Euljiro ramen restaurant in Seoul for offal rice bowls: Mentsuru

An Euljiro alley ramen spot, walked to from Chungmuro Station

It took about five minutes on foot from Exit 6 of Chungmuro Station to get to Mentsuru Euljiro Branch!

It is at 26 Mareunnae-ro 2-gil in Jung-gu. Euljiro restaurants always seem to be tucked away down alley after alley. I kept going down an alley so tiny that I was thinking, “Is this really the place??” and then—ta-da! There it was, hahaha.

It is open daily all year round from 11:00 to 21:30, with last orders at 21:00. There is no break time either, which is great because whenever you get hungry around Euljiro, you can just go and eat. I think it would be especially good for a quick lunch.

What are the ordering system and seating like?

Maybe because it is tucked into an Euljiro alley, the exterior felt like I had arrived in Japan. 😮

At Mentsuru, you order before going inside! There is an ordering kiosk by the entrance, and then they guide you to a seat in order. There are counter seats and several tables for two. Since the menu is the kind that comes out quickly, I think you would be seated soon even if there were a wait.

This is what the kiosk looks like. They had ramen, rice bowls, fried sides, and more. We were so hungry that we decided to order hormon-don (beef large-intestine rice bowl), gyudon, and tori paitan to share. 🤭 They also had lots of highball options! I am preparing for the teacher employment exam, so I cannot drink, but if I could, I think I would have had a highball or a Kirin draft beer. 🥹

Here is the restaurant! There are counter seats, tables for two, and an open kitchen. The interior really makes you feel as if you are in Japan too, haha.

We went for an early dinner at around 4:40, so there was no wait and we could eat with plenty of room around us. The place was clean too! ✨

At the tables for two, you could open the drawer beside you to find paper cups, utensils, tissues, and more.

Every table had yuzu pickled radish and whole black pepper. This yuzu pickled radish was seriously delicious. 👍🏻👍🏻 It was cool and tangy, refreshing your mouth every few bites, so it went well with both the ramen and rice bowls. Next time, I should try tossing Japanese-style pickled radish with a little yuzu at home too.

It seemed like lots of people came to eat alone. If you are dining solo in Euljiro or want a simple ramen or rice-bowl meal, I recommend Mentsuru Euljiro Branch!

Sharing gyudon, hormon-don, and tori paitan

Because the food was reeeally good, haha. Ordering one rice bowl each plus one ramen to share was such a good choice. The portions are not bad even if you order one item per person, but the ramen did not feel especially large to me. That made me realize why extra steamed rice is available for free.

Gyudon

This is gyudon, or Japanese beef rice bowl. Gyudon is one of those familiar, delicious flavors, right? Haha. I make it at home sometimes, but why is it so hard to recreate that restaurant-bought taste? ㅠ Haha. I even enjoyed every last grain of rice at the bottom. 😋

Hormon-don (beef large-intestine rice bowl)

This is hormon-don, a beef large-intestine rice bowl. The beef intestine was so rich and nutty!! The sauce was really delicious too. It was my first time having a beef large-intestine rice bowl, and I was completely satisfied! 😋

Tori paitan

Tori paitan! It was described as “a rich, full-bodied ramen made by slowly simmering chicken bones for a long time.” The noodles had a nice firm chew. The chashu on top was incredibly tender.

The broth was a little salty for me, but my husband, who has traveled to Japan a bit, said ramen broth is originally seasoned quite strongly and that you are not really meant to drink much of it?! He said only Koreans pour rice into ramen broth and eat that too, hahaha. 🤭

Come to think of it, people in China do not really drink malatang broth because so much oil floats on top. But Koreans carry their malatang broth around and drink it, hahaha. A nation of broth lovers... Anyway, it was delicious!!

Doesn't it look amazing when everything is laid out together? If I go to Euljiro again, I think I will eat this exact combination! I was so satisfied, haha.

I popped the soft-cooked egg yolk and put it over the rice, and it was so rich without even a hint of gaminess.

Since we were sharing one ramen, a staff member brought us small plates to use. They were so kind, haha. I served some into a plate and ground whole black pepper over it—this is it! 😋 Definitely try it with pepper.

Once again, we completely cleared everything, haha. Whenever I am in Euljiro and wondering what to eat, I think I will come back to Mentsuru Euljiro Branch!

• If you are looking for a quick meal in Euljiro
• If you are looking for somewhere to dine alone in Euljiro
• If you miss the ramen you had in Japan