Menya Goku

Menya Goku has gotten a few glowing mentions over in the Chicago Ramen thread. But this place is way too good to be buried in a catch-all ramen discussion. In fact, my bowl was probably my favorite bowl I've had within city limits.


The restaurant opened in early January and it should be no surprise that the first person to mention it here was Da Beef. I had the same bowl he did so I might as well quote him:

Da Beef wrote:[Menya Goku is] located on Montrose across the street from Welles Park two doors down from the venerable Taqueria El Asadero. They're an evening only operation and the space is pretty small which makes it feel like a real Ramenya. Goku is owned by the Ramen Wasabi team which also runs Ramen Takeya in Fulton Market. Good for them for not opening a bunch of Wasabi's. We needed a spot like Goku badly. They specialize in Tantanmen aka Spicy Ramen. Basically Japan's take on Dan Dan noodles. It's great. I love the numbing Sichuan peppercorns and the pork based broth with a dash of sesame oil topped with ground pork and green onions. It all really works well together. Like many respected ramen shops across the country they're using Sun Noodles here which are comparable in quality to the noodles in Japan. They also make a stellar shoyu ramen.

The only thing I'd add is to note how rich and silky smooth the broth is. Just a sensational bowl of soup.


There are three other ramens on the menu: the shoyu (chicken and dashi broth), the tonkotsu, and the vegan tonkotsu, which, per the menu "sells out quickly" Speaking of selling out, my server mentioned that the Tribune has already finished visiting for their review. So I'd expect the tiny restaurant to get slammed in the very near future. You might want to get there sooner than later.


There's a bunch of non-ramen items on the menu. I tried the Karaage Slider, a marinated perfectly fried chicken thigh with spicy mayo on a brioche bun. It was totally unnecessary given the richness of the ramen broth, but I regret nothing.


Menya Goku
2207 W. Montrose
(773) 942-6701
Instagram

Menya Goku is open for carry-out during the quarantine and is still knocking it out of the park. I'm now convinced this is the best ramen spot within city limits and my need to trek out to Santouka has disappeared entirely.

LTHers should be lining up for this place the day the quarantine is lifted and jamming phone lines until then. Here's Sula's piece in the Reader if you need a second, more trustworthy opinion.

Tonight I had the modern shoyu, a light yet remarkably flavorful chicken and dashi broth that Sula reports includes four different kinds of fish. Throw in some crazy tender sous vide pork and chicken (the latter of which had some kind fruitiness to it that was really nice), ajitama, green onion, bamboo shoots, and Sun noodles, and you've got yourself a stellar bowl of soup.

Echoing MCH, we had delightful take out from Menya Goku recently. They do an excellent job of presentation, even in take out and the ramen is very good. As a vegetarian, I appreciate the vegan option (though I add an egg and egg noodles). The broth is very rich and flavorful. Definitely a worthy take out spot in these times.

Really good to know. We were lucky to visit them for the first time literally right before everything was shutdown and it was amazing. Definitely doing take out this week.