Review of 'Ramen Dayo!'
While attending a conference at the nearby Glasgow SEC (Scottish Event Campus) we were anxious to get out of the complex and try some of the local restaurants. There were, as might be expected, many recommendations for where to visit but one that caught our eye was “Ramen Dayo!” which we were told served up some of the best (Japanese) ramen (noodle) dishes in town. So, off we were for a bit of lunch. Ramen Dayo! has two locations with the Finnieston one closest to the SEC on Argyle street. Outside it has the look of a traditional ramen bar so things looked good.
The interior of the small restaurant is similarly decorated making you feel like you had stepped into a noodle bar in Tokyo complete with Japanese posters on the wall lending a cozy feeling to the place though not somewhere you would want to spend a long time. There is seating on the ground floor and in a small loft area.
The menu is divided into Snacks, Sides, Gyoza Dumplings, Ramen (dominating the middle column and including optional extra toppings you can request be added), Katsu Dayo!, Donburi Ricebowl, a small “Kids Menu” and an even smaller “Desserts” section (matcha and black sesame ice cream). The prices are reasonable with the ramen dishes in the £13-£15 range (though the “deluxe” is £17.50).
I choose the “New Wave Tokyo Style (£13.50) which is described as “light chicken broth, chicken chashu, water spinach, spring onions, natuto maki, nori seaweed” with an option to substitute the chicken for pork for £0.50 (I stuck with the chicken but added, on the recommendation of the server, a aji-tama soft-boiled egg for £2.50). The broth was not terribly rich but really salty as they seemed to over done the soy sauce flavouring. The noodles were cooked al dente which is to my liking but others may find a bit too hard. The chicken was fine but not really full of too much flavour but the egg was amazing though, again, slightly too salty for my taste.
My companion, on the other hand, tried one of my all-time favourite Japanese ramen dishes “Tonkotsu 2.0” (£13.90) described as “pork broth, chasu porky belly, kikurage mushrooms, spring onions, nori seaweed” (she also added the egg for £2.50) which was full of flavour, particularly the pork belly and the rich pork soup. She found the portion size too much despite it looking not too big and it was simply too rich for her…I ended up finishing off her portion and it tasted a lot better than my dish.
On the side we decided to try another of my favourites from the top of the “Sides” menu “Chicken Karaage” (£6.90/£9.50/£12.50 depending on portion size) with mayonnaise which was quite underwhelming: The chicken was very try and quite chewy in small deep-fried pieces with the mayo nothing special. In karaage the chicken should be marinaded in sake/sweet rice wine and be incredibly juicy and tender, this was neither of these. A big disappointment.
Despite initial appearances the portion sizes were actually quite generous and care obviously went into the preparation of the food but the flavours were underwhelming and I was particularly disappointed with the karaage. A service charge of 10% was added to our bill which came to a total of £43.23 without drinks which I think is a bit pricey with the extras really adding up (£2.50 for an egg, albeit a specially prepared one that was quite tasty). Cheekily, when we were presented with the machine to pay by credit card it also asked if we wanted to add a SECOND tip onto the bill, which is quite deceiving given that it was already added.
If you are looking for ramen in the area, Dayo! is probably worth a look-in though I would pick the Tonkotsu should I visit again or try something different than what I had.
Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2024-08-09
Cuisine: Japanese
Address: 1126 Argyle St, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TD SCOTLAND
Location: Glasgow (Scotland) - Finnieston
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Telephone: +44 (0) 141 406 4010