Chie J.
Yelp
When we go back to Japan, we always make a point to stop by our favorite soba restaurants. There's something special about starting with small dishes like Dashimaki-tamago (Japanese omelet), grilled duck, or tempura, paired with cold sake, and finishing with perfectly made soba noodles. When I saw the menu at this restaurant, I was thrilled--it offered a lineup of small dishes that pair wonderfully with sake and homemade soba, making it a promising spot for an authentic sake/soba experience.
We enjoyed the tempura and karaage, and the soba noodles were perfectly cooked and delicious. However, the Dashimaki Tamago (Japanese omelet) was disappointing--it lacked the dashi flavor and saltiness we were expecting. (For context, we recently did a taste test of Dashimaki Tamago at Kyoto's Nishiki Market, which is an amazing place to experience authentic flavors.)
The service could use some improvement. All the food arrived before our drinks, which interrupted the ideal pace of the meal. They have a great sake selection though.
Another issue was with the soba dipping cups. We ordered two servings of cold soba to share among four people, but they only provided two dipping cups and gave us bowls to share. This felt awkward and inconsistent with how this would be handled in Japan. Typically, everyone should have their own dipping cup with condiments, especially when sharing noodles after drinking.
The decor is clean and modern but not comfortable. Also, it looks uninviting from outside.
Overall, the food quality and flavors were decent, but I wish they paid closer attention to these finer details, which are so essential to the authentic soba dining experience. For soba and sake lovers in the U.S., it's worth a visit. That said, my family told me that I can make better Dashimaki Tamago, tempura, and soba at home.