Ramen restaurant before Deoksugung night opening: Mentsuru spicy shoyu
In short
Mentsuru City Hall Branch is a Japanese ramen restaurant 93m from City Hall Station Exit 10 in Jung-gu, Seoul. Dinner at 6:30pm, on the way to the Deoksugung night opening, was spicy shoyu ramen (₩11,500) and tori paitan ramen (₩12,000), ordered at a kiosk switched over to the English menu. The spice level is gentle enough for weak spice eaters and there are solo seats, so Mentsuru works well for dinner near Deoksugung and the Seoul Museum of Art.
Good to know
- Menu & prices
- Tori paitan ramen ₩12,000 / Spicy shoyu ramen ₩11,500
- Location
- 93m from City Hall Station Exit 10, 2-minute walk from the Seoul Museum of Art
- Hours
- Daily 11:00–21:30 (last order 21:00)
- Ordering
- Kiosks on each floor, menu switchable to English
- Seating
- Single seats for solo diners
- Table setup
- Yuzu-flavored danmuji (pickled radish) and pepper; paper cups, chopsticks and tissues beside the table
- Price reference
- ₩11,500 ≈ $8.5 · ₩12,000 ≈ $8.9 (2026-09-15)
as written by the visitor on Sep 5, 2026
I'm Mingji, and I've moved from living in France to living in Seoul. After finishing my master's, I got my first job here — in Seoul, the capital of Korea! There are so many good things about living here, and one of them is how many places serve really, really good food for the price!!!!!!!
Today I went to a restaurant called
Mentsuru, City Hall Branch
My husband and I ran over right after work.
Where is Mentsuru City Hall Branch, and what are the hours?
Mentsuru City Hall Branch is 93m from City Hall Station Exit 10 — seriously, less than a minute's walk. And it's just 2 minutes from the Seoul Museum of Art!
Address: 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, 1st floor, unit 1 93m from City Hall Station Exit 10
Hours are daily 11:00–21:30, last order at 21:00.
Being near City Hall Station, it's in a spot with a lot of foot traffic.
Ordering at the Mentsuru kiosk in English
Once you walk through the door at Mentsuru City Hall Branch, there are two kiosk machines where you order. We ate on the first floor — there are two doors into the restaurant. My husband isn't fluent in Korean, so he switched the menu to English to look it over and order.
We ordered tori paitan ramen (₩12,000) for my husband, and spicy shoyu ramen (₩11,500) for me.
Mentsuru at 6:30pm: the room and the solo seats
The energy the moment we walked in was great. The staff greeted every customer coming and going with real enthusiasm!!!
We got there around 18:30 and the place was packed — people who'd just gotten off work, foreign tourists, and probably some, like us, on their way to the Deoksugung night opening. And a lot of solo diners too! There are seats set up just for eating alone, so you don't have to feel awkward sitting by yourself at a two-person table. This is very much a personal thing, but I love places with cute little details like these. For example!
The water bottle coaster is shaped like a cat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The wait for ramen is pretty short, but seeing cute little things around while you wait somehow just puts me in a good mood!
Table setup and the yuzu-flavored danmuji
Every Korean will know this already, but there are paper cups, chopsticks, and tissues set up beside the table. When my husband first came to Korea, he found this so fascinating. Now he's basically half-Korean, hahaha. He very naturally reached under and beside the table for them.
On the table was a slightly yuzu-flavored danmuji (pickled radish) and pepper. This danmuji was so good I scooped up thirds!
Tori paitan ramen, ₩12,000: the pick for anyone who avoids spice
The tori paitan ramen was exactly the right dish for my husband, who genuinely cannot handle spicy food!!!
The meat was tender, the broth was rich — I have no idea how long they simmered it — and the noodles were thin, easy to slurp, and never heavy on the stomach. The egg was cooked perfectly soft, so good!!!!!!!! I mean, I eat so many boiled eggs for lunch, so why can I never get the yolk this right?????
Spicy shoyu ramen, ₩11,500: how hot is it really?
Now it was my ramen turn!!!! After work, I was craving something spicy so, so, so badly. The moment I saw the menu, I went straight for the spicy shoyu ramen at the top of the list. I can confidently say it was the right call.
Hahahaha, honestly, the spice level was just right, and the meat and egg in between bites kept balancing it out, so I could keep eating without stopping. I am, honestly, a total spice wimp... but this was a level I could handle just fine! I've never actually had ramen in Japan, but if anyone wants spicy Japanese-style ramen, come here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's what I wanted to shout. "Guess work really wore me out today....." Writing this is making me want to go again, hahaha.
Why Mentsuru works for dinner near Deoksugung and the Seoul Museum of Art
Has everyone been to the Deoksugung night opening? Has everyone been to the Seoul Museum of Art? Has everyone visited City Hall?
As the weather warms up, evenings get cooler, and you'll find yourself craving hot broth more often — if you're near Deoksugung, the Seoul Museum of Art, or City Hall, make sure to stop by for a meal! Delicious, reasonably priced, great atmosphere, and friendly staff — eat at Mentsuru before you go! Last up, some photos I took at the Deoksugung night opening, hahaha. Everyone knows about the Deoksugung night opening, right? Get your ramen first~~~~
Where it is
2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, 1st floor, unit 1, South Korea서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 2 1층 1호
