I found this place through the Michelin Guide app while looking for restaurants near my hotel. Surprisingly, it was only 50 steps away—a pleasant bonus! This ramen restaurant earned its Michelin star in 2019, making it one of only three ramen spots in the world to hold such an honour. It has also been featured on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for several years.

The restaurant is tiny, with seating for only about 10 people. To secure a spot, you must arrive an hour before it opens to get a ticket/reservation. The ticket provides a time slot for when you should return, and you’ll need to wait for a seat to become available. We arrived at 5:30 PM and got a seating window between 6:30 and 7:30 PM. When we returned at 6:30, we had to wait outside until about 7:10 before being allowed inside.

Once inside, we placed our orders at a vending machine, paid, and sat in a small waiting area until our seats were ready. Luckily, we got to sit at the counter next to the kitchen, which gave us a great view of the cooking process. I ordered the Shio Soba with extra noodles and pork. Watching the chefs at work added a bit of excitement to the experience. After about five minutes, our soba was served, and we picked them up directly from the counter.

The restaurant describes my bowl of soba as follows: Three types of broth, sea bream broth, Japanese soup stock, and hamaguri clam broth, are combined to create a composition that is more refreshing than Shoyu ramen (soy sauce), yet offers more depth. Topped with a bergamot-flavored shirasu (whitebait) sauce, inca-berry sauce, and porcini duxelles, this dish, like Shoyu ramen (soy sauce), is designed to provide a gradual change in taste and aroma.

The soba’s presentation was stunning. It featured various elements like fungi, pork, green onions, and a Japanese-style pesto. I mixed it all together and started with the soup, which was incredibly complex—bursting with flavours that were almost impossible to describe. It was rich, full-bodied, and deeply satisfying. The soba noodles were perfectly cooked, and the char siu pork was incredibly tender with a beautiful pink hue. It was, without a doubt, an outstanding bowl of ramen.

Midway through the meal, I decided to add some vinegar to the soup. This significantly altered the flavour profile, toning down the richness and introducing a bright, contrasting taste. While the original flavours were amazing, I preferred the soup with vinegar, as it brought the dish a balanced, lighter finish.

Overall, this was an exceptional ramen experience. The restaurant operates like a dine-and-dash spot due to its immense popularity. Diners are asked to avoid excessive talking, refrain from using phones, and eat promptly. Also, you are asked not to take photos inside the restaurant except for your food. If you take too long, the staff may politely ask you to speed up. The servings are limited, and unfortunately, I missed out on getting an egg with my soba since they had already sold out. Although the restaurant was supposed to close at 8:30 PM, it shut down just after we left at 7:45 PM—likely because they had run out of food.

While this ramen is pricier than at most other places, the experience and the restaurant’s accolades made it well worth it. If you’re a ramen enthusiast, this is a must-visit.

Website: Soba House Konjiki-Hototogisu

Address: 〒160-0022 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Shinjuku, 2 Chome−4−1 第22宮庭マンション 1階105号室