Tori Soba Zagin｜Kobe Main Store（Motomachi Shopping Street）

I visited Tori Soba Zagin, a ramen restaurant located inside Motomachi Shopping Street in Kobe.

It’s a popular ramen shop where there’s always a line out front, whether it’s lunchtime or dinnertime. This restaurant is a branch of a well-known ramen shop in Osaka famous for its rich chicken paitan (white broth). In Kobe, there are two locations — one inside Motomachi Shopping Street and another a bit east of Mint Kobe in Sannomiya.

After purchasing a meal ticket from the vending machine in front of the restaurant, you line up outside until it’s your turn to enter. This time, I decided to go with the Chicken Soba and Meat Sushi set (¥1,150).

Since there’s usually a line in front of the restaurant, I went around 11 a.m.—a little before the lunch rush—but even then, I still had to wait a bit. After waiting for about 5 to 10 minutes, it was finally my turn to enter. Inside, the restaurant was beautifully designed—not like a traditional Japanese ramen shop, but with a stylish and modern atmosphere.

The atmosphere feels more like a pasta restaurant or a bar rather than a traditional ramen shop. While waiting for my meal, I could see the kitchen where the chefs were searing the meat for the meat sushi with a torch and mixing the chicken paitan soup. Watching the cooking process kept me entertained the whole time, so I didn’t feel bored at all while waiting.

After a short while, the chef served the ramen and meat sushi from behind the counter where I was seated.

The Chicken Soba had an incredibly creamy broth — it felt less like eating ramen and more like enjoying a creamy pasta dish. The broth was rich with chicken flavor despite its creaminess, creating a deep and satisfying taste.

The large pieces of bamboo shoots, thinly sliced pork chashu, and chicken chashu all paired perfectly with the creamy broth. There were also thin slices of burdock root fried until golden brown, which added a wonderful roasted aroma and served as a perfect accent to the dish.

The meat sushi looked great in presentation, but the flavor itself was fairly ordinary (lol). However, the contrast between the creamy ramen and the slightly salty meat sushi worked really well, making them a nice combination to enjoy together as a set.

It was a dish unlike anything I’ve had elsewhere—very unique and incredibly delicious—so I definitely recommend giving it a try.