Okiboru House of Udon

Wow, a truly standout meal. I see why people line up for hours to eat here. Luckily, I came on one of those one-digit temperature days, so we got seated right away. I love the counter-top seating. It's so cozy and intimate. I ordered their signature dipping udon, and oh my GOD it was amazing. The yuzu dipping sauce is so refreshing and light, and I just couldn't get enough. The flavor was so dynamic, and I truly don't think I've had anything like it before. The flat udon noodles were so incredibly thick and chewy. The texture was absolutely amazing. They give you these tongs to pick the noodles up with, and the ease of use was great. And the tempura--oh my GOD. Best tempura I've ever had in my life. I did not want it to end. The batter was so light and crunchy, yet also so flavorful. I saved my shrimp tempura until the end, and I was just taking turns taking a bite from it and a bite from my last udon noodle because I couldn't decide what I wanted to end on. I was so sad when they both inevitably were over. I cannot wait to be back, even though I know there will be lines now that the weather is nicer. This is a meal I am willing to wait in line for, though.

Cute little gem in the east village! There's always a little wait for dining in, but no more than half an hour, at least in my experience. When you're seated, there's a QR code you scan to order and pay directly from your phone. The udon sets came quickly and oh my! The udon don't look like your typical round noodles. They're wide, flat, silky smooth and was enjoyable to eat... although sometimes a bit of a challenge as the udon was quite slippery at times, even for someone experienced with chopsticks! The broth for the soup udon was flavorful and perfectly warm for a cold day.The dipping udon was also pretty good. The sauce was definitely strong in flavor so that's pretty much all you taste. But just like with the soup udon, it was silky smooth and fun to eat. The tempuras that came with the sets were crispy, flavorful, and left me wanting more! If you're in the area and the lines aren't too long, give this udon shop a try! It was a good experience having a different type of udon! Staff were also very friendly and kind.

I hadn't realized I went to their other location specific to Tan Tan noodles in the Brooklyn Time Out market. Either way I was excited to try this place out as I had bookmarked this for a while. We lucked out as a party of 2 by coming at around 6pm and there was still a lot of open seating inside. I will say if you came 10 minutes later you would have to wait 20+ minutes as the restaurant is fairly small with no bathroom.I ordered the Himokawa Udon in Broth and it was a very interesting experience. The broth was quite heavy, almost like it could be a dipping sauce, and had a strong chicken flavor. I really liked the noodles as they were soft and bouncy although they didn't really soak up the broth very well. My favorite of the Tempura was definitely the asparagus as it being fried brought out the flavor of the vegetable as well as the shrimp. I didn't care much for the bacon tempura as it was pretty heavy and felt a bit like overkill.Overall, definitely an interesting food experience. It's not the best udon place you will ever go to but a solid place to take friends/family visiting. Also I love that you can pay before you get the meal so you could leave immediately afterward.

Food (5/5):- got their signature noodles in broth and wow! it was one of the best udon noodles I've ever had- noodles were very thick, chewy, and slippery. one thing to note about the broth option is that the temperature of the broth kind of cooks the noodles more over time. so when I was trying to dip it in the sauce, the noodles would break (and sometimes they would be a little too slippery)- I ordered the set so it also came with all the other tempura stuff. I think getting the set is a must. I particularly liked the shrimp tempura and the onion. The tempura bacon was interesting and shareable between two people. It was a bit heavy/overwhelming so I would recommend saving something lighter like your radish to eat after the baconService (5/5)- fast, friendly!- very attentive and thoughtfulAmbiance (5/5)- pretty tight space! would not go here with more than one other person- good for casual meet ups!

Udon admittedly isn't my favorite but I ultimately did enjoy our meal here. Started with warm towels to wipe your hands off- a nice touch.We got one udon in broth and one dipping udon. I'm not sure which I preferred but maybe the former. The broth was just so clean and I felt like this udon was a skosh easier to eat physically. The dipping udon was great, don't get me wrong. But I felt like the sauce maybe overwhelmed the noodle a bit and it was more difficult to eat. I also wish we were given more noodles for dipping as there was so so much sauce left over.The real star of the dishes, though, are the fried sides. They were all incredible and so incredibly light in their fried-ness. They come with a salt dish or sauce to dip in and I definitely feel the salt worked better. We added on two extra shrimp and could have easily eaten many more of these. The vibe is crowded. They don't take names/no wait list so you just kind of wait around on line until enough seats are open. We didn't wait so long because the restaurant is super efficient in getting people in/out, but I could absolutely imagine the wait being wild (when we left the line was well out the door). I don't think they have a bathroom, FYI.

This place has been all over my social media for a while now but I never had the chance to go since the lines were so long. My friend and I came here on a Saturday around 1 pm and we waited about 10-15 mins before we got seated so the wait was not too bad. The place itself is pretty small - only bar table seating and no actual table seating. You order directly on a QR code and they bring the food over. They do give you a warm towel before the food comes out which is really nice. The menu is also fairly small but very straight forward. We got the Traditional Himokawa Dipping Udon. The food came out really fast. The udon texture was very interesting, it was pretty chewy compared to regular udon that I have had. They were a bit more slippery so it was hard to pick it up. The soup base that you dip it in was very good - not too salty. The tempura was also very delicious - I was surprised at how perfectly crispy everything was. The shrimp tempura and bacon tempura was my favorite (also my first time having bacon tempura). They also do have substitutes if you do not want shrimp or bacon tempura. Overall - very cozy but good food. Would recommend checking this place out. I think I do like this place slightly more than Okiboru House of Tsukemen because the food felt a lot less heavy.

Definitely worth the wait! Small space so you should get in before opening if you want a spot!Tried to go in Tokyo and the wait was just as long so love that it's in NY now! The flat noodles are super unique and the broth is amazing. Love all the side tempura dishes as well. Everything is simple but prepared really well.

Big fan of Okiboru's tsukemen spot and was excited to try their signature wide udon noodles here. Came for lunch on a Wednesday around 1:15 PM and there was no line! My friend and I tried the Signature Himokawa Dipping Udon with Tempura Set and Matcha Zaru Dipping Udon with Tempura Set. The wide noodles were perfect, and the matcha ones were super tasty as well. Tempura was also amazing - especially the shrimp and purple sweet potato.Definitely will be back!

I really wanted to love this place since I first tried Godaime Hanayama Udon in Tokyo and absolutely loved wide himokawa udon noodles. I was super excited to see that they had himokawa udon noodles here.The restaurant is small and cozy so there might be a bit of a wait even if there isn't much of a line. We waited for 15-20 minutes after arriving at 7:30pm on a Friday night. The ordering system was pretty straightforward with only a few options (combination of udon - cold / hot and tempura). I really appreciated that they had a vegan option as well. The udon itself was unfortunately not as silky smooth as the ones we tried in Tokyo. I would have preferred a variety of dipping sauces (e.g., in Japan we had options include soy sauce, curry, sesame paste, etc.) especially because I found their dipping sauce to be a bit thin. Nevertheless, the meal was still enjoyable and I would recommend that you come just to try the wider udon!

Amazing food here; super easy to order on your own phone and when you finish eating just pay through the link and leave! I loved the matcha noodles, super chewy and delicious sauce to dip. The sets come with tempura and other sides too. Def will be back!