Kaotan Rāmen Entotsu-ya Minami-Aoyama

Had some free time on my last day in Tokyo and decided to come try for myself after seeing the shop featured on Eater prior to the pandemic.

They offer other varieties but I went for their mainstay shoyu ramen + gyoza.

• For me, Shoyu ramen is normally pretty straightforward. A mostly salty taste with just a hint of flavor from the soy sauce. Kaotan's though hits a bit different; I can't quite describe it but there was an added depth to the soup, probably from the added dry onion + something else added to the stock. Though I would normally prefer the noodles a bit more firm, they were still very good. Not too soft and nicely chewy. Comes with a piece of cha-shu, some bamboo and peas(forgetting what they're called but edamame-like shell with peas inside)

• I would say the gyoza was nothing terribly special aside from the way it was fried. Just a light char on the bottom allowing each piece to maintain a nice balance between being soft and overly fried. The filling was meh for me though, good but nothing special. I wouldn't order again.

• The shop is very nostalgic and invokes a old timey feel to it.

• As for the service, the staff appears to be chinese(they were speaking mandarin) so if you've ever experienced the gruff and to-the-point nature of service in a Chinese restaurant, that's about the same level of service you'll get here. As soon as you sit down, you're pretty much expected to know what you want. Overall not terrible though, but I could see some people taking issue with this.

• Not sure what it looks like later on in the day but the shop is quite popular and has limited seating; if you go for lunch, get there at opening or expect to wait.

• everything is in Japanese but they appear to have an English menu based on one of the photos posted. In any case, unless you're looking for a specific variety, if you just say "ramen", the server should know what you're talking about(its literally listed as just "ramen" on the menu)

Overall a good experience and a good ending to an unfortunately far too short of a trip to Japan.