Euljiro3(sam)-ga ramen with vinegar on abura soba, no wait: Mentsuru

I'd been craving Japanese ramen after a long while, so I made a beeline for Mentsuru in Euljiro — the reviews were so good, and they have abura soba too, I ran straight there.

📎Mentsuru Euljiro Branch / Open daily 11:00–21:30

Where is Mentsuru Euljiro Branch? Between Euljiro3(sam)-ga and Chungmuro stations

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch sits between Euljiro3(sam)-ga Station and Chungmuro Station. It's not right at either exit, but if you stroll and look around on your way, you'll get there in no time — 5 minutes on foot from Exit 9 of Euljiro3(sam)-ga Station or Exit 6 of Chungmuro Station. Japanese ramen, it's been way too long~!

Is there a wait at 2:30pm on a weekday? Kiosk prepay at Mentsuru

Just looking at the ramen photos posted out front made my mouth water... Since I went at an in-between hour, around 2:30pm on a weekday, we luckily walked right in with no wait! If there is a wait, you pay ahead at the kiosk and wait outside, entering in order. (The number on your receipt is your queue number, so don't toss it.)

You order at the kiosk before going in, and man, it was really really hard to decide... (even though I'd already made up my mind before coming). Once I actually saw the photos, I wanted this too, that too 😇 In the end I picked the abura soba I'd been wanting, and my partner Hoon went with spicy shoyu ramen plus extra noodles. And of course we couldn't skip the house-made karaage — order complete~!

Inside Mentsuru Euljiro Branch: solo seats and office lunch crowd

The inside of Mentsuru Euljiro Branch isn't huge, which gives it a cozy, comfortable vibe — perfect for eating alone. It's also great for office workers or dates since there's no break time, open year-round haha (you can visit any time, no distinction between lunch and dinner hours).

The yuzu pickled radish was seriously so good. As a pickled-radish lover I already like plain danmuji, but with yuzu added it's extra refreshing and delicious. It went especially well with the ramen, which can get a bit rich — the tangy pickle balanced it out perfectly, good stuff.

There's a Naver/Google review event on the table, so don't miss it — do the review and get a drink~! (I'm the type who always does this stuff even if it's a hassle.)

Abura soba with a swirl of vinegar: how to mix it

The spicy shoyu ramen and abura soba arrived. The kitchen up front is open, so you can peek in — watching them make ours as it neared completion had my heart pounding. It's been so long since I've had ramen, I was a little nervous.

I think my very first abura soba was at a famous spot in Tokyo that Jenny and Vwi took me to, and I remember enjoying it so much back then — so I was really looking forward to this!

Abura soba tastes better with a little vinegar mixed in, so the staff brought some over partway through!!

Mix mix. There's so much meat topping on top that it doesn't mix easily, but I swirled the vinegar around and mixed it diligently, hoho.

Took a bite and it was seriously delicious... I wasn't in the mood for brothy ramen today so I ordered this instead, and I'm so glad I picked the abura soba.

Spicy shoyu ramen with 1,500-won extra noodles: how hot is it?

The spicy shoyu ramen looked seriously spicy at first glance haha (spice level is adjustable).

With the extra noodles, the portion was definitely bigger. (If you eat a lot, I'd recommend paying the ₩1,500 for extra noodles.) The broth was so spicy that I preferred the abura soba, but Hoon said the spicy shoyu ramen was more delicious to him. I guess that just means both were good ☺️

House-made karaage at Mentsuru comes in big pieces

It felt like a waste not to order karaage while eating ramen. It comes with a sauce, and just looking at it you can tell the fried coating is crispy.

The karaage pieces were bigger than expected, so eating them alongside the ramen, just two pieces already left me full;

Anyway, back to the abura soba — there's so much minced meat inside that there's plenty to eat besides just the noodles.

Worth a return trip? Motsu ramen is next at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch

The best part was wrapping the noodles with this chashu(?)-like meat. It's been a while since I enjoyed Japanese ramen this much at Mentsuru — if I worked around Euljiro, I think I'd come here for lunch all the time. Next time I'll have to try the famous motsu ramen. They also have highball, Japanese beer, and sake, not just ramen, so it's perfect for solo drinking or a work dinner too — definitely worth a visit!