斑鳩 - Ikaruga, Kudanshita

特製ラーメン - Special Ramen, ￥880

    Ikaruga is yet another of the Tokyo Ramen Street restaurants but I decided to go to the original store to see where they their made their name. Here in central Tokyo on a Friday night I was expecting a bit of a crowd, but the only wait we had was from a couple of high school kids who seemed to lack sufficient dexterity in order to use the ticket machine. Eventually... we made it in inside.

    The blue glass was just one of the few choices available. Selection was a daunting task. It is quite a good representation of the restaurant which seems to be a little less rough than most ramen shops. We decided that Ikaruga may be 'posh' ramen. However, we were seated at the counter which gave a great view of the kitchen and things weren't looking so posh in there.

    Not one to judge a book by its cover, we would just have to see how it looked when it arrived.

   Pretty good, I must say.

    The most distinctive feature of this tonkotsu soup is it's milkiness although it does feel a little monotonous once you've made your way into it. The fact that it doesn't leave you feeling as though you've practically inhaled both your recommended daily allowance of fat and carbs is certainly a plus though. We were buoyant to go for a bit of a wander after we had finished, which, by the way, was a relatively simple task.

   Ikaruga, is the name of a bird, the Japanese Grosbeak. I just hope there wasn't one in the soup as it wouldn't be as posh as what I thought.

Ramen Database

Google Maps

Ikaruga Homepage (It's crap)