Curtain-open window seat solo ramen at a Jung-gu restaurant: Mentsuru

Ramen today! I'm not really someone who loves ramen since I can't handle greasy food that well, but sometimes I just crave it -!

The Mentsuru I'm introducing today is a certified, certified, certified good restaurant!

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• It's right by City Hall Station, so it's super easy to find
• It's near Jeongdong-gil, the Seoul Museum of Art, the MMCA, Deoksugung and more, so it'd be a great stop while touring central Seoul. I went there for work and didn't realize the location was this good — I should've swung by the museum too, to fill up on some culture while I was at it. Even the stone walls around the restaurant have that vibe!

This is also a great spot for anyone who works near City Hall Station or comes on business trips around City Hall. City Hall is a major business district and central to Seoul, but it's also convenient for people traveling in from the regions, so a lot of seminars are held here — good pick if you're attending an event like that. Also extremely, extremely, extremely good for solo dining.

How is the service and cleanliness at Mentsuru? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• They greet you in a really loud, welcoming voice
• What genuinely, genuinely, genuinely surprised me: ramen restaurants use a lot of pork fat, so it's really common for tables to feel a little sticky, but Mentsuru City Hall Branch is truly, truly, truly spotless. Eating there, I understood why — they keep wiping the tables on a really regular, even short, cycle, refilling water, restocking side dishes, and checking there's extra tissue at all times. Such thorough hygiene management makes for an even more reassuring atmosphere to eat in!!
• When they bring the food, they ask you to let them know if it's too salty or too bland — I'm not usually sensitive to salt so I just went 'oh okay' and let it slide, but it seems like they'll adjust it if it doesn't suit your taste
• Bonus: rice is free!
• The turnover is fast too, true to Japanese fast-food-style ramen
• Both a bar table (counter seats) for eating solo without any pressure, and regular tables for groups

What do the shoyu ramen and handmade gara-age taste like? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What I ordered was the shoyu ramen (₩11,000) and handmade gara-age (₩7,000). Feast mode!!!

• The shoyu ramen was genuinely clean and delicious, with zero gamey meat smell. I don't really like ramen because it's usually greasy, and even on trips to Japan I only eat ramen maybe once during the whole trip, but somehow this one didn't get sickening — maybe they localized it for Korean tastes? And I love the egg that goes into ramen, and this one was genuinely so-good-it-hurts good
• The noodles are boiled to a chewy texture and the broth soaks in well, and the combination of soft chashu with a soft-boiled ajitama (egg) is great

• You know that hot, crispy taste of chicken fried fresh in good oil? Super delicious. That chili sauce is a bit spicy, which I think is actually what kept it from getting sickening. Try a bite first, and if it's too spicy for you just dip lightly! Or go heavy on the mayo instead.
• The portion is huge!!!

Cleaned the bowl haha. When am I ever going to lose the weight haha

How much does a solo meal at Mentsuru cost? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nowadays a meal easily runs over ₩15,000, so this felt affordable. Especially for ramen, it felt like even more of a deal! And since the portions weren't small either, there was genuinely no sense of being shortchanged.

Interior and window seats at Mentsuru City Hall Branch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• I think the owner might be a LE SSERAFIM fan (???) or maybe not. There's a Rain album next to it too
• There's a bar table too. Hard to see, but there's a spot to plug in a charger. The cups are paper, which I actually liked better.

• The curtain is normally closed but they opened it for me — I felt a little awkward asking them to open it, but the view was like a painting. I don't really like feeling boxed in, so that made it feel even more special? Isn't it pretty?
• Total tmi, but that fan under the air conditioner — you see those a lot these days and it looks great. Wonder if I could get one for my place too

There was a 4-person table too.

Hmm, I really need to lose weight though, starting tomorrow for real

If you're eating solo near City Hall Station, go to Mentsuru City Hall Branch — a ramen restaurant with this level of table cleanliness is rare.