'Spicy and satisfying': Tokyo Noodle Bar, Berry Street, reviewed

Eating out around a schedule often isn't as straightforward as you'd hope, especially if that schedule is a train timetable. 

It can run the gamut between an almost too-leisurely meal thanks to some over-cautious timekeeping, or a frantic snatch at a sandwich in the station shop, only to see the train is delayed and you're left with a sad BLT on platform 5.

Manchester Piccadilly has a few offerings outside - Archies Burger, Leon, Greggs (naturally) - but Grand Central Station it definitely aint. Lime Street, meanwhile, benefits from both Berry and Renshaw Street being a manageable stroll away from the station. So when I was heading back that way one evening I clocked the inviting neon sign for Tokyo Noodle Bar, checked the time, and headed inside.

Situated in one of the many small units that make up Berry Street, it's a great example of making the most of what you've got. The tables are a manageable number and tidily arranged, there's a small corner counter with a service bar, and the kitchen at the back kicking out the comforting sound of pans rattling. 

There's warmly lit hanging lanterns, a trellis with artificial flowers for a bit of soft furnishing, and a mural of a sun rising behind a pagoda next to branches of cherry blossom. Aside from the decor, the whole place has a straightforwardly fuss-free approach that I like.

I slid onto a bench seat and ordered an Asahi, in my book the most unnervingly crisp bottle of lager on the market. How on earth it's made that refreshing I don't know, but in the interests of eating Japanese food and having a thirst to quench, it's the one. 

I was definitely tempted by the potential of a quick starter but only really had one thing in mind - a ramen. It's not just one of the best dishes to eat as an off-the-cuff choice for a quick dinner, it's one of the best dishes to eat full stop. You'd be hard-pressed to find somewhere that does a disastrously bad ramen, and if you take a decent walk you'll probably trip over five places that do it well. 

There was plenty of options for how to go about it - a sort of build your own approach - but I decided their special, 'Tokyo Ramen', was the one. If they've put their own mark on it then it would be rude not to give it a whirl. Next, what to have in it? I went with char sui and king prawns, two things that go strangely well together, especially in the cauldron of a good broth. 

This was laksa style, with coconut milk rather than a straight-up bone broth, recommended by the owner. However creamy doesn't necessarily mean less spicy. If anything it can mean more. 

"Spicy?" I asked, hopefully. 

"Yep, spicy" said the owner. 

Tokyo Ramen it is then.

The ramen arrived swiftly and with it the good stuff bobbing about; char sui, king prawns, carrots, mushrooms, white cabbage and peppers. It's a great pleasure fishing the various ingredients out with a large ladle, and the broth itself seems to never reduce. I went through three napkins, and they were the thick sort. 

It was a nice change to go for a creamy rather than bony broth for once, and the recommendation of laksa style was the right one; it was just as satisfying but for different reasons.

The city has a real gem in a street like this, with its belt of various restaurants on the station approach, so much so that you could probably do a series of meals out just on Berry Street. 

So swerve WH Smith butties and make half an hour for somewhere like Tokyo Noodle Bar. Just don't miss your train.

Tokyo Noodle Bar, 7 Berry St, Liverpool L1 9DF

Tokyo Noodle Bar is on Confidential Guides