There are some restaurants in Japan where there’s an expectation that groups of customers will be eating more or less family style. At yakiniku restaurants, for example, you generally order a variety of cuts of meat for the table to grill and then split up among your party, and izakaya (Japanese pubs) are built around the concept of ordering various plates of food to share, not individual single-person meals.
However, two people going into a ramen restaurant and ordering just a single bowl of noodles is a major breach of etiquette, as the official Twitter account of Menya Kiryu recently made a point of issuing a reminder about.
Menya Kiryu, whose main branch is located in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, specializes in what’s commonly called “Jiro-style” ramen. Pioneered and popularized by Tokyo-based chain Ramen Jiro, Jiro-style ramen is heavy on the oil and garlic, and the topping often includes extra-fatty cuts of chashu pork and huge piles of vegetables. In short, Jiro-style ramen isn’t for the faint of heart or the slight of appetite, but for fans, the unabashed, unmitigated assault on diners’ taste buds and stomach capacity represents the pinnacle of pleasure when it comes to ramen.
Just because Menya Kiryu specializes in extra-filling ramen, though, doesn’t mean that it’s OK for two people to go halves on a bowl together. That’s exactly what a couple tried to do last week at the Kawaguchi branch, prompting the following reaction by the restaurant.
"To the 30-something couple who just came to our restaurant at 1:41 p.m.,
We ask that each adult in a party order a bowl of ramen.
You were unable to abide with such an obvious request and got worked up. We do not normally offer refunds, but because you would not abide by the request, we refunded your money and you left.
It’s fine by us if you don’t ever come to our restaurant again.
We’re wondering if you’re acquaintances of one of our former employees? You mentioned the name of someone who used to work here, and forcefully insisted ‘We were allowed to share a bowl when we came here before,’ but we have never allowed that.
We believe that you can understand our position on this matter. It seems like you had eaten here many times in the past, but it’s fine by us if you don’t come anymore. We have you recorded on our security cameras and know who you are.
To our other customers who were present at the time, we apologize for any discomfort that was caused."
Ostensibly, the couple wanted to share a single bowl of ramen either because they felt they weren’t hungry enough to eat a bowl each and/or because they didn’t want to pay for two. But while you can go crazy with extra-large portions and extra toppings at Menya Kiryu, the restaurant also offers “mini”-size orders of ramen that start at 890 yen. While that’s arguably a little on the expensive side, it’s not exactly a budget-decimating price that only the Rockefeller-class ramen fans would be comfortable paying.
▼ Oddly enough, the menu on Menya Kiryu’s website lists their sizes as mini (ミニ) and small (小), implying that the “small” is the standard size.
It’s worth pointing out that in certain situations, some ramen restaurants might be OK with not every person in a party ordering their own bowl of noodles, but such scenarios usually involve whoever’s not ordering ramen to instead order gyoza, fried rice, beer, or other items that, when totaled, would cost as much as a bowl of ramen would. Even then, some restaurants would prefer that customers all order their own bowl of noodles, and in the case of Menya Kiryu, the acceptability of ordering alternate items appears to be a moot point, as the restaurant’s website doesn’t list any non-ramen foods or beverages, so if the couple ordered just one bowl of ramen, they weren’t ordering anything else.
On the subject of the restaurant providing a refund to the couple, at Menya Kiryu, like a lot of ramen joints, customers purchase a meal ticket out of a vending machine when they come in, and then hand the ticket to the staff when they’re being seated. Because of the pre-payment style, the restaurant could give the couple their money back before preparing their bowl, preventing any ingredients from being wasted. Still, the whole bruhaha could have been avoided if the couple had just remembered a simple part of ramen restaurant etiquette: every person should order a person’s worth of food.
Related: Menya Kiryu official website
Source: Twitter/@menyakiryu via Hachima Kiko, Menya Kiryu
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8 Comments
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ebisen
I'm on the customers' side here. Perhaps one was hungry and the partner was not. Or perhaps they were both not very hungry but wanted to still have some ramen (of which they're (used to be) obvious fans).
They're never coming back there for sure, so the restaurant just lost revenue without gaining anything. Just give them the portion of ramen and two torizara (smaller bowls for sharing) and let them be. No need to ruin everybody's day over singing like this.
kohakuebisu
Japanese culture is that this is the owner's joint, so their rules. Customers who have chosen to go there tacitly accept those rules and are not entitled to special treatment. You may get a pass sometimes as regular customers, or may get a pass if you're with kids, but it's nothing you should expect as an entitlement. Its all owner discretion.
Businesses who choose their customers is more common than you may think. I know mechanics who refuse to work on certain cars. My local JA will only service chainsaws, tractors etc. bought through them. I suspect folk in the building trade are the same. Just issue a "no thank you" level estimate if someone looks like trouble.
Wellington
It's not an unreasonable request by the owners.
Ramen is not that expensive.
Offering to pay for two would probably solve the problem.
gaijintraveller
It should be possible to solve such situations with a little polite discussion. Often Japanese rules are too strict and could be more flexible. If the restaurant is not busy and almost empty, they should be able to accept a polite request. "Sorry, my friend is a vegan (or Muslim or Jewish or has just eaten), but I would like to eat some of your ramen. Is that Ok?" should be considered a reasonable request and accepted when the place is not busy. Also, when the place is busy, a polite refusal along the lines of "Sorry, but we are very busy at the moment and people are waiting" should also be accepted.
Rules are often too strictly followed. I remember many years ago asking if I could have an iced coffee in a coffe shop one hot day. I was told I couldn't. They sold coffee and had ice, so I asked why. I was told I couldn't have and iced coffee because it was October and they didn't serv iced coffee in October.
In contrast to okakusan wa kamisama, it seems the rulebook is god with many company.
There is also a lack of understanding of religious preferences and dietary requirement. A famous Japanese sushiya who runs a famous sushi restaurant in another country tells me he has to cater for vegetarians and could not afford not to because when a large group goes to his restaurant, there always seems to be at least on vegetarian.
Peter14
They should offer take-away, then there would be no issue at all.
Peter Engström
The customers should have more respect for the restaurants and the chefs work. A dish is composed with skill and love and should be treated with respect. That goes for the staff too. After 20 years in the business I've seen too many customers who can't behave in a restaurant and think they have all the power and should be treated like lord's or something....
Some tries to change the dish to suit their taste, and some thinks they can order stuff that's not even on the menu and gets offended when the staff says no.
I'm with the restaurant 100 % in this case.
itsonlyrocknroll
Fully support Menya Kiryu policy here .
There is a clear ulterior motive to insist on sharing a bowl of Ramen. At such a competitive price.
I am embarrassed to even suggest ordering in such a manner to cause unnecessary anguish for the servers.
The photo at the top of the page is mouth watering.
There are three substantial slices of pork.
The menu is very generous for the price
englisc aspyrgend
Why can’t the customers respect the restaurant and chefs work while sharing?
Sounds like an overbearing, arrogant and self important little Hitler, drunk on their own power.