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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Jay Rayner

Matsudai Ramen, Cardiff: ‘Bowls of deep care and thoughtfulness’ – restaurant review

Matsudai Ramen Cardiff Emli Bendixen Wales
‘A broad, brightly lit space, happily spared the cringing addition of faux geisha lanterns’: Matsudai Ramen, Cardiff.
‘A broad, brightly lit space, happily spared the cringing addition of faux geisha lanterns’: Matsudai Ramen, Cardiff. Photograph: Emli Bendixen/The Observer

Matsudai Ramen, 183-185 Clare Road, Cardiff CF11 6QS. Small plates £4-£8, ramen £12.50-£15, dessert £7, cocktails from £8.25, beers from £4.75

In the beginning was a logo: two concentric rings to represent a bowl, with two lines representing chopsticks bisecting them, their tips touching in the centre. Around the edge are the words Matsudai Ramen, which roughly means “Ramen Forever”. James Chant, a one-time musician, tour manager for noughties indie bands you won’t recall and organiser of music festivals, had turned 40 and needed a new direction. He was, he told me after dinner, “tired of facilitating the creativity of others rather than being creative”.

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