Menya Musashi Ramen

Visited this little gem in LA as we were in the area. There are a lot of eateries around this area and it's so hard to choose one. We opted for Menya Musashi LA after seeing that the other eateries were crowded and had a wait. Menya Musashi LA has outside and inside seating. The inside is very tight. Only two booths and the bar (fits approx. 7 people). As soon as you walk in, you are greeted by the entire staff. The menu is very basic. They only offer two dishes and each dish has different versions (combination, meat only, pork cutlet only, vegetarian, etc). We chose the combination ramen (it had few pieces of fatty pork, pork cutlet, seasoned egg in a rich broth). It was SOOOO GOOD!!!! Don't let the size of the bowl fool you. The bowl might be on the small side, but it's soooo filling. You really do need a walk after eating. Parking: It doesn't seem that they have their own lot. We parked on the street. Since it was Sunday, we didn't need to pay the meter. Next time I'm in the area, I will definitely be back at Menya Musashi LA to satisfy my ramen craving.

JAPAN 🇯🇵 Eat the World LA review: It is more fun to come here knowing the full meaning of the name, for it has everything to do with how the menu is presented and should be approached. "Niten ichiryu" refers to a classical style of swordsmanship in Japan involving a long sword in one hand and a short one in the other, used in conjunction. This style was first used by sword master Musashi Miyamota and was respected deep enough by the founder of the restaurant to become its name. When this method of swordsmanship was translated into cooking and a menu, it was in the form of two parts, ramen or tsukemen was combined with tonkotsu and large pieces of kakuni to create the meal desired. After opening 14 restaurants in Japan, the brand has expanded across Asia before coming to the United States first at this Westside location and eventually to Seattle. The tonkotsu broth here is made from fish as well as the normal pork bones, which gives it a slightly more full and rounded taste which plays just a touch less fatty than usual. If you are feeling up to it, for $18 you can get their premier bowl of ramen that in addition to two pieces of kakuni also includes the soft boiled egg and a fried pork cutlet.

Oh finally, a bowl that is doing its own thing in our very city! Basically every ramenya in the LA area sticks to the same formula (i.e., tonkotsu slow cooked broth or shoyu, thin noodle, chashu, scallions and a some sort of green, and egg of course) but guess what, Menya Musashi is doing their own thing and it’s straight from Japan. I haven’t been stoked on a bowl for a while but this one got me pumped. They claim a Niten Ichiryu “Two Sword” style with super good flat noodles topped with 2 large pieces of very high end braised pork belly (kakuni), 2 pieces of tonkatsu (don’t mistake “tonkatsu” with the broth, “tonkotsu”, rookie mistake) to create a feast in a bowl and 2 kinds of broth together in one, pork bone/seafood. A light fresh berry vinegar and high end spice comes alongside the bowl. Even the menma (bamboo) was fresh! Oh man, add the vinegar and some spice, and you have a top quality bowl! It’s on the pricy side but it’s totally worth it. Does it get the elusive 5 BOWL RATING!!?? Almost, but just misses, a 4.5 bowl rating here guys!! 🍜 🍜🍜🍜.5 #claysramengame #ramen #menyamusashi #tonkotsu #porkbelly #tonkatsu #kakuni #japanesefood

Fast seating Best deal for ramen on Sawtelle. trust. Got the hybrid tonkontsu with extra noodles. Broth is delicious Chashu is good Would I come back ? YES!

Delicious Ramen. The portions are very reasonable. Their steamed gyoza was amazing. And this place has some unique sauces at the table. Parking is located in the back, with validation it’s 2.50

Menya Ramen was a rebranded ramen shop in the same location by the same owner. This place services fat noodle by default, you can ask for thin noodle. Clean with outdoor seating area. When we meet around 8:30PM on a Thursday, there wasn’t many patrons, so no wait. I ordered just the ramen, the pork belly was a big chunk, decently tasty, bamboo was a little cold, my slight disappointment was with the broth, it was thick but too salty, it was hard to taste the pork broth from the soup. The plus from the restaurant was it’s service, cleanness, and condiment. Fruit vinegar was tasty (some might not like vinegar), the bacon shreds was crunchy and spicy, very good. The spoon and bowl was very nicely designed. Taste: 2.5 stars Service: 4.5 stars Cleanliness: 4 stars Price: 3 stars (their signature ramen was $18 dollars, on the expensive side for ramen) Overall, 3 stars in Little Osaka with many ramen shops, very competitive market.

I've been to all the ramen places on Sawtelle except for this one, so my friend and ai stopped by the other day to try. It was pleasantly surprising to try something a bit different than Tsujita/Tatsu for a change. They offer a monthly special that usually invovles a combo dish at a discounted price. This time around was a black garlic/red spicy ramen (pictured) for just $9.99. the ramen was good - a little more black garlic than red spicy - but it had a less thick, non-fish based broth (compare to Tsujita) and also came with bean sprouts in addition to the normal seaweed, chasu, etc. We also got an order of chicken karate, which was pretty good, nothing special. It wasn't very crowded (maybe 2pmv/ on a weekday?) And the store itself is a little small - also because they were closing the outside patio in the middle of the day (no idea why) so would suggest calling ahead if they accept reservations.

Absolutely delicious. This hybrid ramen (black garlic/mushroom/red spicy miso) was incredible. For extra flavor make sure you add an egg :)