Euljiro ramen bar with six chashu and gyoza fry: Mentsuru Euljiro

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch: solo ramen near Euljiro3(sam)-ga Station

I visited Mentsuru Euljiro Branch, a ramen bar near Euljiro Station famous for its rich, delicious motsu ramen (offal ramen). This place is a verified favorite with a 4.93 rating on Naver and 7,200+ visitor reviews. It's a bit of a distance from my house, but since I was already downtown, I made a special trip for good ramen! Taking on a solo dining challenge after a while — or should I call it solo ramen-ing.

Why I chose tori paitan with extra chashu over the spicy motsu ramen

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch's signature dish is the BEST Motsu Ramen, apparently a offal (gopchang) ramen simmered in a spicy seasoned broth with savory offal. It's the most beloved menu item by many, so the flavor is basically guaranteed... but as someone who can't handle spice, the mere word 'spicy' makes me shrink back. Haha.

So instead I picked another dish many people rave about — tori paitan. The description is simple: a ramen with a deeply rich broth. That word 'deep' really hits the spot, haha. There were several add-on options at ordering, so I hit the extra chashu button too.

I also ordered another BEST menu item, the homemade karaage, and the gyoza fry sitting right next to it on the menu. At a place like this, you have to put dieting on hold and just eat freely. No regrets~!

What the Mentsuru Euljiro dining room is like

From the exterior to the interior, the whole place gives off Japanese vibes — a clean, local-feeling space to enjoy ramen in.

Tori paitan broth: how the chicken bone paitan tastes

After a short wait, the tori paitan ramen arrived first!

Looking up the meaning of tori paitan — tori (chicken) in Japanese, paitan (white broth). If tonkotsu ramen is broth simmered from pork bones, tori paitan is broth simmered from chicken bones and meat. Chicken broth can get overly greasy if the fat isn't removed, but this place's paitan broth had the excess fat skimmed off, giving it a clean yet rich feel. The toppings on top were plated neatly too.

Six chashu slices, and why I ate them plain instead of dipping

Why do delicious dishes always look so glossy? Why does the chashu have such a shine to it?? Anyway, I'm glad I added the extra chashu.

The chashu slices were on the large side, nearly as big as the bowl itself. The edges had a smoky char, and sliced thin, they felt like a cut with a good ratio of lean meat to fat. I tried the chashu on its own first, and it was excellent — fresh and clean-tasting. Good chashu is delicious dipped in the broth too, but I think it has the best flavor eaten plain. With 3 base slices plus 3 extra option slices, I got 6 total, and I only dipped one in the broth — the other five I ate plain because the chashu suited my taste that well.

And the broth... it's genuinely deep. Slightly salty, creamy, and rich all at once. Possibly the best tori paitan I've ever had? I've searched out ramen spots every time I traveled to Japan, but I'd never had tori paitan this good.

The noodles especially stood out — in Japan I often find ramen noodles too soft, which drags the texture down, but here they were nicely soft while still having bite. No wonder Koreans rated this place so highly.

How does the gyoza fry taste?

Next up is the gyoza fry, a dish you eat a lot of in Fukuoka~ haha.

Japanese-style gyoza fry has a different taste from Chinese-style fried dumplings, so I was curious how Mentsuru's version would be.

The plump gyoza were moist, and with a light drizzle of sauce, they had an exotic flavor that was really tasty.

Why the homemade karaage is a BEST menu item

Even better was the karaage~ The gyoza fry was tasty, but there's a real reason the karaage is a BEST menu item.

When I've had karaage in Japan, it was sometimes crispy yet plump chicken thigh meat with delicious batter too. I couldn't forget that taste, so I often order karaage in Korea too. Karaage is made from chicken meat so the texture is usually good, but at bad places it's so mushy you can't tell if it's karaage or boneless fried chicken — genuinely disappointing places exist. Mentsuru's karaage comes with what seems like shichimi seasoning, and it's a real winner with good texture and an exotic Japanese flavor.

It's even better dipped in the sauce. I found myself thinking, wow, I'm eating really good karaage right now... ah, this is nice. Haha.

Even the danmuji (pickled radish) has a yuzu scent — so clean.

Final verdict on Mentsuru Euljiro Branch

You don't have to fly all the way to Japan for ramen anymore, haha. There's a ramen restaurant in Euljiro that's better than plenty of local spots there. Next time I'll have to try the motsu ramen.

• Mentsuru Euljiro Branch
• Address: 26 Mareunnae-ro 2-gil, 1F, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00 – 21:30