Top Yurakucho Ramen – Yuzu Shio Ramen at Hyottoko

Among Yurakucho ramen restaurants, Menya Hyottoko (麺屋 ひょっとこ) is the best, hands-down. Their shio ramen is affordable, refreshing, and prominently features yuzu citrus.

Tucked Away in a Department Store

Menya Hyottoko is closest to Yurakucho station. To be straightforward, there’s not much high-level ramen around this station. But even if there was, Menya Hyottoko would comfortably be in the running.

They’re located in the basement of the Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan building (麺屋ひょっとこ 交通会館店). It’s a charming locale, tucked away from the masses but frequented by nearby salarymen. Furthermore, it’s tiny – with just 7 seats.

Best Yurakucho Ramen? Stellar Yuzu Shio

I believe so. Their shio (salt-based) ramen is top of the line. The light shio seasoning permits the savory chicken bone and katsuobushi (bonito fish flakes) flavors to linger on your tongue.

Bright Yellow Yuzu

Note that the fish taste is subtle and there’s also some sweetness. This comes from the star of the show – the bright yellow yuzu citrus you'll find placed at the center of the bowl.

Broth has a smokiness to it

Besides the yuzu topping, negi (spring onions) and mitsuba charge the broth and provide crunch. Memba (bamboo shoots) do too. The chashu pork slab is huge and magnificently fatty.

Thin Noodles – and you get a whole lot of them!

They also serve a shio ramen without yuzu. But the ramen to me feels like a ship without a rudder, or least one with a less reliable rudder.

Add Hyottoko your Ramen List

While Menya Hyottoko has been around for 10+ years, the setup feels nostalgic. Excluding the modern touches, their ramen somehow does too.

Kitchen View

While they haven’t reached the commercial success of Afuri and their yuzu shio ramen, I don’t think they never wanted to. It doesn’t matter – their ramen is fantastic and in my book, the best Yurakucho ramen.