Hope Ken — Restaurant in Tokyo

賛否がくっきりと分かれるラーメン店だと思います。 外装・内装、店内の調度品に至るまで古く、昭和の食堂の雰囲気を漂わせます。1階から3階の3階構造となっており、階上への昇降は階段のみ。2階と3階はテーブル席がありますが、1階は椅子が無く立ち食いスタイルとなっています。そのため、車椅子等の障碍を持つ方の利用は全くお勧めできません。 平日休日問わず、特にランチタイムは必ずと言っていいほど長蛇の列が出来ます。事前に券売機で食券を購入する必要があり、食券を購入後店外の列に並びます。事前に席を確保することは出来ません。階段は非常に狭く、やっと人がすれ違えるほど。そのため、特に混雑時は2階及び3階は階段での人の並びやすれ違いが出来ず階段が詰まってしまうことを避けるため、客の総入れ替えシステムとなっている場合があります。それにより、客にも手早く料理を平らげてくれることが求められ、ゆっくりと食事出来ない状況が多々あります。 階段だけでなくフロアも狭いです。空いている時間帯であれば水やおてふきはスタッフが用意してくれますが、混雑時はいずれもセルフサービスとなります。おてふきをストックする箱がすぐに空になり、おてふきなしで利用せざるを得ない状況があります。 スタッフはいずれも忙しなく動き回っており、たまに厨房で怒号や大声のぼやきが聞こえることがあり、人によっては不愉快に感じるかもしれません。「この店の接客対応の質はこの程度」と、改善を期待せず割り切った方がいいかもしれません。 給仕されるラーメンは、もっちりとして噛み応えのあるストレートな麺が特徴的で、スープの脂身も多すぎず少なすぎず、程よく麺に絡み合っています。しかし特徴的な味付け、という程ではなく、可もなく不可もなく、といった感じです。

It's a Ramen diner that has a distinctly different reputation. The diner is old, from the exterior and interior to the furnishings, and has the atmosphere of a Showa-era diner, with three floors, from the first to the third, accessed only by stairs. Therefore, the restaurant is not recommended for wheelchair users. There is always a long line of people waiting in line, especially during lunch time, whether it's a weekday or a holiday. You must purchase a meal ticket in advance from a ticket vending machine, and then wait in line outside the diner. It's not possible to secure your seat in advance. The stairs are so narrow that people can barely pass each other. Therefore, especially during busy times, the second and third floors may have a total customer replacement system in order to avoid the stairways becoming clogged with people lining up and passing each other on the stairways. This means that customers are expected to finish their dishes quickly, which often makes it difficult to eat at a leisurely pace. The floor is small as well as the stairs. Water and hand towels are provided by the staff when the room is empty, but during busy times they are self-service. The box stocked with hand towels empties quickly, forcing customers to use the kitchen without hand towels. The staff are all very busy, and sometimes you may hear angry shouts and loud blurbs in the kitchen, which may be off-putting to some people. It may be better to assume that the quality of customer service at this restaurant is about the same, and not expect any improvement. The Ramen noodles served at the diner are characterized by their firm, chewy, straight texture, and the soup is neither too much nor too little fatty, and the noodles are well mixed with the noodle soup. The soup is not too fatty, not too much, but...

Be warned, this is "back-fat" style ramen. In addition to rich, creamy broth, it has little bits of delicious fat floating around.

A timeless establishment, you will most likely find at least a short line to even step up to the street level standing-only counter. Orders only via machine/token (thankfully English signage), very reasonable 1000yen for chashu ramen 1200 extra large) as of 7/25/2018. Counter has bowls of fresh cut spring onion, garlic paste, and spicy stuff so you can doctor your bowl to taste. Oh, and free jasmine tea (served an initial glass, refill yourself from pitcher within reach).

I found chashu portion good, noodles a nice chew and highly slurpable, and broth a very balanced flavor. Would not recommend finishing every bite and gulp, you will feel that extra fat for a while.

Solid 'A'...

２０２３／５／７ 一昔以上ぶりに行って来ました（＾＾）／ （前回は２０１５年に来店だったと想います・・・）

僕は極度の雨男な感じでして・・・ 数日前から 仕事帰りにホープ軒...