麺Dining セロリの花吉祥寺店

I’m not sure why, but this Kichijoji shop was on my list. I keep a rough note of places that are recommended by other ramen nerds, or maybe I saw it on TV, or it was in a magazine and looked tasty. All I had written was Kichijoji, celery, and tomato. Not very descriptive.

The shop is extremely generic and clean. Counter seating for eight and tables for 12. As I was told to do by the menu, I went with the mozzarella tomato ramen.

It was quite forgettable. Who is this shop for? The ramen wasn’t good enough for it to be a popular ramen destination. And the shop was a bit too formulaic to fit in as one of Kichijoji’s quaint little bistros.

With a little digging, I found that this shop is connected to the Matsuya group; a chain of beef bowl shops that are everywhere in Japan. With no rhyme or reason, they are also in the tomato ramen business now.

Skip this one and head to the local Ippudo.