Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop

When I heard that there is a ramen shop that is so popular that it opened its second store only six months after its establishment in May 2024, I immediately visited the noodle store, Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop. In these times of inflation and a string of restaurant bankruptcies, isn’t it amazing that they opened their second branch in just six months? At the very least, you can’t open a branch without gaining popularity, and to do so in just six months after opening is proof that this restaurant has that much to offer, don’t you think?

Moreover, this restaurant is open from 8:00 in the morning. So there is one more restaurant in Kyoto where you can enjoy morning noodle soup. Isn’t it too good to be true? So, I went to this restaurant one day to have a morning noodle soup, aiming for the opening time…

Enjoy two types of traditional Kyoto ramen…Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop is such a restaurant…

I arrived at Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop around 7:40 AM, 20 minutes before opening time. The restaurant was still preparing to open and there was no line at the front, so I decided to kill some time at the McDonald’s across the street. As I looked through the window to see what the customers were doing, it seemed that they started gathering one after another just as the store was about to open. Seeing this, I also drank up my coffee and headed for the restaurant, and entered without waiting.

The restaurant is a two-story building with nine counter seats on the first floor and table seats on the second floor, with a total of 29 seats according to Tabelog. The menu, which is available at the vacant counter seats, features two types of traditional Kyoto ramen: “back fat shoyu ramen” (back fat soy sauce ramen) and “dark side” (black ramen reminiscent of Shinpuku Saikan Head Shop). The location is within walking distance from JR Kyoto Station, which is especially nice for travelers who love ramen. With nearby landmarks such as Sanjusangendo and the National Museum, this is a great place to stop by while sightseeing.

Among the back fatty soy sauce ramen I have had so far, this ramen has the best animal flavor… How was the Back Fat Soy Sauce Ramen with All Filling DX that I ordered at the Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop when I tried it?

Let me introduce you to the “Back Fat Soy Sauce Ramen with All Filling DX” I ordered at the Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop (priced at 1,230 yen including tax). After about 10 minutes of waiting, the ramen arrived in front of me…

The center of the ramen is covered with a heaping pile of chopped kujo-leeks, and underneath that are chashu pork, a half-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, and three pieces of grilled nori (seaweed). The amount of menma, in particular, is quite large, probably one of the largest I have ever eaten.

Now, let’s start with the soup… There is a small back fat floating in the soup like this, but the amount of them is generally small. Perhaps because of this, the salty taste of the soy sauce is emphasized, and the pork flavor is relatively subdued. Actually, I noticed later that I could add more back fat for free. If so, I think it is better to order with more back fat.

The noodles for this ramen, on the other hand, are aged noodles made by Kondo Seimen, a well-known name in the Kyoto ramen industry. The noodles are thinner than those used at the Honke Daiichi Asahi and Ramen Fuji, but the massiveness of the wheat and the unique chewiness of the noodles due to the aging process are “as expected!”.

The toppings are all on top of the ramen noodles, so there are 10 pieces of chashu (pork) in total. The pork used for this chashu pork seems to be made from a brand of pork called Kyotanba Kogen Pork. The fat is sweet and the lean meat has a rich flavor. For 300 yen more including other toppings, I would not regret the extra charge at all.

I left the restaurant after finishing up the “Back Fat Soy Sauce Ramen with All Filling DX” in just a few minutes. It was probably the lightest back fat ramen I have ever had, and had the lightest animal flavor. It is a matter of taste, but if you eat it as a morning ramen, the lighter type may be more popular with the general public. The location is also very accessible, so it would be a good idea to have a bowl of ramen here before going to work or school.

Already operating three noodle stores in one year since its establishment…Access to the Menya EDITION Kyoto Head Shop is a one-minute walk from the nearest station, Shichijo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway line.

One year after its establishment, Menya EDITION has already opened not just a second store, but three stores: the Menya EDITION Kiyamachi Branch, which opened on September 30, and the Menya EDITION Kusatsu Branch, which opened in Shiga on October 11. Opening two stores at almost the same time is very bullish, isn’t it? But I think the quality of the ramen is a good indication of that bullishness, so please give it a try when you stop by nearby.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramens in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…