City Hall ramen shop: summer tsukemen and sous-vide chashu, Mentsuru

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch?

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a ramen shop in a ground-floor space within a 5-minute walk of Exit 10 of City Hall Station (Line 2). It's a winning location. I saw lots of office workers with ID badges around their necks, and since I'd come because I'd heard it was a City Hall Station office-worker favorite, I spotted that right away! It's also a handy stop if you're visiting Seoul and heading to nearby Deoksugung Palace or the Seoul Museum of Art.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch hours: is there a break time?

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is open from 11:00 to 21:30, every day of the year, with no break time. Mentsuru is a ramen chain whose slogan is that it's a hangover ramen specialist, armed with a service mindset of no days off and no break time. That's a huge plus when you have to eat at an awkward hour! The hours cover lunch, dinner, and even a second round after a team dinner. There's a 1st floor and a basement; they seat you on the 1st floor first and guide you downstairs if it's full.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch menu and ramen prices

The ramen lineup at Mentsuru City Hall Branch covers everything: tonkotsu, chicken-broth ramen, abura soba (brothless oil noodles), and tsukemen (dipping noodles). Everything, really. They cover the whole world of ramen.

The entrance shouts "ramen shop" to anyone who looks at it, so you can't miss this City Hall Station office-worker favorite. At the kiosk right by the entrance you order the tonkotsu lineup, and if you go up to the 1st floor on the left you order the chicken-broth lineup. I guess they split them so people don't get the menus mixed up, which is a smart touch. I like clean, clear broths, so I picked the chicken-broth base. Ramen runs about ₩11,000-12,000, just the right price to earn that City Hall Station office-worker favorite title.

Atmosphere and seating at Mentsuru City Hall Branch

The shop is split into bar tables and group seating, and it was so cool and comfortable it woke me right up. It's perfectly good for eating alone at City Hall Station too. The free side dish is yuzu-pickled danmuji (yellow pickled radish), which is fresh and gives you a boost. I also saw lots of celebrity autographs on the bar side.

A surprisingly friendly staff member serves the food with a short introduction of the dish. I get cravings every so often for Japanese ramen's perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg and chashu (braised pork).. My companion devoured the signature shoyu ramen (soy sauce ramen), so I'll try that next time.

What does Mentsuru's summer hiyashi tsukemen taste like?

Since it's summer, I went for the cold hiyashi tsukemen. It's one of the most refreshing items at Mentsuru City Hall Branch. Chewy noodles piled with chashu, scallions, a soft-boiled egg, seaweed, and onion are dipped into the special sauce on the left.

The tsukemen sauce at Mentsuru City Hall Branch wasn't soy-based; it tasted like bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodle) sauce. The first tsukemen I ever had had a rich, heavy soy base, so I assumed this would be the same, but it seems they've given it a Korean twist: cool, sweet, tangy, and spicy. I was fine with it. The noodles in particular were fresh and chewy, with a nice thickness.

Extra sous-vide chashu: how big was the portion?

I added sous-vide chashu to the hiyashi tsukemen and it was very filling. I should have added menma (bamboo shoots) too! A one-bowl dish that comes out fast like ramen is naturally what nearby office workers pick. With such a varied lineup, even if you go with coworkers, everyone will find something they like, so I got the impression it'll survive for a long, long time as a City Hall Station office-worker favorite.

Is Mentsuru a good office lunch near City Hall Station?

What impressed me at Mentsuru City Hall Branch was how much the staff seemed to value teamwork. Busy places really are different! They already have shops nationwide, but I think the City Hall Branch will settle in for the long haul too.

To all the office workers: slurp it down at Mentsuru City Hall Branch, then fill the rest of your lunch break with a walk along the stone-wall path! Safe through today again, fighting!

Even with team dinners and overtime, Mentsuru the hangover ramen shop is waiting for you. Even on hot days you sometimes have to eat something hearty. Eat ramen and cheer up!