Tasting Tap Room Sapporo ichiryuan

Great but tiny ramen shop in a basement. You can make reservations or arrive early. Opens at 11 and we arrived at 10:30. Already a line but we were told to have a seat. After the diners with reservations were seated, we were instructed to place our order at the machine. There were English instructio...ns. A medium miso ramen ¥1180 is plenty. It comes with a thick slice of char siu, cooked bean sprouts, a leaf of greens, soft scrambled eggs with ground meat. I ordered a soft boiled egg ¥200 and it was perfectly runny. Broth was rich and delicious. Had a tiny spicy kick. Ramen was deliciously chewy. My husband added butter and corn. Butter made it too rich and the corn was just okay. Skip. Only complaint would be the char siu needed more flavor and was too thick. Minor point and I would definitely return.

Visited July 2023

Located just 2-3 blocks from Sapporo station in the basement of the Hokuren Building and not much more than a hole in the wall-type place, this little shop puts out a fantastic Hokkaido style miso ramen. Rich broth with deep flavor, noodles are not overcooked, good quality port, and vegetables that... are fresh and crunchy. It's a simple affair here, so the service feels quite spartan, especially with the 1980s style ticket machine to buy a ticket to pay for your meal--kind of nostalgic... There isn't much atmosphere (no windows, no view, basic setting). Prices are very high for what you're getting (JPY 800-1200 for a bowl of ramen is a lot given the basement location), but I was ok to pay as it was very good. I visited September 2020 while on an unavoidable business trip (during the coronavirus pandemic) and all but one of the staff were wearing masks, so the level of care toward customers was pretty good. You'll likely need to queue as there are just a handful of seats. If you're nearby and enjoy ramen, particularly Hokkaido-style miso ramen, you can't go wrong with Ichiryuan.

Visited September 2020

Noodles were "QQ" or firm which went great with their very tasty and rich stock. The meat pieces melt in your mouth and the runny egg in the noodles was an absolute delight! Place was however a little small and a bit of a squeeze

Visited February 2020

Husband and stopped at Sapporo Station from Niseko, and decided to try out this restaurant. We wanted to try it out on our journey towards Niseko, but it was a weekday close to 12pm and the queue was really Long. Avoid lunch crowd on weekdays if you’re in a hurry as there are office crowds as well. ... We had another miso ramen at another ramen restaurant and didn’t enjoy it entirely as we found it to be a little bland. But the miso ramen here was rich yet subtle with the earthy taste of the miso. There was some scramble eggs in it as well, that added delicately and balanced to the dish. A flavourful dish with depth. Noodles were al dente and pork was soft and tender. We also had the mapo ramen, which was nice and lightly spiced. It has an egg drop in it and some minced Pork. Lovely with a light citrus (yuzu) note. There were complimentary genmaicha tea too! And really pretty and not cheap tablewares! Staffs were attentive and enthusiastic. They simply enjoy working there and take pride in their food-you can tell. Has a nicely weird contemporary vice with Beatles music playing in the background. Miso ramen was so good. Husband even said that maybe we could go back again for it before we leave for Osaka! At a convenient location at the Sapporo Station. Exit 23.

Visited December 2019

Located near Tokyu department store on a basement with no obvious sign, so be prepared to spend some time finding it. I arrived at the restaurant at around 12:45pm, with about 12 people in queue. Waited for about 20 minutes to get into it. There is a vending machine put outside and you have to buy t...he ticket first. The machine gives change. Very small inside, and every seat has to be taken, do not think you can occupy a 4-seat booth with only 2 people during busy time. You hand over the ticket to the lady and wait for a few minutes, the noodle will arrive. Ice water is put on the table and is self served. I ordered a miso ramen that came with 2 slices of pork belly. The noodle is very good, al dente, but to me the soup is a bit too strong, and need to drink a lot of water. I guess because of cold weather in Hokkaido, the soup tend to be more thick, sometimes even comes with a slice of butter. The ramen comes with a small portion of scramble egg. I downloaded a coupon and was given half of an onsen egg for free. Will visit again but drink less soup next time.

Visited October 2019