Goemon Ramen Bar

I’ve never professed to be a fan of ramen, but after checking out all the positive reviews and hearsay about goemon ramen, I decided to head down alone one afternoon and give it a try.
Situated at the bottom of Preston Street (so many great food places here), Goemon is a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ type of establishment so keep your eyes peeled!
Once you step inside it isn’t anything remarkable looking, simple décor with relaxing classical music playing in the background.
The member of staff who served me was attentive (but not overly so) and was happy to make a recommendation for an inexperienced ramen eater like me. I ended up having the pork tonkotsu with a side of tori kara age. I LOVE tori kara age and the one here is the best I have ever tasted. Ever!
The ramen dish itself was incredible, so rich and full of flavour. I couldn’t actually eat it all, and that’s not a bad thing, I just wasn’t expecting it to be so rich in flavour. I noticed on Ketan’s review you could add double the noodles for £1 but I didn’t bother.
I’d definitely recommend giving this place a go.

Not bad for a random ramen spot on the English seaside.
The Tokyo Tonkotsu bowl is less like the complex, thin broths at self-​aware ramen shops across NYC and more like the hearty, no-​frills ramen I had in Japan (e.g. Tenkaippin!) — so unctuous and flavorful that the broth is undrinkable at the end.
I was expecting something more watery and clean-​tasting from the vegetarian soy milk ramen. What came instead was thick and rich, nearly as heavy as the tonkotsu (minus all that salt). It had no soybean flavor, but I can see it being a holy grail for vegetarians who want to experience the luscious guilt of a fatty pork broth. I’m still conflicted (my palate wanted soy milk!) but it was certainly tasty.
The karaage was not what I expected either. It’s more a boneless tebasaki — fried chicken morsels given the Japanese chicken wing treatment, coated in a thin, sweet soy glaze. I liked it but was craving the typical, dry karaage fried lightly in starch.
I do wish the bowls had been served hotter. They use thin noodles (apparently made in-​house?!) and wanting to retain the noodle consistency is one excuse for serving a broth less than boiling hot, but the noodles got soggy quickly anyway.
Manager and staff are friendly. Actual Japanese people come here willingly! 10% student discount helps with the £8 pricetag.

Real Japanese ramen. Visited by many Japanese as well. Nice service and really kind staff.

I’ve been three times. The Kara-​age is amazing. The ramen is amazing. The gyoza is amazing. The ice cream is amazing. Best Ramen in Brighton, hands down.

Goemon is my new go-​to place for ramen in Brighton.
Their kara-​age is the best rendition of that dish I have tasted anywhere — succulent fried chicken served on top of an ever-​so-​slightly sweet soy/​honey sauce.
I visited on three occasions and never experienced any issues with service. Waiting staff was prompt and polite every time.
There is however, and important service-​side issue with Goemon. Their menus have a ‘big portion of noodles’ option which on its face will probably be understood as a side-​dish. It is in fact just a bigger portion of noodles in your ramen bowl. For an extra pound, passing this option up makes very little sense.
The other issue is that the only stand-​out dish is the Tokyo Tonkotsu, which your server will likely recommend to you, but it sure as hell stands out. The impossibly rich broth combines so many flavors that I could hardly identify them, and the noodles are a pleasant consistency. Perhaps it is the black garlic oil that makes this dish stand out?
Unfortunately the Spicy Miso, Chicken Miso, and Tonkotsu Miso are plain and unexciting, but it’s worth coming just for the kara-​age and Tokyo Tonkotsu.
Top it all off with soothingly minimalist interiors, an eclectic jazz fusion soundtrack, and pretty good sake — Goemon is a winner.

This restaurant is the best ramen in Sussex. If you want the authentic Japanese experience you should come here. The food here is brilliant and reasonably priced. The service is excellent and the staff are very friendly and helpful. As well as the great food they have lots of Japanese drinks which are rare to find anywhere else. Next time I’m in Brighton I will definitely come here again.

Let’s cut straight to the point — the food is good, but not the only choice for decently authentic ramen in the area (given the also newly opened Shogun), and I won’t be going back because of the following issues:
Extremely small portions. My tonkotsu ramen had one slice of stewed pork in it. Three is the standard, and I’ve never been served just one solitary slice in all my history of ramen escapades. But hey, maybe you’re a petite eater and that doesn’t bother you!
So let’s talk about the truly appalling service — in fact, the worst service I have ever experienced at any restaurant. Everything was average at first, but as it came to the end of our meal, we were sitting there for 20 minutes desperately trying to get the waiter’s attention as he just continually chatted with another patron (a friend I assume). He made eye contact with us several times but still, nothing! He just watched us as we got up to look at the menus posted on the window to check the prices, calculate our bill ourselves, and leave the money on the table so that we could finally leave. Ridiculous!