Worth your attention right now
Central · Donburi · City Lunch
Donburi
Beef Ramen, large — the pick of the menu
This was my third visit to Donburi, a little rice-bowl specialist tucked behind St Paul’s in the City, run by the team behind the izakaya Sakaba next door. In Japan we have a shorthand for what makes a good lunch — hayai, umai, yasui: fast, tasty, cheap. Donburi hits all three, and in London, where genuine cost-performance is thin on the ground, that alone makes it worth knowing about. This time I went for the Beef Ramen in the large size.
Let me be honest first, because not everything here lands. On earlier visits I tried the curry rice and the karaage, and both left me cold. The curry tasted, to me, like it came straight from a pouch — retort curry; you can tell at once from the flavour (and if I’m wrong about that, my apologies). The karaage seemed to have been frozen: none of that crisp-outside, juicy-inside magic that good karaage lives on.
The beef, though, is another matter entirely. It is properly seasoned, the flavour cooked right through, and you can tell real care went into it — it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if you found it in Japan. It sits well on the ramen, too, though the noodles and broth themselves are ordinary: neither good nor bad, just the frame the beef hangs on.
Taken as a whole, the Beef Ramen is a top pick for a busy weekday lunch — quick, genuinely satisfying, and it filled me right up. Donburi is a lunchtime City spot; walk in, order the beef, and budget around £10–15 a head.
Address
9 Ludgate Square, EC4M 7ASArea
Central (City / St Paul’s)
Price
£10–15 per person
Pick
Beef Ramen
Nearest Tube
St Paul’s
Booking
Walk-ins · weekday lunch
Also by
Sakaba (izakaya, next door)