Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Food: Their texture of their house-made udon is very different from other places, more chewy and doesn't get soggy in the broths.
1. Original Kama udon: broth wasn't too heavy, didn't taste a lot of MSG, which was really refreshing.
2. Curry Udon with shrimp temprua: liquidy japanese curry, average but delicious.
3. Spicy seaweed ankake udon: (dried shrimp with thicker broth): this one was harder to share because we weren't given extra bowls and spoons to share amongst 6 people. (We didn't bother asking for them because we didn't have enough room on our table for 4 anyways.) You can taste the spiciness from the broth. The broth is definitely thicker than the kama udon, but not creamy. The seaweed were in tiny pieces, hard to get unless you are drinking the broth, which might be too salty alone, but great with the udon.
4. SALMON CREAM SAUCE UDON: One of my favourites!!! I love the creaminess!!
5. MENTAIKO CREAM SAUCE UDON: my other favourite!!! Also another creamy one. I think mentaiko is cod roe? It almost tastes like the seasoning from instant noodles but better. I can also get hints of fish roe in it, but not overpowering.
6. Black sesame puree udon with beef: I think this is the one people come to try. It's pretty good. I can taste the sesame, wasn't too strong, but it was a bit on the sweeter side relatively speaking, so I didn't prefer it as much.
7. Oven baked udon: cheesy goodness. I really liked all their creamy ones. I can taste the american influence on this with all the cheese!!
8. Seafood yaki udon: lots of seafood. I was expecting it to be more dry, but it was a little watery.
9. Corn Kaki-age: Fried but not oily at all, and so good with the honey butter mayo. MUST TRY APP!!
10. Tako-wasa: Good but nothing special.
Atmosphere:
Small restaurant, but lively. Nice big front doors. The entrance of this place stands out from all the restaurants around the area. Huge bar for people to eat at. I came here on two different occasions, and they arranged the tables differently, more spacious the second time. However, for our group of 6, we were seated a table for 4, which was a little cramped with all the food we ordered to share. Maybe if we each ordered our own udon, it wouldn't have been as cramped. I think normally, they would attach another table of two to our table, but our reservations got messed up. The decor is different from the usual wooden theme I get from other Japanese restaurants. This one is a little more modern.
Service:
Both times I came on a Sunday night. We wanted reservations for 8pm, but we called around 7pm, and they were still able to accommodate the three of us. Second time, we made reservations a few days before for a group of 7 at 7pm. However, on the day of, we received a call saying they double booked by accident, and they pushed our reservations to 7:30pm. The owner personally came out to apologize for the mistake during our meal, which I thought was very considerate. When we got there, a little less than half the tables were vacant., but the tables quickly filled up by 8pm. There were always a couple of groups waiting for tables throughout the night. Second time around, the waiters were quick to respond to us, and our food didn't take long to come. Pretty efficient, considering that they were fully booked. They informed us that they were short-staffed the first time around, so I didn't rate their service from my initial visit.
Final thoughts: Definitely make reservations if you have a big party. Apparently, they have stopped taking reservations for tables of 2 though.