The secretive Mr Noodle serving some of Bristol’s best ramen

This story was originally meant to have a big reveal: unveiling the secret of Mr Noodle, the leader of a brigade of Michelin trained chefs in Bristol who cook ramen for fun.

But, alas, the eponymous Mr Noodle prefers to operate in the shadows and despite my protestations, he wants to stay there for now.

We met outside Chandos Social in Redland, where Mr Noodle currently has a summer-long izakaya and ramen bar pop-up as well as preparing food for delivery across the city.

Judging by the number of people walking down Chandos Road and greeting the chef by name, his secret identity is not that closely guarded.

For the purpose of this interview, however, he will solely be referred to as Mr Noodle and applauded for turning a lockdown project into one of Bristol’s most successful pop-ups of recent years, which has now expanded into a food truck coming soon to a market, event or festival near you.

Mr Noodle began during lockdown and now has a summer-long pop-up – photo: Martin Booth

Mr Noodle originally had the idea for the concept for Mr Noodle in 2017. “Ramen is is a way of life,” he explained on a recent sunny afternoon, sat under the awnings outside the pop-up.

“I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time in Tokyo. I just really admire the culture. And people who love ramen are so focussed on ramen, so serious about it, and I really bought into that.”

The ramen menu at the Mr Noodle pop-up includes teriyaki chicken, pork belly tonkotsu, Korean fried chicken and Korean pork tantanmen, as well as a vegan option with vegan dashi and tofu steak, with a smaller children’s ramen also available.

There are a dozen Japanese izakaya tapas to choose from including yamitsuki sesame cabbage salad, tsukemono pickled vegetables and eight-hour ox cheek.

And there is one dessert – green tea ice cream mochi, vanilla ice cream and toasted rice – but four different dessert drinks including a plum sake.

Ramen dishes at Mr Noodle costs from £12.90 to £15 – photo: Mr Noodle

“With ramen you can freestyle and make your own rules,” Mr Noodle said. “I started off cooking ramen as a fun hobby but it then became more and more involved.”

When lockdown hit, Mr Noodle decided that now was the time to put make his ideas a reality and launched first as a takeaway business from a dark kitchen, with just ramen and a couple of sides.

Regularly selling out, Mr Noodle continued to grow and then started pop-ups, beginning in the Good Chemistry taproom in St Phillip’s and appearing in other breweries in Bristol, Bath and Cheltenham, before making their first semi-permanent home at the Good Measure, Good Chemistry’s pub on Chandos Road.

The izakaya and ramen bar pop-up at Chandos Social started in May, with Japanese cocktails alongside the food menu to bring a bit of Tokyo’s street scene to the leafy environs of BS6.

“When it’s full of people inside, it’s very vibey,” said Mr Noodle. “Drinking whisky highballs and eating bowls of ramen and Japanese small plates.

“I’m just enjoying myself right now.”

Find the Mr Noodle izakaya and ramen bar on Chandos Road in Redland – photo: Martin Booth

Main photo: Mr Noodle

Read more: ‘Constantly changing dining hall’ coming soon

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