初代 けいすけ 品川店

Recently I had a meeting in Shinagawa station and afterward decided to check out Shinatatsu Ramen Street/Ramen Alley. This is a strip of ramen shops outside of the west exit of Shinagawa station. All of these shops are part of larger chains that have gained notoriety for one reason or another:

The line for Tetsu was too long, as it is the most popular shop in Ramen Alley, so I decided to try Shodai Keisuke:

Ramen Alley is a bit of tourist trap, but Keisuke has been written about positively on TimeOut Tokyo. It was obvious that I try the famed black miso ramen. When my ramen arrived I was excited because it looked beautiful, a delicate topping of saffron, perfectly cooked egg, a generous portion of pork, menma (bamboo shoots), and ribboned negi (green onion):

Toppings, no matter how beautiful or delicious, do not make the bowl. What makes the best bowl is the base, and I am sad to say the black miso base of the ramen at Shodai Keisuke is seriously lacking. The black miso, which looks more green than black, had a muddy flavor. Muddy is not a desirable quality in ramen (for me at least) and it was such a shame because the toppings were done perfectly. The only redeeming flavor factor was the hearty helping of shansho (sichuan pepper). The pepper couldn't save it, but it did help. I might revisit this shop and try a different base, but it won't be any time in the near future. I did enjoy their laminated booklets that featured the owner Keisuke Takeda in cartoon form and other locations of his shops:

The atmosphere was warm and friendly and this is the only place on Ramen Alley that has an English menu, so it might be worth a stop for anyone at Shinagawa waiting on a shinkansen. If you go try something that's not the black miso ramen and let me know if you liked it! From me it gets a 2/5.

<<Click>> for their site, and here's a handy map: