Chūkasoba Seijo Seika — Restaurant in Tokyo

Been meaning to try this ramen shop out for a while now. Given it’s the next town over and since it once again made the Tablelog Top 100 Ramen Restaurants for 2024, finally we visited a few days ago. It was on a holiday, so we decided to do a late lunch to avoid the inevitable crowds. Arrived 2:00pm and…there was a long line- more than 10+ people were in front of us. However a mere 30 mins later and we were next to go in! A very friendly young lady came out, showed us a menu, and happily answered all our questions. My wife decided to try a Shoyu (soy sauce) ramen and I went with Shio (salt) ramen set- which included a chashu don (pork over rice) which I had to try as I read other reviews that raved about it. We paid for the meal while still outside, which was a first for me, and she promptly returned with our change.

Several minutes later, we were ushered inside to a very clean, bright, inside that seats about 7 people if I were to guess. Went to wash my hands and when I emerged the meal was already served! Seems they time it that they prepare your meal while you are still outside, so once you enter the store, you are served!

As you can see from the photos I’ve included, they served up a very nice looking meal! More importantly, was it tasted GREAT! The predominant flavor in my shio soup base was niboshi, but it was not overpowering at all. The thin noodles were nice and delicate, but had a nice springiness to them which made them perfectly complement the soup.

My chashu don didn’t disappoint either. Very nice flavors and the fried onions were also a nice touch. Overall had a very memorable and tasty meal. One would think that given the location, it would be slightly pricey, but on the contrary, their prices are very reasonable. We will definitely be returning here again. Suggest you try this place and I’m sure you won’t be...

I definitely agree with Michael J's review about the soup having a clear and subtle umami taste, not heavy at all!

And even though prices have recently increased, the medium-sized shoyu ramen, for just 950 yen, was considerably still of "super value" as the serving was more than enough for one person, which can be unusual if you would compare it to other ramen stores within Tokyo.

The reason why I am giving them a 1-star rating is because of their NOT foreigner-friendly service- my brother who was spending only 2 days in Japan, had gone out of his way to try their ramen but only to be disrespected at for wanting to take a video of us having a meal inside the store (I must admit that, we were at fault for not asking for permission at first, but surely there is a more diplomatic way than being shouted at and be disrespected)! The same male staff had also shouted at our company for being in the way against pedestrian traffic while waiting outside, when we made sure we were not.

We were also told to eat as fast as can and not stay long due to the long que (we also have the same consideration to others) so the way we were treated and rushed dining was not a good experience for us at all.

Waiting time was about 60 minutes. We, a company of 4 adults arrived before noon. I am Japanese and can speak/read Nihongo. There were no English menus nor English translations on the ticket machine. Soup was good but will never ever come back.

Food: 3/5 | Service: 1/5 | ...

TLDR: A must-go ramen place with top-tier taste but super budget-level price. It’s just good. —————— Pro: Ranked as 6th among all ramen places in Tokyo on Tabelog, so the taste is great. The soup is umami but not heavy at all. Medium oil feeling on the top, but not oily at all. It’s like the chicken soup you’ll expect during the winter night Super great value. Ramen + Don set is just 1100 yen is I didn’t remember wrongly. You could only get one ramen in most other top ranked places with this price; they give you big meat. Friendly staffs, new interior makes it feel clean and tidy. —————— Cons (have to be picky!): A bit far away from Tokyo center. But, it’s definitely worth if you love food. The chashu is a bit lack of seasoning I guess, but still great considering it’s comfortable smoking smell, but not...