I had a feeling we'd end up in the south at some point but not as soon as number 3 but here we were near Waterloo. Yamagoya is a ramen chain from Japan (the first actually "originated from Japan" place we've come to on this) and so not necessarily the obvious place for a gyudon but there it is on the menu - in the other bits, "rice", section[1] . I guess that is similar to going to an udon restaurant (as at Koya) so fair enough. Yamagoya is actually a pretty old chain of restaurants from Kyushu dating back to 1969 and the website has some nice photos of that time.
Having already fallen behind schedule a little by 03 (which was supposed to be monthly), there is always a risk that the bottom could fall out of the project unless it is worth doing so I felt a little internal pressure in this one.
The Cut is a road near Waterloo and Southwark with two three (one is hidden, I have been informed) theatres and a number of eateries including Yamagoya but, even so, the Japanese styling of the shopfront does stand out a bit. Walking in, I looked for a door handle but noticed it was a sliding door on a button which I thought a nice touch[2] . Once inside, it was fairly obvious that this was a far more casual environment than we'd seen thus far and also that there was an active promotion effort to sell gyudon seen by the pictures at the entrance and inside. These three elements pointed to a very positive experience for me so my hopes were raised. Then I saw Paul seated at a table… Service was effectively self-service so there were no menus at the table but only at the counter so I went to have a look and we ordered two gyudon and a tofu ramen salad,[3] seeing that we were in a ramen shop. Once ordered, they said they would bring it over which I thought a bit odd. In a true Japanese style, the food came when it was ready rather than together which was, again, just what we wanted.
Beef on rice is all you need for a gyudon, but a little bit of egg can help it along a bit and so to see a soft boiled "onsen" egg placed on the gyudon was something that warmed the heart. There was no pickled ginger in the dish, normally a point of disappointment but, even better than this, there was a pot of pickled ginger to use. The excitement and anticipation was high!
Beef on rice is all you need for a gyudon, but a little bit of egg can help it along a bit and so to see a soft boiled "onsen" egg placed on the gyudon was something that warmed the heart. There was no pickled ginger in the dish, normally a point of disappointment but, even better than this, there was a pot of pickled ginger to use. The excitement and anticipation was high!
Digging in with the chopsticks showed that the volume of beef was not so high and the egg hid that fact a little bit so it would not necessarily be a filling bowl on its own. The beef was subtly flavoured and fairly light but was, of course, flavoured by the addition of egg. Having liberally sprinkled ginger over it too, (after having tried without), it was a pleasing combination but nothing special. I think, had I not tried other gyudons recently, I would have enjoyed this a lot more but it was actually quite average. Yamagoya is a ramen place and this was also a fairly cheap meal (the lowest so far) and with this in mind, it is an entirely acceptable gyudon but not one that I would travel for. We also received a tofu ramen salad which was a really nice mix of ingredients and quite refreshing and zesty. It worked very well as accompaniment and it made the size of the meal more appropriate.
In so many ways, Yamagoya is exactly the kind of slightly westernised version that Paul and I were looking for but I don't feel like it quite had it right overall. The casual setting, the counter ordering, the pickled ginger at the table and even the sliding door were all the details that I wanted to see. If I worked a little closer, I think I would go for lunch every so often as it seems a nice, quick meal that is the right size for lunch. I would not, however, travel too far for the gyudon but I imagine the ramen may be a little better and I will almost certainly return to try that out. Being a counter service kind of place is quite appealing and the fact you can eat and then walk out is a real draw to me - this could only be better if you ordered by vending machine. Maybe another branch will open.
In so many ways, Yamagoya is exactly the kind of slightly westernised version that Paul and I were looking for but I don't feel like it quite had it right overall. The casual setting, the counter ordering, the pickled ginger at the table and even the sliding door were all the details that I wanted to see. If I worked a little closer, I think I would go for lunch every so often as it seems a nice, quick meal that is the right size for lunch. I would not, however, travel too far for the gyudon but I imagine the ramen may be a little better and I will almost certainly return to try that out. Being a counter service kind of place is quite appealing and the fact you can eat and then walk out is a real draw to me - this could only be better if you ordered by vending machine. Maybe another branch will open.
Cost of gyudon: £7.50
49 the Cut, London, SE1 8LF
1. A little like the salads in McDonald's - which are not really there for you to order but really just to give breadth to the menu to look.↩
2. The vast majority of doors for eateries in Japan are on these sliding doors - I assume a riff on the sliding paper doors that you find in homes.↩1. A little like the salads in McDonald's - which are not really there for you to order but really just to give breadth to the menu to look.↩
3. This appeared to be a cold ramen without broth but a cold sauce to pour over the top.↩
