Sobakatsu

I wanted to try this place for two reasons: first, I've never really had soba since it's not my usual go-to Japanese noodle dish, and second, there's always a line. So, I figured why not experience soba at the most popular spot in San Francisco? We went during lunch and were about the 10th group in line, waiting roughly 45 minutes. The place is tiny--just four two-person tables and three counter seats. I ordered the cold soba. It was good, but not life-changing. The real standout was the tempura that came with the combo--perfectly crispy and clearly fried in fresh, high-quality oil. My best advice? Eat your food and head out. This isn't the place for long catch-ups. Let others enjoy their meal without having to wait for you to finish sharing your life story.

Nice simple soba spot and friendly staff! Arrived at 5:30pm on a Friday to no queue, although shop did sell out at ~6:30pm. The tempura was the standout - selection of shrimp and vegetables was crispy and batter had great flavor. I was expecting a better texture for the soba noodles - it wasn't quite as springy/chewy than what is preferred for fresh soba but perhaps this was because it was towards end of day. Would still return for a soba tempura fix!

I highly recommend this place. One of the best soba noodles I've ever had. Very firm and yet chewy. And depending on what I ordered, I as someone who doesn't have a sensitive palette, could also taste the various layers and complexity of flavors.I can now understand why the wait is very long. There are only 11 seats and arranged in a weird configuration with not much of a time limit for customers to finish eating. There is hot/cold water dispenser + hot soba broth.It's 11 seats total ( 3 bar, 2 sets of 4 seated tables).Steps to get in:1. Line forms on Sutter Street.2. Secure seat when empty3. Order on the tablet in the frontIt was a 10 minute wait even on a weekday at about 3pm.

SF SobaSobakatsu is San Francisco's newest soba shopServing dine-in only, the small spot had a queue lining around the corner spot near JapantownThe menu features freshly house-made soba served either cold (zaru) or hot (kake with broth)A variety of solid tempura add-ons are available including daily specials such as plum chicken and fresh fish cakeThe cold soba with dipping broth was the clear winner at our table with the delightful warabi mochi providing the picture perfect finish Zaru Soba Surimiten $22 ~ Soba with Deep Fried Japanese Fish cake / Kamonamban $25 ~ soba with sliced duck breast and Japanese leek / Soba Warabimochi $6 ~ traditional Japanese dessertSobakatsu (San Francisco, CA) Dining is indoor only (3 counter seats, two tables of 4) with no reservations. All credit cards accepted

You miss japan soba? You get it here! The two cooks in the 11 seat tiny yummy japan town secret is worth the very long wait. You order and pay on a screen, then sit until they call your number and you get your tray of food from the counter. After you relive japan in your mouth, and slurp the last if your buckwheat noodles, you return your tray. It is cute, simple decor and the customers are all hungry and nice.

This place was definitely overhyped. I came with my family before 11 am on Saturday and there was no one there so we went around Japantown for 20 min. We came back around 1130am, there was a line. We were the second wave from the time the restaurant opened to our seating was probably 30 min. Definitely recommend come before 1130am if you want to be the first wave. The restaurant is very small with the maximum seating at 11people - 4 groups of 2s and 3 on the counter. However you have enough room to feel comfortable. There weren't much service where it's self served and self cleaning. We cleaned our table ourselves when the previous group left. We had to pick up our food and bring back the tray. Ordering is the first thing you do as you enter in front of the small iPad kiosk. There weren't much service honestly. The only two staff were the cooks. I gave tips but my family felt that was more on the charity side because of the senior staff. For the food. The highlight was the soba noodles with its firm and chewy texture along with the delicious tempuras. Everything else was just okay. Didn't felt the soup/broth to be that flavorful. The fried chicken tenderloin had good flavor but was dried inside for me. If you ask me would I come back, it would be a no for me and it's hard for me to recommend to someone to wait in line for this level of dinning experience.

Came by during a weekday during the holiday season. Unfortunately didn't get there early enough because the line was already wrapped around the block. Make sure to line up at least 30 minutes before opening because the space itself is tiny. Took at least an hour for me to get seated. I got a ten zaru soba. The soba was fresh. However, the cooking of it left more to be desired. Not sure if it was just the temperature it was cooked at or if the soba itself was made more delicate, but I got a lot of broken soba pieces in my portion. Dipping broth was okay. I thought it could've been stronger in flavor. I liked that they had self-serve broth for the dipping sauce at the end if you wanted to end on a warmer note. Tempura was good. The batter was very light, and it gave off a clean taste. I wouldn't wait again for this. However, I hope that there are more places with fresh noodles like this opening up in the future.

We missed the first round of seating so had to wait about 45mins to get seated.Yes, the restaurant is very small so PLEASE be mindful if you come with a big group! Spilt up and sit in available seats instead of waiting for the entire restaurant to become available to sit all together and holding up the line.Self-service so not much to comment on the service but the chefs were efficient.Food:Cold soba and hot soba - The broth in hot soba was very comforting but cold soba was much more flavorful than hot. Tempura was in small serving but they were crispy and light. A bit too oily though.Warabi mochi - Star of our meal. It was so light yet so tasty.

Delicious soba that's worth the wait (to an extent)!THE FOOD //We got the Ten Zaru (cold soba) with scallops & vegetable kakiage, Ten Kake (hot soba) with shrimp & vegetable kakiage, and Ten Kake with tempura shrimp & vegetable. Both the hot and cold versions were delicious, along with the broth that came with the hot soba and the dipping sauce that came with the cold soba. If you get the cold soba, you can mix in the sobayu (the hot water used to boil the soba) into the dipping sauce at the end of your meal and then drink the warm savory broth mixture to get all the extra nutrients from the sobayu. Note that they may not have sobayu when they first open, but they filled up the self-serve container after they finished cooking the first batch of soba. The tempura shrimp & veggies were really good! The scallop kakiage (small scallops and edamame) was an interesting combo. The shrimp kakiage (small shrimp and squash) was okay; I would get the tempura shrimp again next time. We also got the warabimochi, which was a great lightly-sweet dessert.THE WAIT, SERVICE + AMBIANCE //There are only two people working in the store and doing all of the cooking. Order on the tablet and sit down when there's an open seat. When you're done eating, please make sure to bring your tray back to the same spot where you picked up your food!We went on a Monday, about 25 minutes before they opened at noon, and there were already about 10 people in front of us. The restaurant only offers dine-in and is quite small with eight table seats (split into two tables of four) and three bar seats, for a total seating capacity of 11, so if you don't get in for the first seating, you'll have to wait until the first group is done eating - which took about 50 minutes for us. Meanwhile, the people at the front of the line will be standing inside the door, waiting for you to finish eating... This is a place to enjoy good soba more than having an hour-long chit-chat. Those in line will appreciate it if you save the chit-chat for outside the store! (There will be plenty of time to chat while you're waiting in line to get inside anyway.)Come ready to wait. Then sit down and enjoy your freshly-made soba to the fullest.

We got there at 11:20 am and got seated at 12:58pm. Had high hopes for this place because it was so hyped on social media.The cold soba and fish cakes were definitely highlights, but definitely not worth the 2 hours we had to wait. The cold soba noodles had a better chewier and bouncier texture than the hot soba, and the cold broth had a much more enjoyable tangy kick than the more subtle flavor of the warm broth. Overall, the chicken tenders, mochi, and scallop tempura were all pretty well done, but also nothing to write home about.