Ladle
A bowl of rice and a bowl of broth set on a dark table.

Rice, broth, and one thing on top

Two rooms, eleven seats each, open from half past eleven until the pot is empty.

Find the nearer room

A room, not a chain

We cook one broth a day and it takes from six in the morning. When it is gone we close, which is sometimes at two and sometimes at eight. The board by the door says which.

A long room with tables and chairs against the windows.

Eat at the counter

Eleven seats in a row, everybody facing the same way, and the bowl in front of you before you have your coat off. Nobody has ever waited more than six minutes.

How it works
A fillet of fish on greens and noodles.

The fish bowl

Whatever came in that morning, over rice, with the broth alongside rather than under it. £11.50, and it is the one that runs out first.

Two bowls of vegetables and pickles on a pale table.

The garden bowl

Six vegetables, three of them pickled by us, and a spoon of herb oil. £9.80. Vegan unless you ask for the egg, which most people do.

Small bowls of grains and vegetables seen from above.

The small bowl

Half of either, for £6.40, for people who are eating again in three hours. We will not judge you and we will not upsell you.

Read the house rules
A cook working under low lamps at a pass.

The pot goes on at six

The broth

Six hours, every morning

Bones, ginger, a burnt onion and time. It is skimmed four times and it is never reheated from the day before.

The rice

Cooked in three batches

Half past eleven, half past one, half past three. If you come at the end of a batch we will tell you to wait eight minutes rather than serve you the bottom of the pan.

The pickles

Made on Mondays

Whatever the market had too much of. That is why the small dish next to your bowl is different in February than it is in July.

A board of grilled food and small dishes, seen from above.

Before you come

Booking
We do not take bookings for fewer than six people and we cannot seat more than six at all. So: no bookings. Come early or come late.
Closing
When the broth is gone. That is usually between two and four on a weekday and by one on a Saturday. The board by the door is updated hourly; the website is not.
Paying
Card only, at the counter, before you sit. It sounds unfriendly and it is the reason the queue moves.
Allergies
The broth has fish in it and the kitchen has sesame everywhere. We will tell you honestly what we cannot promise, which on a busy Friday is most things.
Children
Very welcome, and there are two low stools. There is no high chair, because there is no room for one between the counter and the wall.
Takeaway
Rice yes, broth no. Broth in a lid is a sad thing by the time you get home, and we would rather you thought well of us.