Two bowls solo at a Euljiro ramen restaurant: Mentsuru Euljiro

What kind of ramen restaurant is Mentsuru Euljiro Branch?

Mentsuru Euljiro Branch is a ramen restaurant near Exit 9 of Euljiro3(sam)-ga Station. Here's my review after trying the shoyu ramen, abura soba, and karaage.

I stopped by Mentsuru Euljiro Branch, a ramen restaurant near Exit 9 of Euljiro3(sam)-ga Station. I'm introducing this Euljiro spot that's great whether you're visiting the area, on a date, or grabbing lunch after work.

Beyond shoyu, shio, and abura soba ramen, they also have rice bowls and karaage. Mentsuru is known as a ramen restaurant that works well whether you're eating solo or having a drink with friends. Operating year-round with no break time is another plus.

If the restaurant is full, you order first at the kiosk and then wait. Turnover is really fast, so even if there's a wait, it clears quickly.

Inside Mentsuru Euljiro Branch: bar counter and table seats

Walk in through the entrance at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch and you'll find a long corridor-style bar seating area, with tables on one side. The lighting and atmosphere felt genuinely like Japan — it really felt like a trip abroad.

With table seating available, it's a good spot for dates too. Plus, there wasn't much of that typical pork smell, and even the tableware and fixtures showed the restaurant is run cleanly and carefully.

What is on the menu at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch?

The noodle menu at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch includes shio, shoyu, motsu, tori paitan, tsukemen, and abura soba, and the rice bowls are hormone-don and two types of gyudon. I pulled the menu photo from Naver Place.

With two rice bowl options, you can easily choose between rice or noodles. For sides, there's handmade karaage and chicken skin gyoza, though availability may vary by day. Eating solo today, I ordered shoyu ramen, abura soba, and two karaage (₩3,000).

Handmade karaage: two pieces for 3,000 won

The karaage at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch is ₩3,000 for two pieces — genuinely handmade, battered and fried, with what tasted like a hint of Sichuan pepper. The table came with pickled radish and water, and they brought kelp vinegar over once I ordered the abura soba.

The karaage came out first. This is exactly the kind of handmade karaage I want — a soy-sauce-based brine with a touch of sweetness, crispy batter with a spicy-savory kick. These people know how to make karaage.

Then the ramen arrived. The ramen bowls at Mentsuru, a ramen restaurant in Euljiro.

The bowls were pretty and the plating was lovely — very much to my taste.

Shoyu ramen: clean chicken broth with generous toppings

The shoyu ramen at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch is seasoned with a soy sauce base, with the broth made from chicken. The aromatic oil was clean and the toppings came generously as standard.

I didn't add any extra toppings — this is a ramen restaurant that's generous with the default portion.

There were three slices of sous-vide pork shoulder chashu, and pulling them out of the broth before they overcooked was the way to go. Tender, no gamey smell, clean chashu.

Half a soft-boiled egg came included, and it wasn't too salty. With menma (fermented bamboo shoots) and onion, that rounds out the default toppings.

They say the broth seasoning can be adjusted, but the default was mild, not salty. The broth had a subtle soy sauce aroma with a refreshing quality — a shoyu ramen broth that's easy for anyone to enjoy without much divide in taste.

The noodles are soga-suimen, boiled to a pleasantly chewy texture that paired well with the broth. The portion was generous too, making for a satisfying solo meal. It had genuinely been a while since I'd had ramen, so I slurped it down without pausing for breath.

Abura soba: thick noodles mixed with a soft-boiled egg

The abura soba at Mentsuru Euljiro Branch can be thought of as a spicy-oil mixed ramen. The toppings are even more elaborate than the shoyu ramen.

With three slices of chashu plus torched chashu bits, it gets even meatier, topped with menma, scallion, onion, seaweed flakes, fish powder, and a hot spring egg. I immediately popped the yolk and mixed it all together.

The abura soba, mixed thick with the egg and the sauce underneath. The noodles are the thicker type used specifically for abura soba, super chewy, not too salty, with a nice oily flavor coming through — I actually enjoyed this more than the shoyu ramen. If you visit Mentsuru, I'd strongly recommend the abura soba.

I wanted to mix in rice too, but I was already on my second bowl, so I gave up.

On my way out, they even gave me candy as a little service. I've been seeing that candy a lot lately, and it's good. That's my review of Mentsuru Euljiro Branch, a ramen restaurant in Euljiro that I really enjoyed. Thanks for the meal!!!