Kumamoto Ramen
What can you tell us about Nanban?
Up until the opening, Nanban was best known as the roving residency (and cookbook) by MasterChef winner Tim Anderson. His food has always had a southern Japanese influence and that's come to life in this Brixton izakaya (aka Japanese pub) and ramen shop.
Where is it?
Just around the corner from Brixton station. It's almost easy to miss as the words "theatre restaurant" are more prominent than the restaurant's name itself (left over from a previous resident) but as a result it does look like the perfect marriage between British pub and izakaya.
Where should we sit?
You can pop up in for a drink and a snack downstairs or head upstairs where there are some larger booths too (where we sat). It's mainly stools and counters though, so grab a space where you can (although you can book ahead).
A VERY good burger
And what should we order?
You're looking at starters and mains here - and the mains have a distinct ramen focus to them. But we'd suggest you order as many of the snacks as you possibly can to kick things off.
On the night we visited, particular praise went to the electric eel (smoked eel with sansho pepper, prickly oil, green apple, cucumber and daikon - £7.50) and some excellent Achoo and saltfish korokke (japanese croquettes - £4.50) which were devoured in double quick time. The Yaki-omo (baked sweet potato - £3.50) is also a must.
While the ramen is a big focus of the menu (and it's top notch) don't let that distract you from the Sasebo Burger (£12). Anderson has been known to take part in the odd burger-off and this really shows - an excellent milk bun, burnt garlic mayo and gochujang butter with American cheese and pork belly made this a burger that is among the best we've tried.
Oh, and the chips were AMAZING. We're not sure how he managed to make them so soft on the inside without over-crisping them, but kudos.
Plus we'd also recommend the Brixton Market salad (£4) which is pulled together from whatever's available from the nearby market that day - that was excellent as a side dish.
As for dessert - we'd heard that there was Japanese soft ice cream - aka Whippy San. But - sadness - this wasn't on the menu when we visited.
And drinks?
There are cocktails are that are mainly shochu and sake based, but we stuck to the beer menu this time - with the collaboration between Nanban and Pressure Drop definitely the one to go for.
Overall
Nanban's a great addition to Brixton and is perfect as a neighbourhood izakaya which makes a great alternative to the nearby pubs. The prices are pretty keen and that burger is absolutely wonderful. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.
Nanban is at 426 Coldharbour Lane London, London SW9 8LF. Find out more about Nanban.
Hot Dinners were invited to try the food at Nanban. Prices were correct at the time of writing.
