A ramen shop revealed that it’s discontinuing the ¥500 “plain ramen” it had been offering as something to order after a round of drinks, saying too few customers ordered just cheap drinks plus the plain ramen to make it worthwhile — and the admission drew a crowd on 5ch. The thread split between those arguing that even cheap alcohol carries a high profit margin, so the shop has no business complaining, and those siding with the shop, who argued that a labor-intensive dish sold this cheap can’t be sustained unless order volume keeps up. There were also moments where the discussion talked past itself, since the original post never made clear whether this place is an izakaya (a Japanese pub) or a dedicated ramen shop.
What people said
1AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:29
@
We were selling plain ramen for ¥500,
hoping people would order it as a nightcap after drinking
8AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:40
Even cheap booze still turns a profit, so what's the problem?
9AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:43
Blaming others for your own bad call isn't a good look
11AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:44
It's a cutthroat world out there — just spell out the minimum order needed to get the plain ramen
12AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:45
Why not just rename it "Post-Drinks Nightcap Ramen" on the menu?
13AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:46
Doesn't make sense
Rather than someone who already drank elsewhere coming in just for the plain ramen nightcap,
wouldn't it be better if they ordered ramen plus a drink, even cheap booze?
41AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:03
Re: #13
They probably camp out for like 2 hours doing that
I'd just go to Hidakaya (a budget ramen chain) and get abura soba instead, since it doesn't go soggy
14AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:47
"Unfortunate"? This lame decision is what's actually unfortunate
15AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:47
Ramen just needs soup and noodles, that's all it takes
17AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:49
Just make it a free extra once someone's had a certain amount to drink
18AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:50
I don't want to go to a shop that posts about its customers on social media
19AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:50
There's way more demand for ¥500 ramen than for a drinking spot
20AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:51
Guessing without even reading the original post — this sounds more like a ramen shop than an izakaya
and the customers aren't there to drink, they just want to fill up, grab some cheap booze on the side, and go home happy, while the shop barely profits
22AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:51
Isn't a "nightcap ramen" supposed to be when you drink at a bar, then stop by a ramen shop on the way home?
Wait, the bar itself sells ramen?
23AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:52
Izakayas have a lot of shops that act kind of high and mighty
24AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:52
I had the izakaya and the ramen shop mixed up, but whatever at this point
26AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:55
Wouldn't a ¥500 plain ramen actually be pretty profitable?
27AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:55
*Note: Nightcap ramen is only available after ordering three drinks
28AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:56
A lot of yakitori joints serve ramen on the side too
29AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:57
There was a shop that got mad at a table of non-drinkers for ordering nothing but food, so maybe shops really do need people to order tons of alcohol
30AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:57
There are also izakayas that like to lecture customers for drinking themselves into a stupor without knowing their limits
31AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:58
If selling it cheap still brings in sales, there's no need to go out of their way to cancel it
32AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:58
At McDonald's
I always ordered just a Large fries and a Small drink, and one day
they packed the box with nothing but tiny fries
55AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:20
Re: #32
But that's a genuinely great customer
33AnonymousOct 31, 2026 19:59
Complaining about customers doesn't help, since customers do what they want
managing that well is just part of running a business
35AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:00
Just turn it into a dedicated ¥500-ramen shop then
36AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:00
Is it an izakaya or a ramen shop, which is it?
If it's an izakaya, just serve Marutai instant stick ramen — customers would be happy, and at ¥500 the shop wouldn't lose money either
37AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:01
At the end of the day, booze costs next to nothing to pour
food actually has to be made by a person
38AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:02
Something about how drinking makes you need to pee, which makes your body crave salt, which makes you crave ramen, or so the theory goes
39AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:02
I often see customers at Hidakaya who just order gyoza and one warm sake and then leave
40AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:03
Both ramen and a single drink seem like they'd turn tables over fast though
43AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:05
49AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:11
"Itteisuu"
isn't that just a typo for 一定数 ("a certain number")?
50AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:12
There's no plain ramen for you! (riffing on the classic manga line "There's no food for you!")
52AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:17
I don't really get the point of specifically ordering booze just to go to this shop for a ¥500 plain ramen
53AnonymousOct 31, 2026 20:19
If it's properly made with real dashi stock, I get the appeal
but if it's just chilled instant stuff, I don't know about that
Background and Key Points of This Debate
At izakayas and ramen shops, the dish ordered to cap off a night of drinking is often treated as “an item that boosts average spend per customer even if you disregard its cost.” What actually split opinion here wasn’t the ¥500 price tag itself, but how much the combination of “cheap drinks + plain ramen” really contributes to the shop’s bottom line. Alcohol has a low cost ratio and takes little effort to serve, while ramen requires real prep work — so some argued the labor isn’t worth it even at the same ¥500 price point, while others countered that more orders, even of cheap drinks, still add to revenue. It’s easy to miss that the original post never made clear whether this is an izakaya or a dedicated ramen shop, which is exactly why the thread kept talking past itself over how to read the business type. It’s also worth noting that the actual numbers for average customer spend or cost ratio were never given by the original poster — everything here remains speculation, not confirmed figures.
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