Cailey A.
Yelp
This was my first time trying Udon Mugizo in SF. I've been to both their Mountain View and Saratoga locations and the udon quality was excellent! I wasn't surprised when my most recent trip was both comforting and delicious.
I came to Japantown SF to do some Labubu and Sonny Angel hunting with a friend. After all of the shopping, we were super hungry but didn't want to wait over an hr for a table. Although the entire mall was PACKED and filled with long wait times, this restaurant had the shortest wait -- about 45 min.
First off, this restaurant is really cozy and I love the traditional Japanese aesthetics! The look gives off a traditional wooden Japanese dining room with lots of warm lighting, paper lanterns, and bamboo finishes. They also have a viewing window off to the side where you can watch the fresh noodles being carefully made. I really loved all these touches!
Depending on how hungry you are, I like that this location has two different portion sizes of udon-- regular or large. Not only do they have udon, they also offer freshly fried tempura a la carte. I ordered the Beef Sukiyaki Nabeyaki Udon (regular), my friend had the Niku Udon (regular) with a side of homemade spicy sauce, and we shared an order of the assorted tempura. For drinks we both ordered the Moshi Sparkling Yuzu. I had the white peach yuzu and my friend had the yuzu original.
Here is a rating of each dish I had:
-Beef Sukiyaki Nabeyaki Udon (5/5): I highly recommend! Served in a cute clay pot, this dish was generously filled with thinly sliced beef, mushrooms, fish cake, and a delicious soft-boiled egg. The broth is flavorful yet light and the noodles are hot, slightly chewy, and smooth. I also suggest ordering a side of the homemade spicy sauce for a bit of extra flavor and heat. The sauce is similar to a chili crisp with a hint of fish flavor.
-Assorted Tempura (5/5): The tempura was fried perfectly! The dish included fried shrimp, squid, broccoli, eggplant, and sweet potato. The shrimp and squid were succulent and the fried vegetables were very tender. I appreciated the freshly grated daikon radish and ginger on the side to cut the richness of the tempura. You'll want to add it to the dipping sauce that they provide to add more flavor and freshness.
Both the atmosphere here and food at this location was very comforting and inviting. The flavors reminded me of some of the traditional udon dishes my grandma used to make me growing up. I'd come back for the nostalgia :')