Grasshopper Ramen Bar

It’s a guarantee of quality when you know that behind this Asian restaurant is the British owner of Mosquito and Red Ant, Gilles Brown. His approach to south-east Asian cuisine is methodical and he's obsessive about quality. Grasshopper is even smaller than Ramen Ya-Hiro, with a bar that seats just 15 diners. Brown tells me that the broths simmer for 18 hours, and he talks about the tares, explaining how these sauces act as the bases that distinguish one ramen from another. 'This is haute cuisine that needs to be served quickly, but it's not a fast food to be laughed at,' he says. They also make their own noodles, and they add an alkaline solution called 'kansui' to the mix so that the water has a property like that of Japan's (and it makes the noodles more flexible and absorbent). They have the usual three tares (miso, soy and seafood) as well as a vegetarian option. Their soy ramen was delicious, and I had a tough time choosing from among their army of craft beers to go with it, among them BeerCat, Catalan-made brews from English and Irish owners.