Brittney M.
Yelp
food quality: 4/5
service: 5/5
cleanliness: 5/5
value: 4/5
First time at Mensho and we were told we had a 45 minute wait, but then we were pleasantly surprised with 30 minutes- good start! When we sat down, we ordered the A5 Wagyu Negi ($16 for 2 pieces), the Signature Toripaitan ($29), GKO ($26), and the Aburasoba ($40 price was raised $1 from 3 weeks ago) - all of which had AMAZING flavors. I will say their truffle paste has me still dreaming about it along with the Black Garlic Oil. The soup is very thick, be warned that it's not for drinking straight from the bowl. Think of it more like a sauce for the noodles.
So, why the 4 stars? It's the noodles. These are not cheap bowls of ramen, so I expect everything to be on point, but the noodles were just not to my liking. Like any other noodles, Al dente is the goal. These felt like they were not quite done and were more firm and almost still dough-like and tasted starchy. The GKO was the better of the 3, but the other bowls were just downhill from there with the Aburasoba being the worst one. No one likes squishy noodles, but no one likes firm noodles either. Perhaps it was an off day, but it was enough to distract me from the whole experience.
Also, not sure that A5 Wagyu at $16 for 2 pieces was worth it. Pretty steep for nearly 2 oz of meat. Great marbling though!
I really wanted to give this place 5 stars, might give it another try once they have their grand opening.