Brought to you by chef Tim Anderson, winner of Masterchef 2011, Nanban has been described as 'like Wagamama on acid.' Anderson's Japanese soul-food style ramen bowls are influenced by the cooking at Brixton Market, so they each have distinct modern and global flavours.
The menu is not very large, but it is certainly not limited to ramen. The classic chicken katsu curry features whole, butterflied, boneless, breaded and fried free-range chicken thigh katsu with multigrain rice and a special Anglo-Japanese curry sauce, and the chicken katsu curry nuggets incorporate all these same flavours into bite-sized form. There is also a spicy little chicken salad with poached chicken and vegetables dressed in a chilli oil vinaigrette, topped with crushed sesame and fried shallots.
Nevertheless, the noodles are the star attraction. The Tokyo Modern Ramen is the bestseller, with its chicken broth, bamboo shoots, spring onions, bean sprouts, nori oil, fried shallots, and katsuobushi powder; but the vegan Ramen Siciliano is also a classic - featuring rich tomato mushroom broth topped with Sicilian aubergine relish, padron peppers, fried shallots, basil, nori oil, spring onions, shaved fennel, and crunchy noodles. The menu also has the likes of the Aubergine Katsu Curry Ramen and the Chicken Katsu Curry Ramen, each with noodles, corn, pickled ginger, spring onion, and fried shallots in a curry broth. Diners feeling experimental can elect to top their ramen with some of the Nanban ramen add ons like the smoky tea-pickled egg or some spicy bamboo shoots, and of course there are kids' ramens available if you need a smaller portion.
Drinks are nothing particularly special, but who needs something crazy when you have ramen? Elect for one of the canned soft drinks or chilled Oolong tea to wash down your meal, and get ready to dig into your ramen.