Inside Koji, Sunderland's new ramen and noodle bar

A new Sunderland restaurant is serving up oodles of noodles and more at the heart of the city's burgeoning culture quarter.

Koji opened for a soft launch in mid-December after transforming the former No 2 Church Lane site.

Inspired by the kick and spice of Far Eastern food, it's dishing up a range of ramen dishes, noodle options, bao buns, gyoza, Korean chicken wings, seaweed salad, kimchi and more.

It's been brought to the city by the same team behind nearby Mexico 70, North and Ship Isis, with the team drawing on their love of Asian food for their latest venture.

They've also recently acquired The Kings Arms in Deptford with plans to put it back on the map.

Danny King from the hospitality team said: "The space became available and we've been looking to do a venture like this for a while. We're big fans of ramen and bao buns and there's not many restaurants in Sunderland doing options such as that.

"We started off in December with a trial menu but we now have the full menu available and we'll be doing brunch offerings in addition to that."

Speaking about the response so far, he said: "It's gone really well, we're full on weekends but as we're a fairly large restaurants there's plenty of space for walk ins with people able to have a drink at the bar."

It's one in a wave of new openings, with The Keel Tavern in Keel Tavern, Saba Maison de Luxe and Bianco in Green Terrace all opening their doors in recent weeks.

January 30 will see the arrival of The Botanist, with The Muddler also heading to Keel Square.

Danny said it's great to see so much variety in the city centre.

"We hope it all helps to bring more people into the city centre, rather than diluting the footfall we have," he said. "It definitely encourages more people from Sunderland to spend their money in Sunderland."

Koji has created 10 new jobs for the city including head chef Oberon Wilson who was raised in Japan.

The drinks menu also has an Asian influence with options such as Asahi on draught with bottles including Kirin Ichiban lager and cocktails such as plum negroni and melon yuzu fizz.

There's currently scaffolding on the building as part of building restoration works as part of the Bishopwearmouth Townscape Heritage Scheme, but the restaurant is very much open for business.

Opening hours and booking

*Koji, on the corner of Church Lane, is currently open Thursdays and Fridays from 4pm, 12pm to 11pm on Saturdays and 12pm until 5pm on Sundays.

No need to book, it's walk ins only.

You can also just visit for drinks with a cocktail offer of two for £12 on Friday and Saturday evenings.