Sankara-men 山旮旯拉麵 in Birmingham

The set meal is filling enough, but the taste is really bad. . . . . . No next time

Good store for all things Asian...

The ramen was pretty bad, don't understand all the great reviews.

I have no idea how this place has the reviews it does when both the ramen noodles and soup are subpar. The noodles texture was undercooked, the soup was bland and lacking flavour or punch. Then there's the chicken - somehow too tender and completely artificial, and egg, which although was nicely runny was devoid of flavour. Nothing in the ramen goes together, and with the current rating it was a completely dissapointingly dinner.

it would be wonderful if the price a bit cheaper

Hidden place with great Ramen....really rich chicken broth

Heard from their Facebook page the restaurant is closing down next month . My daughter loves their ramen so much so we came today . Chicken ramen is our favourite the best chicken breast we ever had .

The set menu is pretty good value. Ramen is fine, the chicken are tender. I would give the matcha latte a miss though.

Pork bone soup base is delicious😋

One of the best ramen in the UK!!! Its upstairs of a supermarket, can get a little hot at times but definitely worth the sweat :)

good service and excellent food for the price; the only thing is that it’s inside a supermarket, and we spent ages trying to find it! highly recommend 👍🏻

Their soup is what makes their dishes great. And although most of their ramen are served with chicken, their chicken has good texture. Their set menu price is worth!

Decent choice with view of supermarket 🛒😉

It's a hidden gem in Bringmingam. It's located in an Asian supermarket and it's easy to miss this restaurant. You can dine in to order at the ground floor and you can find a seat on the first floor. They will deliver your food. The chicken broth ramen is so tasty. The soup is amazing and you won't feel thirsty after drinking the soup so I guess there's no MSG. The chicken is very tender and delicious. Noodle is normal. The egg is very good. Also, there're a lot of toppings including seaweed, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, black fungus, and preserved vegetables. Unfortunately there's no pork broth ramen, but the chicken broth is awesome, recommend to try. Spicy Miso ramen is good but I will pick chicken broth again next time 😁

Upstairs in the supermarket. One of the best Ramen places in the City. They also have attractive deals and interesting specials. Worth a go if you're in the city

Ordered a set with shrimp ramen as main, deep fried chicken as side and barley tea as drink (£18 as the shrimp ramen is the special ramen so it’s a bit more expensive). The shrimp ramen broth is super rich in umami flavour, and the shrimps are light flamed and very fresh too. The egg is perfectly cooked, and the wood fungus and bean sprouts can cut the greasiness, but the bamboo shoot is a bit too strong in flavour so it fights against the broth. However, the side fried chicken is super juicy and well seasoned, which finish the whole meal perfectly. The restaurant is on the ground floor and is part of the Chinese supermarket, the upper floor has seating area and the restaurant owner will bring the food up to you.

Ramen lover always take trip to explore ramen shop. Am disappointed this time noodle texture worse and soup is tasteless. It took too long to serve.

I was looking forward to trying this new Japanese ramen restaurant but unfortunately, I was rather dissapointed. I got the miso butter corn ramen. The broth was ok but the chicken was sooo weird... It was soft, perhaps far too soft and felt like "fake chicken" (the type you'd make for vegans perhaps). It was flavourless too and just super weird. We also got a plate of fried chicken, which was nice and tender but it was £6 for like 6 tiny pieces, which was a total rip-off! I would love to have been able to give a more positive review but sadly, it's not the case. I'd like to give them another chance by trying something else but also don't want to waste my money on another "meh" meal...

I found this ramen authentic! Nice flavors and very tasty!

Amazing Little place to eat, The staff are wonderful, food was served quickly. The Ramen was amazing, Would definitely try if in the area!

The lady who prepared and served our food was so friendly! Amazing warm energy. I would highly recommend their miso butter corn ramen and the warm miso drink while it's still available ❤️

Great supermarket and staff were really friendly. Didn't eat here but it smelled amazing.

Friendly staff and amazing food, I also love the location. Super clean and nice. I also lost my headphones there and they kindly mailed them back to me 😂 10/10

Delicious Ramen! we’ll be back!

One of the tastiest places in Brum, I love the Spicy Miso Ramen. Great lunch meal deal - side, main and drink for £16/£17 (depending on choices). Well worth a visit, order downstairs (cash only) then sit above in the eating area and have tasty morsels delivered to your table :) Thanks again, see you soon!

Ramen is quite good in Birmingham but not the best one. The chicken broth is very rich and tastes like no MSG was added during the process. It is kind of self service on the upstairs as you have to find your seat upstairs and take your own utensils to the table. The staff will help you bring the ramen to upstairs. However it takes a bit longer than I expected to get my noodles as I was the only customer at that time and I have waited for around 20-25 minutes before getting my noodles.

今次係第二次黎撐佢哋。拉麵的好味程度可以跟Manchester的鬼佬廚師有得比！ 老闆也可能不知道我每次都係坐成三個鐘車過黎撐佢哋！

I went after work for my evening meal whilst visiting Birmingham, I was welcomed and explained how to order and pay, as this wasn't immediately obvious. (Which I think is the only area this restaurant could improve, it was a little confusing to order) The restaurant was nice and clean and tidy. I paid with Card at the main supermarket till as the restaurant is inside the supermarket. Shortly after I received my ramen and Gyoza and both were excellent and very tasty. The broth was great and the pork belly was amazing, everything worked well together. I will almost certainly return when visiting Birmingham. The atmosphere was great, quite a few diners and being able to look out at the supermarket was a fun novelty. You could also see if there was anything you wanted to buy afterwards from the raised seating area. 10/10 had a great time and meal. Thank you!

Are you looking for the best Japanese fried chicken you’ve probably ever tasted? Scratch that, the best fried chicken - period. Sankara-men is a hidden jewel in the thriving culinary city that is Birmingham. There are a lot of restaurants that’ll claim to have the best fried chicken, there are restaurants with social media hype that’ll CONVINCE you they got it right- but believe me when I say- until you have Sankara-men’s fried chicken… you have no idea. For a mere £6, you will be presented with a plate fresh from the (tiny) kitchen. It’s so fresh it will be still be juicy, the chicken will sing with memories of how it has been seasoned, marinated and soaked before being deep fried. I can’t emphasise that his enough- this is the best Japanese fried chicken I’ve ever had, London restaurants have nothing on this modest team. If you are in the area and you enjoy a side plate of chicken with your ramen (they do other dishes)- then do yourself a foodie favour and come here. Full disclosure. This restaurant is on a mezzanine inside a supermarket. So you are going into a rather unusual setting. But do not let this phase you- you must be brave. Listen to the inner foodie that resides in your heart. Take your bestie, take a someone you know is not put off or persuaded by images alone- and come here to eat what is the best chicken you’ll likely ever find. Peace x

I was genuinely surprised by how good this was. Chicken ramen is not my favourite but I still really enjoyed it! Decently flavourful broth, good noodle texture, juicy chicken and delicious egg. Only criticism is that the menma tasted a bit weird, but it was fine when eaten all together. £10 is VERY reasonable, they take card and the service is friendly. Loved the free barley tea too. Was it the best ramen I've ever had, no, but it definitely did the job and helped me miss Japan a little bit less :) Will be coming back!

Good ramen place with nice ppl 😁

Set menu was great, ramen was tasty but noodles were a bit undercooked.

Tasty meal and it’s really affordable. Friendly staff!

Little ramen cafe inside a store. Rich broth good portion. Fried chicken is so tender and juicy. Defo gonna visit again!

For something cheap and cheerful, I would recommend. It is cash only. But they have a nice afford meal deal, of starter, main and a drink for £15. I went for the chicken ramen, simple dish. Broth was packed with flavour and creamy at the same time. Which is what you would expect from ramen broth. The chicken was nice and tender not too dry, still moist in the middle. The ramen noodles, itself had a good bouncy texture, the broth quite happily hugged itself against it, as you picked it up to eat.

Well worth the £18 for a tonkatsu ramen, karaage and a drink. Better than the mainstream ramen place ive had.

Friendly and helpful staffs🫡 We had a pork ramen and chicken ramen, the soup tastes really rich! The meat are so tender🥰 Also the price is very reasonable, you couldn’t find a place to beat their price with 1 main dish, 1 side dish and 1 cold soft dinks just £15!! Highly recommend to all of my friends and I will definitely back again and again!!!🤤🤤🤤

Wonderful staff, great taste of Japanese soup either pork or shrimp. The soup is really rich and thick, with lovely cooked ingredients. Tasty x 100.

Yummy Japanese Reman with amazing service. The meal set is a great deal for a main, a set and a drink.

Tasty chickren broth ramen and deep fried chicken. Friendly and helpful staff. I will definitely come back.

It’s so stuffed there… didn’t got a place but the food has to be amazing Get a reservation!!

拉麵湯底值得一試 雞肉是慢煮雞肉 鮮嫩 蝦湯味道不錯 不過湯底可以在厚身一點

It's not authentic Japanese ramen noodles. It's ok but there were no depth neither umami flavour in broth. Noodles were straight and no chewiness as if I was eating overcooked spaghetti.

It's inside the shop then you sit upstairs or outside. Great ramen, friendly staff and great value. Edit: just went again, and it was delicious again.

We had the pork ramen. This ramen was super authentic and incredibly good. After just coming back from Japan I can say it was really up there with some of the best ramens I’ve had.

Best ramen I've had in the UK for a reasonable price. I recommend the miso butter ramen🧈 🍜, which complements the thicker curly noodles that they serve. The noodles could be alittle more springy and the seasoned egg could have a runnier yolk, but otherwise everything is good.

Tiny place - HUGE on flavor 🍜🥟 Located inside a Japanese grocery store, it is hard to miss. Make sure you don't. It's a tiny window with a 'chalkboard specials'. The host/server/chef is really helpful and guides you through your ramen experience. I got the Tonkotsu ramen (🐷 belly) and boy it was delicious. The broth was tasty and creamy - not a sensation out of place. The noodles were just on the al-dente side of things initially but this works; as they cook to completeness in the hot broth , they absorb the flavours beautifully. The boiled egg was perfect and everything just worked right. I also tried the chicken broth ramen - not as great as the pork broth but, honestly, I can't complain. I can only say this because I also got the pork broth. If you're a chicken fan - go for this one. The slices of chicken breast were juicy and tasty. For starters I HIGHLY recommend the deep fried chicken tatsutaage - the hostess recommended it as their best seller and I can see why. Perfectly crispy on the outside and amazingly moist on the inside. BEWARE: they are hot as lava so let it cool down - no matter how much your mouth says you want it. Ill be back ! Thank you !

Absolutely stunning food. Authentic flavours and very reasonably priced. Would highly recommend

Good portions and value. Fried chicken was super good!

朋友說英國沒甚麼美食，好吃的亞洲菜就更少，但想不到來到伯明翰都有拉麵吃。點了豚肉叉燒拉麵、雞白湯拉麵和炸雞，拉麵用雞湯稠度適中味道不濃，叉燒同雞肉有火炙香，尤其雞肉非常嫩滑；炸雞表面少炸粉，咬下除了肉嫩，竟然還有肉汁滲出！之後跟店員閒聊，他謙稱英國能買到的亞洲食材有限，煮的雞湯不夠好，不過能煮出這個水平的麵我覺得已很不錯。他見我初來伯明翰，還熱情地說有需要可來餐廳找他幫忙🙏🏼

Not sure why my review is disappeared..anyway. Highly recommend the deep-fried chicken. It's amazingly juicy and tender thanks to the perfect cooking time (tbf chicken beast is the most difficult portion to cook it well but they manage it👍) . Also appreciate the condensed chicken soup ramen, its richness has impressed me a lot. Overall, the meal deal (1 main, 1 side, 1 drink) cost £15 only, much cheaper than other ramen restaurants but tasted better. Worth a second visit when I next travel to Birmingham!

No credit card payments available for eating in

上一次嚟食已經差唔多幾個月，見到佢新出左一隻豚骨叉燒拉麵，雖然比起其他湯底貴幾鎊，但係作為豚骨湯底愛好者既我都忍唔住試下。 湯底係雞白湯再加豬骨濃湯，幾rich。日式叉燒整得好軟腍，入口即溶嘅感覺😍麵質正常幾好食☺️真係成碗連湯底都飲晒。 我哋叫咗個套餐，包埋小食同嘢飲，小食真係一定要叫唐揚炸雞，雞肉肉質鮮嫩，入邊爆汁，新鮮炸起熱辣辣，極好食。當然調味上比較偏向啱重口味嘅人😋但overall 真係我係Birmingham 食過最好食既唐揚炸雞呢😋 麥茶好岩我食完拉麵refresh 番😆正 期待試其他唔同嘅湯底☺️

Sankara-men is a hidden gem of a noodle shop located inside a Chinese supermarket in Chinatown. The entrance is not very noticeable and can easily be missed, but you can identify it by the yellow Sankara-men sign next to the grey door. Their signature dish is the chicken white broth ramen, which is the best ramen I've had in the UK so far. The broth is perfectly balanced, the chicken is tender and smooth, and the fried toppings are delicious. The set meal also comes with a cold coke with lemon, which I love so much. 🥰👍🏻 #KissKidsFamily

I was expecting long lines due to the positive reviews but at least during lunch hours it was very quiet. The miso ramen i had was very good and super cheap for UK. Also cute and very nice guys behind the counter 👍 Don't miss if you are a Ramen lover visiting Bham.

Very nice Ramen in Birmingham, it's located in Chinese Quarter thus very convenient. It's just a bit difficult to find. But if you find the supermarket, it's easy, it's just inside the supermarket! Support HongKonger's business 香港人加油!

A solid 7/10 It was cash only. Highlights: beautiful plating of ramen. friendly staff who were willing to help get extra sauce for the karaage. Soup base was not too salty. The noodles were cooked just right so they didn't become too soggy as you finish your meal. Very good value for money if you get a menu (£15 for a drink, ramen, and side dish. Upgrade for £1 or £2 for more bougey ramen) Could be better: the soup base was a bit bland in the beginning but the flavour was mostly there at the end - from the amazing reviews, I expected a little better, but perhaps I just had very high expectations. The beansprouts were quite bland. The karaage was also not very krispy, but it was very fresh! It took some time to come out though, so it didn't come with the ramen. The toilets could also do with more cleaning. Overall worth a try! Maybe I'll get their chicken broth next time and see if it tastes better :)

Beautiful food. Absolutely amazing ❤️

Always bringing my child around and hesitated to eat here as its in upper floor. However, they are friendly and willing to take care of my baby stroller in ground floor. Price is reasonable around 15-17 pounds with noodles, snack and drink and they specially free me one more snack.Very high standard and imported from Japan . Very good taste and delicious, highly recommend all .

Food and service spot on. Broth was amazing, very friendly, will be back again

Since most of the customers are Chinese and HongKonger, I write the review in Chinese. 環境舒適, 光猛, 開揚. 兩個人去食點咗一飯一麵. 先講飯, 啲米好硬, 附三塊好似紅腸大小既 "雞肉", 但食落係彈牙的, 似齋鹵味多過似肉類. 10 鎊唔係貴但有點不值, 附近的 Asian 餐館反而仲好. 麵就有四/五款湯底選擇, 但麵底同餸菜一樣的, 塊 "雞肉" 一樣係似齋鹵味. 上枱賣相不俗, 同 display 出黎張相差不多. 但食落比較淡口, 爽口但不彈牙, 與香港的日式連鎖店差不多. 但與香港的拉面專門店仍有點距離 (更不用說日本本土的出品). 跟餐加咗份炸薯餅小食, 反而呢碟先係最好食既嘢, 乾身冇油香口, OK ! 考慮到呢邊物價, 11 鎊一碗麵唔算貴. 但個麵底有待改進 (是否因為這邊很難買到好麵底 ?) 繼續努力, 加油 !

메뉴로 드시면 가성비 좋은 것 같습니다. 전날 술먹어서 해장하러 갔어요. 양도 적당하고 닭고기 아니라 챠슈였다면 더 좋았겠지만 닭고기도 맛있었습니다 !

The food in the new menu is good. I love eating Udon. I will come again. The staff is very good

アジアンスーパーの中にあるラーメン屋さんです。 ラーメンはスープも麺もしっかり美味しく熱々で、全部飲み干しました。久しぶりにこんなに美味しいラーメンを食べて感動しました。 竜田揚げも本当に美味しいので、是非頼んでください。飲み物にはカルピスを頼みましたが、濃さがちょうど良い！ その時の店員さんは中国人の方で、日本人から見て味はどうか、日本のものに近いかなどの感想を聞かれました。話を聞いてラーメン、竜田揚げへのこだわりを感じました。日本人スタッフも働いているそうです。 全部大満足です！また来ます。

The food is very good and I love the food. Ordering the set is reasonable price. The staff is very nice and good.

The ramen shop opened by Hong Konger is close to the authentic taste of Japan, the fried chicken is juicy but slightly salty, will come again

Very good Japanese Ramen, almost the best in UK

似係香港食到的日式拉麵，麵質係日式的，白湯底都似香港或日式的。15磅包1主食1小食1飲品，真心抵。服務極好，可以添水。店家會問食物意見去改善，值得支持。最後太肚餓唔記得影相，下次補回。

Proper little gem! Some of the best, most authentic ramen we've ever tasted and the staff are absolutely lovely!

Best ramen in birmingham by far!!

From my experience as a ramen lover, among the countless ramen stores i have tried, hands down the most authetic ramen store you can find here, if not in the whole UK. absolutely amazing. the chicken is the best chicken i have had, very soft and juicy inside and crispy on the outside. definitely come.

湯濃面爽！限量叉燒好好食！炸雞好juicy! 值得推薦既拉麵黃店💛

The food was amazing, really tasty. The staff were so friendly and made us feel welcome which was lovely as we don’t know the area well! Would recommend to all friends and family

Wow this is the best ramen I've ever had at a restaurant. The chicken broth is great, it's creamy but doesn't feel so greasy or salty. The chicken slices themselves nice and plump and the egg yolk was a little runny too, so nice! I liked everything about the dish. I've tried a few top London ramen places, but this beats them. I hope ramen is like this in Tokyo, I plan to go one day. The lady behind the till is very smiley and approachable and the cook has a very caring presence when he bought the dumplings to us too.

Amazing ramen, you can tell the soup is not from MSG. It's so delicious. Will definitely come back.

Fabulous tasting shrimp Ramen with wonderful noodles. Also tried the crispy chicken and we all agreed it was the best chicken we had ever tasted. Lovely friendly staff and great efficient service. Also great value for money, Ramen, side dish and drink for only £15.00. Would highly recommend a visit.

Went today with my dad and brother and we all agreed it was the best Japanese ramen we have had in a long time. Very authentic Japanese broth and nice firm noodles. The crispy chicken side was so juicy with a crisp coating, a must try! I had a Hokkaido style butter and corn ramen and it was incredible. The broth was creamy and savoury and the melting butter added such a nice flavour. The service was brilliant too, friendly staff who explain the menu and ordering procedure with a smile really adds to the experience and to top it all off the price was amazing. 15 quid for a ramen, side and drink!! We will be back!!

10/10 loved the food will definitely come back and the staff are really helpful and the atmosphere is nice

超絶塩っぱい😓鶏白湯ラーメン、同じく超絶塩っぱい鶏胸肉唐揚げ。 全体的にはまぁそこそこでそこまで悪くはないが塩分強すぎ。 鶏唐はソミュールしているのか胸肉だがジューシー、但しこちらも相当塩っぱい。 英国補正しても★2

香港人開的日式拉麵店，點都要支持下、拉麵味道不錯，老闆服務態度友善，我叫了一個套餐£15裡面有一碗拉麵、一碗細型雞飯和飲品，因為飯要等，店員還擔心我肚餓送了一客餃子和熱茶給我們😄

Excellent ramen and quick service. Reasonably priced.

Hidden gem! We went there with a group of friends and they said it was the best ramen they had in the UK, I agree. I will definitely come back

Fantastic place! Small and hidden away, the food was incredible we had the vegetarian tomato soup option and was of the best ramens I have had 😍

My boyfriend kept saying how juicy the chicken was, and that he'd never had such juicy chicken before - and I haven't either! The staff are lovely and very welcoming. :)

Probably the best Raman I had in the UK. Home made noodles are the best. A truly hidden gem!

Great food, incredible smell, good sized portions, and really good price for the quality of the meal! I’d highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to try some good Japanese cuisine.

Friendly and warm place serving rare (in UK) type of ramen, "Chicken Broth Ramen"

The best customer service I have ever had!!!!! The food was so so so delicious!!! Well done guys!😊

Super casual food stop located inside an Asian supermarket in Birmingham's Chinese area.Ramen are simple but tadty and reasonably priced and service is polite and effective.Totally recommended for a quick lunch when around the area.

I am truly baffled at how good this was for the price. The food tasted great. The customer service was impeccable and the portions were really healthy. Will be coming back here for sure.

Hidden gem in China Town, Birmingham. In this Japanese/Korean supermarket, you’ll find delicious chicken broth ramen and deep fried chicken tatsutaage, juicy on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside! The staff were very sweet and attentive. I felt like I was in a K-drama (lol) eating inside a convenience store! Will definitely be back. 10/10 would recommend! 😊🍜😋

The ramen is made with good ingredients and a lot of care you can taste. Beautiful broth and soft chicken.

Imagine coming into a food store and having a delicious ramen. I was confused when coming in, however I saw the little stall and I was welcomed with a warm smile, I asked some questions and they helped me pick the ramen based on my preference. Once you're upstairs, food comes in quickly, great temperature and flavor. I was really blown away with the flavor and loved this little place.

呢間係一間香港人開嘅日式拉麵店，湯底、麵條同配料都食得出好有誠意，絕對唔馬虎，驚喜嘅位係雞肉好嫩滑，餃子炸得好，唔油膩！ Ramen restaurant managed by Hong Kong people with sincerity! The soup, noodles and toppings are great. The sliced chicken is soft and tender. Love the fried GYOZA too which is not greasy!

Like the soup which is authentic and the noodle is of the right texture. Recommended

Very nice Japanese ramen with a reasonable price.

Everything was perfect! Staff was extremely friendly. Atmosphere was very relaxing and happy. Its location is somewhat unusual, the seats are inside the Japanese/Korean supermarket, with stairs going up onto the mezzanine floor. The food was surprisingly good! The Ramen noodles tasted extremely similar to those you get in Japan. The soup, the noodles, the seaweed, and the rest of the ingredient was mesmerising. Service was lovely. Make me wish to live right next door to the venue and dine there everyday.

朋友大推在Birmingham的拉麵店，據說連麵都是自己做的，很有心的小店！ 味噌拉麵湯頭入口濃厚有驚喜，雞肉像是先慢煮再燒，很軟很多汁。 質素比名店不相上下。大推！ 小食也是即叫即炸，只是炸雞覺得可以稍稍再炸脆一點就更棒。

This is probably one of the top authentic Japanese Ramen you can find outside of London. Totally worth coming to have a bowl of hot ramen in such cold weather.

鶏白湯ラーメン、竜田揚げ、カルピスのセットを食べました。 日本でオープンしても売れるのではないかと思うぐらい美味しかったです。 ラーメンが美味しいのはもちろん、竜田揚げはジューシーでカルピスの濃さもちょうどよく、全てが完璧でした。 また、店員さんもフレンドリーでした。