How is Nanban Brixton restaurant rated?

Name: Nanban Brixton
Address: 426 Coldharbour Lane, London, United Kingdom, SW9 8LF
Telephone: 020 7346 0098
Price range: £26 to £40
Rating: 4

Nanban Brixton

4.0

436 Reviews

£26 to £40

Japanese

Top Tags:

Nanban serves Japanese soul food with roots in the southern island of Kyushu, where bold flavours and foreign influences reign supreme.

Inspiration is taken from culinary cues in Brixton Market, with its incredible selection of global ingredients and fresh produce.

Nanban's also offers a full range of Classics and Signature cocktails complementing there extensive range of Sake and Shochu.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network.

If you like, we'll notify you by email if this restaurant joins.

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Cuisines
Japanese
Hours of operation
Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–11:00 pm Tue–Fri 12:00 pm–3:00 pm Fri 5:00 pm–1:00 am Sat 12:00 pm–1:00 am Sun 12:00 pm–10:00 pm
Phone number
020 7346 0098
Website
http://www.nanban.co.uk/
Payment options
AMEX, MasterCard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Tim Anderson

Location
426 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8LF
Neighborhood
Brixton
Cross street
Electric Lane
Parking details
None
Public transit
Brixton Tube Station is 5 minutes walk.
Additional
Banquet, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Japanese izakaya meals are comprised of a series of small plates, to be combined for snacking, sharing, or full-on feasting! Our small dishes are based on traditional southern Japanese recipes, spiked with ingredients from Brixton Market. We recommend 1-2 small plates per person plus a main dish for a full meal. Leave room for dessert!

Ackee & Saltfish Korokke£5.50
Potato, ackee and saltfish croquettes with katsu sauce
Beef Tataki£9.50
Thinly sliced, seared beef sirloin with sweet soy glaze, matcha-horseradish cream, garlic chips and daikon cress
Brixton Market Salad£4.00
Whatever looks good in Brixton Market, cooked, raw, or pickled, with a Japanese dressing
Chicken Karaage£5.50
Deep-fried marinated chicken thighs
Edamame£4.00
Edamame with black sesame salt
Electric Eel£7.90
Smoked eel with sansho- pepper, prickly oil, green apple, cucumber and daikon
Eringi Mushrooms with Ponzu Butter£6.00
The king of mushrooms, sautéed in ponzu butter, garnished with crushed garlic chips
Grapefruit Shichimi Salad£4.50
Pink and white grapefruit in a honey-mirin dressing with cucumber, crunchy brown rice and shichimi chilli powder
Horumon Yaki£5.50
Classic Japanese soul food dish of tender twice-cooked pig tripe with spicy miso sauce, cabbage, bean sprouts, crunchy brown rice and pickled radish
Jerk Butabara£5.00
Two skewers of thinly sliced, grilled pork belly marinated in sake and jerk seasonings
KFJ£5.00
Marinated jackfruit in a crispy coating with Nanban's secret seasoning, served with honey-miso mayo
Salmon Kake-Ae£7.00
Salmon semi-cured in seasoned vinegar with daikon, cucumber, carrot, pickled radish, and miso-sesame sauce
Ten-Pepper Prawns£7.50
Shell-on prawns pan-fried with walnut-miso romesco sauce and ten kinds of pepper
Yaki-Imo£4.50
Traditional dish of baked sweet potato with ponzu butter and black sesame salt

Ramen & Tsukemen

Ramen: A big bowl of Japanese soul. Tsukemen: a kind of deconstructed ramen, with noodles and toppings served separately from the broth to preserve the texture of the noodles and consistency of the broth. To eat, simply grab some noodles and toppings, dip and swirl them in the broth, then hoover it up with great vigour, interspersed with gulps of beer or sake

Aubergine and Courgette Tan Tan Men£11.50
Thin noodles in chilli-sesame broth with Szechuan-spiced aubergine and courgette, pickled courgette, Chinese leaf, Parmesan and ground sesame
Kumamoto Pork Ramen£12.50
Thin noodles in nose-to-tail rich pork broth with garlic chips, burnt garlic oil, pork belly, tea-pickled egg and pickled mustard greens
Lamb Tan Tan Men£13.00
Thin noodles in chilli-sesame broth with Szechuan-spiced lamb mince, roast lamb neck fillet, red onion, Chinese leaf, Parmesan and ground sesame
Lazy Goat Tsukemen£12.50
Spicy dipping ramen with succulent, braised, off-the-bone goat in a rich curry broth, garnished with half a tea-pickled egg, seafood sawdust, fried shallots and Scotch bonnet-pickled bamboo shoots
Miyazaki Chicken Ramen£12.00
Medium noodles in chicken-soy sauce broth with chicken thigh, tea-pickled egg, nira and yuzu-kosho- schmaltz
Ramen for Faye Wong£11.00
Medium noodles in mushroom dashi with Chinese leaf, marinated tofu, tea-pickled egg, soy-braised daikon, enoki mushrooms, yuzu peel and nori oil
The Leopard Tsukemen£13.50
Very rich chilli-sesame pork broth dipping ramen with burnt garlic oil, pork belly, Scotch bonnet-pickled bamboo shoots, garlic chips, Parmesan and tea-pickled egg

Chef Tim's Specials

These unique dishes are the product of Chef Tim Anderson's years of culinary exploration across the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, combined with his love for the incredible selection of global ingredients found in Brixton Market

Angry Birds£12.50
Crispy deep-fried chicken wings with Scotch bonnet honey ponzu sauce and seafood sawdust
Bone-Katsu£10.50
Breaded, deep-fried crispy pork chop, on the bone, sliced and served with sea salt, tonkatsu sauce and shredded cabbage with sweet ginger vinegar
Brixton Market Fish
Whatever seafood looks good in Brixton Market, cooked in a traditional Japanese style, Make it a meal with Japanese rice, miso soup and pickles for £4
- MP
Hiyashi Chicken Noodle Salad£10.50
Chicken thigh salad with springy noodles, sesame dressing, daikon, carrot, cucumber, tea-pickled egg, pickled ginger and soy-glazed cherry tomatoes, Vegetarian option available
Imperial Banquet Fried Rice£12.00
Fried rice with seared king prawns, salmon caviar, bacon, egg, seafood sawdust, pickled ginger, katsuobushi and pea tendrils
Mentaiko Carbonara£12.00
Japanese carbonara of spaghetti cooked in a creamy, spicy cod roe sauce with onsen egg, Parmesan, pancetta, aonori, seafood sawdust and black sesame
Mojiko Yaki-Curry£10.50
Japanese curry of roasted leeks, cauliflower and gungo peas, topped with ham, melted Cheddar, onsen egg and crispy fried onions. Vegetarian option available
Sasebo Burger£10.50
Two 100g burger patties with burnt garlic mayo, gochujang burger sauce, pork belly, American cheese, pickled red onion, lettuce and tomato

Sides

Chips (Shake & Season)£3.50
Big in Japan! Traditional chips in a shake 'n' season bag Choose from: Dashi Salt Chicken Katsu Curry Nori Butter Chilli, Garlic and Parmesan
Japanese Rice£2.00
Japanese white steamed rice
Kimchi£2.50
Traditional, spicy, healthy, fermented Korean cabbage
Miso Soup£3.00
Homemade dashi stock with nori oil
Mixed Leaf Salad£3.00
With sweet onion-soy dressing
Noodles£2.00
Egg noodles also known as Kae-dama
Pickle Plate£2.50
Pickled radish, cucumber and fennel

Desserts

Ganbari-Misu£4.50
Japanese tiramisu with layers of matcha and vanilla mascarpone cream, coffee-soaked biscuits and kinako
Matcha Affogato£4.00
A scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of matcha
Nanbanana£5.50
Banana in miso black sugar butterscotch with cinnamon ice cream, kinako, walnuts, and crispy fried noodles
Rich Chocolate Ganache£4.50
Decadent chocolate delice served with yuzu coulis and chilli-sesame crunch

What 436 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

4.0

4 based on all time ratings

4.1Food
3.8Service
3.9Ambience
3.8Value

Noise • Moderate

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PH
PaulH
London
7 reviews
4.0
7 reviews
Reviewed on January 17, 2019
overall4foodserviceambience
A lovely Japanese restaurant serving some really great food. I can't recommend the "Third best Scotch Egg in London" enough. Staff were great, atmosphere was vibrant. All in all a good experience, would happily go again.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on February 9, 2018
overall5food5service5ambience5
The waiter was great at providing recommendations and sitting at the counter was a great experience!
B
Blinky
London
1 review
2.0
1 review
Dined on January 26, 2018
overall2food2service3ambience4
The menu looks great and like it would be delicious but the actual food isn’t very nice. Neither were any of the cocktails and even the gin and tonic I had wasn’t very nice - surely hard to get wrong!? I figured it must be cheap gin or flat tonic. V. Disappointing.
s
sp007
London
12 reviews
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on January 18, 2018
overall5food5service5ambience5
Great goat curry, lively jam packed & fun - looking forward to returning
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on January 17, 2018
overall3food3service3ambience2
Tables way too close together, felt I was on 3 other couples dates. Overall the food is just very salty and there's not enough variety. Ramen all tasted very similar - just not the best place I've ever been.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on January 17, 2018
overall3food2service4ambience3
Hi, I came with a high expectation of food. I had a soup of the day and I ask the waitress (who was really kind) to change the soup because the fish was not fresh. I think I will try to come one more time but it is definitely not the best experience I had in London. The staff is really nice and I will thank them for it! Best, Giovanna
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 15, 2018
overall5food4service4ambience4
Delightful
BD
BarbaraD
Hampshire
2 reviews
2.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 15, 2018
overall2food4service1ambience3
I've been to Nanban before and loved it but this meal was marred by poor service and one very rude waitress. Everything was fine until we were brought the menu for a second time to look at desserts and then no-one came to take our order. We were sat in a corner at the front and another couple were also waiting to order their mains. I had to wave to get the waitress's attention for both tables in the end. It was pretty irritating. A different waitress then brought us the green teas we had ordered and announced that usually, customers were only allowed to stay at a table for two hours but she wanted to let us know that she'd checked with her manager and it was ok for us to stay and finish our drinks. When I tried to point out to her that the only reason we'd taken so long was because no-one came to serve us, she spoke over me and kept saying: 'I'm telling you that it's ok to stay' as if she was doing us a favour. I asked to speak to the manager - who is a lovely guy - but I don't think anyone really understood why the situation was so annoying. If you want to get customers through your restaurant in a couple of hours then try serving them faster.
P
Peskyfoodie
London
2 reviews
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 13, 2018
overall3food1service3ambience4
Main courses disappointing although the small plates were good.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on January 13, 2018
overall3food3service5ambience5
Was a lovely restaurant, however we felt a bit rushed ie ordering food and finishing off dessert.
KA
KirstyA
Bath
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 12, 2018
overall4food5service3ambience4
Drinks didn’t arrive until we’d already started our food and and the lady who took us to our seats didn’t crack a smile once. However it was a really busy, buzzy night and the food was really tasty. Glad we went but wouldn’t rush back.
R
Rory
London
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on January 12, 2018
overall5food4service4ambience5
Very nice evening. Good food as usual but found starters to be more interesting and better than the mains. Wine list not very extensive but good wines
AG
AlexG
London
5 reviews
vip
1.0
5 reviews
Dined on January 12, 2018
overall1food1service1ambience3
Food was beyond average and tasteless. Service was appalling. Manager should be fired.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
4 reviews
3.0
4 reviews
Dined on January 12, 2018
overall3food2service3ambience3
Very average mostly fried food. Not hot. Preprared not fresh made. Cold food is not good. Not what we expected from a Masterchef winner. Very dissapointed. Will not be back.
TO
TomO
London
6 reviews
2.0
6 reviews
Dined on January 10, 2018
overall2food3service2ambience2
Hate to say this but my last experience at Nanban wasn't great. I'd been 3-4 times before and it always felt a bit special - a cut above the offerings in Brixton Village and Market Row. The service is usually great. This time not so good. We were sat at our table and not offered drinks, I had to chase someone up. The food took ages to come, when it did it wasn't hot enough, and the staff looks generally disinterested and unengaged. It is SUCH a shame as I loved coming here, but yet again, as is the case with many restaurants in London, service is letting it down.
R
Rhys
London
5 reviews
3.0
5 reviews
Dined on January 10, 2018
overall3food4service3ambience2
The food was nice, although the table was a little cramped and the service slightly lacking.
CL
ChrisL
London
2 reviews
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 7, 2018
overall3food2service4ambience1
Sadly it’s gone badly downhill since the summer. Specials were gone at 6 pm and it’s expensive now for Chelsea let all be Brixton
AC
AC10
London
4 reviews
2.0
4 reviews
Dined on January 7, 2018
overall2food2service2ambience3
Have been a good few times but this was the first time since June last year. Sadly the two wonderful dishes - the eel and mushrooms in ponzu butter - which made us go back time and time again, are no longer served. We were seated upstairs but there was only one person serving and it was difficult at times to attract her attention. Drinks were slow arriving, as the water glasses are small and filled by the waitress, for most of my main course I had neither a drink or water. Really rather underwhelming compared to previous visits.
OT
OpenTable Diner
Edinburgh
1 review
vip
3.0
1 review
Dined on January 5, 2018
overall3food4service3ambience4
Great chicken wings!
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 31, 2017
overall5food5service5ambience5
This was my third visit and it never disappoints. The food is amazing the restaurant design is very cool and that staff are lovely. Highly recommend a visit.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
1.0
1 review
Dined on December 24, 2017
overall1food3service2ambience2
My last visit was disappointed. We were there for Christmas Eve. We had a table booked for 9pm. They called us asking if we could make it earlier, but we couldn't. They wanted to close early, so we had to rush to finish our course and despite we asked for dessert earlier we couldn't get it. It was too late. We would appreciate not to take our booking and we could have better evening home, raher than eating fast and not enjoy the food which I must say was very good. Very bad management
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on December 22, 2017
overall3food3service1ambience2
Above all, the service was just awful. Told we would get a jug of water soon after we sat down. After asking twice again we received 2 small glass of tepid tap water. Received the wrong drinks, and the food, well, it was ok, but not what was expected of 'the best restaurant in Brixton' as some feedback had implied. In fact if that was s the case then the rest of Brixton must be very average indeed. It was not that I was expecting fine dining, but just that I expected the food to have something a little special. It did not, and since the service was so poor, it took so long to get anything, and yet they still added automatically 12.5%, I thought the whole package very unimpressive; not terrible, but nothing to recommend at all.
TL
TimL
London
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 22, 2017
overall4food4service3ambience4
Second visit for me to Namban and second time the booking was messed up - shouldn't be rocket science! Once seated we relaxed and were made welcome by the staff delivering overall good service. The Angry Birds remain a favorite but the outstanding dish we had was the Goat Ramen - rich warming and comforting but spiked with fabulous scotch bonnet poached bamboo shoots to assure a gentle prickling of scalp sweat. We went the beer route for drinks and the Nanban Kanpai was the clear winner. We'll be back,
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on December 22, 2017
overall4food4service4ambience5
I surprised my girlfriend by taking her on a trip to London for her birthday. We come from the netherlands. I got the golden tip of My Brother to reserve a table at Nanban for diner. In my reservation I mentioned the 25th birthday of my girlfriend. Luckily we got one of the best tables on the 2nd floor next to the window. The view was very Nice! Also the food was really good. We had a great night.
B
Birthdaygal
London
15 reviews
4.0
15 reviews
Dined on December 21, 2017
overall4food5service5ambience4
Really great food & very friendly service! We had lots of small dishes. Bit pricier than a regular night out but for something a bit special we will be back!
R
Rowena
Surrey
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on December 19, 2017
overall3food3service4ambience3
Place was really cram and the ramen was too salty. Service was good though.
a
ashtronaut
London
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 18, 2017
overall4food4service4ambience3
We went to Nanban for a quick pre-gig bite to eat and were pleasantly surprised. It’s much nicer than your average ramen spot – really good food (and not just ramen!) fun atmosphere and yummy cocktails too. Would definitely visit again.
EH
EmilyH
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 18, 2017
overall5food5service5ambience5
We loved our meal at Nanban - we tried as much as we could squeeze in and all was delicious. We also enjoyed cocktails and the shochu tasting flight. Highly recommend it and worth a visit to Brixton on it's own.
LB
LadyBee
London
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on December 17, 2017
overall5food5service3ambience3
The food here is really excellent. Even your basic bowl of ramen is really outstanding. I like the fact the menu encompasses basics like ramen as well as much more adventurous and unusual options, which makes it a great place for group dining. They also do dishes of the day with whatever is fresh and seasonal from Brixton market. Desserts are also superb: creative, unusual and delicious. Will definitely return.
OT
OpenTable Diner
London
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on December 16, 2017
overall4food5service4ambience4
Friendly, lively place with interesting food: Japanese recipes, using ingredients from Brixton market.
w
willp
London
3 reviews
4.0
3 reviews
Dined on December 15, 2017
overall4food4service4ambience5
Lovely food and great service. Went for a casual get together with friends, Would definitely return again
V
Vicks
London
17 reviews
vip
4.0
17 reviews
Dined on December 9, 2017
overall4food4service3ambience3
Very nice food, especially the starters! Service a bit hit and miss, could do better.
JO
JosO
London
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on December 6, 2017
overall5food5service5ambience5
Very nice marinated meat slices entree, followed by a wonderfull tempura fishbbowl with kale and a Korean spicy sauce, tasted hot at first but did not overpower, very nice balanced dish. Finished with 2 very inventive dessert, tasting heavinly. top food and pleassant easy going service. Will go back.
G
Gary
London
190 reviews
vip
2.0
190 reviews
Dined on December 5, 2017
overall2food2service3ambience2
Went before a gig and was somewhat disappointed. We were a table of 4 and nobody came away feeling that they had particularly enjoyed their meal. While I understand that the point is not to create authentic Japanese food, this seemed to be of the standard where you would try your hand at making Japanese food at home. Certain dishes were better than others but all in all not that good.
v
veggie
London
12 reviews
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on November 28, 2017
overall5food5service5ambience4
Excellent food. We were seated downstairs, which is a little cosy. If I was going again I would ask for a table in the upstairs dining room.
OT
OpenTable Diner
Oxford
13 reviews
4.0
13 reviews
Dined on November 28, 2017
overall4food4service3ambience4
Service was slow to start with. Starter was quite small. Ramen was great, if slightly expensive. The place is very friendly just needs a few tweaks for exceptional
M
Matt
Surrey
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on November 26, 2017
overall3food5service3ambience5
Great food and good atmosphere. Other than delivering the order, there was absolutely no effort made by the waitress.
E
Elisabeth
London
30 reviews
3.0
30 reviews
Dined on November 24, 2017
overall3food4service3ambience3
The food was great and served quickly. The service is ok.
HP
HaPP
London
22 reviews
vip
5.0
22 reviews
Dined on November 23, 2017
overall5food5service4ambience4
We had the 2 pork and the goat ramen and were all great. Chicken karage was also very well made. Drinks took a but long but other than that everything was great
IU
IkeU
London
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 21, 2017
overall4food4service4ambience4
Glad to have eaten here. Shame ran out signed copies of japaneasy.

FAQs

Nanban Brixton is rated 4 stars by 436 OpenTable diners.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network.

If you like, we'll notify you by email if this restaurant joins.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

Additional information

Cross street
Electric Lane
Neighborhood
Brixton
Hours of operation
Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–11:00 pm Tue–Fri 12:00 pm–3:00 pm Fri 5:00 pm–1:00 am Sat 12:00 pm–1:00 am Sun 12:00 pm–10:00 pm
Cuisines
Japanese
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
None
Public transit
Brixton Tube Station is 5 minutes walk.
Payment options
AMEX, MasterCard, Visa
Executive chef
Tim Anderson
Additional
Banquet, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
http://www.nanban.co.uk/
Phone number
020 7346 0098

Nanban Brixton

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information

Small Plates

Ackee & Saltfish Korokke£5.50

Beef Tataki£9.50

Brixton Market Salad£4.00

Chicken Karaage£5.50

Edamame£4.00

Electric Eel£7.90

Eringi Mushrooms with Ponzu Butter£6.00

Grapefruit Shichimi Salad£4.50

Horumon Yaki£5.50

Jerk Butabara£5.00

KFJ£5.00

Salmon Kake-Ae£7.00

Ten-Pepper Prawns£7.50

Yaki-Imo£4.50

Ramen & Tsukemen

Aubergine and Courgette Tan Tan Men£11.50

Kumamoto Pork Ramen£12.50

Lamb Tan Tan Men£13.00

Lazy Goat Tsukemen£12.50

Miyazaki Chicken Ramen£12.00

Ramen for Faye Wong£11.00

The Leopard Tsukemen£13.50

Chef Tim's Specials

Angry Birds£12.50

Bone-Katsu£10.50

Brixton Market Fish

Hiyashi Chicken Noodle Salad£10.50

Imperial Banquet Fried Rice£12.00

Mentaiko Carbonara£12.00

Mojiko Yaki-Curry£10.50

Sasebo Burger£10.50

Sides

Chips (Shake & Season)£3.50

Japanese Rice£2.00

Kimchi£2.50

Miso Soup£3.00

Mixed Leaf Salad£3.00

Noodles£2.00

Pickle Plate£2.50

Desserts

Ganbari-Misu£4.50

Matcha Affogato£4.00

Nanbanana£5.50

Rich Chocolate Ganache£4.50

Overall ratings and reviews

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FAQs

How is Nanban Brixton restaurant rated?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information