Men-ya Iroha — Restaurant in Kyoto

Men-ya Iroha in Kyoto Station's Ramen Alley offers a distinctive take on ramen with its Tokyo Black Ramen, characterized by a dark soy sauce broth that is both peppery and rich without being overly fatty. This dish stands as a solid example of the shop's culinary prowess, providing a flavorful yet balanced meal. The dark soy sauce base, combined with perfectly cooked noodles, tender pork slices, green onions, and seaweed, creates a harmonious blend of textures and tastes. While the ramen is indeed delightful, offering a deep and complex flavor profile, it falls just short of transcendent, positioning itself as a very good, but not exceptional, experience within the competitive landscape of Kyoto's ramen scene.

Men-ya Iroha's ambiance is welcoming, contributing to a pleasant dining experience with attentive service. This ramen shop distinguishes itself by delivering a consistent, four-star experience in an area where the quality of ramen can vary significantly. It's a reliable option for those looking to explore the nuances of Tokyo-style black ramen without venturing into the realm of the extraordinary. In a crowded market of culinary contenders, Men-ya Iroha offers a dependable and enjoyable meal, making it a worthwhile stop for ramen enthusiasts traversing the vibrant...

This was one of the 10 ramen shops located at the Ramen street on top of Kyoto Station.

As it was 11am, we were the first few customers and ordered the signature ramen, the dark soy sauce ramen, the salted miso ramen, dumplings and black curry rice. Service was fast then.

Overall, the portion of the ramen were ok, they were satisfactory but not fantastic. The soups were overly salty (not the salty miso ones that's even worse) and the charsiew were hard and not fresh.

As for the dumplings, they were nicely cooked and yummy. The black curry rice was also salty.

I think we have tried better ones, that are cheaper and need not be the so called "5th time winner of the Tokyo ramen show". But it was a good experience and eye-opening experience for us.

When we were leaving, we noticed that there were many people queuing at the next door and the other ramen shops but not this one!

Last year, when we came here, we tried the Chinese version ramen, they were quite good (you can checkout my then review here) and thought this time round we try a new shop and so...

Went to this ramen shop because their queue was the shortest, now I know why. The ramen is ok, very large portion, but too large for me actually. Normally I would give 3 stars, BUT.... We waited in line and when we were next, the young waiter called the guys behind us in. when I asked why, he explained their ticket number is before us. But then, he let another 3 guys behind us to go in first, I told him our ticket number is next, he asked innocently, "number?" I asked him why he let those guys before us? He suddenly did not understand English. Very unpleasant. When we finished our ramen and started to leave, other waiters thanked us and we replied in kind. but I noticed this young waiter just looked at me and turned his head away. Maybe he does not...