Mugi to Olive Ginza — Restaurant in Tokyo

Mugi to Olive is a popular ramen shop in Ginza, Tokyo which has received the Michelin's Prestigious Bib Gourmand Award for three years. Located right behind the big and swanky Ginza Six shopping mall, I found out about this place as I searched for worthy ramen place to try on my few days in Tokyo.

From the research, I'd read that there would be waiting time at this ramen shop as it can only accommodate about 10-12 pax at one time. To be honest I don't really like queueing for food and I'd rather go somewhere else to cure my hungry stomach but when eating in Tokyo and especially at popular places, this can't be avoided. True enough there were about 10 people in front of us as we reached but luckily we didn't have to wait too long. The turnover was rather quick which made the queue bearable to say the least.

You will have to make your decision on what to eat by choosing it at the vending machine. Simple description is provided above the machine. We were seated soon enough, passed the order and waited for our dishes to be served.

◾instead of soba, I opted for specially made chicken & clam tsukumen. Good choice indeed - the noodle (inclusive of the ingredients) and soup were served separately. Maybe I was famished at that point of time that I finished it quickly but I swear that it was very good. ◾tamagokake gohan, or raw egg on rice, usually drizzled with soy sauce. I saw the person next to me eating that and I pointed to the waiter. Mugi to Olive’s version was pretty good mostly because of the quality of the egg. I simply poured the soy sauce and stirred everything together. The result? Silky smooth rice due to the egg and the saltiness from the soy sauce.. I'm in love!

I was glad that I made the decision to queue although i hate waiting. Please make your way here if you can... You'll...

6 years ago we were waiting outside of Mugi to Olive for the opening only to find out that the restaurant was closed that day.

In 2025, we are travelling in Japan again from Australia. Firstly we are very glad to see that Mugi to Olive is still here and It survived Covid lockdown. Overall the restaurant looks the same on the exterior, it now has this tall Kashiyama building for company.

Happy that we finally get to eat here last week. 10 minutes before the opening, there was already a small queue at the front. At 5pm, the doors opened and patrons went in one at a time to make their order via the touch screen machine. We went for their signature Clam Soba at 1,800 yen each.

The interior of this ramen place is a mix of modern and classic, seat was comfortable and had sufficient shelving below for our regular and shopping bags. Before the ramen arrived, a staff was handling out paper bibs to patrons, which is something new to me. The clam broth was sensational, barley (mugi) noodles were amazing. I found out later that this ramen shop is known for it's olive oil condiment which one could add to their broth mid way through the meal. The hamaguri clams offered were very generous in size, our ramen also had slices of chicken and chashu, overall it was a very good value for such a high quality ramen.

Also noticed that it was an all women team that day, which is great to see especially in the male dominated ramen industry. It was a very satisfying meal and perfect way to cap off our final night at Tokyo. Looking at these pictures now makes me feel 懐かしい...

Mugi to Olive is located at 6 Chome-12-12 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan. In the heart of Ginza area the shopping & eating paradise.

They serve Soba (noodle made of buckwheat flour) and the signature dish is Soba in clam soup. I ordered this, JPY1,800 . Volume of the Soba is rather big (they also offer bigger size dish at JPY1,950 but I think it is too big because what I ordered is already large). The soup is tasty and not fatty since they made from chicken soyabean base which boiled together with clam which they claim that daily fresh buying from Toyosu fish market. There is a bottle of shallot oil to add into the soup for more fatty and smell. In the bowl there are two big pieces of chicken breast, 4 pieces of small clam, 1 piece of big clam, 1 piece of seaweed and 1 piece of tofu.

The shop is quite small, can be accommodated only around 10-12 people and the seat is long table so sitting in a row. Most of the customers when I was there are overseas tourists and more or less there is a queue in front of the restaurant. The waiting customer is asked to go to the ticket machine to select the order and pay in advance (* they do not accept cash ; only credit card or other cashless payment) and back to the queue.

In overall I honestly say that the taste is rather good but actually I expect only clam base soup not chicken. The price JPY1,800 is too high compared to famous ramen...