What Tonkotsu does

Tonkotsu is a UK-based Japanese ramen restaurant chain founded in 2012 by Emma Reynolds and Kensuke Yamada, with its first site opening in Soho, London. The company now operates 15+ locations across the UK, including 14 across London (Soho, Shoreditch, East/Haggerston, Bankside, Battersea, Clapham, Ealing, Finsbury Park, Kentish Town, Mare Street, Notting Hill, Peckham, Stratford, Walthamstow) plus regional sites in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff (opened March 2026), and Bath (opening September 2026), alongside a premium counter within Selfridges Food Hall on Oxford Street.

The company's core product is Japanese ramen built on a vertically integrated production model in which all five components — noodles, stock, base, toppings, and fat — are made fresh in-house daily. Tonkotsu was the first UK ramen chain to make noodles fresh daily, a practice adopted after the founders heard a Japanese ramen chef's philosophy in Tokyo that "if you don't make your own noodles, you're just a soup shop." Noodles are cooked for exactly 32 seconds, and the Noodle Room at Tonkotsu East in Haggerston allows customers to watch noodles being made. The menu extends beyond ramen to katsu curry, rainbow salads, sides and gyoza, kids' meals, and a drinks program featuring 60+ whiskies at the Mare Street site. Beyond restaurants, Tonkotsu sells award-winning chilli oil condiments (2 Great Taste Awards stars) through chillioil.tonkotsu.co.uk, alongside gift cards and merchandise.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer restaurant model with table reservations, walk-ins, and click-and-collect service, supplemented by retail e-commerce, a Selfridges concession, and partnership-driven channels (Picturehouse Cinemas). Pricing is unit-based across the menu, ranging from a £10.50 weekday set lunch and kids' bento at £7.95 to ramen mains around £12-16, premium caviar ramen at £25-26, and cocktails priced £7-£10 with a 2-for-£15 happy hour. Tonkotsu holds a registered trademark for the "Tonkotsu" brand, publishes Gender Pay Gap Reports, and operates the Tonkotsu Foundation, which has donated £55,000+ to charities including Street Smart and Burnt Chef since 2021. The company is privately held; in June 2019 it raised £5M (approximately $6.36M) from YFM Equity Partners, the only disclosed institutional funding round.

Name

Tonkotsu

Legal name

Tonkotsu

Website

https://tonkotsu.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Tonkotsu is a UK Japanese ramen restaurant chain founded in 2012, operating 15+ sites across London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, and Bath, including a premium Selfridges counter. It serves freshly made ramen with daily in-house noodles and sells award-winning chilli oil online.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Asian Fast Casual (Pan-Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean) (THAFABAE)

Keywords

• Japanese ramen restaurants
• Fresh handmade noodles
• Casual Japanese dining
• Chilli oil condiments
• Restaurant chain UK

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices20 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Revenue from dine-in customers across 15+ restaurant locations in the UK. Includes alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic drinks, and desserts alongside main ramen offerings.
2. Retail Chilli Oil Products: Online shop selling chilli oil condiments (Eat the Bits Chilli Oil, Chilli Jam) for at-home use. Available via chillioil.tonkotsu.co.uk.
3. Click & Collect: Takeaway and click & collect service allowing customers to order food for pickup at their nearest restaurant location.
4. Selfridges Food Hall: Premium location within Selfridges Food Hall on Oxford Street, featuring exclusive items like Devon Crab & Prawn Ramen.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Tonkotsu operates a chain of Japanese ramen restaurants across the UK, serving freshly made daily noodles with rich slow-cooked tonkotsu broth, alongside complementary menu items including katsu curry, rainbow salads, sides, gyoza, and desserts. The company also retails award-winning Eat the Bits chilli oil condiments through its own online shop.

Product overview

Tonkotsu is a Japanese ramen restaurant chain serving homemade ramen and traditional Japanese dishes across multiple UK locations. The offering consists of a unified restaurant experience built around their core product—fresh daily handmade noodles with rich pork broth—alongside complementary menu categories including Katsu Curry, Rainbow Salads, Set Lunch options, Sides & Gyoza, and Desserts. The company also operates a retail arm selling chilli oil condiments through their Chilli Oil Shop. Special services include Boozy Brunch experiences, Pre Theatre Set Menus, and seasonal limited-edition ramen collaborations. The chain spans 17+ locations across London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, and Cardiff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tonkotsu Ramen
• Katsu Curry

Quantifiable outcome

• Chilli oil collection won 2 Great Taste Awards stars
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Caviar HouseflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 August 2025August 2025 launch of Caviar Ramen exclusively at Selfridges. Two ramen options with Prunier Baerii Caviar (£25-26) and co-branded caviar tin (£35). Collaboration targets luxury dining market.
• Caviar House & PrunierflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2025Limited-edition luxury ramen collaboration featuring Prunier Baeri Caviar toppings. Available exclusively at Tonkotsu Selfridges. Ultimate Seafood Ramen at £26 and Luxury Tonkotsu Ramen at £25. Also offered individual 15g co-branded caviar tin at £35.
• ThornbridgeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration brew of Mikan Shimoda Pale Ale (3.8%) at £7.75/£4. Satsuma peel, lightly hopped, perfect with ramen.
• Siren Craft BrewminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Siren Pils GF (4.8%) at £6. Clean, crisp modern larger. Beer and food tasting events held together.
• Tsuji Brewery (Okayama)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSake brewed specifically for Tonkotsu by Tsuji Brewery in Okayama. Tonkotsu Futushu Sake Flask at £14.50. Rich, creamy and full bodied, perfect for tonkotsu ramen, served warm.
• Happy Endings (East London)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDessert sandos made by Happy Endings for Tonkotsu restaurants. Chocolate & Misso Salted Caramel and Eastside Vegan options at £6.50.
• Picturehouse CinemascoreGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive partnership offering treats for Picturehouse Members. Sundays to Thursdays enjoy exclusive offers. Win competitions with Picturehouse and Tonkotsu prizes.
• Nikka WhiskyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhisky tasting events hosted across Tonkotsu restaurants featuring Nikka from the Barrel, Nikka Coffey Malt, and Nikka Coffee Grain.
• Clarence Court EggsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for The Big Egg Hunt Easter event. Clarence Court supplied eggs for the promotional event.
• Farang (Thai Restaurant)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration ramen with Farang, one of London's best Thai restaurants. Red Curried Chicken Ramen special created together.
• Magic BreakfastcoreOthersSix-month partnership providing funding for Magic Breakfast's school breakfast programmes. Part of Tonkotsu Foundation's charitable activities.
• Street SmartcoreOthersCurrent nominated charity for late 2025/2026. Works with restaurants across UK to raise funds for homelessness charities.
• Burnt ChefcoreOthersCurrent nominated charity for late 2025/2026. Set up in 2019 to remove stigma of mental health in hospitality industry. Tonkotsu has paid corporate partnership for team mental health support.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Koya: Independent London udon and ramen counter focused on freshly made daily noodles. Comparable craft approach, smaller neighbourhood footprint, and similar price band.
• Wagamama: UK's largest Asian/noodle fast-casual chain. Directly comparable to Tonkotsu on menu (ramen, katsu curry, Asian bowls), price point, and dine-in format, though at much larger scale (150+ UK locations).
• Bone Daddies: London-based ramen chain with similar premium positioning, craft noodle-making, and rock-and-roll branding. Operates a smaller portfolio of sites but competes for the same London ramen consumer.
• Shoryu Ramen: London-focused Hakata ramen chain with comparable price point, tonkotsu-led menu, and Japanese whisky program. Direct overlap in central London with Tonkotsu Soho, Shoreditch, and other sites.
• Kanada-Ya: Authentic Hakata tonkotsu ramen specialist with a small UK footprint. Mirrors Tonkotsu's handmade-noodle-from-scratch philosophy and upscale casual positioning.
• Marugame Udon: Japanese noodle fast-casual operator with multiple UK locations. Competes for the same Japanese noodle casual dining occasion though specialising in udon rather than ramen.

Broad incumbents

• Itsu: Large UK Asian/Pan-Asian fast-casual and grocery brand. Overlaps with Tonkotsu on Japanese-inspired menu and on-the-go occasion, but with a much broader portfolio of sushi and hot bowls.
• Wasabi: UK Japanese QSR and retail sushi/prepared-food chain. Competes for the lunch and takeaway Japanese occasions, with strong grocery and high-street presence.
• Pho: UK casual noodle restaurant chain focused on Vietnamese pho. Comparable in scale, casual dining model, and everyday price point, but Vietnamese rather than Japanese cuisine.
• Yo! Sushi: Established UK Japanese/QSR chain with conveyor belt and grab-and-go formats. Overlaps with Tonkotsu on Japanese casual dining occasion but operates a distinctly different service model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tonkotsu.ramenbar
• TikToktiktok.com/@tonkotsu.ramenbar
• Xx.com/tonkotsulondon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tonkotsu-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tonkotsu