If you’re a true ramen lover, Genkotsu Ramen might sound familiar to you. The Toowong restaurant is the second of its kind, the first opening in Runcorn a little more than a year ago. Partners Yasu Ikeda, Kaoru Hiranuma and Yoshi Nagumo have opened Genkotsu in Toowong, bringing traditional Japanese cuisine to the western suburb. The three men have drawn inspiration from their childhoods in Tokyo to create the cosy space – they wanted to move away from modern Japanese style and instead give the restaurant a 1960s-Tokyo vibe. Floor-to-ceiling frosted louvers spill matted sunlight into the space, while warm hanging lights cast shadows over the hand-painted red-brick walls and hand-burnt timber panels and booth seats. Yasu, Kaoru and Yoshi also commissioned Japanese printmaker Kay Watanabe to create two Japanese posters to add to Genkotsu’s Japanese feel, depicting memories of their childhoods in Japan.

What’s on the menu? Simple. All of the ramen. The chefs use traditional Japanese techniques and make everything with care – even the noodles get created and tasted a number of times to reach the perfect flavour and consistency. The tonkotsu broth is boiled for more than 12 hours, the nitamago (flavoured boiled eggs) are just half cooked and marinated in the Genkotsu original recipe sauce overnight, and the bamboo shoots and black garlic are treated delicately to remove excess salt and bitterness. Make your choice of original ramen from shio (salt), shoyu (soy), miso and gyokai (fish). If you want to step it up a notch, you can go for the special chashu, black garlic, karaage or tsukemen ramen, or go premium with soft-shell crab or prawn. Pair your delicious bowl of noodle broth with sides such as gyoza, prawn karaage and takoyaki, or a mini rice dish of teriyaki chicken or yuzu tuna.

For opening hours and contact details, head to our Stumble Guide.