Mini donburi and extra noodles at a City Hall ramen shop: Mentsuru

Today's spot is a place to visit when you're craving Japanese food or taking a walk near Deoksugung Palace — Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a favorite among office workers around City Hall Station. It's easy to get to from City Hall Station and especially good to visit before or after enjoying the Deoksugung night opening.

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and where can you park?

Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a well-known restaurant near City Hall, sits a one-minute walk from Exit 10 of City Hall Station. The address is 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, 1F Unit 1, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea, open daily from 11:00 to 21:30.

If you're driving, there's no parking lot at the restaurant, so you'll need to use a public parking lot.

The restaurant is split between the basement and the 1st floor, with both bar tables and regular tables, so it seemed good for solo dining or a date.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch menu and prices

• Shoyu ramen (signature) / ₩11,000: the flagship ramen with a deep, savory soy-sauce base.
• Spicy shoyu ramen (hangover ramen) / ₩11,500: a spicy, punchy broth for a good hangover fix.
• Tori paitan (rich broth) / ₩12,000: made by boiling chicken down into a milky, savory broth.
• Shio ramen (light) / ₩11,000: a clear, clean salt-based broth ramen.
• Motsu ramen (beef intestine ramen), Best / ₩15,000: spicy ramen with chewy, savory beef intestine.
• Abura soba (oil-mixed noodles) / ₩12,000: a broth-free noodle dish mixed with various toppings and a special oil.
• Hiyashi tsukemen (cold) / ₩12,000: a summer specialty where noodles are dipped into chilled broth.
• Tsukemen / ₩13,000: noodles and toppings dipped into a rich, concentrated sauce.
• Hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl) / ₩15,000: a rice bowl topped with savory seasoned beef intestine (takes over 10 minutes to prepare).

• Tonkotsu ramen / ₩11,000: the flagship ramen with a rich, savory broth made from simmered pork bones.
• Spicy tonkotsu ramen (BEST) / ₩11,500: a popular menu item adding spiciness to the rich tonkotsu broth.
• Black katsuo ramen / ₩12,000: ramen with a deep savory flavor from bonito flakes.
• Motsu tonkotsu ramen / ₩15,000: a premium tonkotsu ramen with savory beef intestine.
• Mazesoba / ₩12,000: Japanese-style mixed noodles with ground meat, scallions, egg yolk, and a special sauce.
• Motsusoba / ₩16,000: motsu mazesoba loaded with chewy beef intestine toppings.
• Gyudon (beef rice bowl) / ₩11,000: a Japanese-style beef rice bowl with beef sautéed in a savory sauce.
• Chashu-don (chashu rice bowl) / ₩11,000: a rice bowl piled high with smoky-flavored chashu.
• Mini donburi / ₩4,000: a great-value side rice bowl with large diced chashu, mayonnaise, shichimi, and egg, perfect alongside ramen.
• Handmade karaage / ₩7,000: crispy, juicy Japanese-style fried chicken.
• Fried gyoza / ₩5,000: crispy fried dumplings.

Pepper and pickled radish were set on the table — the pickled radish wasn't yellow since it didn't have gardenia in it, but it was crunchy and tasty.

Shio ramen, 11,000 won plus 1,500 won for extra noodles

Mentsuru City Hall Branch's shio ramen is ₩11,000, and we added ₩1,500 for extra noodles. The shio ramen had a light yet clear broth. On top of the clear broth sat chashu big enough to cover the whole bowl, along with crunchy menma (bamboo shoots), finely chopped scallions, and plenty of finely diced onion floating in the soup.

Wrapping the noodles with a chunk of chashu picked up with chopsticks, the meat was tender with no dryness at all, and it paired nicely with the light noodles — the diced onion in the broth added a clean, crunchy texture without any greasiness, so I could eat it all the way through without getting tired of it.

Tonkotsu ramen, 11,000 won with two flame-seared chashu slices

For the tonkotsu ramen too, we added ₩1,500 for extra noodles on top of the ₩11,000 base. Mentsuru City Hall Branch's tonkotsu ramen has a milky, rich broth made from simmered pork bones. Two large slices of chashu, torch-seared on the surface for a hint of smokiness, plus wood ear mushrooms filled the bowl, along with a soft-boiled egg.

Picking up the chashu with a spoon, the meat was really thick. Eating the noodles and chashu together with the broth filled my mouth with savory flavor.

Is the 4,000-won mini donburi worth adding to your ramen?

The mini donburi is ₩4,000. It comes with rice topped with half a soft-boiled egg, chashu, chopped scallions, tangy shichimi, and plenty of savory mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce.

Mixing it well with a spoon and taking a big bite, the sweet-and-salty chashu sauce, the savory mayonnaise, and the spicy shichimi all came together — and it tasted even better if you eat a spoonful in between bites of ramen or dip it lightly into the rich ramen broth.