After standing in a line of 67 people for two hours, Henry Chen, senior, finally got his long awaited bowl of ramen.

“I’ve traveled across the country for ramen, but this was the best one I’ve ever had,” Chen said.

Menya Rui is a small ramen restaurant located at 3453 Hampton Ave in St. Louis. Yelp ranked Menya Rui as the second best restaurant in its “Top 100 Places to Eat” for 2024, the only Missouri restaurant ranked on the list. All noodles and dishes are made in house.

Chen describes the restaurant as crowded, dim-lit, warmly red and, most of all, authentic. 

“It’s cozy, wooden and matches the atmosphere of a Japanese restaurant,” Chen said. 

Chen ordered the Original Tsukemen, a dipping ramen. It’s served with cold thick noodles alongside a hot scallop broth. The noodles are topped with pork shoulder chashu (braised pork slices), menma (bamboo shoots), scallion and nori (dried seaweed sheets). “It was really good. It’s salty, chewy, and has a lot of umami flavor,” Chen said.

The second time Chen went, he ordered the Tantanmen, a shoyu ramen topped with ground pork, menma (bamboo shoots), scallion and beansprouts. Chen enjoyed the Tantanmen but liked the Tuskemen even better. 

Chen has been to several ramen shops but said Menya Rui was the only one that stood out to him.

“I live close to this ramen shop called Nudo. Everything is crafted well. It’s good. But with Menya Rui, it’s like ‘whoa, they took a lot of time with this’,” Chen said. “The noodles at Menya Rui fill my soul with happiness.”

One of Chen’s favorite parts about Menya Rui is the atmosphere. The restaurant is run through self-service with QR codes used to order food and self help stations that include water, ice, and broth. Customers have a limit of an hour at the restaurant and are seated to which seats are first available. 

Steven Pursely, chef-owner of Menya Rui, never expected himself to start a ramen restaurant. 

“I came out of college (UMSL) without a strong career path. I worked in some restaurants and always thought ramen would be a good business. I had interest in it,” Pursely said.

After college, Pursely decided to move to Japan to study ramen and also get in touch with his Japanese culture. He spent three years training in Okinawa and Matsuyama. Then, he applied his knowledge to his hometown, St. Louis, MO.

One of the most influential mentorships Pursley said he had was with Chef Shuhei Nakagawa, who he worked under at a ramen shop from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. making up to 50-100 bowls in a day.

“I wanted to be that kind of shop where we turn and burn, sell as many as we can,” Pursely said. “It was eye opening.”

Pursley applied his knowledge in the development of Menya Rui and believes it’s what made the restaurant highly successful. 

“Menya Rui is the only ramen shop in St. Louis that does everything from scratch: the noodles, the broth, the tare, which is the main seasoning component,” Pursely said. “That’s what sets us apart.”

Pursley values authenticity over innovation. He said he keeps Menya Rui at 90% authenticity, 10% innovation.

“I take pride in what I do. I’m a good cook. I’m detail-oriented, but I’m not tinkering and trying to come up with new recipes every day,” Pursely said. “I found something that works, and I want to crank it and keep it consistent.”

From cooking for Japanese to cooking for Americans, Pursley has had to alter parts of his cooking process to appeal to his customers. Pursley keeps an open mind to his customer base but also sets an expectation of what to expect at Menya Rui.

“It’s cool. I get to be a cultural ambassador for ramen. I take a great deal of pride in that, and I try to represent well,” Pursely said.

Pursley represents Japanese culture in the name “Menya Rui.” Menya was a common moniker for noodle shops — “men” meaning noodle and “ya” meaning shop. Rui was chosen as a common Japanese name. 

Pursley’s biggest goal is for customers to feel immersed in a Japanese ramen shop. When he was searching for a space, he was on a shoestring budget looking for a place that was small, 10 to 25 seats, dim lit, and a “get in and get out.”

“The best way I can describe it is going to a Waffle House or a greasy spoon diner. It’s a certain feeling to it. You don’t go there expecting five star service,” Pursely said. “You’re there because it’s an easy, fast breakfast on the weekend. That’s what I want people to feel. Even if they haven’t been.”

Riley Gregory, senior, knew that the ramen was going to be delicious before she even walked through the door.

“Even outside the restaurant, I smelled that savory scent of ramen broth,” Gregory said. “I was so excited.”

Gregory ordered the Original Aburasoba, a brothless ramen with scallop oil, pork shoulder chashu (braised pork slices), menma (bamboo shoots), scallion and nori (dried seaweed sheets). She also ordered the House Cucumbers dressed with miso and rice vinegar.

“I’ve had ramen in a couple other places, but Menya Rui was my favorite for sure,” Gregory said. “I would go back over all other places.”