Five-dish order for two at a City Hall ramen shop, Seoul: Mentsuru

What kind of place is Mentsuru City Hall Branch?

Today I went with a friend to Mentsuru City Hall Branch near City Hall Station! I usually love Japanese food and ramen, so while looking for a good ramen spot near City Hall Station, I ended up here. Mentsuru has all kinds of ramen plus dishes like gyudon (beef rice bowl) and abura soba (brothless ramen), so it's a good place to visit when you can't decide what to eat. Once we actually saw the menu, there was so much we wanted that the two of us stood there deliberating for ages haha.

What two people should order at Mentsuru

At Mentsuru City Hall Branch, we ordered tonkotsu ramen, abura soba, and gyudon between the two of us, plus takoyaki and gyoza dumplings as sides. It was genuinely hard to choose with just the two of us there. We thought about each getting our own ramen, but we were also curious about abura soba and wanted to try gyudon too, so in the end we each picked one thing we wanted and ordered them all. Looking back, that's a pretty generous spread for two people lol.

We ordered and waited for the food, and it came out one dish at a time faster than I expected, which I liked. With so many dishes ordered, the table filled up completely, and just looking at it put me in a good mood. When there are a couple of you at a Japanese restaurant, ordering a variety and sharing really is the way to go.

How rich is the tonkotsu ramen broth?

We started with the tonkotsu ramen. When you think tonkotsu ramen, the first thing that comes to mind is that rich, savory broth, and taking that first sip, it was better than I expected. It wasn't overwhelmingly greasy or heavy — you could really taste that distinctive deep ramen flavor. Eating the noodles together with the broth, I thought, this is exactly what ramen is supposed to taste like. With warm broth and noodles together, it was filling enough to work as a full meal on its own.

Is the gyudon worth adding to the ramen?

The gyudon was another must! Having a rice dish on the table makes the whole meal so much more filling. The meat and seasoning on top of the rice worked really well together, making it easy and comfortable to eat. It gave a different kind of fullness than the ramen alone, so if you're ordering a spread of dishes to share, throwing in a gyudon isn't a bad idea at all.

How the abura soba tastes

Then we tried the abura soba I'd been curious about. Something about it looked delicious just from the menu, and once I actually tasted it, it turned out to be right up my alley too. The seasoning was so well mixed into the noodles that they were tasty on their own, and switching back and forth between dishes meant I never got tired of any one flavor. It felt totally different from the ramen, so I was glad we ordered both.

Overall, every single dish was delicious, so it was a satisfying meal. At first, choosing the menu took forever because the two of us wanted so much, but ordering a variety and sharing turned out to be great since we got to try several dishes at once. If I come back, I'd like to try some of the other ramen options I didn't get to this time.

Takoyaki and gyoza dumplings as sides

The takoyaki and gyoza dumplings we ordered as sides were also more delicious than I expected. Especially when you're deep into a main dish and suddenly crave something different, having a side or two to nibble on works really well. The takoyaki came in bite-sized pieces, easy to share and eat lightly, and the gyoza dumplings paired nicely with both the ramen and the rice dish. In the end, we barely left anything behind haha.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch: the verdict

If you're not sure where to go, Mentsuru City Hall Branch is worth a try. With ramen, rice dishes, and sides all on offer, it's easy for people with different tastes to find something they like when visiting together. I'm already planning to come back and try something else next time :)

In the end, we enjoyed everything we ordered that day and left full and happy after eating together! It's the kind of place that'll come to mind when I want a solid Japanese meal near City Hall Station.