Menya Sandaime (멘야산다이메) ~ Seoul Casserole

Hey! Hey, you! Yeah, you! Today's your lucky day, because we're about to tell you about the best ramen shop in Seoul. Buckle up.

As you can probably tell by this point, we're a little on the pickier side when it comes to dining out. We've munched and grubbed far and wide and, through our travels, we're throughly impressed with this little ramen shop called Menya Sandaime (멘야산다이메) in Hongdae.

Okay, so here's what you need to know: it's a teeny tiny place, so if you come during prime time hungry time, it's likely there will be a little bit of a wait. But don't let that discourage you, though. They're really quick and efficient so people come in and out all the time. Since it's cold and frigid now in Seoul, make sure you're already bundled up just in case you have to *literally* chill out for a few minutes.

Once you're inside, they'll set you either at a table or right up against the bar. Being by the bar is pretty cool because you get to see the chef making dinner creations. Under the bar there's a little nook area where you can shove your jacket or bag, but, again, everything in this place is small so you can't really fit much under there.

The menu is written in Japanese, Korean, and English. Ashley can read Hiragana, so she's our secret weapon whenever we venture out for Japanese food. All hail Ashley!

Oh! and this is important - some of the words on the menu, even though they're written in English, are just the Japanese words written with the English alphabet. So, for example, Egg is written as "Tamago" or Pork is written as "Chasyu." Just FYI!

There are 5 ramen options to choose from, but honestly, they're all amazing. You can't go wrong here - Kimmy's favorite is the Karakuchi (ie. Spicy Miso) Ramen. Then you can customize your order with additional toppings listed at the bottom of the menu.

They also have insanely delicious gyoza that we 3000% recommend trying.

So what are you waiting for? Go fill your bellies!

Address

Menya Sandaime

Seoul Mapo-gu

Seogyo-dong 355-25

멘야산다이메

서울 마포구

서교동 355-25

Directions

Just follow the directions below:

~from the Hongdae subway station (홍대입구역)

Go out Exit 9
Walk straight until you get to the big intersection with Spao and Forever 21
Cross the street and turn left
Turn right and walk up the street (after Bershka and before Tonymoly)
Turn right again (before the Trick Eye Museum) heading towards 마포갈매기
Take an immediate left (right before 마포갈매기)
Walk down the street for a minute or two
The restaurant will be on your right (if you walk past Åland, you've gone WAY too far)

Alternative Directions

If you have Naver or Kakao Maps, just type in 「멘야산다이메」

If you have Google Maps, just type in "Menya Sandaime"

Participants

Kimmy (instagram) (soundcloud)

Seoul Casserole (instagram) (twitter) (youtube)