Ueno Menya Musashi Bukotsu Soden — Restaurant in Tokyo

PROS ➕ Cheap and filling ➕ Variety of noodle dishes

CONS ➖ Cramped space ➖ Salty broth (for some)

Date visited: 05/07/2024

A friend recommended this restaurant to me for its cheap yet generous offerings. I came here for breakfast before my flight.

The shop was located in a bustling business alley lined with many other eateries. They all had similar storefronts and signage—at least to a tourist like me. I could see how packed it was inside; fortunately, there was no queue. I used a ticket machine to place my order.

I was seated at the counter not long after. There were tables further in, already filled with customers—mostly office workers. It looked very cramped and stifling back there. I was glad to have a seat near the front door, facing the kitchen.

While waiting for my order, I watched the restaurant’s hardworking staff prepare food. Two or three young workers moved constantly around the kitchen, performing various tasks typical of ramen prep. Large stainless steel equipment dominated most of the space, leaving only a narrow path for movement. Yet they worked efficiently; it were just another day.

I ordered a large spicy tsukemen—not the best choice for breakfast, I know. The broth was served separately from the noodles and toppings. I tried dipping at first but ended up pouring the broth into the noodles in small portions. The broth was thick, spicy, and extremely salty—as expected for a dipping style. The noodles were firm and satisfying to bite into, with a pleasant wheat flavor that paired astoundingly well with the broth. Two eggs, a few slices of pork, and bamboo shoots were also included—classic noodle dish staples.

I finished everything except the broth, since it was nearly impossible to drink on its own. I felt a bit guilty leaving it behind, especially as one of the staff was walking around with a broth tumbler, topping people off—but I was just one man.

Overall, this restaurant offers delicious and filling meals at a cheap price. However, I wouldn’t recommend visiting...

If you want tsukemen with thick cuts of chasu - this is it. The chasu serving size is what makes this ramen bar different. I'm not sure if this is done by other ramen bars, but this is the first one I've come across that serves chasu this thick and this size. The tsukemen, which tastes great without the chasu, is served with a large 10mm thick portion of chasu...and you can actually choose to have more chasu. With the thick cut of chasu, the tsukemen served here is more expensive than other tsukemen served with the typical chasu sizes. I found that the chasu was bland (like unseasoned pork), wasn't very tender (maybe because it is thick), and had sinew (hard to chew and cut with a bite) running across it. With such a large portion of chasu served by default and is the differentiator for this bar, I had high hopes for the chasu, but it was really underwhelming for my taste. Got to try the black and white versions of the tsukemen...I can't seem to recall the difference in flavor, but I do recall that they both taste great. Really short queue on a Friday night (6pm), we were next in line and waited a short while to be seated after ordering. I like that the ticket machine accepted digital payments, I was able to use alipay (via gcash) to pay for our meal. The space is dimly lit but the tabletops were well lit, and the bar was decorated with replicas of traditional Japanese weapons which were interesting to look at while waiting...

This is the best tsukemen place I have ever been to. I always order noukou tsukemen with meat and egg. Every single thing is awesome. The meat is incredible; it melts like butter ans is so flavorful! I love the chunk of meat they serve it is so good. The noodles are very thick and quite hard, but I personally love this dense chewy texture. The soup omg it is heaven! Sometimes the soup is too salty, but you can always add more hot water(soup) to make it more edible. It is extremely flavorful and heavenly. Once my husband was eating oomori(large portion) and ran out of soup. The staff shockingly gave more soup(a totally new one). I personally think this branch serves better tsukemen than that of shinjuku, which I also like very much. I think Menyamusashi bukotsu is the top 2 tsukemen stores in Japan with Tatsunoya in shinjuku. I literally went here everyday for a whole week when I...