Tonkotsu Mare Street in Hackney

My daughter treated me to a Mother's day lunch. We shared a combined starter of chicken karage and prawn gyōza. Both were delicious and a bargain at £10. We both had a small bowl of Kakugiri ramen soup. A wonderful bowl of flavourful chicken broth, packed full of chewy ramen and chunks of melting pork belly with half a soy braised egg. Really filling and a bargain at under £8. Lovely service and well worth a visit.

.. for Tonkotsu ramen. Great place to get out of the rain, quick service and friendly staff .. the gyozas were excellent .. have had better tonkotsu broth but the ramen bowls still hit the spot. Great cocktail options but we stuck to a mocktail. The prices are purse-friendly.

Just popped in after a Hackney Empire show with my wife and loved it. Very friendly service, gave us printed memos as we hate using the QR code, lovely cocktails, not bad at £7..50, delicious edamame beans, gyoza and a ramen each. Absolutely superb ramen. The noodles were best we've had outside of Japan.

Every single thing went wrong here, in a case of systematic ruination of what should be a pretty simple experience. We were looking for something simple and quick before a concert nearby. What could be more dependable than ramen, right? Check the website, they don't do reservations it says, so we go and turn up. First question on the door, "do you have a reservation?" "No, because your website literally says not to book." Not a good start. Anyway, got sat down. It gets way worse. Only way to access a menu, order, pay, do anything, is via a QR code. Look, these things just don't work, ok? The missus finally gets on it, you add something, press back add another, the other thing is now not in the basket, etc, you know the drill over and over 'til you are lucky. THESE THINGS DON'T WORK, STOP IT! After what felt like an hour, the order has gone out. Worst bit about all that? You have to pay at the time. But it's a restaurant, I'm sitting down, I haven't decided whether you're worth that yet, nevermind the service charge you've smuggled in before anyone is actually served. Still, maybe the ramen will be good? And quick? Easily 45 minutes later and two requests for the food to hurry up and come, an anemic ramen makes an appearance. Tasteless broth, so unlike the full of depth broths we are all used to. Not one element was up to scratch, frankly. Compared to Eat Tokyo or even Shoryu this is not in the same league food-wise. Again, the website literally says "ramen is quick" and it was over 45 between order and having the ramen on the table. If I wanted a leisurely dinner, I'd go for a place which does that! Took ages and several attempts to get glasses of tap water. Just give it at the beginning. Who could possibly eat ramen without drinking water? It is incredibly thirst-inducing. In a way I felt worry for the staff. Rushed off their feet. Two on as far as I could say, and one of them always on the bar at the front. Oh, any the ubiquitous Uber etc collections prioritised the whole time. End this madness! Any pros? Gyoza was ok. Other than that, no. 1/5. It really is a simple thing done incredibly poorly. Left positively upset.

I would love to commend the kitchen team and Noemi who were just amazing. The food was super yummy and I'll defo be back. I'm vegan and the offers are awesome. Love this place and I love this side of town!!! So much love xxx

So thought we'd pop in for a quiet drink away from all the noise of the unhealthy obsession called football. Was told to take a seat and use the QR code. Tried that, we're in the back of a restaurant, NO SIGNAL. How on earth are people supposed to use a QR code when there is no signal. All it takes is for someone to take an order and come up with a contactless POS machine. NOT rocket science.

I came here for a quick lunch, had to order via the app due to social distancing. The tonkotsu ramen came quickly. The broth was nice and milky in colour. The char siew was disappointing being very dry.

My colleagues have been here before so this time took me here for lunch. They said "you'll love it". They were right. The place has a nice interior and it was not busy as it was about 12 noon. We chose from the lunch menu. It is about £10 for a small ramen and a choice of 3 Gyoza. I had the pork Gyoza which were yummy and the sauces are good accompaniments. The Yasai curry ramen was delicious and I could have easily eaten a massive bowl of it. I have nothing to complain about, the service was good and I really enjoyed my food. I will go here again with my colleagues. Go here if you work around Hackney Central.

Really loud music, we ordered ramen and my egg was completely cold. It doesn't feel cosy and relaxing.

This restaurant seems to have improved over the last 6 months -- new menu with more choices other than noodles. I had seafood ramen which was very tasty and arrived quickly -- generous amount of king prawns, small fried prawns, crab meat and wakame. Added the chilli oil to give it a bit of kick. Recommended for tasty lunch.

Although the ramen was really good our experience was marred by an unfriendly staff member who seemed to be pissed off when we asked to pay with card rather than cash (after an extended wait after the bill was placed on our table when we had originally asked to pay). I assume this was because there was no option to add a tip on the card machine. I left with a feeling of guilt which affected our overall experience, I would not rush back there or recommend it to others.

Tried this branch of Tonkotsu chain for a quick lunch -- tasty special of gyoza plus chilli chicken ramen. The noodles were good, though not remarkable, and needed some extra chilli oil for pep. The restaurant is a large cavern which echoes with loud pop music so not terribly relaxing. Staff were attentive but loud talk from the open kitchen echoed around the restaurant. I recommend nearby Vietnamese for noodles and salad.

I like the location very much, but I have often been disapointed by the ramen there, 90% of it semi cooked noodle with a couple of bamboo shoot and three mushrooms (my last order was the miso mushroom one), they are affordable and I my expectation are reasonable, but I still feel that the kitchen couldn't care less about variety and balance in their dish, it seems like they are throwing the leftovers in a broth and hoping for the best really. Could really improve on the vegeterian option (I can't comment on the rest of the menu)

We got the gyoza and the tonkotsu ramen. It was enjoyable but not my favourite ramen spot. I didn’t rate the homemade noodles at all. It kind of tasted like it had milk/cream in it? I know tonkotsu is meant to be rich from the bone broth but it wasn’t like any tonkotsu that I’ve had in Japan..

This was a back up plan, as our first choice was unfortunately unavailable. Ramon very pretty average, gyoza's were very good, but it all seemed a little overpriced. Good service.

I visit this restaurant often with my family and as a couple. Food is well priced and will fill you up. Flavours are good and there's a great selection of Ramen and sides. It is by no means fine dining but its clean, fresh and I'm always happy. Really well priced considering some of the other restaurants in the area.

tonkotsu is a sweet place serving nice drinks and food. we came in a group of 3 and felt very comfortable. The service was very friendly

I always come back to this place. White broth pork ramen is the best ! So delicious and perfect for cold wintery evenings. Wish I caught the name of our lovely waiter, but he was super attentive, positive and nice to talk to. Local gem!

It’s pretty easy to find the location of this resturant. Walk in at around 8pm Saturday night, the store is still pretty busy. So if you are coming in a larger group might consider rvsp if this option is available. Tried their tokyo Ramen -...

We had lunch today at this restaurant. Please see the great experience we had over there: It was cery cold inside and it was a rainy day. Music was so loud, house music for a Sunday lunch. Couldn’t sit down on the sofas because they...

I really liked the interior of this restaurant. Good choice of food. My vegetarian friend was very happy with his ramen. Other friend was happy with the chicken ramen. I got the tonkotsu (suggested dish) and I would say it had a special flavour however...

The broth was quite weak but the noodles were handmade and nice. Not a bad choice for quick ramen. Had some appetisers. Nothing stunning. The chicken dumplings tasted exactly like the pork ones.

Having recently been to Japan, I was hesitant to try a London ramen - I was pleasantly surprised! The Chilli Chicken Ramen (as seen in photo) was very tasty. There was a generous amount of chicken, flavoursome broth and chilli oil on table to add...

Not the best ramen in London but the place is cosy and close to home. The gyozas were blunt, ramen was quite thick but not strong enough for my taste. The meat a little tough. The do their own noodles which are good.

I'm a fan of ramen and I was told to come to try out this place. There was nothing wrong about the place but I simply didn't like it much. It wasn't very tasty so I don't think I will come back.

Fantastic food and well priced. Both the pickled cucumbers and cabbage are wonderful starters along with the king prawn Katsu. Oh and the sweet potato Korokke is also a bit good! The Edamame Beans come whole, still in their pods which we've never come across...

We got to Tonkatsu around 9 and were greeted by smiling staff. The place is warm and cosy with a great manga’s wallpaper to read in case you have to wait! The service was quick and friendly and the ramen of a high quality. Will...

Lucky find before before heading to Amy McD concert next door! Service was slow but staff were friendly. Small menu, decent ramen but not much ingredients on the bowl but it does compete decently against the pho and wags of this world rather well. The...

Hello tonkotsu. I left you for a while - to be honest because there are loads of other food places to pick from in Hackney. But I returned tonight and I must say - lovely. Noodles are almost aldente, veg crunchy and broth sooooo tasty....

The Ramen was very good. I've lived in Japan & eaten many Ramen and I would say this is the most authentic I've tasted in the UK. The dessert was also good. Nice décor & atmosphere.

Considerate service for new to me menu. Relaxed atmosphere. Easy to get to in traffic free location. Just right in all respects.

Despite good rating and great reviews on Google, we were not lucky at all with the experience at Tonkatsu on Saturday lunch time. Me and two of my friends ordered their signature Tonkatsu ramens and homemade kimchi to share, with three bottles of Coke to...

This place has become a firm favourite for us. We really like ordering the small plates to share, so that we can have a variety of different things but the ramen bowls are good too. Everything tastes super fresh and flavoursome!

Very nice atmosphere and nice decor. Friendly staff and quick service. The portions are big so if you are a small eater you can share a dish.

I have been to all branches of Tonkotsu in London and think this one is the best. The service has always been awesome and I've never left without finishing everything. I've tried the Tonkotsu, Tokyo and Chilli Chicken ramens. The Chilli is the best. My...

I ended up here by chance. I was meant to go to another place, but the kitchen was about to close so my friends and I searched for the nearest restaurant...and that's how I was introduced to Tonkotsu. To say we were pleasantly surprised is...

I only discovered this place back in November and I wasn't expecting much in Mare Street to be honest, however I was bowled over by what is basic Japanese street food they had packed flavour and texture into what were appear to be two very...

The place is really cool, super nice staff, and the food is amazing. Basically everything is homemade, from the noodles to the soy marinated eggs. Really nice selection of beers too. They also have an outstanding selection of Japanese whiskeys (cocktails are nice too). I...

This is our favourite place to go and get a bowl of tasty Pho. The dumplings are also really tasty!!

This restaurant's decor it's very simple but beautiful. They serve great ramen and other side dishes. I had the seafood ramen and the vegetarian gyozas and they were both delicious. They also have a very interesting selection of beers, sake and Japanese spirits. The service...