Sosakumenkobo Nakiryu - Tokyo

We arrived at 10:10 on a Saturday morning (2/4) and there are 17 people in front of me. Bear in mind that all the party has to be here by the time the chef comes out to ask you how many people you will be. This happened at 10:20, even before opening. By the time the restaurant opened, I counted a total line of 44 people (us being #18 #19). By the time we finally got in at 11:50, there were still 38 people waiting in line after us! The only good thing about the wait is that you can sit or lean against the fence while waiting. The line is also pretty organized. Once we were inside, we ordered through the typical machine that most ramen stores have. You then head to your assigned seat and give the tickets you got from the machine to the waiter. There were 6 bar seats and 3 small tables that seat 2 each. There's also a clean toilet. Food gets prepared fairly fast, and if you're sitting on the counter you can see how meticulously they set your bowl up. We ordered the spicy tantanmen and the sour spicy tantanmen, both signature dishes of the Michelin starred ramen. They're priced at 1,000Y, making it one of the cheapest Michelin meals you'll get. We also ordered steamed dumplings (3 for Y) and chili oil wonton (6-ish for Y). They were both good, but we enjoyed the wonton more.

Good ramen. Unique flavor profile and great noodles. Worth the line up? That’s subjective and I’d say no. It was not worth the 95 minute wait. Lined up 1 hour/15 minutes before opening and made it within the first seating. Got my meal 20 minutes after ordering. Very rigid line system with no flexibility if someone needs to use the restroom. I wouldn’t come here with children or groups unless every party is present and ready to wait the full time. No exceptions. The gentleman who did the line count and the one you’ll interact with most, was rude and pushy. He didn’t guide me to my seat, rather rushed me and told me to hurry and sit down. In the process of rushing to sit down, I dropped my money, some of which was not recovered due to it being hard to reach and limited mobility. For that reason alone, I will not return. Other interactions with this same employee were horrid as well. He’s a liability to the brand in my opinion. You have guests lining up for hours, the least you can do is exhibit some kindness and grace towards them. There was no greetings from the staff upon entry or exit. No Japanese hospitality, maybe due to this being mainly a tourist trap and the belief that customers will come no matter what? I order the tantanmen along with the chicken dumplings. The ramen was good but the dumplings ended up being my absolute favorite. If they’re available, you must order them. Most people will wait at least 80 minutes (more like 2-3 hours) to eat here and in a place like Japan, where stellar ramen is of abundance, I don’t think you’re valuing your time (of which is limited in this life) by waiting hours for ramen. Good food no doubt but I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. If you’re a hype beast, go for it!

Came to this restaurant a few years back and remembered it was delicious and top notch! 6/5 stars back then! I decided to revisit this place to see if it still lives up to the great taste we remembered, but sadly, it did not. The place has been nicely renovated to now have chairs and tables if you are coming with a friend. Ordered both the tantan noodles and tantan tsukemen. Both were a bit too salty for our liking unfortunately and the flavour was not as memorable. The egg was good though! FYI: the instant noodle version has changed as well (unfortunately it did not change for the better)

I went there yesterday for dinner with very high expectations since they got the Michelin star. But it’s far too salty for my palate. I couldn’t remember how many cups of water I drank last night since I was thirsty like crazy. After all Mensho is still the best. And another thing I want to mention is that the way they do to prevent the spreading of coronavirus. I went there with a friend, and the chef removed the safety shield between us, which was so kind. He asked us not to talk without wearing, also very appropriate. But during eating, we talked a bit because the soup was too salty for both of us (which I know we shouldn’t, and we tried to limit as much as possible), and the chef said “Don’t talk” with a (in my perspective) quite loud voice. These confused me a lot, if their rules about coronavirus prevention are that strict, so why he lifted the the safety shield up??? This morning I’m still thinking about it and wonder which disappointed me more, the ramen or the attitude of the chef.

I came around 120pm and managed to get in slightly past 3pm. There were still people joining the queue at 245pm and was allowed to do so. Once it hits 3pm, I believe that is when the queue is stopped but whoever is in it will still get to go in. You will place your order via a vending machine once inside and proceed to be seated shortly. There were a few options of ramen available and I went with the seemingly popular tantan ramen. I can’t put my finger to it as to what broth was being used, but I saw like a Szechuan spicy oil being added along with peanuts, so beware if you are allergic. The basic order itself doesn’t come with any egg, only some minced pork. I also added a side of pork slices which comes in 3. I guess come with an open mind, I’m still very accustomed to tonkatsu based ramen, and have ventured to shio and shoyu but this was very different, till the point it doesn’t feel like ramen, just ramen noodle in chilli oil broth. I guess what makes it Michelin star is the precision and consistency of their dish, very clean and neat. Even the 3 slices of pork was carefully folded individually and placed neatly onto the plate before being delivered to me and precise moments after my bowl of ramen was delivered. For the wait, it only gets 3 stars for me. Nonetheless if you’re in Tokyo and have the time and patience, give it a shot still.