back for more!

Worst ramen ever!! I used to eat ramen but here it was awful.. I don’t recommend it, at least the vegetarian one. Artificial and missed flavours. Staff weren’t also friendly, I just don’t understand the google review rate

Great value for money. Self service and price you see on the menu you see, it what you pay. No need for service charge. All the fried food is fried in rape seed oil.

Amazing ramen! Some of the best I’ve had. The restaurant is self service and very quick. Really good flavors and great value for money. Highly recommend the Kokura ramen!

SUPER GOOD! For less than £10, the bowl of ramen is delicious! The atmosphere is very pleasant and the staff smiling, an address that I highly recommend! 😁

Came here on Saturday around 2pm. The seats were empty and I was seated right away. The menu is ordered at the counter. Easy to choose from 8 types. There are also vegetarian options. Drinks are available for sale, but you can also buy tap water for free. Once you have paid, you will be given a buzzer and will be called when the food is ready, so you have to go pick it up yourself. Japanese food court style. The taste of the soup was delicious. The chef was Turkish, but the taste was Japanese tonkotsu ramen. The fried chicken was delicious too ♪ The vegetarian ramen 🍜 was surprisingly spicy! I felt it was easy at about 10 pounds.

we were here with my friend today and the food was so disgusting that we couldn’t even eat it. I love asian food, I can eat almost everything, but I’ve spend almost 14£ on ramen and kimchi, ramen tastes bad, kimchi seems not fresh. We wanted to have lunch after college, but after this experience we are never going here again and we won’t recommend this again!

my expectations were so much better, I didn't think it would be so bad and not tasty! I'm sorry I spent 16 pounds on ramen and chicken, it's the worst thing I've ever tasted, I'll never come back here and I don't recommend it to others

Very simple place, order at the counter and small but sufficient menu. I thought the ramen was fantastic, as were the gyoza. There aren't many tables available but they free up quickly as the service is fast. I ate alone which wasn't an issue. I had chasu ramen, gyoza and a soft drink for around £20.

Nice place for a Ramen. The food was very tasty although it would be perfect if it was served warmer so that it would not get cold halfway through the meal

Always busy in this restaurant and its pretty clear why! The food tastes amazing and are presented well - even in takeaway boxes (i almost always get the Pork Chashu it tastes amazing) The staff are hardworking and when lunch hour hits it can get pretty busy And the atmosphere is almost always bustling!

Want the flavours of japan, this is the place to go, tastes like I have gone back to Tokyo. Delicious food with great service.

Great value Ramen - pls drop the throw-away plastic packaging asap

Recently visited a small ramen shop and was pleasantly surprised by the flavors. The dishes were delicious and offered great value for money. However, the only area in need of improvement is the ventilation system. During my meal, I felt a bit cramped, and there was quite a bit of grease in the air. Overall, a tasty experience, but better airflow would make it even more enjoyable!

Absolutely delicious food very simple and minimal the restaurant has easy menu choices so you don't feel overwhelmed with choices I ordered a Tofu miso ramen soup 🍲 very delicious healthy and filling overall 10/10

Good ramen, price is good too around £10

Nice Ramen place with a quiet atmosphere. Food is served quickly and is very tasty. Not that many options so everything is fresh and made on the spot. Good portions. The broth in the ramen is very intense. Be prepared. The Karaage chicken is crispy and juicy. Delicious.

I felt very poorly, so I got me a chicken noodle soup/ramen from there. (£10,50), super yummy. Think the soup cured me from my cold. 😉

Superb ramen and Chicken Karaage at very affordable prices. One of my favourite ramen places in London

Spontaneously took my safe to this cute little ramen place and I highly recommend. The menu is small, which is great as it's not overwhelming, and the concept of the restaurant is very "convenient-style" - I really loved the atmosphere, and the ramen was delicious.

I love food here it very affordable and it is very high quality for what I payed for the atmosphere was a very nice atmosphere everyone enjoyed the food. When I came in, I was welcome very nicely And when I ordered they were very helpful . The food came out really quickly, fresh and hot plus for much affogato was very nice Must recommend

Lovely spot for some good & speedy Kastu. Service lovely, seats indoor & outdoors.

unassuming ramen spot just a 2 mins walk from southwark station; initimate vibe and delish

Busy venue but absolutely brilliant Ramen. I went for the Kokura ramen and it was delicious. Certainly be coming back here at some stage. £10.90 as well, great for London prices.

Very good ramen at a very good price !!!! Must try

Nice cute little place for ramen. It is actually not that bad, decently good ramen for a good price (8-11 pounds).

A beautiful small restaurant with delicious filling food and the Matcha icecream is incredible

Love this place. Great for a quick, cheap meal. Most dishes are around a tenner, served really quickly, delicious and filling. You order at the counter and get one of those beepy things, then you just sit down and wait. Usually not too busy to find a seat, and there's outdoor seating available as well. I especially love their ramen dishes!

Very good, food tasty, looks nice, nice wall designs, good simple menu, good bubble tea, good gyozas. Probably quite nutritious. Review by H (age 9) and J (11).

I am a ramen addict and come to this place in a regular basis. Kokura is the best ramen place this side of Tokyo.

Excellent vegan curry. Will return.

Perfect place to have some super delicious ramen ❤️ we tried the matcha affogato and we can definitely say we're fans 😍💞 love it and absolutely recommend it!!!

Great food, friendly staff, tried the new Matcha affogato and it was delicious

Best ramen I've had in London, and exceptional, quintessentially Japanese service. 10/10 highly recommend

Had lunch special - pork ramen - for £7.90. While there were only two slices of pork, what more could one ask for when it's only £7.90 (compared with other places that might charge more for the same kind of food)? The ramen noodles themselves were good. The soup base might be a bit too salty (to my taste) but overall we did enjoy the food. It wasn't too busy when we went and the surrounding area wasn't so crowded that it felt relaxing. Would love to try other items on the menu next time!

Each time I visit this part of london, I'll try their special ramen, and it always blows me out of the water. Today it's the soupless ramen. The egg and special spicy sauce made the texture of the sauce that coats the ramen so creamy and glossy, I didn't know a texture like this was possible. So good. Send help. I need this everyday.

Probably the cheapest ramen in london. Service is quick and ramen is delicious, extremely worth the price. Have gone back many times.

Food is tasty and cheap for London. Will go again when around Waterloo station.

We had a takeout lunch from here, I had the Chicken Karaage and the Chicken Katsu Curry, and both of the dishes were amazing. Beautifully cooked, well seasoned and presented incredibly. Loved every mouthful of the food and will be going again when I am in the area.

Lovely Japanese ramen restaurant. We tried the chashu, Kokura ramen. Both were tasty and the broth was full of flavour.

I ate ramen of “lunch specials.” You can get it during the day on weekdays. It was crowded and I had to wait about 20 minutes for my ramen, but it met my expectations.

Food was pretty disappointing. Had the Classic Ramen lacked flavor with lil tiny pieces of pork.

I got the Kokura ramen (signature pork ramen) for 10.9£. All the toppings were great, especially the pork! The ramen was firm but the pork bone broth was average. For the price point, I think this ramen was worth it.

The food was salty but not even tasty, horrible experience, couldnt finish it.

Everything is super delicious here. Portions are plentiful, highly recommended!

The restsurant is counter-service and the menu is small. However the food was very tasty, I ordered a tonkotsu ramen which was creamy and delicious, chicken karaage was a bit dry and a yuzu mayo was tasteless, and a kimchi as a side. The price was reasonable. Overall, I did enjoy dining here and would be coming back

I felt sick a few minutes after eating there.

See the amazing lunch special prices and the surprising fact that there is no service charge. Restaurants in this area have good lunch prices. The portion was a bit small so I needed to eat more on the side. However, the store was cleaner than expected and the tonkotsu soup was better than expected. At 12 o'clock, the number of customers decreases. The staff was friendly. The 3.5 pound price for plain rice was a bit too much. Even in Europe, they charge 2 euros so it needs to be lowered.

Very good ramen for the price, good music, good atmosphere, the waitresses were adorable! Already beats most ramen restaurants in France, especially in the Saint-Anne district

A wonderful place with amazing food and sake! The staff is super friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed. We came back several times during our visit to London and will definitely be coming back in the future as well. Highly recommended!

Authentic japanese. Kokura ramen is 😍

We were here today and had different ramens. I had the kokura one, and while ok-ish taste wise, I started feeling sick soon after leaving the place. This ruined the rest of my evening. I now wonder if it was due to food containing glutamate, to which I’m intolerant. Unfortunately, really bad experience for me and most definitely not likely to go back

Ramen was good and staff very nice! Recommended!

Very nice and excellent service..the chef gaurav was really helpful in advising the dishes we should try... cheers...

Super fast and super tasty...👌🏽

Great ramen at great price -£10 for a bowl. Appreciate the table sesame !

Nothing special. It's OK food in a very plain atmosphere. If you are hungry in the area and feel like decent Japanese food, it's very much ok for that but don't expect to be getting an experience of a lifetime. Just an opinion. There are far better Japanese restaurants in London

I find it a shame that I am having to write this review. Kokura (or Yamagoya as I knew it) used to be my restaurant of choice for if I wanted really good ramen at a good price in the city. It would still be my go to place were it not for the unpleasant and frankly unacceptable service that I received here after bringing a group of friends. We ordered 4 ramen bowls and unfortunately 1 member of our party was unable to eat anything on the menu due to cross contamination. Waiting staff were very helpful/ knowledgeable and gave us the allergen menu to review. However after being reccomended by staff that our friend should not order anything, we asked if we could get something from elsewhere to bring in for her to eat as we had planned to eat here, and we had already ordered a substantial amount of food and spent over £50. Granted, this is a strange request, but not unreasonable in my opinion due to the circumstances. The manager promptly came to the front of the restaurant to tell us that we could not bring any food in, with no further explanation as to why and no help for the member of our party with allergens. All in all I was quite shocked at how rude he was being, especially as it would have cost them nothing and simply allowed everyone to eat at the same time. Furthermore, we have never had a restaurant not even try to accommodate for my friend's allergies, despite similar situations occurring in the past. She then had to wait and watch as we ate our food, which ruined the experience for everyone and put a downer on the rest of the evening. The food was and still is good but I could not enjoy it knowing that not everyone was having a good time. I will be finding a new ramen spot, which will be hard as the food here was great, but I cannot justify such rude and unhelpful service from a manager of all people.

Very good place to go get some ramen, I had the lunch time special ramen which was good value, but if your order from the lunch time menu. they will make you wait very long time to get your order as they will serve other before you even if they ordered after you.

Nice cute little dinning place, you order and pay at the counter before you sit. Love the interior decoration, you can hang your bags and clothes on the hooks behind you. The food is generally around a tenner, I had their signature ramen, the toppings were great, I loved the eggs. The broth is okay, tasted like one of those Japan fast food chains, but for the price you’re paying, this is worth every penny. The noodles are normal in terms of softness, I’d prefer firm noodles. There’s plenty of seats, don’t have to wait around.

Best ramen in Waterloo. The service is fast and the ramen are delicious and furthermore everything is affordable!

This restaurant is counter-service. Too bad that is not clear when you enter. Little thing to improve though, a sign would do just fine. The meal was excellent. The prices they charge are absolutely great, having a meal and share a side for less then 25 pound for 2 people is just amazing for London. Could find any fault in the meal. The ramen were perfect. Katsu chicken was spicy but not too much for my taste. I really did enjoy my meal

Always wanted to try Gyudon and chose this restaurant as it's one of the very few in the city that sells it. Was not disappointed, it was absolutely delicious and was sold for a pretty good price. Service was a little slow, but it was to be expected as the restaurant was quite busy. If I'm ever passing through Southwark again, I'll be sure to drop by here for another beef bowl.

Not the best veggie range. But the tofu ramen is amazing, full of flavour. A real gem for lunch. Will be back for more ramen 🍜

Great Ramen in a traditional setting.

Japanese food and especially ramen at super fair prices

A restaurant that treats children poorly is not a restaurant worth going to, because I don't think you would treat your friends and family that way. We have a child under two years old and asked him to give us a baby seat. He insisted that it was not safe to put a baby seat in the seat we were inside and that it would be safe to sit near the bar. Do you think it is safer for a child under two years old to sit in a seat without any backrest? Would you treat your own child or a friend's child like this? We asked for an extra chair, hoping that the child could sit alone instead of being held, which would make it impossible to eat. We needed an extra chair to put coats, because the entire seat was occupied by coats, making it impossible to sit. But this gentleman I insist on not giving, I hope you are just a waiter, because if you are the boss, I will be speechless. All this bad service would be fine if the food was good. The highlight is that I also had a mediocre bowl of ramen. It doesn't have any special features. I really can't understand why it has a bad attitude?