Mensho Ramen — Restaurant in Phoenix

My boyfriend took me here a little while ago, to sum it all up, it wasn’t actually that great in terms of food. The drinks were wonderful, and the tea—although I was a bit disappointed they didn’t actually brew their own green tea even though they had the traditional brewers—was alright. Service was wonderful, they were all very nice and even offered us a booth seat once it cleared after we sat at the only available seat: at the bar. I will say, I didn’t order the signature, I ordered the vegan option and added the wagyu to it. However, when I received my ramen, the noodles were still al dente and the wagyu looked and tasted like straight up ham. I’ve had Wagyu before, good wagyu, and it was much better than the raw slice of meat they gave me that was still cooking in the broth. I did ask for plain enoki instead of the fried enoki and I understand that I may have misspoke and said raw enoki instead of just boiled enoki, nevertheless the quality of the food in general was lackluster and disappointing. When I asked if they had a bowl of rice on the menu since I hadn’t seen one when I looked it over initially, I was told they had sushi rice but couldn’t put it in a bowl for me since they couldn’t price it? I’m unsure of what they said exactly but I was confused as to why an authentic Japanese restaurant didn’t serve plain rice as a side. I refuse to bring my ethnicity into any review on authentic restaurants since it’s completely pointless, but I’ve had ‘authentic’ ethnic cuisine from a variety of places that were much more flavorful and overall better than what I had at Mensho. Supposedly all the ingredients they had came straight from japan, but I’m not too sure about it. I just think they should have more options other than five ramen dishes to chose from and a bunch of sushi and drinks. And for 80 or so bucks for all of it? I’m pretty disappointed with my time there, even if it...

Got lucky in being seated as soon as we walked in. Had tried to go weeks prior and was told the wait for a party of 2 was nearly 2 hours. Anyways got seated but the seating was at a table which would be fine if the other patrons who were at tables were not placed 2 inches next to one another. Due to this it’s hard to have a conversation regarding the meal without eavesdropping on everyone else sat around you. Second thing that bothered me was the menu both in variety of choice and price. Half the food on the menu for the main dishes was vegan and that’s fine to a degree but why at a ramen shop do you get maybe 3 choices of ramen with meat? Not to mention charging extra for spices sauce on the side? The food itself was lackluster. Nothing extremely terrible from the bowl of signature soup we had. However at the same time there was not anything of note or memorable. Considering you pay nearly 30$ per bowl in a cramped space I’d like to have some other flavor aside from the bland stuff that was served. “The truffle sauce is made and it takes over an hour for the chefs to hand make.” Is what a waitress had said which is all well and good but spending a significant amount of time making something doesn’t mean it will be good. Quality ingredients I guess but execution was middle of the road at best. My advice to any ramen enjoyers out there would be to just go to JINYA instead. It’s cheaper has a better variety and taste better just as a default. However if you don’t want to do that perhaps I could suggest something else like a Top Ramen pack? Quite frankly if given the choice of Mensho or Top Ramen at home I’d choose...

I've been wanting to try Mensho forever, but the crazy lines at the Mesa location always scared me off. So when I heard they opened a spot in Phoenix, I was like, "Yes, finally!" We went for lunch on a Sunday, and no line--score! The Phoenix location is way bigger than Mesa's, with cool decor and tons of tables. Our server was super nice and helped us figure out what to order.

We started with the Aji Fry, and oh my gosh, it was next-level good. They use the whole fish (no bones, thank goodness), coat it in this special batter, and deep-fry it. It was crispy, flavorful, and just amazing. Definitely a must-try!

For the ramen, we got the signature Toripaitan and the Valentine's special Chocolate Duck Matcha Ramen. The Toripaitan was so rich and comforting, with chewy noodles and a broth that hit all the right spots. The Chocolate Duck Matcha Ramen was wild--savory matcha broth with chocolate noodles. It was interesting and tasty, but I'm more of a classic ramen person, so the Toripaitan won me over.

That said, it's definitely on the pricier side for a small bowl of ramen. The signature Toripaitan costs $28, and while it comes packed with all the toppings, I still feel like it's a bit overpriced. On the other hand, the Aji Fry? Totally worth every penny--that dish alone justifies the cost!

Overall, such a great experience! Mensho Phoenix is definitely worth checking out if you're into ramen that's both traditional and a little adventurous. Can't...