City Hall ramen restaurant with spicy mini donburi for two: Mentsuru

Mentsuru City Hall Branch: an after-work ramen dinner in Jung-gu, Seoul

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a hangover-ramen (해장라멘) specialist at 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil in Jung-gu, Seoul. My guy finished work and we met up at City Hall for dinner ᐟ. Tonight's dinner menu: ramen.

A hangover-ramen specialist sounds perfect for the office workers around City Hall Station.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch menu: choosing your bowl by broth

The moment you walk into Mentsuru City Hall Branch there's a kiosk waiting, and the ramen comes in several broth types, which makes choosing fun — soy-sauce base, pork-broth base, chicken-broth base. Most ramen spots specialize in just one broth, so having this many options to pick from felt like a plus. Beyond ramen there are side dishes too — handmade gara-age (Japanese fried chicken), fried gyoza, donburi, and takoyaki — so you wouldn't feel shortchanged sticking to just ramen ~~~

Besides regular soda, there were also oolong tea, Japanese ramune, melon soda, watermelon soda, and peach soda — so many drink options — plus Asahi beer, Suntory highball, soju, and bottled beers of every kind, which seemed perfect to pair with ramen in the evening.

Shoyu ramen on the 1st floor, tonkotsu in the basement

I thought Mentsuru City Hall Branch only had the ground floor, but it turns out there's a basement store too ᐟ. Shoyu ramen and tori paitan are ordered on the 1st floor, while tonkotsu can be ordered in the basement.

The kitchen was fully open, staff quickly helped seat us, the food came out fast right after ordering, and requests were handled promptly, so there was nothing inconvenient about the experience.

Is Mentsuru good for solo dining? Bar seats facing the open kitchen

Mentsuru City Hall Branch had plenty of table seats, but the bar table facing the open kitchen was also spacious and looked great for eating alone. Seemed perfect for grabbing a bowl of ramen solo when hungry after work.

Each seat had black pepper for customizing to your own taste, plus ice water and yuzu pickled radish.

If you leave a Naver review, you get a free drink or fried gyoza — so don't throw away the receipt from the kiosk, leave a review while you wait for the food, and make sure to claim the freebie ᐟᐟ.

Mini donburi for 4,000 won, spicy add-on for 500 won

The first dish we ordered, the mini donburi, was ₩4,000. Customizing it to spicy is an extra ₩500 ᐟᐟᐟ.

It was loaded with cheongyang chili topping, so it had a good kick. Eating ramen alone felt like it was missing something, but this was an easy side to pair with it. Dipping it in the ramen broth especially doubles the savoriness.

Spicy shoyu haejang ramen: a clean-finishing broth

The next dish was the one I ordered — the hangover ramen (spicy shoyu). I wasn't drinking, but I just love a spicy, clean broth, so that's why I picked this. The soy-sauce base's signature clean, savory broth with added spice made for a refreshing, hangover-curing flavor ᐟᐟ. No greasiness at all — the broth finished light and satisfying.

The thin meat slices inside were tender, not tough at all, and the tamago (soft egg) was moist too, so it just slid right down (I added one extra egg).

Spicy tonkotsu ramen: heavy broth and flame-seared chashu

My guy's spicy tonkotsu ramen had a rich, deep pork broth with a deliciously sharp spiciness added ᐟ. The broth was heavy. The combo of noodles that soaked up all that broth plus soft, flame-charred chashu was insane ᐟ. Recommended for days when you want to fill up on a heavy, savory yet sharp-spicy broth.

Which ramen to order at Mentsuru City Hall Branch

The moment the food arrived, we didn't say a word and just inhaled the Mentsuru ramen. Ate so well, so happily.

• If you want a heavy, rich broth — spicy tonkotsu ramen
• If you want a clean, refreshing spicy broth — spicy shoyu hangover ramen

Recommended for the office workers around City Hall Station in urgent need of a hangover cure: Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a City Hall ramen spot.