Yuzu is a tiny Japanese restaurant on Faulkner Street in Chinatown and it has had a queue outside since roughly 2012. About twenty-five covers. No reservations for most sittings. BYOB with no corkage fee. The combination of excellent food, no booze markup, and limited space means you will wait.
The ramen is the best in Manchester and it’s not close. Rich, properly built broth that’s been cooking for hours. The gyoza are handmade and crispy. The katsu curry is comfort food done with actual technique. Nothing on the menu costs more than about twelve quid, which is part of why the queue exists.
The room is basic. Wooden tables, close together, you’ll hear every conversation around you. Service is quick and efficient — they need to turn tables, so don’t expect to linger. Order, eat, leave happy. That’s the deal.
BYOB means you grab a bottle from the off-licence or supermarket beforehand. There’s a Tesco Express on Portland Street, five minutes away. Bring whatever you want — wine, beer, sake if you’re being appropriate. No corkage. This is why the bill comes to twenty quid a head for a meal that tastes like fifty.
Faulkner Street is the heart of Chinatown, a two-minute walk from Piccadilly Gardens.
Queue early. Bring a bottle. Eat ramen. Simple.