Uncover the story behind Maki & Ramen’s commitment to authentic and affordable Japanese cuisine 

Inspired by the ramen shops of Japan, Maki & Ramen is a traditional Asian restaurant chain with multiple locations across the UK. An unmatched dedication to proper ramen sits at the heart of Maki & Ramen, with every noodle handcrafted with care and its homemade broth, a labor of love, simmered for eight hours in its Edinburgh factory. Through this thorough process and commitment to carefully prepared traditional food, the company achieves the most luxurious and deep-flavored finish, which consistently delights its guests. From its signature Tonkotsu Ramen boasting a rich pork broth to a meticulously crafted selection of the highest quality sushi, Maki & Ramen’s menu caters to every palate. Every dish is unique, and its preparation techniques honor the traditional styles of Japanese cuisine, as studied in Tokyo by Founder, Teddy Lee. We had the pleasure of speaking with Teddy, who was keen to tell us more about the company’s background as well as his own.  

“For the 17 years I have worked as a chef, I always dreamed of opening my own restaurant, although in the beginning, I was not sure about what kind of restaurant that would be. During the time when I inaugurated the first Maki & Ramen in Edinburgh in 2015, Japanese restaurants were notably expensive, which I identified as an opportunity to create a Japanese restaurant that was affordable for everyone, with a focus on authentic ramen. My inspiration stemmed from my travels to Japan in my youth, where I ate the most delicious ramen, a taste I was never able to find anywhere else and especially not in Scotland. Thus, my primary intention was to introduce a proper ramen restaurant to the region,” he began.  

“Following our debut in 2015, we progressively launched an additional location each year. By 2019, we had expanded to a total of five restaurants in Edinburgh alone. For our sixth store, we jumped out of our comfort zone in Edinburgh to enter the Glasgow market. The onset of the pandemic momentarily halted our expansion efforts, but we emerged from it with resilience and unveiled our seventh Maki & Ramen restaurant in the main shopping mall at Saint James Quarter, Edinburgh. From there, we continued expanding, even opening another venue right in front of our initial Glasgow site due to the overwhelming demand it was experiencing. Our ninth location, situated in Manchester, marked our entry in the English market, followed closely by a branch in Leeds. The tremendous success we achieved propelled us to franchise operations, resulting in the establishment of a franchisee in Glasgow, our third presence in the city, and another in Manchester,” Teddy added.  

Authentic flavors 

Behind this rapid expansion lies Maki & Ramen’s secret ingredient: ‘proper’ food as Teddy puts it, a key differentiator setting the company apart from competitors. “When I refer to our ramen as ‘proper,’ what I mean is that it is nothing like the typical ramen commonly found in Japanese restaurants, which mostly consists of water, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and soy sauce. For some, it only takes combining noodles and soup to make ramen. In contrast, our ramen entails slow-cooking pork bone or chicken bone to create the broth and making our noodles from scratch using just flour and water. Through this meticulous process, we strive to bring the experience and taste of a traditional Tonkotsu ramen from Tokyo to the UK. In addition, our menu features a wide variety of sushi. I personally went to Japan to study and master the art of sushi-making, enabling me to offer authentic traditional sushi to our clients in the UK. Sushi and ramen serve as the cornerstone of our menu. While many Japanese restaurants in the UK offer diverse menus, we opted to focus solely on maki and ramen and specialize in these two products before expanding further,” Teddy explained.  

Among its core offerings of sushi and ramen, Maki & Ramen has recently introduced an exquisite new specialty: Tori Paitan. Teddy describes how this traditional ramen dish enhances the company’s menu. “Although it does not translate perfectly, Tori is Japanese for chicken, while Paitan literally means ‘white soup.’ In other words, Tori Paitan is a chicken broth. A key motivation for us to introduce this item is to cater to the Muslim community now that we have successfully entered the English market. Since Muslims generally do not eat pork, which is an essential ingredient in our Tonkotsu ramen, Tori Paitan serves as an alternative that is just as delicious and made without pork.   

“While Tori Paitan began trending five-to-ten years ago in Asia, especially in Tokyo, it took double as long to gain popularity in the UK, and we are excited to bring it here. Our Tori Paitan is a long-cooked chicken bone soup made with our own ramen noodles and souped chicken, which is essentially a chicken breast slow-cooked in a water bath at a low temperature. This method ensures the chicken is soft and juicy rather than dry, resulting in a rich broth packed with minerals and collagen extracted from the bones. We aim to offer Tori Paitan to a diverse range of customers across all regions, as chicken is universally beloved. Already in development for six months, our Tori Paitan will be introduced to our restaurants soon. In the meantime, we are focusing on cooking large batches for internal tastings, followed by feedback from friends and family.”  

Affordable cuisine 

Despite the addition of enticing new items to its menu, Maki & Ramen remains dedicated to providing exceptional Japanese food at affordable prices. Michael Anthony, COO, reveals that the company has decided to lock in its prices while maintaining the same generous portion sizes, a choice that reflects its focus on sharing food with all communities. “As a foodie and a professional in the hospitality industry, I find it frustrating to hear about prices going up every April, which businesses then always pass on to consumers. One week, food prices in restaurants can be fair, and the next, they skyrocket. This year, we are growing especially tired of the constant talk about price increases in hospitality, so we decided to absorb the costs ourselves. By doing so, our goal is to give back to the communities that have supported us and helped us build our brand, instead of making them pay out of their pocket, especially now that many people are finally seeing wage increases. We firmly believe that food should be accessible, and we want to contribute positively rather than take away from our customers.  

“This ties back to the core ideology that guided the opening of our first Maki & Ramen restaurant: to craft authentic Japanese food that is accessible to everyone. While we may have somewhat strayed from this vision on our journey due to minimum wage increases and rising food costs, leading us to increase our menu prices, this year we took feedback to heart and decided to lock in our prices. Doing so allows us to stay true to our original commitment of providing affordable Japanese cuisine for all,” he ends.  

Maki & Ramen’s unwavering dedication to offering traditional Japanese cuisine at affordable prices reflects its community-centric values and sets it apart from the competition.  

www.makiramen.com