January isn't exactly peak eating-out season, which is why Robin's Ramen launching a £1 half-pint deal feels well-timed. Throughout the month, the ramen pop-up at Supermarket of Dreams on Holland Park Avenue is pairing its signature bowls with £1 beers, making post-holiday dinners feel a little more accessible.
Robin's Ramen is backed by Chris D'Sylva and Max Coen of Michelin-starred Dorian, and led by head chef Robin Kosuge, formerly junior sous chef there. The menu draws on Robin's Japanese and Polish heritage and Dorian's producer-led ethos. The headline bowl is a clean, deeply flavoured shio ramen with chashu pork belly and ajitama, alongside richer options like duck ramen with duck breast and wonton, or beef ramen made with braised tongue and chilli oil. There's also a beef mazesoba.
Sides go beyond the usual extras, with oysters in cranberry ponzu, pork and venison gyoza with porcini and tarragon, tuna tartare with shoestring fries and tempura pollock bao. A weekly special ramen will spotlight ingredients from the shop, starting with pork neck chashu and pork paitan. Dessert comes as green Szechuan pepper ice cream with puffed buckwheat and olive oil.
By day, Supermarket of Dreams is a luxury grocer; by night, it flips into an intimate 36-seat dining room with a communal table and chef's counter. Drinks include wines, sake and beers on tap, with Orion lager very much the point when it's £1 a half.
Robin's Ramen runs until the end of March, but the beer deal is strictly a January thing.