Ippudo Noodle Express Tokyo Solamachi

I came to this stop because of all the locations in the food court, this place was the busiest. Also I noticed other places were serving udon, etc. I wanted ramen noodles. I ate here twice in my 5 day trip and I really enjoyed it. There are no substituions in Japan so if I wanted to supplement by taking one thing out and adding another, I would just have to pay extra to add and forget the thing I didn’t want. I didn’t care, it was good. :)

Probably the worst noodle experience at Ippudo. This location is the Express location at Sky Tree. And I have to say the broth is no good and the noodles was most def disappointing. I will never eat at a Express location again. It was the shittiest bowl in Tokyo and Ippudo!

We were well into the first morning of our sightseeing shenanigans in Tokyo, and I was already hankering for some ramen. Now when I saw the name Ippudo on the restaurant directory at the Tokyo Skytree complex, I made Jamie W. make a beeline with me to the food court where it was. Lo and behold, it was indeed an Ippudo, part of the same chain that enthralled me with their two locations in Manhattan. Why my fervent enthusiasm? Because they serve tonkotsu pork broth without apology, and it’s richly decadent especially when you add chunks of pork belly which, of course, you must.
Surely an Ippudo in the motherland would be a transcendental experience from the first noodle slurp to the last drop of the broth, right? Not quite but it was still awfully good. Understand that this one is nothing more than a fast food kiosk amid several kiosks, so the whole area was bustling with the pre-​lunch crowd. The menu had no English translation but plenty of photos (photo:
). I just pointed to the one with the most pork slices, no fool am I. It was ￥1,030, and it looked like the Akamaru Modern and that was good enough for me. Loved the slogan on the back of the server’s T-​shirt: «Quickly, Casual, and Enjoy!» (photo:
).
Never have an adverb, an adjective and a verb seemed so compatible. You wait in a little cattle pen until your order is ready and then start hunting for a table. The ramen was tasty though my one slight criticism was the thinness of the noodles which was probably something I could have addressed had I been fluent in my mama’s tongue. Regardless, it had all the requisite ingredients: pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage, mushrooms, scallions, garlic oil, and of course, the rich Hakata broth (photo:
). What a good start to our Japanese culinary journey even if it was in the middle of a food court that felt like Shibuya crossing.
FOOD — 4 stars… it’s the Ippudo ramen, no complaints even if it didn’t have quite the finish to be found at their regular ramen shops
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… it is a food court after all
SERVICE — 4 stars… definitely tried to speak English which was above and beyond
TOTAL — 4 stars… a quick fix of Ippudo? I’m in

Picked this place because i noticed a lot of people were eating it. I don’t know Japanese but it was easy to order. They had pictures in the front where you can point to it. I was surprised that it said ippudo express ramen on my receipt. I had the one in NYC and it was decent. But this one was definitely better and it’s express! The wait was 5 mins compare to 2 hrs in NYC. Definitely love the ramen.

Ipuudo is really popular in the NY, USA. Therefore, let’s try the one in Tokyo! I came here for lunch on weekday and the food court was crowded. The line was fairly short and fast moving. From tourist perspective, this would be the most convenient location to go to compared to the other chain location. The ramen is quite reasonably priced which ranges about $ 7-​$ 13 US. Since this was in the Tokyo Skytree food court, i’m not sure how it’s compared to the originial Ippudo or regular location. Overall, ramen was good and the pork belly was fullfilling. Unfortunately, the ramen was not as memorable as the Ippudo NY. The Ippudo NY was way better and more satisfying. Once again, not sure if this is an express Ippudo, therefore lacking?

I first heard of Ippudo when I lived in New York, and it was all the hype — everyone was raving about this ramen parlor in the states. So… I opted to come here for a quick bite to eat during lunch since we were going to visit the Sky Tree. Ippudo originated in Japan, so what better way to dine than to go to the source!
This is one of their «express» locations, so the variety of ramen isn’t there — and likely the quality wasn’t all there either. They have to shorten their menu to accommodate a ‘fast-​food’ environment.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed my bowl of hot, zesty, flavorful ramen! My husband thought it was decent as well, and we slurped it up, felt full in the stomach, and went on our merry way to the next destination. The line at this express joint is quick, probably a 10 – 15 minute wait as you make your way to the order counter. Then another 5 – 10 min wait for the bowls to arrive.
If I visit Japan again in the future, I’d like to try a regular sit-​down Ippudo instead or better yet, another authentic ramen restaurant that serves tsukemen! :)

My 2^nd most favorite ramen in Japan. I just don’t understand why Japanese are’t fat when they have this ramen here. Today the line was short and its like fast food I got my ramen within a minute of ordering. What can I say, one of the best ramen in Japan and it was quick. Get the akaramen. They also serve the real large drinks!!!