Afternoon tsukemen with no break time near City Hall, Seoul: Mentsuru
In short
Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a Japanese ramen restaurant on Seosomun-ro 11-gil near City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, open straight through from 11:00 to 21:30 with no break time. Stopping in after a walk around Gyeongbokgung and before a KTX train, the writer ordered tsukemen (dipping ramen), hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl) and a 330ml draft beer at the kiosk. The tsukemen tasted almost as savory as the best bowl the writer had in Fukuoka, and the hormone-don came piled with intestine and beef brisket in a sweet-salty sauce — only the missing wasabi disappointed.
Good to know
- Hours
- 11:00–21:30 (last order 21:00), no break time
- Location
- Seosomun-ro 11-gil, basement 1F to 1F; the main door is around the corner
- How to order
- Order at the kiosk when you walk in, then staff show you to a seat
- What was ordered
- Tsukemen, hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl), 330ml draft beer
- Table setting
- Water, water glass, napkins, pickled radish, chopsticks, pepper
as written by the visitor on Sep 20, 2026
Right before catching an evening KTX... I was hanging out at Gyeongbokgung when I suddenly, desperately craved hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl), so off I went to find a place!!
Fifteen minutes by bus from Gyeongbokgung, twenty minutes on foot from Seoul Station — perfectly in between, right at City Hall Station — I visited Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a spot well known among office workers in the area.
Cutting to the chase: tsukemen with an umami explosion that brought back memories of the best tsukemen of my life in Fukuoka, paired with an out-of-control savory hormone-don... total satisfaction, and this is my honest review!!
Where Mentsuru City Hall Branch is and when it opens
The restaurant sits between basement level 1 and the ground floor, right on the street.
We went in through the side connected to the basement, and it turned out there was a front entrance if you just walked around the corner... lol.
Hours are 11:00–21:30, with last order at 21:00.
Honestly, one reason I picked this place was that it has no break time...!!!
My KTX was at 6pm so I needed to eat a bit early, but every place I checked had a break time that started at 5pm... ㅜ So I searched for somewhere that would fit my schedule, and found this place!!
Kiosk ordering first, seating after at Mentsuru
Mentsuru City Hall Branch has a slightly unusual entry system! You open the door, place your order at the kiosk first, and then get shown to a seat.
If you just sit down without being seated by staff, your order might not come through — make sure you wait to be shown to a table!!
It's clearly a well-known lunch spot for office workers near City Hall — right after we walked in, a line started forming behind us... We could've easily ended up waiting if we'd been a little later~~ Still, turnover seems pretty fast given the type of menu.
Mentsuru's menu board and what comes on the table
I was so overwhelmed I only managed to photograph the ramen menu... While glancing around I spotted draft beer on the menu and ordered it like I was under some kind of spell...haha
Each table basically comes set with water, a water cup, tissues, pickled radish, chopsticks, and pepper.
Tsukemen, hormone-don and a 330ml draft beer
We each ordered a 330ml draft beer, and the glass was bigger than expected with a really generous pour — total value! Perfect for a cool, refreshing sip~~
Hormone-don: beef intestine plus brisket in sweet-salty sauce
First up, the hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl) I ordered!
Just the visual of popping the egg yolk was already insane..... The beef intestine and beef brisket come mixed together, and the intestine portion is definitely not skimpy! It's already generous on its own, and then they pile a good amount of beef brisket right on top?
The sauce is sweet and salty in a totally addictive way!! It was a bit of a letdown that there was no wasabi on the side, but the pickled radish, ginger, and cheongyang chili peppers cut through the richness completely, so I enjoyed every bite until the end.
Tsukemen that tastes like the best bowl in Fukuoka
And then my boyfriend's tsukemen!! Honestly, I have a lot to say about tsukemen.....
Years ago I had the worst first tsukemen experience somewhere in Seoul... and then, on a trip to Fukuoka, I met the best tsukemen of my life, my second one ever.
This was my third tsukemen ever in my life, and I can confidently say it was almost exactly like the one from that famous Fukuoka restaurant!!!
Of course that Fukuoka restaurant is so uniquely amazing that I can't say it's a perfect match, but this came close enough to say it basically recreated that flavor...
The salty, savory blend of different broths mingles together in this mysterious way, and right at the end there's a spicy kick... It's hard to put into words... you really just have to try it yourself
Is Mentsuru a good first tsukemen in Seoul?
If you're new to tsukemen, or you've been searching for genuinely good tsukemen in Seoul, trying your first bowl here seems like a pretty solid choice! It's clearly a well-known office-worker favorite near City Hall for a reason...
Sweet-salty hormone-don, umami-packed tsukemen, plus a cold draft beer on the side — that combo is just insane... I'm definitely coming back next time to work through the rest of the menu~~!
Where it is
2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, 1F, Unit 1, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 2 1층 1호
