City Hall ramen restaurant with spicy tori paitan: Mentsuru

Before going to see Deoksugung Palace’s night opening, I stopped by Mentsuru for ramen. It has been getting cooler lately, so I’d really been craving a warm bowl of ramen.

The atmosphere at Mentsuru City Hall Branch near City Hall Station

Down the lane, you can spot an entrance with a real Japanese feel. There is even a “power air-conditioning” sign, so it seems like a good place in summer too.

There were about four tables for four? Plus lots of counter seats, so the layout felt perfect whether you are eating alone or with someone.

Each table had cups, water, yuzu pickled radish, tissues, pepper, and utensils, making everything convenient. Aprons are also available in the hallway. You can get a drink with a Google review, or a drink or fried gyoza with a Naver review, which seems like a nice perk‼️

Extra toppings on spicy tori paitan

I chose spicy tori paitan (+₩500) and added sous-vide gabrisal pork (+₩2,500) and an egg (+₩1,000). For sides, I ordered house-made karaage (Japanese fried chicken, ₩7,000) and Zero Coke (₩2,500).

Ramen and side dishes

• Motsu ramen ₩15,000: spicy hangover ramen generously loaded with beef intestines and thin-sliced beef brisket
• Shoyu ramen ₩11,000: a light, clean ramen with clam and chicken broth
• Spicy shoyu ramen ₩11,500
• Shio ramen ₩11,000: chicken-broth ramen seasoned with salt
• Tori paitan ₩12,000: rich, hearty ramen made by slowly simmering chicken bones
• Abura soba ₩12,000: oil ramen flavored with Mentsuru’s five secret oils
• Tsukemen ₩13,000: a special ramen where cold noodles are dipped into hot broth
• Horumon-don ₩15,000: a special rice bowl topped with beef large intestine and thin-sliced beef brisket in Mentsuru’s secret sauce
• Gyudon ₩11,000: thin-sliced beef rice bowl flavored with Mentsuru’s special seasoning sauce
• House-made karaage ₩7,000
• Chicken-skin gyoza ₩5,000

There were so many kinds of ramen that it was hard to choose, but I was in the mood for a chicken-bone-based bowl.

Rich and spicy tori paitan

Because it is spicy, the broth is slightly red rather than white. Still, the rich chicken-bone flavor had a satisfying weight to it. It came with three slices of regular chashu, three slices of the extra gabrisal chashu I added, half a soft-boiled egg as standard plus one extra soft-boiled egg, as well as menma bamboo shoots, scallions, and onion.

The spicy kick added to the hearty broth made the ramen easy to enjoy without it becoming greasy. The standard chashu was pleasantly lean. The gabrisal was tender and fatty, with lots of savory flavor.

Eating the chashu and menma together, or dipping the soft-boiled egg into the broth, was honestly heaven. They said a bowl of rice is free if you need it, so it is filling too.

Crispy house-made karaage on the side

Here is the house-made karaage that came as a side! It came with lemon, mayonnaise sauce, and chili sauce. The yuzu pickled radish was also a refreshing little treat between bites of ramen.

The coating on the karaage was not thick, yet it was so crisp—seriously, perfect beer foodㅠㅠ It went well with both the mayo and the chili sauce, so it was great for trying different flavors.

This is a great dinner spot for City Hall Station office workers, or before Deoksugung Palace’s night opening🫶 I want to come back and enjoy it again next time🥺 It is great for eating alone, but also just right for a date. The staff were kind and explained everything well, so there was not a single inconvenience while enjoying the meal🤍