City Hall ramen restaurant with oolong tea and peach cider: Mentsuru

Today's honest review is of Mentsuru, a ramen spot near City Hall Station famous among office workers for its deep, rich broth haha.

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and what are the hours?

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is at 1st floor, unit 1, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, within a minute's walk of City Hall Station. It's open daily 11:00–21:30, last order 21:00, and there's no parking.

It's a great City Hall Station spot when you're craving something warm and filling for lunch or on your way home from work, and it's totally fine for solo dining!

It's also not far from the Deoksugung stone wall walkway, so it's a really convenient spot for lunch near the office or for a solo bite after a stroll around Deoksugung haha.

Why the basement and 1st-floor kiosk menus differ at Mentsuru

There's one tip you absolutely need to know before visiting Mentsuru!! The ramen menus you can order from the basement kiosk and the 1st-floor kiosk are actually different haha.

• Basement kiosk menu: tonkotsu ramen, tsukemen, mazesoba, gyudon, chashu don, hormone don, motsu soba, and more
• 1st-floor kiosk menu: shoyu ramen, spicy shoyu ramen, tori paitan shio ramen, motsu ramen, abura soba, tsukemen, gyudon, and more

For sides there's crispy gara-age (Japanese fried chicken), fried gyoza, a mini rice bowl, and takoyaki, and the drinks lineup goes well beyond basic soda to include nutty oolong tea, nostalgic ramune, and melon cider, watermelon cider, and even peach cider!! With chilled Asahi draft beer, highballs, and Ganbare Otosan sake also on offer, it's perfect for a light drink after work too 👍

On this visit, what I ordered on the 1st floor was!! The combo of motsu ramen (₩15,000), handmade gara-age (₩7,000), oolong tea (₩3,000), and peach cider (₩4,000) 🤍

What are the solo dining seats like at Mentsuru City Hall Branch?

Walking into Mentsuru City Hall Branch, the clean open kitchen layout instantly won my trust!!

Best of all, there were plenty of comfortable solo seats, so eating alone felt completely stress-free haha. Cold ice water and crunchy pickled radish are self-serve at every seat, and there's even a thoughtful phone stand so you can watch videos while eating — I was really impressed by the owner's attention to detail 🤍

Oolong tea 3,000 won and peach cider 4,000 won to start

After ordering, the cold oolong tea and sweet-tangy peach cider arrived first! The peach cider was so good haha. The oolong tea paired really well as a palate cleanser between bites of the rich ramen and gara-age!!

Motsu ramen 15,000 won: beef tripe down to the last noodle

A little later, today's main event arrived — the motsu ramen and golden-fried handmade gara-age — and wow... isn't the bowl already impressively generous?! Haha. Stirring the motsu ramen I'd been so excited for with my chopsticks, I was genuinely surprised at how generously the chewy beef tripe was packed in, all the way down under the noodles 🤍

There was zero funky smell typical of beef tripe, just deep, savory fat flavor, and the spicy, punchy broth base perfectly balanced out the richness haha.

Slurping the chewy noodles soaked in the spicy, rich broth along with the tender beef tripe, my mouth exploded with savory heat — a truly satisfying bowl!! It felt like it would be perfect for curing a hangover too 👍

Handmade gara-age 7,000 won: the side you shouldn't skip

And the handmade gara-age I ordered as a side — I would have genuinely regretted not ordering it haha. Fried fresh the moment I ordered, still steaming, and the juices exploded the second I bit in 🤍

The seasoning was nicely salty and well-balanced, pairing great with the oolong tea, and the whole time I couldn't stop thinking a cold Asahi draft would've been the perfect match haha.

Definitely try the combo of spicy motsu ramen loaded with beef tripe and crispy-outside, juicy-inside handmade gara-age 🤍

If you're near City Hall Station or Deoksugung looking for a truly deep, savory Japanese ramen restaurant, or you want a quality solo dining experience, I highly, highly recommend Mentsuru!