Restaurants / Reviews
Tonkotsu, Baldwin Street: ‘The queue is worth it’ – restaurant review
In my days of carefree abandon, I would often end up with a group of friends at La Rocca nightclub on the Clifton Triangle, patiently waiting in a large queue outside before we were able to sample its subterranean delights.
The queue always seemed to be there despite the fact that once inside, the place was often barely half-full.
There must be something inherently human about seeing the popularity of something and wanting to be part of it.
is needed now More than ever
And so it was, on a recent evening, that my wife, two daughters and I made our way to Baldwin Street in order to join a queue.
This queue was for Tonkotsu, a new ramen restaurant that is undoubtedly one of the most popular new openings of the year so far in Bristol, with the queue no marketing gimmick but a surefire sign that this place is doing something right.
All of the noodles, broths, katsu curries, gyoza and sides at Tonkotsu are made from scratch – photo: Martin Booth
Painted on one wall of Tonkotsu is the phrase: “If you don’t make your own noodles, you’re just a soup shop.”
In the story of the founding of this growing chain, it’s what a Japanese ramen chef said to Emma Reynolds and Ken Yamada on a visit to Japan after they had begun Tonkotsu as a pop-up in 2011 before opening their first restaurant in Soho the following year.
From my days of carefree abandon to family man, I have learned to listen to what my daughters tell me in the same way that Emma and Ken listened to this wise old man.
And after a few bites of her Tokyo ramen (£13.45) – a chicken broth and soy sauce base, with noodles, marinated braised pork belly, and bamboo shoots – daughter number one told me that we were definitely returning to Tonkotsu for her birthday meal in a few months’ time.
I listen to what my wife tells me too, and she was just as enamoured by her Japanese mushroom miso (£11.95); while my youngest daughter was busy creating her own mini ramen as part of a ‘cheeky chicken’ kids bento (£7.45 including a drink), with each constituent part separated so she could add what she wanted into her broth.
My kakugiri ramen (£11.95) had a subtle salty kick thanks to its chicken broth and sea salt base, with chunky pork belly pieces invitingly falling apart ready to be devoured in order to allow the people in the queue outside their own taste of Tonkotsu.
The queue outside Tonkotsu is a sign of its popularity since opening – photo: Martin Booth
Tonkotsu, 4 Baldwin Street, Bristol, BS1 1SA
www.tonkotsu.co.uk/locations/bristol
Main photo: Martin Booth
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