Agosuke — Restaurant in Joetsu

Life is sometimes about asking the right questions. Here’s one for you, do flying fish taste different?

The answer (no spoilers) you will find when you eat at Agosuke. The inside of the restaurant smells like the ocean (love it), the ramen - tastes even better.

Forget the reviews on Google and Tabelog… go touch gra- I mean the ramen. Also, if you figure out who the head chef is let me know. I was mildly intrigued by him. Not an important detail but this place is on the Le Michelin guide.

I ordered the limited time menu: Shio Tonkoutsu Tsukemen. See photos.

The toppings were served separately (love it) and with the shop made bean paste(sour and spicy oil paste). The toppings had chicken breast, pork belly in both thick and thin slices. Very generous portions. It also had pickled cucumber cuts, bamboo shoots, and seaweed.

The ramen noodles were served in a very lightly flavored seawater (magic) mix. My guess is: it’s kelp dashi.

The ramen broth was creamy but light. It had roasted shallots, onions, and garlic chips.

The whole combination was good. I will definitely...

Was looking for ramen and stumbled on this place. Had no idea it would be this good! It certainly deserves a higher rating.

An English menu is available if you need it, the staff was very polite and efficient, the food was just superb. Very soft tender meat, amazingly perfect egg with the right flavour and a mix of the right oozy jammy texture. Ramen places in the bigger cities should really learn from Agosuke. Moving on to the broth, it was a mix of fish and pork and it was very thick and flavourful. The chef knows exactly what he is doing and how to balance the heavy flavours. With the thick fish and pork stock, there was a hint of yuzu to lighten the flavour. Just sublime. The noodles were perfectly cooked and had amazing texture. Just wow! Next time I’m in Joetsu, there is no doubt that I have marked this place and...

This is one of my favorite ramen restaurants so far. The line went halfway around the store before it even opened up. I think that alone was surprising, given the general quietness of the area. After over an hour of waiting, I got to try this out.

I can say that it was amazing. The tonkotsu/flying fish broth gave it a deeper flavor profile and was deliciously hardy. The two kinds of chashu were amazingly flavorful. My only very minor gripe was with the noodles; though they were good, they weren't perfect or particularly tasty. But I'm nitpicking.

Definitely make the visit if you're...