Ginza Hachigou (銀座八五) serves delicious, French cuisine-inspired ramen in Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza district. Their modern ramen bagged a Michelin star in 2022!
Ginza Hachigou – Talk of the Town
Hachigou joined Nakiryu and Soba House Konjiki Hototogisu as the only Michelin star ramen restaurants in Tokyo.
Hachigou’s owner, Matsumura-san, was originally a French cuisine chef for many years. He left his job as a Tokyo hotel hotel chef in 2015. After this, he officially forayed into the ramen world and never looked back.
He opened Ginza Hachigou in 2018, taking the ramen world by storm in the process.
Arrive Early
Ginza Hachigou is small, with only a few counter seats. This fact and their explosive fame led to a reservation-like system. This means getting there before they open. They’ll assign specific times for parties come back later.
For lunch, this reservation line is open from 9 am. For dinner, it’s from 4 pm. Arrive at 9 am and they might ask you to come back at 11:10 am to eat. All the lunch time slots are above (write down your party’s name).
Show up at least 5 min. before the scheduled time and make your ramen selection from the ticket machine inside. After your purchase, the ramen comes out as quick as lightning. It’s almost as if they know you’re coming…
French Ramen?
The extensive experience in French cuisine compelled Matsumura-san to do something different with his ramen. First of all, he doesn’t use “tare”. Tare is a sauce seasoning in ramen and other Japanese food.
Instead, his ramen is based around ham prosciutto with sea salt from Guérande, France. The soup that accompanies this unique seasoning is duck bones, whole chickens (Nagoya cochin), scallops, dried tomatoes, dried shiitake mushrooms, and kelp.
There’s also a generous helping of chicken oil (chiyu) sprinkled on top. All of this makes for phenomenal tasting ramen. You’re not sure if you’re eating French or Japanese food. Perhaps it’s just both.
In the same way, the soup swings between being punchy and restrained. The Italian prosciutto, chicken, and duck provide salty and rich undertones. But there’s also an elegant carefulness to everything.
The toppings are equally stunning. You have spring onions from Kyoto (kujo negi), bamboo shoots, and fatty chashu pork with pepper caviar. The chashu pork slices are ridiculously good.
At the very least, it’s a must visit Ginza ramen shop. Ginza Hachigou represents the pinnacle of what ramen is and what ramen can be.
