Basement bar seats and spicy motsu ramen near Deoksugung: Mentsuru

Hi, it's Jamong 🍊 When I'm near City Hall or Deoksugung Palace, there's always that quiet dilemma of "so where do I actually eat?" There are so many offices around City Hall Station that weekday lunches get packed, and after visiting Deoksugung or its night opening, people are often looking for somewhere simple to grab a meal. This time I went to Mentsuru City Hall Branch, a great spot for a bowl of ramen near City Hall Station! From the photos alone, the rich broth topped with meat and egg looked so good I had to check it out in person :)

It didn't feel intimidating to eat a simple meal alone here, and it seemed like a solid option for people working near City Hall Station to visit for lunch or dinner. If you're looking for a City Hall Station office-worker restaurant or a solo-dining spot near City Hall, keep this one in mind!

Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and how close is it to City Hall Station and Deoksugung?

Mentsuru City Hall Branch sits in an easy-to-reach spot near City Hall Station and Deoksugung Palace. There are lots of offices around, plus sightseeing like Deoksugung, so it's an area with heavy foot traffic from office workers to couples on dates. Especially now that the weather is starting to cool down a bit, sometimes you crave a warm, rich bowl of ramen broth — and pairing a Deoksugung visit with a bowl of ramen makes for a great little course. It's a good route for a hearty dinner before heading to Deoksugung's night opening, or for warming up with something hot afterward. So for anyone searching for ramen near Deoksugung's night opening, this could be a solid choice.

Ordering at the Mentsuru kiosk

Once you walk into Mentsuru City Hall Branch, you can check the menu and order through a kiosk. Honestly, for ramen shops and places suited to solo dining, this kind of ordering system feels more convenient these days. Am I the only one who gets a little rushed picking a menu when someone's waiting behind me for staff? haha With a kiosk, you can take your time browsing and just select what you want, so even a first-time visit wasn't hard to order at. It was especially nice being able to order without having to flag down staff when I came alone.

Inside Mentsuru: Japanese ramen-shop mood, and the basement when the first floor is full

Walking into Mentsuru City Hall Branch, the atmosphere was even better than what I'd seen from the outside. The wood-toned interior had that distinct Japanese ramen-shop feel. There were seats good for solo dining as well as space for groups, so it didn't feel intimidating even when looking for a solo-dining spot near City Hall. The area around City Hall Station has a lot of office workers, so there are often days you need to eat alone and quickly during lunch. Ramen is also a menu you can order, eat, and be on your way, which made it feel well-suited as a City Hall Station office-worker restaurant.

It was crowded, so I headed downstairs to the basement! The basement was surprisingly spacious too 🔥🔥🔥

I sat at the bar seats and ate comfortably — seems like a great spot for solo dining haha

The shoyu ramen arrives 🍜

And then, the ramen I'd been waiting for showed up! A large bowl piled generously with broth, noodles, meat, egg, scallions, and more toppings — the visuals alone won me over the moment it arrived. Ramen really does feel better before you even take a bite when the toppings are piled on properly haha. The broth color was quite deep too, giving off the sense of a truly proper bowl of ramen just by looking at it. I took a sip of the broth first, then loosened up the noodles and ate them together. Slurping down the hot broth with the noodles was definitely filling.

Tasting the shoyu ramen toppings one by one

With ramen, the noodles and broth matter, but there's also the fun of eating each topping one by one. The egg was cut in half, so I ate the yolk together with the noodles, and paired the meat with the noodles as well. Adding in toppings like scallions along the way gave more variety in texture than just eating noodles and broth on their own. The toppings that looked so pretty for photos... get dismantled the second you start eating haha. Once I mixed the noodles well into the broth and ate them with the toppings, the bowl felt quite hearty. So for anyone looking for a warm, filling menu during lunch hour, this could work well as a City Hall Station office-worker restaurant too.

🌶️ Spicy motsu ramen: gopchang and a deep, fiery broth

What I ate was the spicy motsu ramen! The red broth catches your eye right away, and with the first bite, it was spicy yet deep in flavor, making my spoon keep going back for more. In particular, since it had gopchang (beef intestines) in it, the broth had a savory, heavier depth compared to typical spicy ramen. The added spiciness kept it from feeling greasy, so it was easy to eat all the way through. Slurp some noodles, sip the spicy broth, then eat it with the gopchang again haha — mixing in egg and other toppings along the way made this one bowl feel quite filling.

And the first thought that came to mind while eating.

Wow, this is amazing as a hangover-cure ramen...

You know that feeling of craving something spicy and rich the day after drinking? This tastes exactly like what you'd crave then haha. The hot, spicy broth felt like it woke up my stomach completely, so personally, this became my number-one pick for a hangover-cure ramen. If you're looking for a spicy broth near City Hall or prefer something a bit spicier than an average ramen, I'd recommend the spicy motsu ramen! Next time I'm near City Hall after a night of drinking, I think I'll come back for this one haha. Spicy + rich broth + gopchang lover = go for this menu 🌶️🍜

The gopchang was seriously generous!!!

Is Mentsuru comfortable for eating alone?

When you work near City Hall Station, you don't always have lunch plans with coworkers — sometimes you just have to eat alone. On those days, I actually find a menu like ramen more comfortable. Since it's a complete meal in one bowl, it doesn't feel like a burden to eat solo, and ordering through the kiosk keeps the process simple too. The restaurant's atmosphere itself doesn't feel awkward to walk into alone, so anyone who searched for a solo-dining spot near City Hall and found this place should be able to use it comfortably. It felt like a place where lunchtime office workers near City Hall Station and evening visitors to Deoksugung or the City Hall area could both enjoy easily!

A ramen stop before or after the Deoksugung night opening

Location-wise, Mentsuru City Hall Branch also seems great for pairing with Deoksugung's night opening. It can be awkward to eat dinner too early before heading to a night opening, but also a burden to eat something heavy late after the visit. In moments like that, a warm bowl of ramen is filling without requiring much deliberation over what to eat. Especially now that evenings are getting a little cooler, a walk through Deoksugung followed by hot broth sounds just right! If you're visiting Deoksugung as a date course, pairing it with Mentsuru City Hall Branch when looking for ramen near Deoksugung's night opening would be a good idea too.

Final verdict on Mentsuru City Hall Branch

• ✔️ A good place for a warm bowl of ramen near City Hall Station
• ✔️ A filling ramen topped generously with meat, egg, and more
• ✔️ Gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) that pair nicely with the ramen
• ✔️ Kiosk ordering makes it easy to visit alone
• ✔️ Wood-toned interior with a Japanese ramen-shop feel
• ✔️ A good City Hall Station office-worker restaurant for lunch or dinner after work
• ✔️ Recommended as a solo-dining spot near City Hall for a simple, hearty meal
• ✔️ Close to Deoksugung, making it easy to fit into a meal course before or after the night opening
• ✔️ A good pick when craving warm broth near Deoksugung's night opening

There are so many restaurants around City Hall Station, but choosing somewhere to comfortably eat a hearty meal alone can still be a bit of a puzzle. Mentsuru City Hall Branch made it easy to order via kiosk and enjoy a bowl of ramen with gyoza on the side for a simple yet filling meal. If you're deciding on lunch near your office, check it out as a City Hall Station office-worker restaurant; if you're dining alone, consider it a solo-dining spot near City Hall. For dinner, it also pairs well with a visit to Deoksugung's night opening :)