About Matsudai Ramen
the first dedicated ramen shop in wales. it started as a pop-up in 2019, spent lockdown going out frozen in the post, and now lives in an old bank in grangetown.
before any of this
none of us had worked in a professional kitchen. the whole thing came out of the music industry instead: bands, managing bands, driving vans up and down the country for other people's tours.
then a bowl of ramen in a japanese place in cheltenham, which wasn't very good. that turned into a lot of reading, and then a lot of cooking, and eventually into this.
the dining room years
the first pop-ups sold out in minutes, which meant every noodle made by hand. 250 people booked in, two of us in a dining room with a kitchenaid, forty-eight hours straight.
then march 2020, and matsudai was shut before it had properly started.
so we froze it and posted it
people in aberdeen and penzance started eating matsudai ramen. those orders, and a loan from the development bank of wales, got us the keys to a building.
the bank
august 2022. matsudai ramen at the bank, in an old natwest in grangetown - the first dedicated ramen shop in wales. seventy seats, open kitchen, the vaults still down there underneath it.
we collaborate with people we like, the specials change constantly, and the noodles are still made here.
now
kits go out frozen, next day, from a unit in taffs well. the house rayu took three stars at the great taste awards in 2026, which fewer than 2% of entries manage.
we don't cut corners on the food and we try to be decent to each other.