The Shoryu chain of ramen bars has opened its first branch outside London, in Manchester’s Piccadilly.

Shoryu specialises in tonkotsu ramen based on a 12-hour pork broth, a style developed in the Hakata district of Fukuoka city on the southwest Japanese island of Kyushu.

Founder Tak Tokumine, a native of Fukuoka, made his first mark on the London market in 1976 with the opening of the Japan Centre – just off Piccadilly.

Another London-based outfit, Drake and Morgan, has also made a move into Manchester, opening the Refinery, a glitzy all-day dining and cocktail bar in Spinningfields, with another to open at 1 St Peter’s Square next spring. There are two Refineries in D&M’s London portfolio, at Bankside and Regent’s Place.