Motsu ramen with 5-piece takoyaki at Mentsuru, Children's Grand Park

Ramen worth trying near Children's Grand Park: Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch

Today I visited Mentsuru to try the ramen everyone talks about near Children's Grand Park, haha. Mentsuru has several branches around Seoul, and the Seongsu branch in particular is so popular that people wait in line. The Children's Grand Park branch tends to get a lot of students, so if you time your visit right, you can skip the wait.

Conceptual interior and seating

I was impressed by the conceptual interior when I walked in 👹👹 The seating layout is efficient without feeling cramped. Solo dining is easy, and with a reservation, it seems groups of five or more could be accommodated too.

Kiosk or table pad — how do you order?

You can order at the kiosk in one corner of the store before taking a seat, or sit down first and order from the pad installed at each table. By the way, there's an event where uploading a review gets you a free drink or fried gyoza, so enjoy your meal and grab the freebie too, haha.

Chopsticks, water, and pickled radish are self-serve. A spoon comes with your ramen order.

If you'd rather browse the menu more comfortably, there's a paper menu on the wall too! Note that there's also alcohol on the drink menu, so it's a good spot for a quick evening drink with dinner, lol.

Each menu item has a description, so if you're torn, I recommend reading through them :) By the way, every menu item can have its salt level and spice level adjusted!

What I ordered

• Motsu ramen ₩15,000
• Takoyaki ₩5,000

Motsu ramen, a spicy broth piled high with toppings

I was craving a spicy ramen with beef tripe (motsu), but I ordered it because I was curious whether the spiciness would be more of a deep, savory heat or a sweet-spicy one, haha. The bowl arrived with the ingredients piled much higher than I expected — I was totally surprised 🍜🍜🍜

At a glance, you can see the green onions, thinly sliced chili, and thick piles of tripe and meat — full marks for visuals ✨✨ The bowl is huge and they give you plenty of broth too, so I think this would be even more enjoyable once fall and winter roll around.

Dig in a little and you'll find the bean sprouts piled up underneath too, adding a crunchy texture to enjoy :) The broth had the savory fat of beef tripe and beef mixed in, and the spicy kick had that distinctive sweet umami you get from slow-simmered meat — genuinely delicious.

The combo with 5 pieces of takoyaki

The takoyaki came with 5 pieces, topped generously with a sweet, savory sauce and green onions — great visuals. Since the motsu ramen is on the spicier side, using the takoyaki's savory flavor to tame the heat made for a perfect combination 👍👍

Each piece had a chunk of octopus inside, and they gave a generous amount of ginger slices to pair with it, so you can enjoy it in different combinations :)

The beef tripe portion was really more than I expected, and the fatty bits inside were savory and chewy. There was so much topping that at first I thought I'd just eat the tripe and beef alone, but there was still plenty left for later :)

By the end, the umami was so good I wanted to mix rice into the broth, lol. Such a satisfying meal :)