Seoul Forest ramen restaurant for tomato ramen: Menya Pomo

Whenever I have plans around Seongsu or Seoul Forest, choosing a place to eat is always the dilemma. There are so many people and delicious restaurants everywhere that finding somewhere to go sends me into a spiral, you know? After searching hard, I had such a satisfying, solid meal at Menya Pomo (멘야포모), so here goes my review.

Getting there from Seoul Forest Station or Ttukseom Station

As for where it is, you can find it very easily with a leisurely walk from Seoul Forest Station on the Bundang Line or Ttukseom Station on Line 2.

The Seongsu side streets are so complicated that it is easy to get lost, but the famous Dongbinggo is sitting right on the first floor here. Menya Pomo is directly above it on the second floor, so there is no need to worry about wandering around.

It is right in front of Seoul Forest, too, so the route is perfect for a walk after eating.

When I heard “tomato ramen,” I was half doubtful about what it would taste like—not pasta, not ramen—but this place absolutely shattered that prejudice once I tried it.

Just head up one floor via the neatly kept stairs.

A layout that makes solo dining easy

The first thing greeting you by the door is a guide to enjoying the ramen deliciously. The various seasonings show how much thought went into the flavor. To give away the conclusion: it was best with everything added!

Come to think of it, for a Seongsu-dong restaurant, the interior is not cramped at all—it is pleasant and airy. The space is efficiently arranged around two-person and solo tables, so it is built for quick turnover.

There are quite a few places in Seongsu-dong where eating alone can make you feel self-conscious, but the solo tables here are so well set up that you could come by yourself, slurp down a bowl, and leave with zero pressure.

The self-service bar struck me as hygienic. Since everyone serves themselves, it could easily get messy if it were not managed well, but it was very clean and neatly organized.

As befits a tomato ramen place, there are detailed instructions for making risotto after you finish the noodles. With a detailed guide like that, foodies like me are guaranteed to read every word and follow it. Hahaha. I was surprised a second time when I saw that they use only domestic Korean native beef from female cattle.

Ordering the tomato ramen set and Korean beef minced katsu

After scanning the menu, I chose the tomato ramen set, which seemed to be the most basic option. I kept the spice at level 1 and, true to my cilantro obsession, confidently added extra cilantro and chose fresh salad as my extra topping.

Since it was my first visit and I wanted to taste the basic flavor, I chose salad instead of extra topping rice!!

Of course, plenty of toppings besides cilantro are available.

My dining companion also added the Korean beef minced katsu set meal to the order!

Rich tomato ramen without the tang

At last, the star of the meal arrived: the tomato ramen. Even though it was the basic tomato ramen, it was packed with minced Korean native beef, making the broth look incredibly rich even before tasting it.

I took a sip of the broth first, and it was not tangy at all. Instead of acidity, the warm, deep flavor distinctive to meat broth spread through my mouth, and it paired beautifully with the cilantro. If the basic bowl is this good, how could I not wonder about the other menu items?

Personally, I loved tossing minced garlic into the tomato ramen. Cilantro plus garlic made the flavor incredible.

I was startled by the amount of salad. Usually the salad that comes with a set is just a token handful, but they served a mountain of it here—honestly, it was almost bewildering. For reference, the photo above shows the basic salad plus chicken breast.

Crispy Korean beef minced katsu and fried shrimp

This is the Korean beef minced katsu set meal my companion ordered. It was hugely generous too, with a plentiful bed of salad by default. I stole a piece, and it was the textbook definition of crispy outside, tender inside. Perhaps because it was Korean beef, there was not a trace of off smell; every bite burst with savory juices. The coating was fried beautifully crisp, without any stale oil flavor.

The minced katsu set meal comes with one fried shrimp as standard, but we added jumbo fried shrimp too, so it was a fried-shrimp feast. The coating was crisp and the shrimp inside was plump, giving it a wonderful bite.

Making tomato risotto with the leftover broth

After fishing out all the noodles is the real highlight here. I added plenty of minced garlic and a few shakes of pepper to the remaining rich meat broth, then mixed in rice. It was every bit as good as an elegant tomato risotto.

Still, salad, ramen, and risotto were more than I could finish alone, so I eventually called for help from my companion and we shared it.

By the end, I felt like my stomach was going to burst. With two mountain-sized plates of salad, including my companion’s, we left stuffed to the absolute limit. We had only ordered one basic menu item, yet it became such a varied course, from salad to ramen to DIY risotto. Being able to enjoy varied textures alongside deep savory flavor made it an immensely satisfying and abundant meal. If you are looking for a great place to properly fill up, Menya Pomo seems like an excellent choice. Next time, I need to go conquer a different spice level or another menu item.