Emily G.
Yelp
This has been on my bucket list for a while now, and I waited until the initial opening/hype died down a bit. It worked to my advantage because when my boyfriend and I ate here on a Friday evening, there was no line and seats available!
We scanned the QR code by our seat to place our order of the Himokawa Dipping Udon with Tempura and Himokawa Udon in Broth with Tempura. Okiboru uses the system where you pay once you place your order (so you don't need to take time to pay once you're done with the meal).
Our orders came out after about 10 minutes.
I ordered the Udon in Broth, and I love me a good broth and noodle!! The broth was flavorful and the udon was great texture. Although they provide chopsticks, it's definitely more optimal to use the small wooden tongs to pick up the noodles, because thy are slippery.
Bacon, Shrimp, Purple Sweet Potato, Asparagus, and Onion Tempura is part of the meal. The shrimp and onion were my favorites! The bacon was a bit salty for me, and what I enjoy most about tempura is either dipping it into sauce or salt, which was excessive for the rich and salty flavor of the bacon.
I did appreciate that Okiboru serves the sauce and tempura salt (I wish Raku did that!).
It took my boyfriend and I about 30 minutes to finish our meal. This place is definitely optimal for a quick bite and not a social dinner or outing, because there are so few seats, it is meant to dish out orders and churn seats quickly. As others have noted, there is no bathroom available for customers, which speaks to how small the space is and I guess also emphasizes they don't want their diners to be here too long...
I would come back here because the udon was that good, in my opinion! Especially with no wait, it was worth a visit!