Sapporo beer with cheongyang tori paitan at Mentsuru, Gwangjin ramen

I visited Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch, a ramen restaurant that's a real find near Konkuk University and Children's Grand Park!

How to find Mentsuru near Children's Grand Park Station, and where to park

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch is at 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, just 30 seconds on foot from Children's Grand Park Station. There's no parking on site, but there's a paid public parking lot right across the street, so keep that in mind!

Bar seats for solo diners: inside Mentsuru

The inside of Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch was spacious, clean, and comfortable, with staff full of bright energy! It can seat up to 30 people, with 2–4 person tables as well as bar seating, so there were plenty of solo diners too. Shall we look at the menu?!

Mentsuru menu and the full order

(You can swipe sideways to browse.) Each table has a tablet for ordering, with 5 kinds of ramen, bibim noodles, 2 rice bowls, 3 side dishes, and drinks and alcohol!

After much deliberation, I picked the white-broth tori paitan (rich) (12.0), shoyu ramen (soy sauce) (11.0), fried gyoza (6.0), and Sapporo bottled beer (5.5), plus extras of pork belly chashu 2pc (2.5), extra egg (1.0), and cheongyang pepper (free) for both ramens! Chashu and egg on ramen is just love, haha.

The delicious spread came out in no time! The ramens, sides, and beer looked so good, right? Haha.

What the 11,000-won shoyu ramen tastes like

This is the shoyu ramen (soy sauce)! It's a clean, light clam-and-chicken broth ramen with a salty soy-sauce base and gentle umami — not overpowering at all, and really tasty!

The noodles were springy with great texture, and the base chashu was soft and generously sized. The pork belly chashu had a different flavor too — thick, big, and soft — and eating it with the noodles and broth together was incredibly delicious in every bite!!!

Tori paitan (rich) topped with free cheongyang peppers

This is the tori paitan (rich)! It's a hearty ramen with chicken bones simmered for a long time, and the broth felt richer and creamier than a regular ramen! The broth had a savory, deep umami — like a concentrated chicken stock — that fit my taste perfectly!!

It was rich but not too salty, so it was delicious with the springy noodles and base chashu, and topping it with pork belly chashu and a cheongyang pepper was so, so good! The chashu pieces were satisfyingly large.

You know egg with chashu in ramen is the best combo, right? Haha. A half egg comes standard, but adding an extra egg was such a good decision. It was soft-boiled, so I enjoyed it so much!

Fried gyoza and a bottle of Sapporo

The fried gyoza I ordered as a side was crispy outside and moist inside, with the meat and vegetables working really well together as a side dish! They were bite-sized, and paired beautifully with the pickled yuzu radish!!

And then a glass of Sapporo beer was truly, oh so good. I remembered a friend who lived in Japan for a long time telling me their personal favorite Japanese beer was Sapporo, so I picked it — and it went great with the ramen and fried gyoza, haha.

Who is Mentsuru best for?

I really enjoyed my meal at Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch, a ramen restaurant worth a visit near Konkuk University and Children's Grand Park! It seems perfect for drinks and chats with friends, meals with coworkers, family outings, or even solo dining with ramen and a beer!

It's just 30 seconds on foot from Children's Grand Park Station, so if you're visiting Konkuk University or Children's Grand Park, I recommend stopping by this ramen spot, Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch!

• Location - 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (220 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul)
• Hours - Daily 11:00–23:00 (last order 22:30)
• Parking - Not available (there's a paid public parking lot across the street~)