City Hall ramen restaurant with tonkotsu chashu: Mentsuru

Overall

I’d sum it up as a ramen restaurant with a real Japan-like atmosphere, plenty of seats for solo diners, a varied ramen menu, and deeply flavored broth.

Mentsuru City Hall Branch exterior

This is the exterior of Mentsuru City Hall Branch. It even has two entrance doors, so it is easy to pop in. I deliberately went during a quiet weekday time, but there were still quite a few customers—definitely a genuinely popular spot, haha.

What I ordered at the kiosk

You order from the menu via the kiosk. Here’s what I ordered:

• Melon soda ₩4,000
• House-made karaage (Japanese fried chicken) ₩7,000
• Mini rice bowl ₩4,000
• Tonkotsu ramen with added toppings including gaburi chashu ₩14,500

I had tried the tori paitan ramen on my last visit, so this time I ordered the tonkotsu ramen.

Comfortable seating for solo diners

The interior has two floors, and I sat on the first floor where I was shown to my seat. There are plenty of different seats for solo diners, so you can enjoy an easy meal by yourself near City Hall Station.

There are several kiosks too, which made ordering convenient.

Plates and containers of side dishes, including danmuji (pickled yellow radish), were set out on the table, making refills easy too.

Tonkotsu ramen and side dishes

First, the basic side dish: danmuji! The yuzu aroma made it refreshing.

I wanted to try an unusual drink, so I ordered the melon soda. It was sweet.

My tonkotsu ramen arrived! Just looking at the color of the broth, I could tell it would have that rich, deeply developed stock flavor. Tonkotsu ramen is Japanese ramen known for its rich broth made by simmering pork bones. Mentsuru’s tonkotsu ramen, too, looked so appetizing, with its milky broth, noodles, and toppings such as chashu.

The table was filled with food like this.

The noodles were just the right thickness, so they soaked up the broth nicely. As soon as the ramen came out, I scooped up a spoonful of the hot broth first. The first taste was rich and nutty. It had the substantial flavor that comes from tonkotsu pork-bone stock, yet the broth itself did not feel overwhelming.

Noodles are important in ramen, of course, but I care a great deal about the broth too. Here, the noodles and broth worked well together.

I also liked the pleasantly chewy texture of the vegetables.

The house-made karaage was fried to order, so it was truly crispy outside and moist inside. It went nicely with the mayonnaise dipping sauce that came alongside. At a ramen restaurant, I always wonder whether to add a side such as gyoza or karaage, but that day I decided to have a proper feast and ordered the karaage too.

The mini rice bowl was well seasoned, and having it with ramen made me really full. Sometimes, when I eat ramen, noodles alone can feel like they are missing something. Adding a mini rice bowl then makes the meal much more substantial.

On a day when you want rich tonkotsu broth, I would recommend the tonkotsu ramen; if you love crisp fried chicken, add the house-made karaage too. More than anything, having all three dishes together was satisfying because I could alternate among different flavors and textures rather than focus on just one.

If you are deciding on lunch near City Hall Station, or find yourself craving a warm bowl of ramen after visiting Deoksugung Palace or the City Hall area, I think this is worth stopping by. The tori paitan ramen I had on my last visit had wonderfully deep, nutty broth, and this time I tried the tonkotsu ramen as something new. Its broth was also beautifully deep and full-bodied, without even a hint of unwanted odor. I would recommend both dishes to anyone visiting Mentsuru City Hall Branch. ^^