Gyoza Bar, Covent Garden

You know when you've been Instagram stalking somewhere because you have an unconditional love for gyoza and they are always posting porn-ish pictures of their dumplings?  I found Gyoza Bar when I was looking for somewhere to get some lunch before my candy making class but alas, the class was in a completely different area to where I though it was so didn't get to visit.

That is until I semi took control over where two primary school pals and I were going to meet...

I keep in touch with these two friends on Facebook and although I'm terrible at texting or sending regular messages to them, when we meet up it's as if no time has passed at all.  We just seem to start off the conversations from where we left off last time which I think is so special and love it!

C moved to the States shortly after getting married but was back in the country with some free time so me, C and H arranged to meet for drinks and some grub.  The drinks were drinks - we covered every topic under the sun, set the world right and then gossiped some more so were huuuuuungry!  I'd already suggested Gyoza Bar as somewhere to go for food and knowing that the pub we were in wasn't too far, I suggested it again.  I'm pushy when it comes to gyoza.  Not sorry at all for that.

It's very well located if you're in the Covent Garden area but very small so blink and you might miss it!  

There's nothing fancy about this place - everything is very simple but simple in a clean cut, no nonsense way, if you know what I mean.

Even ordering food is pretty straight forward - the menu just focuses on gyoza, small plates and ramen so there's not to much to mull over and once you've decided what you fancy you just tick the boxes!

The gyoza are exactly how I love mine cooked - fried so they're golden brown and slightly crispy on the bottom and then steamed so the dough is soft on top.  I love that they are served in teeny tiny little cast iron skillets, so cute!

The pork dumplings were some of the best I've had to date - nice, smooth pork (no sign of gristle that you sometimes get in mass produced gyoza) and a zingy garlic vinegar and soy dipping sauce.

Next up was the massive vegetable ramen.  Seriously, it was epic and a case of "eyes bigger than my stomach".  Next time I'd probably want to share it with someone...

I sometimes find the broth in ramen is either bland or too salty and don't often come across a broth that is just right for me but the broth at Gyoza Bar got double thumbs up.  The combination of the inari tofu, kikurage mushrooms, nori, broccoli and spring onions was well balanced with the broth  nd noodles and somehow I managed to slurp my way through the whole damn thing.  By the way, has anyone got any top tips on how to eat ramen without it ending up all over your chin/splashing across the table?!

There were options for dessert but old greedy guts here didn't have any gaps left for the cheesecake or fried ice cream...shame because I love some fried ice cream!  

The laid back atmosphere made Gyoza Bar the perfect place to catch up with dear old friends - food came out when it was ready and didn't feel pressure to eat quickly (so had plenty of time for more gossiping!).

Gyoza Bar

63-66 St Martins Lane 
London
WC2N 4JS

Pork Gyoza (6 pieces) - £5.50
Vegetable Ramen - £8.50

*we paid for our meal in full and I was not asked to review Gyoza Bar, I just wanted to share the gyoza love