Queen Street, Glasgow
There’s only so many times I can pass a restaurant by on my daily bus commute before I have to try it out. Earlier this month, Matt and I visited Mikaku, a ramen restaurant on Glasgow’s Queen Street.
Vibe
Mikaku hails itself a “vivid tribute to Japanese culture and beyond,” which is a really great way to describe it. The restaurant goes much deeper in than I thought it would, and with its high ceilings, decorative lanterns, and its general outdoor street style. We were seated in a U-shaped table, which was communal and social. We got to peak at what other diners ordered, and the couple to my right gawked at the cocktail I started with.
The street food restaurant sports a small menu: there are some small plates which include gyoza, chicken wings in four flavours, some rice dishes which include katsus, and side plates, and most notably, their ramen. Small menus are always a good sign to me as it indicates fresher food that has had more time spent on it. Despite a small menu, I didn’t feel stuck for what to order; in fact, I felt spoiled by so many amazing looking plates!
So, what did we order?
We were starving and excited, so we ended up with a small feast; vegetable gyoza, sweet soy and sesame chicken wings, furikake fries, and two bowls of tantanmen ramen (with extra pork, which we were advised to do by a friend).
To drink, I started with a cocktail called Smokey Smokey, which was presented beautifully, and was smooth and great, but unfortunately I didn’t realise it was a whisky cocktail on ordering, and I’m just not a fan of whiskey prosecco boba cocktail next – seeing as I love prosecco, and I love boba, this one went down really well.
All of the food was really amazing! The chicken wings were juicy, the sauce was thick and sweet and salty. I’m not usually a fan of gyoza, but these ones were really tasty. The fries were wonderfully seasoned, and the further we got down the bowl, the better they got. Finally, the ramen was just – *chefs kiss!*. I couldn’t stop myself from wolfing it down. At one point, while slurping up some noodles, I breathed in a chilli, right down my throat, which sent me into a humiliating coughing fit. Even as I was hacking up my lungs, crying mascara, I was still trying to shove this ramen into my mouth. That good.
Overall thoughts
The staff here were super friendly, service was generally great. Price wise, I think this was really reasonable, and the atmosphere was fab too. We had a really fun night at Mikaku, and I’m definitely adding it to my list of restaurants I’d recommend to friends and family. I’m absolutely seeking a reason to go back here as soon as ASAP.