Regular readers will know that I’ve been exploring all the vegan ramen dishes in Prague lately. My quest for good ramen is not limited to this city though, and when I was in Manchester earlier this year I squeezed in not one but two dedicated ramen restaurants with vegan options. Shoryu Ramen is very conveniently located at Piccadilly Gardens, right in the city centre, and has a few labelled vegan options.

We started with the crispy tofu bao buns. As the name promised, the tofu was good and crispy. However, the accompanying lettuce, cucumber, and tofu watered everything down a bit too much for my taste. Additionally, they just didn’t look that appetising. I would have liked a bit more care with their appearance, like a drizzle of sauce rather than a blob, and shredded lettuce rather than big leaves. Ultimately, they were neither the best nor the worst baos I’ve had, and I felt like the crispy tofu deserved more.

I ordered the vegan white natural ramen, which is not a ramen I’d ever encountered before. The broth was creamy and savoury, and I absolutely loved it. There was a generous portion of noodles. The toppings were unfortunately a little boring – two good slabs of tofu but no flavour to them. The broccoli was an improvement on the usual bok choy, buy the long stems meant that it was a little tricky to eat.

Dr HH had the vegan spicy natural ramen, and found again that it lived up to its name with a good kick to the broth which he loved. The toppings and garnishes were the same as on mine above. We both felt that our broth was the most exciting element of the dish by some distance.

We really enjoyed this spot, not least because when a dish is ready to serve the staff ring not a bell but a gong, which lends a suitably dramatic feel to the occasion. It was a popular place on a week day lunchtime, but not too crowded, and service was still fast and friendly. The broth makes it well worth a visit!