Tsurumaru Udon Honpo

If you’re not in the mood for a no-​frills bowl of udon and you’re fed up with the long waits at Monzo, then come try out this place. The prices are extremely affordable at roughly 5 – 6 bucks a bowl of udon and the taste is right up there.
They also have plates of curry, rice balls/​onirigi and tempura that you can order with your dish.
Really solid meal at a really affordable price!

Cute and cheap udon shop! They make their noodles from scratch the portions aren’t too big and are just right

The noodles are so thick (which is a good thing) and fresh. The perfect texture in my opinion.
Tips:
— order in one station and pay in another station
— don’t forget to get parking validation
— use the large spoon for soup udon
— return your tray and bowls

Got the spicy Niku udon and oden. For the oden, the round fishcake was soggy but everything else is up to par especially the noodle. It was just right amount of springy. Made fresh daily no complain. Good for the price. The salmon musubi was okay. Not enough salmon but still worth it if you only got two bucks in your wallet. The Niki udon was fantastic. Broth was spicy and good. Kimchi in there was dank! Worth

It’s cheap because the ingredients are very low quality. This place is a reminder that you get what you pay for. Actually, not really, since the portions are kind of small. So it’s pointless. And the place just made me feel sad. But it serves its purpose.

Unilocalers, why would you steer me wrong like this?
How can this possibly be a 4-​star rating joint?
Broth was meh, noodles tasted no different than freezer pack, and curry was worse than what one gets from a supermarket deli section.

This is the… I don’t even remember the number of times. The best noodle place ever! It’s very easy to choose from the menu and they have good selection of side dishes. I like the beef udon the best. The texture of the noodle is amazing. I felt very satisfied with a regular bowl. The broth was very tasty and I drank it all. Lol The price was very reasonable for this place. The chefs are friendly and helpful!
I will go to this place more often!

Great food for good prices.
Tsurumaru is a great lunch spot for people trying to keep the budget reasonable. The udon her is good and fresh. The guys working the counter are sharp and realized that it was my first visit so they helped me get my order in according to their system.
I ordered the beef and it was tasty and filling. I also ordered a fried shrimp for $ 2.50 extra and it was good too. Will go back again in the future!

Nice cheap warm eat in Little Tokyo area.
The style is similar to Marukame Udon in Hawaii, so we decided to give it a try. It’s a cafeteria style udon place with dishes like curry, or beef bowls, tempura, or rice bowls.
It doesn’t compare to Marukame, but I didn’t expect it to. The orders take longer, but they still make their noodles fresh. They just don’t have the demand Marukame does, so they can’t keep the area stocked.
The noodles are a bit over cooked, and the broth isn’t as flavorful. I ordered the Oden Udon, and my hubby got the Spicy Niku Udon. We also tried some tempura and a tuna rice ball. The Tuna Rice Ball was the best I’ve had. The tuna was actually flavorful, and the ratio of tuna to rice was decent.
Starting at only $ 4 a bowl, this is a well priced place to get a hot meal if you are in Little Tokyo.

$ 4 udon with delicious soup is hard to beat. There are a variety of toppings you can order with and fried snacks as well, just refer to the menu that they have.
One thing I noticed about the restaurant was that they have traditions on how to order and where to stack our plates, stuff like that. Be sure not to make a mess and don’t look too out of place when you visit! Staff is extremely courteous and you shouldn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes for your delicious noodles to be ready to eat.

3.5 stars rounded up. I’ve known about this place for years now, but always end up going somewhere else for soupy noodles. Came here for s quick bite on a Sunday evening — place was quiet, there were 2 – 3 tables of people eating. You order at the counter and order your tempura with the cashier when you pay. They have a variety of options, both soup and non-​soup.
I got the kitsune udon and really enjoyed it. Noodles are yummy, soup comes out hot, and you can even make it a combo with a mini rice bowl! Service is very minimal, you order, wait for your number to be called, then pick up your food at the counter. Then you return your dishes and trays at the corner. Food took a little while to come out as well, but the tempura is made fresh.
Easy and cheap meal when you don’t want to wait :)

I enjoy a good udon from time to time, but this place didn’t blow my mind. I get that it’s cafeteria style and quality is not up to par with places like Marugame Monzo, but even still I wasn’t too satisfied with it. which is a big thing I guess considering that I’m totally fine with just getting the udon from the foodcourt in the market downstairs.
The udon was overly chewy, and a bit tough for me. Soup broth was good though and the tempura they have was actually pretty good. My issue actually really isn’t with the udon though.
The pork katsu curry was horrible!!! The consistency of the curry was way too gluteny and sticky. There wasn’t enough flavors or seasoning or any of the complex curry flavors. The pork katsu was dinky, super super dry, and really hard to bite! This was a no-​go for me.
Sad to say that I probably would not visit this place again considering there are so many other options in Little Tokyo.

Cheap, delicious, and homemade udon = awesome! Tsurumaru is located in the Galleria on the 3^rd floor and validation provides 2 hours of free parking in the structure.
There is plenty of seating in the restaurant and it’s set up as more of a cafeteria style where you place your order, pick it up and sit an any open table. The service is QUICK. From the moment you place your order, your bowl should be ready within minutes. In all honesty, it’s not that hard to put together a bowl of udon… have the udon ready, pour the soup and add whatever toppings you want…
I got a regular bowl of the Wakame Udon ($ 4.75) and you can definitely tell the udon noodles are house made. Delicious udon noodles. The soup base is also tasty. Just sprinkle on some of the pepper and there’s a nice kick to it. There was a nice amount of seaweed and green onions in the bowl as well. A bowl of homemade udon noodles for less than $ 5? Count me in!!!
I would definitely come back. Maybe I’ll try the curry rice bowl next time.

Found out about this place through a Dine50 promotion, where you can get select rice bowls for 50% off at participating restaurants. Been here twice during that promotion.
Best chicken karaage ever! That’s all I have to say about this place. But, that’s about all I’ve tried here.

Undistinguished udon and broth, tempura items that weren’t quite as hot and crispy as hoped, and the real killer– the kitchen is slow.
Udon, hot or cold, took a few minutes, then a few minutes more to come out. Quite disappointing for a place where we expected quick food for lunch.
Interior is very cliché but quite acceptable, and the payment process is a bit confusing (do I pay after I get my number but before my food? Pay after I’ve eaten my fresh-​off-​the-​wire-​grill-​by-​the-​register tempura? Pay after the whole meal is done?).
As much as I love udon and soba, meh.

So it’s not the best udon, but you already knew that. However, prices and portions are quite good. Water is self-​serve and you must be careful carrying your tray back to your table when picking up the order.
For $ 9, I got the tempura udon, with two pieces of shrimp tempura which were quite substantial and eggplant. So this was great to begin with and is excellent drunk food, but after a while, the noodles started tasting ok and the broth too salty and the tempura not as good as it could be.
The salmon onigiri was also very sad. It was mostly rice, and that’s all I can say about that.
My friend got the Spicy Niku, which tasted like a kimchi broth and a side of mini curry-​don, which he said tasted like generic cubed curry.
For a place that reminds me of Japan from the look and ordering system minus the ticket machine and the tray return counter, I could get a lot more with my money in the homeland than here. But that’s always to be expected.
A pretty standard quick meal if you’re in a rush and not in the mood for an actual restaurant, this place is good for you.

Awesome go to place for affordable fresh and simple udon with soup or sauce. Can’t beat it’s price and quality. I been going here since I discovered it a couple years ago. It reminds me of the udon in Japan. Friendly staff and seating is usually open. To go type atmosphere where you pay first and use a tray to carry your bowl of udon. Water is in a jug.

Super Inexpensive house made Udon shop located on the 3^rd floor of the Little Tokyo Mall where the new Daiso is. Would only recommend the Udon here which apparently doesn’t come with broth unless asked for which is served on the side. Found this to be surprising since most udon dishes pictured on Unilocal appeared to be pretty soupy to me!
I wouldn’t even recommend the Onigiri whatsoever since the Salmon was extremely salty and dry, surrounded by even drier rice which was surprising since they made it fresh to order. Avoid at all costs and buy it at the market instead. Mixed Vegetable tempura fried to order was also a joke. Soggy oily mass of vegetables which I would also pass on. Stick to the Udon if anything.

Cheap, quick, convenient and tasty
Spicy Niku udon
–included Kimchi and sweet marinated beef, the broth was very similar to the one in soondubu, a very korean taste
Curry udon
–thicker Japanese curry with beef pieces. Reminds me of the packaged super market curries.
you have to wait your own tables/​get your own water which is fine by me. this is a great place to eat if you’re in a rush and don’t want typical fast food

Rating: Could be higher, but will make a another trip before Dine50 month is over to see if this place place merits a rating bump.
Went here twice. Once with Jen H. to catch up and the recent visit was by myself.
Reason to go: Dine50… half off on selected items until the end of the month.
1) Beef Curry Don… orig. $ 6… promotion $ 3
2) Beef Curry with Potato Croquette don… orig. $ 7… promotion $ 3.50
3) Chashu Bowl… orig $ 6.95… promotion $ 3.47
4) Chicken Karaage Bowl… orig. $ 6.95… promotion $ 3.47
*Most of these items are promoted specifically for Dine50.
Location: Corner of 3^rd and Alameda. Located on the third floor of the Little Tokyo Galleria.
Parking: Park in the Little Tokyo Galleria parking structure or meter parking. If you eat at this restaurant, they validate your parking up to 2 hours.
Ambiance: Very quiet that I could actually hear the chef get fustrated with one of his trainees. Perhaps next time I should wear earmuffs. I probably think this place is specifically geared for people that work around little tokyo area. Didn’t see many people coming in an out of this place during my recent visits at night.
Service: Not much service… place your order at the cashier and find a seat. They’ll call your number or order when it’s ready. Orders don’t take long and they have a self serve water station. After you are done, they request you to bring your tray and trash to a window near the kitchen. Most of the staffers there are new besides the chef himself. The staffer that helped me was not knowledgeable about what was part of the Dine50 menu. He thought it was only for the Chashu and Chicken Karaage bowl. I literally had to show him the dine50 ad and went to his boss to make sure. Long story is… it checked out!
Food: I thought the food was decent. Nothing too crazy to report about. I had the chicken karaage bowl, a piece of Jen H.‘s Chasu, shrimp tempura, and the Beef Curry with Croquette Don. I lied… there’s one thing that actually stood out. It was the potato croquette. Every single bite came with a crunch!
Would I visit again? Sure, I would take advantage of the Dine50 deal again before it ends. Perhaps I’ll try the #11 ‘Niku’ Udon that other Unilocalers have raved about in their reviews.