Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch

Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch is the No. 2 ramen restaurant in the popular ramen chain operated by Gin no Budo Group, Inc. As of February 2024, among the 13 ramen shops of Tori Soba Zagin in Japan and abroad, only the one in Shinsaibashi is named “Niboshi” instead of the name of the location, which is a curious fact.

I finally had a chance to visit the “Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch” and went to Shinsaibashi one day right after the New Year. Since it is a “niboshi branch”, surely there must be niboshi ramen on the menu, right? Niboshi ramen made by a popular chicken noodle restaurant… I somehow got the feeling that it was a special bowl of ramen, and I was really curious about it…

Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch is a restaurant that seems to be easy to use, especially for women…

Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch is located along a street called Junkeicho Dori, three streets north of Nagahori Dori, where Shinsaibashi Station is located. Two doors down on the same street is the Jiro-inspired ramen restaurant, Buta-yama, which has many branches mainly in Tokyo. Both of these restaurants have long lines at lunch time, so you should be able to easily find the restaurant. On this particular day, I arrived at the restaurant around 11:45 a.m., and there were exactly 20 customers in line at the Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch. From that state, the wait time to enter the restaurant was about 50 minutes. While waiting in line, I bought a meal ticket and waited patiently for an empty seat…

Like other affiliated restaurants, the chic black interior had 7 counter seats and 2 tables for 4 people. However, the staff working there were different from those at other affiliated restaurants I have been to, and all of them were female except for the one who seemed to be the manager. I had an image of Gin-no-Bubou group restaurants as ” restaurants for craftsmen in kappogi suits”…but the atmosphere has become much more casual, and I think it has become a restaurant that is easy to use for plates, especially for women.

What did you think of the “Niboshi Ginjo Nigori”, a limited edition nigori only available at Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi?

Let me introduce the “Niboshi Ginjo Nigori” (priced at 1,200 yen including tax), a limited menu item that I ordered at Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch this time. Image here…

A slightly unusual shaped noodle peeks out from the thick soup. On the far side of the bowl, there is a fried burdock root, the symbol of Tori Soba Zagin, as a topping. When I saw this, I had a hunch that it would be absolutely delicious.

The soup is as thick and thick as it looks, and it contains a lot of dried sardine powder. It is rich in both flavor and bitterness, and for those who love dried sardines, this is what they will feel. When I first started eating this ramen, I thought of the Ramen Hone I had at Jinrui Mina Menrui Tokyo Head Shop, but the concept of this ramen is much easier to understand, even if it is the same niboshi ramen. It seems that I can replenish a lot of calcium by drinking this soup, and it even seems to be good for my body.

The noodles have a wakame-like structure with folds at both ends and a core in the center. These folds are entangled with the thick niboshi soup, releasing the flavor of niboshi into the mouth, while the folds stimulate the mucous membranes of the tongue and cheeks with a fluttering sensation, giving the noodles an interesting texture that has never been seen before in ramen noodles. I wonder where these noodles are made? I have the impression that it takes a lot of skill to make the noodles…

The centerpiece of the toppings are pork rare chashu pork like prosciutto, chicken breast chashu, and fried burdock root, which is the symbol of Tori Soba Zagin. These items are recommended to be eaten as they are, as a palate cleanser, without being mixed in with the rich simmered dried soup. The flavor of niboshi (dried sardines) is so strong that it overshadows the impact of the toppings. If you like ramen with a lot of dried sardines, I think you will be satisfied with this niboshi ginjo nigori.

However, you will be quite thirsty while eating this ramen. You will probably consume a considerable amount of water with the ramen, so I think it is important to note that your stomach may be more overloaded than you imagine after the meal….

Examples of other menu items at Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch (prices include tax)

• Tori soba 950 yen
• Tori tuke soba 980 yen
• Niboshi tsuke soba 1000 yen
• Pork chashu-don (limited quantity) 380 yen
• Chicken chashu-don (limited quantity) 380 yen
• Meat sushi (2 pieces) 380 yen
• 3 pieces of fried chicken 300 yen

It’s fun to try the limited ramen at each store… To get to Tori Soba Zagin Niboshi Branch, it’s a 4-minute walk from the nearest station, Shinsaibashi Station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line.

The Niboshi Ginjo nigori introduced this time is a limited menu item available only at the Niboshi branch among all Tori Soba Zagin restaurants. However, other stores also have ramen menus that are only available at their stores, so it would be interesting to walk around and try these shop-specific ramen dishes. For example, the Higobashi main restaurant offers a seafood dipping soba, the Suminoe branch offers a beef bone soba, the Kobe Head Shop offers a flying fish soup shellfish soba, and so on… If you are a fan of Tori Soba Zagin, I am sure you will enjoy eating limited ramen.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

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