Euljiro ramen restaurant for abura soba and rice: Mentsuru

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch, tucked between Euljiro 3-ga Station and Chungmuro Station, is where you can try all kinds of ramen!!

Keeping dinner simple: Mentsuru, which I loved before, has an Euljiro branch too, so off we go for ramen!!

Parking and waiting at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch

There is no separate parking lot, so I recommend using a nearby public street parking lot. If you take the subway or bus, it is about a 3–4 minute walk, so keep that in mind!

Since it is ramen, turnover is quick; even when the restaurant is full, you can generally get in after waiting only around 5–10 minutes, so keep that in mind!

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch menu and order

• Motsu ramen (beef intestine ramen) ₩15,000
• Tori paitan ₩12,000
• Shoyu ramen / spicy shoyu ramen ₩11,000
• Shio ramen ₩11,000
• Abura soba ₩12,000
• Tsukemen ₩14,000
• Horumon-don (large-intestine rice bowl) ₩15,000; gyudon ₩11,000
• Handmade karaage ₩7,000; chicken-skin gyoza ₩5,000; fried gyoza ₩5,000
• Melon soda, watermelon soda, peach soda, Ramune, oolong tea; bottled Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin beer; Chamisul; and Jim Beam highballs

Along with all kinds of ramen, there are Japanese-style rice bowls too. Beyond regular sodas, drinks include melon soda, watermelon soda, peach soda, Ramune, and oolong tea! For alcohol, there are bottled Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin beer, Chamisul, and Jim Beam highballs—such a great selection!!

Order at the kiosk by the entrance. For ramen, you can choose regular or spicy, plus extra toppings!

A bar-seat atmosphere that is great for dining alone

Once inside, there is a long bar in front of the open kitchen, making it ideal for eating alone in Euljiro! Even on the weekend, there were so many solo diners!!

There are also mostly tables for two, plus four-person tables. It has a touch of Japanese atmosphere while still feeling warm and comfortable!

They are currently running a Naver receipt-review event too: check it out for one free peach iced tea or yuzu ade!

Each table has yuzu danmuji (yellow pickled radish) and a whole-pepper grinder. The sweet-tangy danmuji really gets your appetite going, and freshly grinding pepper over your food to taste gives it the best aroma!!

Shio ramen, abura soba, and handmade karaage

We ordered one ramen each, plus handmade karaage for a proper side.

The karaage is made with fresh chicken thigh, battered and fried to order, so it is crisp outside and juicy inside—impossible for it not to taste good!! It comes with sliced lemon, so squeeze it on right away for a fresher fried-chicken moment ><

Dip it in the special mayo sauce and it becomes even more delicious: smooth and nutty^^ Everyone, a side is essential!! (Though the chicken-skin gyoza is seriously delicious too..)

Shio ramen with perfectly balanced saltiness

Jureu had the shio ramen! It is chicken-broth ramen seasoned with salt.

The noodles are medium-thick with a lovely texture.

It also has menma (seasoned bamboo shoots) and plenty of chashu even without extra toppings. Add a soft-boiled egg—how could you not love that?! You might expect shio ramen to be salty because it is salt-seasoned, but the seasoning is so perfectly balanced that hardly anyone could dislike it!

Abura soba with poached egg and oil

My abura soba looked like this even without extra toppings@@ It has a poached egg, five oils, roughly cut meat, scallions, menma, and chashu!!

Add kombu oil too, and you will really get even more umami!!

The noodles have a slightly firm bite, which feels different, and the moderately bold flavors make it fun to eat~

You can ask the staff for a bowl of rice; we asked for just a little, and it was so good mixed into the leftover abura soba sauce! The two of us ate properly for just ₩30,000~~

Even the complimentary candy spotted on the way out made for a perfect finish with such a thoughtful little dessert!!