Ramen Jiro Shinjuku Kabukicho — Restaurant in Tokyo

Looking for a fancy ramen experience? Your best option is to turn 180° just before touching the entrance door. Ramen jiro is a pure ramen shop. Customers come here to eat a big and cheap bowl of noodles. Blank walls, a concrete floor, the kitchen, a red counter, seats, end. On the menu : ramen or tsukemen (broth on the side). Then you can choose the quantity of pork slices and the size of your bowl. You can also get menma (bamboo shots) or an egg,that's it. Giving the ticket you bought from the machine to the cook will trigger the question about the noodles hardness (to which you can answer soft, normal or hard) and when your bowl is about ready, you'll be asked about the free toppings : fat, more veggies (bean sprouts), garlic paste and spices. The place is quite popular, so you'll have to queue (usually standing inside the shop) whenever you go there. Prices are low, from 700 yen to 1100 yen, and the amount of food they manage to pour into the bowl is incredible. Your eyes won't realize the trick much, but your stomach will. I am usually a fierce ramen eater, but there, even the normal size was almost painful to finish. The pork slices are of an honest thickness and taste as they look, a little dry but satisfying. The egg is hard-boiled but has a light and slightly salty taste that doesn't disappoint. The menma is actually kimchi (Korean spicy stuff). The broth now: well, quite disappointing. As everything else, clearly not bad and tasty enough to keep the meal enjoyable, but nothing like a good miso...

Delicious pork based ramen prepared in a no frills environment. Upon arrival you will most likely have to queue outside to get in, the line was full of locals and I was the only foreigner here, a good sign. Once you make it inside you must use the vending machine to buy a ticket. Prices range from 700¥ to 1100¥, from there you get water and then are seated. Place your ticket on the counter and wait, the staff will ask some question regarding your ramen: noodle texture and toppings, I went with soft and asked for garlic.

The ramen itself contains handmade noodles made fresh in an adjacent room, the noodles are thick and wavy, they have a good chew to them. The broth isn't super salty but it has a great fatty pork flavor. The pork itself is served in big chunks and is cooked just enough to be slightly tender but not fall apart as you eat it. Bean sprouts and cabbage are also added to provide texture. The fresh garlic paste takes this dish to the next level providing a fresh spicy garlic taste and cutting though the thick noodles and fatty broth.

Once done place your bowl on the higher part of the counter and wipe your eating area off and then leave. You will be full.

Don't come here if you want high class or fancy ramen with tons of options. This place dishes out tasty cheap pork ramen to locals without pomp, it is quite the experience but be...

I recently visited a ramen spot in the Shinjuku area that left me quite underwhelmed. The restaurant was inexpensive, which initially seemed like a positive, but unfortunately, the quality of the ramen matched the price. The broth was incredibly bland, lacking any depth or richness that you would expect from a decent bowl of ramen. It felt more like hot water with a hint of seasoning, rather than the flavorful, savory base that should be the heart of any good ramen.

The noodles were standard, but they didn’t make up for the lack of flavor in the broth. Toppings like the pork and soft-boiled egg were forgettable, and the egg’s yolk was far from the perfectly gooey texture you often hope for. Even though it was cheap, the meal felt disappointing rather than satisfying.

While the location in Shinjuku makes it easily accessible for those wandering the area, I can’t say I’d recommend it to anyone seeking a fulfilling ramen experience. If you’re just after something quick and affordable with no expectation of taste, it might suffice, but for ramen lovers looking for rich flavor and quality, this place...