Jung-gu, Seoul ramen restaurant with chili gyudon: Mentsuru City Hall

Why a City Hall date ended at a solo-friendly ramen restaurant

Every couple has the same problem — where should we go today, what should we do... My partner and I usually date around our own neighborhood, but this time we ended up at City Hall Station. Turns out there's a free exhibition and an observatory near City Hall Station that we didn't know about. After checking out the observatory and the exhibition, we got hungry and started looking for something to eat, which led us to Mentsuru, famous as a City Hall Station ramen spot. Mentsuru is apparently so good that plenty of people come here to eat alone too — a real solo-dining favorite.

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and what are the hours?

• Address: 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, 1st floor, unit 1, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–21:30 / last order 21:00
• Parking: not available, use nearby public parking lots

The ramen restaurant my partner and I visited is Mentsuru! Mentsuru is a ramen shop with a lineup that keeps the true flavor of Japanese ramen alive — from deep, rich broths to light, clean shoyu ramen, all the way to motsu ramen with its addictively spicy kick.

Two floors of seating at Mentsuru, so no waiting

Once we got inside, we found the restaurant spans two floors, 1st floor and basement. We only expected the ground floor, so it turned out to be a bigger place than we thought — meaning you probably won't have to worry about waiting. The layout lets you see into the kitchen, which made us feel even more at ease eating there. With solo tables, 2-seat tables, and 4-seat tables, it can seat up to 4 people, so it works well whether you're dining alone or coming with friends.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch menu: kiosks differ by floor

The menu is full of variety: shoyu ramen, tori paitan, shio ramen, beef tripe ramen, abura soba, tsukemen, gyudon (beef rice bowl), chashu don, and more. Another couple nearby was eating mazesoba, and we thought, huh? We didn't see that on the kiosk... Looking again, we realized there are 2 kiosks on the 1st floor and 2 more at the basement entrance, and each kiosk has a different menu. It was written right there and we just missed it, haha. If you want tonkotsu ramen or mazesoba, use the kiosk at the basement entrance — worth keeping in mind.

Black pepper and yuzu pickled radish are set out on the table. After ordering, we looked around and everyone else's side dishes looked so good it made us want to order more — the grass is always greener, haha. Someone nearby was eating spicy shoyu ramen too, which had us wondering if we should have switched our order, haha. Apparently the spicy shoyu ramen is a popular hangover cure, so come back after a night of drinking, haha.

What we ordered at Mentsuru and what it cost

• Shoyu ramen ₩11,000
• Gyudon ₩11,000
• Yakisoba — from a Naver review event

How the chili on the gyudon cuts the richness

We ordered gyudon (beef rice bowl) and shoyu ramen. The gyudon came topped with egg yolk, pickled radish, chili, and green onion, and it looked so pretty, with great colors too. Looking good made it even more appetizing, and above all, it tasted great. The soy-sauce-based seasoning was well soaked in and delicious. Japanese food can start to feel a bit greasy as you eat, but the chili cut through that greasiness so well that we finished it without needing pickled radish. The shoyu ramen was a basic flavor but had a slight kick without being overpowering. The noodles had a good chewy bite and no greasiness, so we drank the broth down to the last drop. The meat was tender too, and we were satisfied throughout the whole bowl.

Write a Naver review, get fried gyoza at Mentsuru

They offer a drink or fried gyoza for writing a Naver review, so we took part. Any meal can leave you slightly wanting more once you've finished it, and the fried gyoza filled in that gap perfectly. The fried gyoza we got were dumplings, crispy and delicious. Everyone should join the Naver review event and try them.

Is Mentsuru City Hall Branch worth it? Personal verdict

4.9/5.0

The ingredient combination was well balanced and really cut through that signature greasiness. Being able to eat without any heaviness made it even more delicious and satisfying. The last ramen restaurant I visited had a broth that was a bit too salty, but Mentsuru was great to enjoy thanks to its spicy kick that never felt overpowering.