Mazesoba and mini donburi at a City Hall ramen restaurant: Mentsuru

I visited Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a hotspot for office workers near City Hall Station who want proper Japanese-style ramen and mazesoba, haha! I usually go here on busy lunch breaks when I want something warm and filling, but this time I noticed there was a branch right near City Hall among their several locations, so I ordered their signature hits — mazesoba, spicy tonkotsu ramen, and a mini donburi (rice bowl) on the side — to get both noodles and rice in one meal, hehe.

How to find Mentsuru City Hall Branch: 3 minutes from City Hall Station Exit 10

The location is about a 3-minute walk from City Hall Station Exit 10! It's not tucked away in some alley either, so I found it right away with no worry of getting lost.

There are two entrances — the one I went through led down to the basement, and if you go up a half flight of stairs there's another space that feels like a 1.5th floor!!

Inside Mentsuru: counter (dachi) seats and the weekend wait

It was interesting that the menu is a little different depending on the floor at Mentsuru City Hall Branch. The interior is mostly clean, tidy bar-table seating (dachi seats), which is perfect for solo diners on a busy lunch break as well as for going with friends!!

I visited on a weekend, and while there were quite a few couples on dates like me, since it's near City Hall Station, there were also a lot of office workers who'd come in to eat while working the weekend~! It's a popular spot, so there can be a lunchtime wait on weekdays, but the food comes out fast and turnover is quick, so tables opened up really quickly!

It seems a lot of famous celebrities have visited too, because there were tons of autographs on the wall~ (though these days I'm so out of touch with pop culture that I could only recognize a limited number of them, haha)

Anyway! With such a wide variety of menu items, I agonized over what to eat and ended up ordering the mazesoba, the spicy tonkotsu ramen, and — since I'm a die-hard rice person — even the mini donburi on top!

Free drink for a Google review, plus the pickled radish side

While waiting a bit after ordering, haha, I noticed a review event posted on the wall! There were tons of foreign customers too, and let's be honest, leaving a Naver review is kind of a hassle for them...! So leave a Google review and you get a free drink — total win~~ haha. Such a thoughtful little event!

And the side dish was tangy pickled radish (danmuji), which turned out to be the perfect pairing once the food arrived!

Why the mini donburi is the best side with ramen or mazesoba

First to arrive was the mini donburi!! The perfect companion to the main dishes, wouldn't you say? Haha. It's the ideal side to order when ramen or mazesoba alone might feel like just a bit too little~ (I noticed most other people were ordering takoyaki though~!)

It's a mini size, but with meat toppings and salty mayonnaise piled on top of the rice, it's really tasty!! Haha.

What Mentsuru's mazesoba tastes like: thick noodles, egg yolk, house sauce

My all-time favorite, mazesoba, is basically an addictive block of umami! Mentsuru's mazesoba looks incredibly delicious just from the visuals alone...!

With a generous pile of meat, scallions, seaweed flakes, and special seasoning sauce on top of the egg yolk, mixing it all up and taking a bite is so, so good~

The chewy, thick noodles soak up the seasoning perfectly, giving it a really great texture, haha!

The bittersweet scallions and nutty egg yolk balance out what could otherwise be a heavy sauce, and adding a little kelp vinegar partway through makes it even tastier~! Haha. There wasn't any guidance on it, but apparently other places usually offer rice too... there was no mention of that here though, so I couldn't ask, unfortunately.

Spicy tonkotsu ramen and the catch with noodle refills

Next up was the spicy tonkotsu ramen!! It takes the deep, rich pork bone broth of regular tonkotsu ramen and adds a fiery, spicy kick~! The heavy yet sharp broth completely fills you up, to the point where it feels like a hangover cure even without having drunk, hahaha.

The savory richness of the long-simmered pork bone broth blends with the spicy seasoning for a clean spiciness with no greasiness~ The chashu that comes with it is also a total match made in heaven!!! Haha. One small letdown: at other ramen places, they usually just let you add noodles anytime, but here it's only possible with the initial order! A little disappointing, but with the side dishes I wasn't left starving anyway, haha.

The combo to order at Mentsuru City Hall Branch

Anyway! Stress-relieving spicy tonkotsu ramen, umami-packed mazesoba, and mini donburi together make an unbeatable combo~! If you're near City Hall Station looking for deep-flavored Japanese ramen or mazesoba, I recommend giving Mentsuru City Hall Branch a try! Next time I'm going to order takoyaki as my side~~