Bone Daddies Ramen Review: London's Irreverent Take on Tonkotsu
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
London ramen has a tonkotsu problem. Walk into almost any ramen shop in this city and odds are you're getting some version of a pork bone broth. For a city this cosmopolitan, with as much culinary range as London has, I'd love to see more variety on the menu. Instead, tonkotsu has become the default.
This Bone Daddies ramen review (Leicester Square branch) is about the exception that makes London's tonkotsu obsession worth it anyway. There are eight branches across the city now, which tells you the chain has found a real audience. After trying a couple of their bowls, I get why.
The Menu's Personality
What sets Bone Daddies apart isn't just execution, it's attitude. The menu doesn't take itself too seriously, and that shows up in the bowls themselves. There are creative liberties you'd rarely see in a Tokyo tonkotsu shop, paired with a broth that's been built with real technique behind it.
It's tonkotsu, but tonkotsu that is having some fun.
Yuzu Tonkotsu
Yuzu Tonkotsu is essentially their signature tonkotsu broth given a bright citrus lift. It's thick and oily, almost like the low-and-slow style you'd find at Komaya in Hakata, Fukuoka — excuse the geekiness. Yuzu shows up throughout the bowl, which was a first for me in a tonkotsu, and I wasn't sure it would work.
It does: the yuzu's acidity and sweetness land right alongside the funk of the pork bone, cutting through it rather than fighting it. The whole bowl runs pretty salty, which fits. Both bowls (below too) run thin, Hakata-style noodles — I'd guess that's the house style across the whole menu.
Kani Tonkotsu
I'm not sure if this one's a permanent menu fixture or something more limited, but I hope it sticks around. The broth here is similarly creamy, with chili and black sesame worked into the base — a combination that plays well together. There's also a lemon edge running through it, adding some sweetness and acidity on top.
The soft-shell crab itself is the real statement. You will not find soft-shell crab in a tonkotsu bowl in Japan. It's a genuinely fun addition, and it works with the broth rather than just sitting on top of it as a gimmick.
Dessert: Salted Caramel and Ramen Noodles
If you needed more proof that Bone Daddies doesn't take itself too seriously, the dessert menu has salted caramel ice cream with bits of dried ramen noodles mixed in. It's a strange pairing, but a fitting punchline to a menu that's built around bending the rules a little.
The Bigger Picture
London's tonkotsu-heavy scene isn't going to change overnight, and I won't pretend it's not a little disappointing that there isn't more range out there. But Bone Daddies makes a case for leaning into tonkotsu rather than fighting it.
They build bowls that are technically solid but also willing to go somewhere a Japan shop normally wouldn't. That's a different kind of ramen experience, and it's one worth having.
Bone Daddies Ramen Review - Should You Go?
If you're in London and want tonkotsu that's doing something more interesting than the standard bowl, Bone Daddies is worth a visit.
The Yuzu Tonkotsu and Kani Tonkotsu are both worth trying if you can get both — they hit very different notes.
