Somenya Boston
Japanese restaurant · Chinatown ·
Japanese soba & udon noodles, comfort eats, beer & sake
Japanese soba & udon noodles, comfort eats, beer & sake
"Tucked into a below-street-level space in Boston’s Chinatown, this small Japanese restaurant is where I go for a comforting bowl of hot soba or udon in winter or a cooling bowl of cold noodles in warmer weather. Open since 2023, it focuses on house-made noodles and a concise menu of izakaya-style starters like sashimi, takoyaki, and fried chicken, and everything on the menu feels like a steal for the price. Beef curry udon, with shaved rib eye, a soft-boiled egg, and plenty of noodles, is sweet, savory, and mild, almost like a stew, while the spicy snow crab soba features sesame chile and garlic chile oils that heat up the broth and a hefty pile of sweet crab that plays nicely with the spice. Among the small plates, takoyaki arrives with bonito flakes waving gently on top; the balls of minced octopus, ginger, and green onion are fried crispy and served with a sweet Japanese mayo. Scallop sashimi is cut pleasingly thick, topped with salmon roe, and served in a delicate yuzu sauce. Bright paper umbrellas and flags dot the ceiling, Japanese mural-covered walls lend unexpected warmth, and the lively basement room is usually packed most evenings. With only about 20 seats and no reservations, waits are common during peak hours from Wednesday through Saturday, though takeout is available and there is a much larger sister location out in Quincy." - Tanya Edwards
"This intimate spot serves up bowls of buckwheat noodles on a quiet corner off of Chinatown’s main drag. Here, you’ll find house-made Japanese soba and udon either swimming in a hot or chilled broth or paired with a cold dipping broth, which is richly and perfectly seasoned. It also offers a number of donburi, a Japanese classic consisting of rice and a type of protein." - Valerie Li Stack
"A Japanese soba shop located next to Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House on Hudson Street in Chinatown." - Erika Adams
"The relatively new Somenya, a Japanese restaurant specializing in soba noodles, has quickly become a Chinatown favorite. All of the hot soba on the menu is worth a slurp, but the spicy snow crab hot soba is a refreshing and savory dish you won’t find elsewhere." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"Somenya is one of the more exciting openings in Chinatown this year—sorry to all the boba spots with more franchises than George Lucas. The noodles on the menu feel like what would happen if there was an official buckwheat chapter of The Avengers: brothy roast duck udon with big hunks of breast and sweetness from yuzu and cold truffle snow crab soba with generous helpings of salmon caviar, just to name a few. Prioritize one of these, but know the subterranean restaurant works great as a group spot since the rest of the snacky menu is so good, too. Come and hang out for a couple of hours, drinking sake and sharing chili-powder-flecked koji fried chicken under the bright umbrellas dangling from the ceiling." - tanya edwards
