Neiroya Ogikubo — Restaurant in Tokyo

Let me make two confessions.

Firstly, I’ve lived in Ogikubo for more than 20 years and only eaten ramen here a few times, most notably at Harukiya. I used to eat Ramen a lot when I came here on a working holiday in the early 1990s but I think the heaviness of Tonkotsu and the saltiness of Shoyu Ramen turned me off the idea of eating it regularly.

Secondly, I have walked past Neiroya literally hundreds of times and although I was curious, the signs instructing people on how to line up etc. were a turn-off. Tokyo restaurants can sometimes take themselves too seriously and become, frankly, intimidating.

So it was a pleasant surprise to take my Ramen-loving Tasmanian friend to Neiroya where I thoroughly enjoyed their jesty and light lemon-flavored Tori-dashi Ramen. The soup was not too hot (猫舌の私にはラーメンがもう一つの苦手な理由かも), the broth and easy-to-slurp noodles were balanced with the sliced lemon and blanched chicken floating on top. I had the normal volume of noodles but I probably could have ordered 替え玉 (Kaedama) or extra helding of noodles. The service was warm, the decore simple and the mascot owl welcoming. Next time, I won’t walk past them in a...

I made the mistake of ordering the あんもち味噌らーめん. At 1880¥ for a normal portion of ramen, I expect the quality to be supreme. This simply was not.

The broth was less flavorful than canned campbell's soup. The noodles were indistinguishable from spaghetti. Then came the anmochi. It's my fault for ordering it, but why on earth would you put that in ramen? Like I said after eating the shoyu ramen with fig compote at Tsutaya, it's like dumping barbecue sauce on carbonara. The ingredients had no cohesion. The only saving grace was the chashu, which had a nice sweet flavor and a good ratio of meat to fat.

Service was okay.

This is the third time I've followed a michelin guide recommendation, and the third time I've been immeasurably disappointed. I'm starting to notice a trend. The next time I see a michelin sticker in the window, I'm walking the...

Pictured is the 特製しょうゆらーめん / special shoyu ramen.

(ig @wei.oframen to follow my ramen adventure 😚)

09/14/2023

Neiroya had a Michelin Bib in 2022. Whether the feature was for their ramen or their shaved ice, I have no idea. As a matter of fact, I was the only one eating ramen during my visit. Everyone else was just mowing down on their huge mountain of shaved ice. This bowl was a pretty decent, properly done shoyu bowl. However, it didn't feel like it had anything else going for it. At least, all the toppings...