U:Don Fresh Japanese Noodle Station – University District

This is one of my go-to dinner spots when I’m in the U District. It’s good quality and very reliable. I love their way of ordering where as soon as you walk through the door, you read the menu on the wall, and then walk up to the counter where they make your bowl right in front of you. After you put your bowl on your tray, you can check out the a la carte tempura bar before checking out. Highly recommend this place if you love udon and tempura!

Order at the counter and find your own seating. This place was really packed on a Tuesday. The udon was amazing though! Great taste. I wish there were more free toppings and the additional tempura toppings cost a little extra.

Without explaining about free add-on and charged one, they keep asking to put every add-ons (green onion, chilli sauce, nori, etc). There are small prints on the menu but very hard to notify them and the server cannot speak English to explain it. Udon Noodle was ok but worse than marukame. The soup was good. Still cheap enough to enjoy a quality udon.

We have been wanting to try the udon here, and we are soo pleased. It's cafeteria style where you grab a tray and order the udon, like some udon cafeteria in Japan. First you pick the udon style. They have S, M and L bowl size which I like so I dont overeat and can eat more tempura. We had the tantan goma zaru dipping udon and ume oroshi niku soup udon. We then chose the tempura variety that we like, the veggie tempuras were good. They put the tempura sauce in a thermos and you help yourself with it. The dipping udon was actually served cold, both sauce and noodle were cold, only the meat was warm. The sauce was a bit too sweet for me but still good and rich. The meat was okay. The soup udon was fantatic. If you are a fan of ume and daikon like me, you must try it. We also ordered a side of mentaiko. Only $1.50 for a scoop, what a deal. You can also order a side of white rice. Cant wait to come back for more! Btw street parking can be a bit challenging in U District. But we had a fun time strolling along University Way and the campus.

I liked the tempura selection but it was a little cold. The portions are big for the udon even for the smaller size as well. Came here on a Sunday evening and it wasn’t very crowded. Plus, you order and get your food before seating yourself so this makes for a good place to bring a group.

The tonkatsu curry udon dish is delicious. Their curry is made in beef stock and onions which makes a scrumptious sauce. Only concern was the cold tempura and gyoza. :/ Wasn’t my favorite, but the takoyaki has the perfect consistency to it. Everything is well-priced and well balanced. I’d return!

I dined here in May of 2022, during the Street Festival. The prices were excellent, and the food was perfectly filling! There are a wide variety of options, and you are definitely able to customize your Udon based on your preferences -- they offer both cold and hot options, along with many sauces and add-ons (spring rolls, etc.). If you are looking for a great quick option in the U-District, I would highly recommend U:Don!

Freshly made udon. Everything was delicious. I got the sesame udon and it hit the spot. There’s also a tempura bar so you can pick the things you like.