TONKOTSU is one of the newest restaurants in town and The Argus was invited to try it out.

What is it?

A Japanese ramen bar in the heart of Brighton, serving homemade noodles and broths alongside a selection of gyoza (dumplings), sides, sake, cocktails and craft beer, according to the website. The chain is well known in London but this is one of the first outside the capital.

Ramen? What exactly is that?

Essentially, it’s a Japanese noodle soup. It consists of Japanese egg noodles served in pork broth, flavoured with soy sauce or miso and served with toppings such as pork, chicken or prawns. Ramen is a Japanese adaptation of Chinese wheat noodles and is one of Japan’s most popular foods. Tokyo alone has 5,000 ramen restaurants. There’s even a museum devoted to it.

What does Tonkotsu mean?

It’s literally Japanese for “pork bones”. Traditional Tonkotsu broth is made from boiling pork bones in water for several hours. The result of this long boiling process is a creamy broth with a rich flavour. Admittedly, the phrase “pork bones” sounds better in Japanese.

What makes Tonkotsu different?

The noodles are made fresh every day, as are the broths, which are started from scratch each morning and allowed to simmer for maximum flavour.

Good atmosphere?

Very much so. Tonkotsu is relaxed, friendly with attentive staff. The decor is smart, with a slightly retro cafeteria feel. Service is quick, making it ideal if you are off to see something at the nearby Dome or Theatre Royal.

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What’s the food like?

Excellent. We started with a King Prawn Katsu (£6.95), four succulent prawns deep-fried in breadcrumbs and perfect for two people. For a main, we shared a bowl of the Tonkotsu house special (noodles topped with slices of roast pork, bamboo shoots, spring onions and boiled egg, £11.50) and the chilli chicken (noodles topped with pulled chilli chicken, mange tout, bamboo shoots, spring onions and egg, £10). There are veggie alternatives with soya and mushrooms. If you want to ramp up the heat, they do Geki Kara, a pork broth with scotch bonnet chilli (£11.95). It’s all very subtle, tasty and extremely filling.

What about drinks?

We enjoyed a couple of pints of crisp Japanese lager Sapporo. But there is also a selection of British craft beers and pale ales plus a limited wine list. There is also Lucky Saint alcohol-free lager. You can splash out and have some sake too.

Dessert?

You won’t want much after that, so the selection of ice cream sandwiches is perfect. We loved the salted caramel miso ice cream with Guinness chocolate cake and the malted milk parfait (both £5).

Anything we need to know?

Yes, how to order. Thanks to Covid (and the march of technology, of course) you order at your table on your phone. Call up the Tonkotsu website scanning the QR code on the table with your mobile, create an account with a login, choose your food, enter your table number and pay. Then it is brought to your table in the usual way. It’s either perfectly normal or a bit of a faff, depending on your age.

Do they do takeaway?

Yes they do. Click and collect or order via Deliveroo.

TONKOTSU, 20 New Road, Brighton

01273 695522 tonkotsu.co.uk

Monday to Sunday, noon to 10pm