Cardiff ramen spot hailed as one of the UK’s best appears in new Guardian series

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh food business has received national recognition after being featured in a brand new series celebrating the chefs and independent restaurants reshaping Britain’s food scene.

Cardiff’s Matsudai Ramen has been prominently featured in the Guardian’s first-ever dedicated food video series, which explores the chefs and independent businesses changing the way Britain eats.

The six-part series, FEED with Jimi Famurewa, is presented by the Guardian restaurant critic and MasterChef judge as he travels across the UK in search of some of the country’s most distinctive and talked-about food trends.

Matsudai is featured in the second episode, which explores the rise of “renegade ramen” and was released on the Guardian website and YouTube channel on Thursday 6th August 2026.

Filmed at Matsudai’s restaurant in Grangetown, Cardiff, the episode calls it “a ramen shop that is genuinely one of the most revered and acclaimed in the entire country.” The episode sees Jimi meet founder James Chant and discover the story behind the cult Cardiff ramen business, which began as a series of sell-out pop-ups before building a nationwide following online.

In the second episode of FEED, James explains that for him “…there’s something a bit ethereal about a great bowl of ramen – it’s like a great band. It’s more than the sum of its parts.”

Jimi then watches as James assembles a bowl of Triple Yuzu Shio Ramen, and on trying it, comments “The noodles have got a little bit of bite – it’s a bit special. This is ramen really worth travelling for.”

FEED launched on Thursday 30th July with an episode examining the viral bakery creations bringing together flavours and influences from around the world. In the ramen episode, Jimi also visits Maneki Ramen in Birmingham, and G.Neko in Colchester.

Later episodes will explore trends including Irish Chinese spice bags and “Britalian-American” pizza. Jimi Famurewa described the series as a celebration of the “hustle, innovation and craft” making Britain’s food landscape more varied and exciting.

‘Genuinely surreal’

James Chant, founder of Matsudai Ramen, said: “Being asked to take part in the Guardian’s first food video series feels genuinely surreal. Matsudai’s whole story has been shaped by the internet. We started with pop-ups that would sell out online in minutes, and when the pandemic stopped us serving people in person, our customers backed us by ordering ramen kits from all over the UK.

“That support eventually allowed us to open our restaurant here in Cardiff, so a series exploring how online communities can help turn food ideas into real businesses feels very relevant to us. It’s also brilliant to see Cardiff and Wales represented in a national series about the creativity and innovation shaping food culture across Britain.”

The appearance marks the latest piece of national recognition for Matsudai, which was founded by former musician James Chant in 2019.

After its first pop-ups proved an immediate success, Matsudai launched a nationwide ramen-kit delivery service during the pandemic. The business has since shipped more than 50,000 orders UK wide and opened Wales’s first standalone ramen restaurant in a former bank on Clare Road in Grangetown.

More recently, Matsudai’s house Rayu Chilli Oil secured the highest possible rating of three stars at the 2026 Great Taste Awards. Only two per cent of the 15,038 products assessed in this year’s awards received the coveted three-star accolade.

Chant added: “Having Jimi and the Guardian team come to Cardiff to hear our story was a huge honour. We can’t wait for people to see the episode.”

Matsudai’s episode of FEED with Jimi Famurewa is on the Guardian website and the Guardian’s YouTube channel now and will be shared and through the Guardian Feast Instagram account on Friday 7th August.

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