Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku

Mendokoro Muraji, a popular ramen restaurant serving thick chicken soup ramen that had been operating at Kiridoshi in Gion since its establishment in November 2007, moved to Yanagibaba Rokkaku in April 2023. The ramen shop was opened by a female owner, which was rare in the ramen industry at the time, and its ” Lemon Ramen,” a thick chicken ramen with slices of lemon spread on top, became a hot topic on social networking sites and quickly became one of the most famous ramen stores in Kyoto.

I have visited Muraji in Gion several times in the past, but this is the first time I have visited the restaurant after its relocation to Yanagibaba Rokkaku. Has anything changed since the restaurant moved? Has the menu changed? I headed to the restaurant on my way home from work one day with a lot of curiosity. Well…

Relocated to the city center but keeping the same atmosphere…Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku is a restaurant like this…

Unlike the surrounding buildings, Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku has an entrance in the Kyoto machiya style, creating the same pure Japanese atmosphere as the previous location in Gion.

The interior space is long and narrow, with a large table for eight at the very front, six counter seats and two tables for four along the kitchen in the middle, and another large table for eight at the far end across the tsuboniwa garden. The interior, like all the restaurants, is in a pure Japanese style, and the space is spacious enough to enjoy a relaxing meal. Perhaps because of this, about half of the customers at this time were foreign tourists.

The restaurant is run by three female staff members. I wonder if it is the owner’s passion that all the waitstaff are women. When I visited the previous restaurant in Gion, I was disillusioned because I could hear the part-timers chattering away in the back. I really like the just-right amount of tension that pervades the pure Japanese-style restaurant, which is neither too loose nor too tight.

Tori Kuro Ramen: A thick chicken ramen with soy sauce flavor at Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku, how was it really?

Let me introduce you to the Tori Kuro Ramen I ordered at Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku (price 990 yen including tax). Image here…

The thick chicken broth, which is cloudy brown in color with soy sauce, is topped with bamboo shoots, fried burdock root, and chopped green onion. And three small pieces of chicken chashu pork along the edge of the bowl. The volume is a bit small, but it looks quite gorgeous.

Let’s start with the soup… The chicken soup is thick and rich in flavor, with a hint of sweet soy sauce. But even though the chicken is definitely rich, it is not at all cloying. The thick chicken broth does not linger in the mouth, so you can normally finish the last drop of the broth without getting a bite. I thought to myself, “If this chicken soup is this thick, there is no need to use lemon slices to add aroma to it!”

The noodles were straight, thin, low-moisture noodles, slightly hard-boiled so that they had a firm texture. The noodles were carried to the mouth in the chicken soup, and after the flavor of the soup was released, they passed down the throat smoothly and without resistance.

Among the toppings of Tori Kuro Ramen, I would like to focus on this fried burdock root instead of chashu (pork). It does not have the same visual impact as the fried burdock topping at the famous Tori Soba Zagin in Osaka, but it is fried more golden brown than those at Zagin, and its aroma is superior to that of the fried burdock. It is an excellent item to reset your tongue and nose once they are accustomed to the thick chicken shiranyu.

The Tori Kuro Ramen at Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku is much more refreshing than I had expected, and I was able to eat it in no time at all. Despite being a thick chicken soup, it does not have an aftertaste at all, so it is certainly a flavor that is easily accepted by women in general. On the other hand, the volume of the dish is small, and from the perspective of men who prefer a thicker soup, it may seem a bit lacking. If I were to revisit this restaurant again, I would probably order a set menu with fried chicken or fried rice on an iron plate…

Other food menu items at Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku (as of February 2024, prices include tax)

• Tori Shiro Ramen 990 yen
• Toripaitan Lemon Ramen 1100 yen
• MURAJI Tsukemen 1150 yen
• Fried rice on an iron plate mixed in front of you 600 yen
• Muraji’s Fried Chicken 700 yen

Access to Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku is an 8-minute walk from the nearest station, Karasuma Oike Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line (Karasuma Line).

Mendokoro Muraji Yanagibaba Rokkaku is like this, but with the relocation, credit cards and various electronic money are now accepted, which is great. Now, even if you don’t have cash on you, you can eat ramen with your smartphone. If you are in the Karasuma area and want to try thick chicken ramen, you should definitely try the new Mendokoro Muraji.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

From Karasuma Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line (Shijo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line), it is a 10-minute walk.

P.S. 京都で美味しいラーメンをお探しのあなた、ぜひこちらの記事にも立ち寄っていってください…