U:Don Fresh Japanese Noodle Station – University District

Service was great, everyone was very nice! Lots of seating inside, can accommodate variety of party sizes.I got the niku soup udon which comes with sukiyaki beef. We could add on green onion, tempura flakes, chili oil, and ginger to our udon. Loved the tempura bar: they had veggie tempura, shrimp tempura, fried tofu, even entire pieces of katsu! Very yummy udon for adequate price, will be back! If you want to get more tempura, I recommend getting a small bow of udon!

Just checking in to give another 5 stars because I don't think this spot has ever disappointed me. No joke, i had someone ask me the cliche "if you had to eat one meal forever..." and my answer was the Goma Zaru cold noodles with 2 pieces of Kitsune tofu.Great for a casual meet up or dining alone. Quality fresh authentic food with a casual/cafeteria feel. When ppl come to visit this is a no-brainer of where to take them when exploring U-district.

Being located on the Ave near the UW campus, it's a convenient spot for a quick bite. I didn't order udon, but the beef rice bowl, and I think it's pretty decent for the price. It could use a little more flavor but it was a good portion. They also have a pretty good tempura selection but I opted for the onigiri with salmon, which also could've used some more seasoning. Overall, not the best and I'd choose elsewhere if in the area.

Everything was fast and udon was fresh! The parking is a headache and you definitely will smell like fried food after you eat here. The large portion was right for me, my husband, and a toddler :)We ordered the niku and salmon cream udon. The niku was kind of too sweet for my taste - but if you enjoy sukiyaki style, you'll definitely enjoy niku. The salmon cream udon was great!

Update from 2024: Still love the food at U:Don and will continue to return for that! The ordering process remains a bit intimidating if you're new to the types of Udon and toppings, but if you just ask the staff, they're all very kind and willing to help. The noodles are the perfect chewy texture. My order is Niku udon with a soft boiled egg, and I like to add tempura beans, zucchini, and broccoli. I recommend adding the green onions when ordering! Interior remains the same, simple and not much aesthetic but it feels clean which is what I care about so it's alright and I choose this more for a lunch spot than for a date.

Having gone to other fresh-made udon restaurants in Japan, including in Kagawa Prefecture, the birthplace of Sanuki-style Udon, and in the United States, I had high expectations. As you walk in, you are greeted with a large menu board with a large number of options for udon (hot and cold) and rice dishes. The udon is served cafeteria-style, with you ordering the type of udon in the front of the line, followed by you selecting from an array of various fried tempura items and other delicacies, and finally arriving at the cashier to pay. Katsu Curry Udon, Large ($17) - As soon as we saw the size of the bowl, we knew that this one dish would be enough for the both of us. We skipped the add on bar, other than taking some complimentary tempura flakes for an added crunch. Overall we thought the dish was quite mediocre. The tonkatsu was quite dry inside, although the outside was crispy. The tenkasu was a little bit stale but crispy. The broth was rather weak and didn't have very much curry-forward flavor - it seemed like they mixed sukiyaki beef broth with it so that it was very sweet with mild spice and a thin consistency. I couldn't detect any dashi flavor and I didn't see any green onion, although there was a lot of sliced onions and beef slices. The sweetness of the broth was overpowering. The noodles were on the softer side and didn't have that chewy bite associated with udon. Perhaps they were overcooked a little bit.I only noticed afterwards that many of the reviews mentioning the curry udon are lukewarm towards the dish. I guess I'll add another to the pile - avoid the curry udon! Perhaps their other dishes are much better.

We stopped here for lunch on Saturday. Wasn't very busy, so there was no line & we had no problem finding a table. We tried the beef/onion sauce udon & the creamy salmon soup udon. Both were yummy. I like that the udon is made there in the shop. And there were a lot of options for sauces & topping & such. We also tried some of the tempura veggies but since they are made ahead of time, they were on the cold side. I'd probably skip those next time. But a medium size udon was filling enough without those anyway.

I love the U:Don noodle bar concept! The noodles were fast, fresh and flavorful, with enough fried goodies in the u-pick-it area. I went with a simple small cold Bukkake sauce, extra green onions and a shrimp/vegetable tempura plate from the bar. The noodles were chewy and delicious with a delicious dashi soy sauce. The tempura was good, about what you would expect if it wasn't being served fresh from the kitchen. I really appreciated the variety of vegetables they had. Both the person preparing my bowl and the cashier were lovely. Dining is cafeteria style and then you buss your table. For $15 it was well worth it!

Came here with my boyfriend for lunch since I love Marugame Udon/the whole udon cafeteria concept. We both got medium sized hot beef niku udons, I purchased a potato croquette and he got some gyoza and chicken karaage from the hot foods section.For $13, the portion is really really good!!! I love the freshly made udon dough, the broth, and how it fills you right up on a cold day. The potato croquette was my first time actually trying the fried items at udon cafeteria places, and it did not disappoint. I had a bite of the chicken karaage, and it was very juicy and tender. Everything was so delicious, I have to come back and try the curry version. I do wish that they had the beef niku udon in cold like Marugame does, though. That would be a real game changer!

I haven't been here in years but the quality of the noodles and soup is still the same! I came with my boyfriend who was feeling under the weather. I bought him here to get something nice and warm to make him feel better. He got the Niku Soup Broth. He loved it because it was the perfect soup to have on a cool day + when you are feeling under the weather. This was his first time and he said it was amazing. With great food and kind service. The employees were very nice. The employees greeted us in Japanese when we entered the restaurant. They were very kind and gave us great recommendations. While we were there, they had run out of udon and there was about a 10 minute wait. The employees handled it very well stating that the udon noodles were not ready and they could have a seat while they wait. Then they would call you up to get in line in the order you came in to make sure they honored your position in line. I really appreciated this while I was here. It showed that the employees cared about the customers. I usually get their basic soup udon but this time I tried something new. I got the Tan Tan Soup Udon which has their soup broth, minced pork with their house chili oil. This was so delicious. If you are in the mood for something got with a kick, I highly recommend trying this. I definitely want to get this again. The restaurant reminds me of a more US version of a UDON restaurant in Japan. It is very nice and quiet. There is plenty of seating for everyone. I think that if you are in the food for some good noodles by the AVE in University District you should totally check out UDON