Ramen Break Beats: The Hottest Ramen Shop in Tokyo; Naka Meguro, Tokyo

I get a lot of questions regarding ramen shops, but the one I got asked most in 2022 was definitely Ramen Break Beats, this incredibly popular ramen shop that took Instagram by storm last summer. I think everyone and their mothers had seen someone post a bowl from here and so I made sure to visit and see what the hype was about. Located about a 20 minute walk from Meguro, Naka-Meguro, and Yutenji stations so choose your poison when deciding where to walk from. Easiest is just to catch a cab, but as you’ll see in a bit, that can get quite costly.

So the nighttime photo might throw some people off, but I actually visited back when they had both lunch and dinner services. I also came before it got too popular so I walked right in on this day. Nowadays Break Beats is only open Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00-15:30. However, in order to reduce the number of people waiting outside their shop, they implemented a signup sheet system which becomes available in the morning to reserve your time slot for the day. They say the list comes out at 9:45 am, but you’ll probably want to show up by at least 9:15 as they are known to draw lines even for the release of their signup sheet. So if you take a cab, be prepared to make a couple trips because there is very little to do in this area while you wait for your time slot. As for the ordering, there is a ticket machine inside and while they don’t have English on the machine, the master lived and worked in Canada for a number of years and he is fluent in English so he will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Anyways, on to the ramen. So I opted to go for the Tokujyo Shoyu Ramen which I absolutely loved, but many think plays second fiddle to their Shio. I will have to go back and try their popular Shio option, but in the meantime, here’s what I thought of this bowl. So the soup has a tanrei chicken base while implementing a yobi modoshi system where they add to the broth as it gets depleted rather than making a completely new stock. Pretty wild method and something I have rarely even heard of, but if it results in soups like this, I am all for it. Chicken lovers will definitely enjoy sipping on this because the flavors that come out of this is unbelievable and I had a hard time saving some to eat along with the noodles. Pairing this stock is a decadent and rich shoyu tare with a generous ladle of chiyu, rendered chicken oil to finish. Tare is a blend of five shoyu which wasn’t as salty as I expected. In fact, you can probably tell by the photo, but it was on the lighter end of the spectrum and did an amazing job of accentuating the chicken broth.

Noodles were thin and snappy which is on par with these modern, new wave ramen shops. I quite like these stiffer strands, but I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Break Beats uses Mikawaya Seimen, a legendary noodle producer, so you’re at least getting one of the best in the industry. In my opinion these strands hold up better to these delicate, refined soups than the old school, softer counterpart, and they act as a nice texture base for the toppings to play off of. It doesn’t soak up the soup as nicely because of it’s dense body, but I think there is enough of a soup cling that makes for a flavorful bite.

With all that said about the soup and noodles, I think the aspect of this bowl that everyone is drawn to are the toppings. So I got the Tokujyo which comes with all the toppings. For my Tokujyo bowl, I had some roasted chicken thigh, sliced chicken breast, thin pork chashu, wontons, a dried/fried enoki mushroom mix, and an Ajitama soft boiled egg. Everything was incredibly well prepared and I can’t even imagine how much time goes in to making each one. My favorite was definitely this enoki mushroom which I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a ramen shop. I loved how crispy there were as it floated above the chashu, but also enjoyed them as they softened while soaking up the soup. Chicken thigh chashu was orgasmic as well and the subtle char on the skin really made my meal. Wontons were probably my least favorite, but it definitely worked well to supplement this meal. Jammy soft boiled egg though was phenomenal with this soup so definitely grab at least the egg if you don’t want to go all out/not feeling hungry enough for the Tokujyo.

Finally, because I’m a sucker for rice bowls, I finished my meal with their torched chashu mayo over rice. My GOD this was delicious. I was honestly struggling after polishing off my ramen with extra toppings, but my stomach graciously accepted every bite of this as soon as it touched my taste buds. Chashu is ultra fatty and is given even more oiliness with the mayo drizzled over the top. Fluffy white rice act as the perfect canvas and plays wonderfully with the aromatic char from the torch.

So yeah, hype was real. Or maybe I added to that hype with my instagram post because this place is way too popular for me to just pop in anymore. Whatever the case, definitely recommend making a visit. I can see them getting longer lines as more tourists find out about this place so if you’re lucky enough to have stumbled on this review, take it as your sign to beat the lines. Good luck!