# Authentic shoyu ramen and highball whisky at a City Hall bar: Mentsuru

- By Gaeul (https://superchart.com/en/@last-order-table-2/)
- Written Sep 23, 2026
- Local places › Restaurants › Jung-gu, Seoul
- Sponsored: This visit was sponsored by the business.
- English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@last-order-table-2/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/
- Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@last-order-table-2/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/index.md) · [日本語](https://superchart.com/ja/@last-order-table-2/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/index.md)

## In short

Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a Japanese ramen restaurant a short walk from City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. The writer ordered the authentic shoyu ramen (soy sauce-based ramen) and karaage (Japanese fried chicken) at a handsome bar seat lined with whisky bottles for highballs, and found the depth of the broth on a completely different level. For proper Japanese ramen in central Seoul, Mentsuru City Hall Branch is the answer.

## Good to know

- **Location**: 1F, Unit 1, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul — a short walk from City Hall Station
- **Ordered**: Authentic shoyu ramen, karaage
- **Seating**: Bar seats

*as written by the visitor on Sep 23, 2026*

I had a wonderful meal at a place where you can eat proper Japanese ramen. I was happy and grateful.

![Visit photo of Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a ramen restaurant near City Hall Station](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-01-79mx8-900.webp)

## Mentsuru City Hall Branch: a ramen restaurant busy from the front door

This is Mentsuru, located close to City Hall Station.

![Exterior of Mentsuru City Hall Branch, close to City Hall Station](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-02-yutyr-900.webp)

This is the entrance — no matter when you go, there are always a lot of customers.

![Entrance of Mentsuru City Hall Branch crowded with customers](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-03-6loct-900.webp)

Today I wanted authentic shoyu ramen, so that's what I ordered.

![Menu at Mentsuru City Hall Branch showing the authentic shoyu ramen order](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-04-1r9zw-900.webp)

## Bar seats and highball whisky at Mentsuru City Hall Branch

The bar seats are really gorgeous.

![Gorgeous bar seats at Mentsuru City Hall Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-05-1wuz7-900.webp)

This is the whisky used to make highballs.

![Whisky bottles used for making highballs](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-06-q9eb6-900.webp)

You can leave a review too.

![In-store review guide](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-07-b80ni-900.webp)

This is the pepper, which I love.

![Pepper placed on the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-08-nqmz2-900.webp)

## Mentsuru's authentic shoyu ramen and the depth of its broth

The shoyu ramen finally arrived.

![A bowl of shoyu ramen at Mentsuru City Hall Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-09-6ceap-900.webp)

It's really, truly delicious.

![Side view of shoyu ramen noodles and broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-10-1nrlj-m-899.webp)

![Close-up of Mentsuru's deep, flavorful shoyu ramen broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-11-uygox-1200.webp)

The depth of the broth feels like it's on a completely different level.

![Proper Japanese-style shoyu ramen broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-12-earvj-900.webp)

This is proper Japanese ramen.

## Is the karaage at Mentsuru worth ordering?

The karaage is fantastic.

![A plate of karaage at Mentsuru City Hall Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-13-1qrf4-900.webp)

The karaage has a depth of flavor that's hard to put into words.

![Close-up of deeply flavored karaage](https://img.superchart.com/images/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat/menzuru-city-hall-shoyu-ramen-bar-seat-14-1ubqq-900.webp)

Mentsuru is a place I really love. I'm always rooting for it to keep doing well.

## Useful info: where shoyu ramen came from

### The roots of ramen itself

The prototype of Japanese ramen took shape from the late Meiji era (1868–1912) through the Taisho era (1912–1926), as 'chuka soba,' brought by Chinese immigrants and students, spread through Japan. In port-city Chinatowns like Yokohama and Kobe, Chinese restaurants and street stalls served 'nankin soba' and 'shina soba,' adapted to Japanese tastes.

### Japan's first ramen shop and the birth of shoyu ramen

In 1910, Japan's first dedicated ramen shop, Rairaiken (来々軒), opened in Asakusa, Tokyo. It transformed simple Chinese-style noodles using traditional Japanese ingredients like dried fish, seaweed, and soy sauce (shoyu) — and this soy sauce became the broth base, forming the prototype of shoyu ramen.

Interestingly, in the very early days when ramen was called 'nankin soba,' salt-based shio ramen is said to have come first, and shoyu ramen began when Rairaiken added soy sauce as a base on top of that. In other words, the original form of ramen was shio (salt), and shoyu developed later by adding soy sauce on top.

### How shoyu ramen spread across Japan

With the postwar rise of instant ramen and its nationwide spread through the 1970s, shoyu ramen established itself as the 'basic form' of Japanese ramen. Even today, with Tokyo and Yokohama as its birthplace, it remains the representative ramen style, characterized by a clear brown broth made from chicken bone or vegetable stock plus a soy sauce-based tare.

## Useful info: the origin of karaage (唐揚げ)

### Etymology: why 'kara' means China

The name 'karaage' itself refers to Chinese-style cooking. 'Kara (唐)' refers to China, specifically the Tang dynasty (618–907), and 'age (揚げ)' means fried. Originally, this cooking method referred to frying without batter, sometimes called 'kara-age' in the sense of 'empty frying.'

### The earliest records and how karaage reached Japan

The earliest record of the karaage cooking method (then written as 空揚, with the same pronunciation) appears in the late 17th century, during the Genroku era. The common theory is that a frying method brought over from China was absorbed into Japanese food culture during the Edo period (1600–1868), though there's also a theory that 16th-century Portuguese missionaries introduced frying techniques.

### How karaage became a chicken dish for everyone

Originally, karaage wasn't a term for a specific ingredient — it referred to the cooking method itself, of lightly coating meat or fish in starch and flour before frying. It became relatively recent that it came to mean 'fried chicken' as we know it today — chicken karaage started becoming popular in the 1930s as a menu item at 'Chinese-style (唐揚げ)' restaurants.

It became a common home-cooked dish only after World War II. During the postwar food shortage, chicken was relatively easy to get and cheap, which helped karaage spread widely as both a home dish and an izakaya menu item.

### Karaage's place on the table today

Today it's a national dish found everywhere in Japan — convenience stores, izakayas, festival stalls. In Oita Prefecture, an annual 'Karaage Festival' draws around 60 participating shops, making it a local specialty in its own right.

## Where it is

- Mentsuru City Hall Branch (멘츠루 시청점)
- 1F, 1 Ho, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
- 서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 2 1층 1호
- 37.5629944, 126.9731249
- Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EB%A9%98%EC%B8%A0%EB%A3%A8%20%EC%8B%9C%EC%B2%AD%EC%A0%90/@37.5629944,126.9731249,17z

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