Udon West

I want to give this place 5 stars because they make truly great udon. We came here during an off hour but the place was still relatively full with mostly Japanese speaking patrons. The host (probably the owner/​GM) barely uttered two words as he ushered us to our seats, and in general the service here was pretty hands off/​laissez faire (great for economics but not so great in a restaurant). Continuing on that theme, the side dishes here were just OK/​decent.
The real winner here is the noodles themselves. They’re soft, silky smooth, and tender but still with a good bite. My curry udon and his beef and shrimp tempura udon were really great.
We’ll definitely be back, but maybe we’ll skip anything accept for the udon itself.

God, I love this place. My boyfriend and I have been frequenting udon west since 2012 at its now closed Flushing location. After years of mourning its loss, we finally came here to find that the owner was the same person!
The udon here is truly superb. The broth is so savory and flavorful. Add a pinch of togarashi, and it’s perfection. The rice bowls are also really great! The katsu and curry aren’t anything special and pale in comparison to the aforementioned dishes, but still pretty good nonetheless.
It gets crazy busy within 30 minutes of business on any given day, so youd better hustle over to grab a seat! That said, service is super fast; I normally have my food in front of me within 5 minutes of ordering. On that vein, it is not a sit, relax, and savor-​your-​food kind of place during peak times. I’m normally in and out in 30 – 40 minutes max.
Lastly, I think $ 10 for a hearty bowl of udon is a pretty good deal.

Service was quick and efficient. Even at the Friday dinner time, no wait for seats. Menu is extensive. I had Kakiagedon, and my son had, yes, cats curry. Kakiageton was good, but it does not come with oshinko which is rather odd. You need oshinko to mitigate the sweetness of donburi dishes. Miso soup does not come with it either.
As for the Katsu curry, my cats curry critic said that the cats was very crispy and good but the curry sauce was meh…
Everything comes very quickly, and this is not a kind of place that you eat, chat, and spend the whole evening.
It has nothing to do with the restaurant, but here is a memo to myself: no more tempura. I have gotten too old to digest oils! It will be a good lunch place.

We eat Udon West often for lunch. If we get there early (like before noon or right after noon), usually there is no wait for a table. We have also called in orders for pickup. This is normally a flawless method for minimizing the wait, but there was one time that I had to wait a long time for a dinner pickup order. I forget how long but it was at least 15 minutes after the quoted time.
For lunch, we stick to the udon — marinated beef and shrimp for me and mountain vegetable for my coworker.
Price is reasonable and they are super fast — 45 min from sitting down to signing the check is normal.

Came to this spot very spontaneously for a quick dinner. It’s rather small with about 12 bar seats and only 6 seats in the back where a booth is. The servive was quick considering that the space is small and that you could flag down a server with just a look. The seating isn’t the most comfortable as most of the dining space is just a bar so a lot of customers are shoulder to shoulder. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this spot for larger parties (no more than 2, 3 is pushing it lol). Also, I should note that its CASH ONLY!!!
I started with the PORK CUTLET & UDON SET ($ 11.50) while my friend ordered the NABAEYAKI UDON ($ 11). First things first I want to say that this food is sooo so cheap. Coming from California, I know what its like to have high quality, cheap asian food so I was hopeful when I saw these low prices on this infamous St. Marks block. However, I would have to say I was slightly disappointed. The udon was tasty and they gave a generous amount considering the price, but the cutlet is what got me. The pork was overcooked, rubbery and what was such a shame was that the fry and breading of the panko crust was fantastic. Also, I ordered a side bowl of curry ($ 2.50) and that was delicious which saved the cutlet for me (I am obsessed with the pork cutlet/​curry combo, you should try it if you haven’t already). The Nabaeyaki udon didn’t live until its «special» category on the menu and my friend regretted not ordering one of the sets on the back of the menu. So I could easily say that ordering one of those sets (last/​back page of the menu) is your best bet.
All in all, I would return. The pork was rubbery, but I think the quality was congruent to the price. They had a wide selection and I would only come back for one of the sets since its such a great deal. Probably wont order the cutlet again, but the fried chicken and spicy tuna don looked promising.

**This post is for the St. Marks location**Came here with a friend at around 11:30, server wanted to place us near the front, please note it was 20 degrees outside and every time anyone opened the door you can feel the chill. We requested to sit further down, almost all the chairs were empty except for a couple of two. We were placed farther down and within two minutes was asked twice if we were ready to order. I ordered the curry and udon set and the vegetable spring roll. Food was good and cheap. Apparently they close at 12 on Monday not 2:30

I tried the fried chicken and curry udon and gotta say it was very good.
The place itself is small, not to sit and talk, rather eat and go. But the service was ok and the food arrived very fast.
I liked the curry in the udon, it actually worked very well with the fried chicken pieces on top and some good Japanese beer.
Not a bad option when you’re at Park Ave!

Came here for lunch with 2 other coworkers after attending a seminar in the city. This place gets busy during lunch time but we didn’t have to wait long for a table. As soon as we were seated, I noticed the tables were really close to each other. The person sitting behind me kept bumping into me. Can’t complain because it’s a small place.
For lunch I ordered the udon soup and Katsudon which is a popular Japanese dish with a bowl of rice topped with a deep-​fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments. Our dishes didn’t take long to come out so extra points for time. My meal hit the spot. Can’t go wrong with fried pork cutlet and the udon was delicious.
I do have to mention that the waitress accidentally drop the udon soup on the table and it spilled all over my friend’s jacket. They immediately cleaned the mess and sat us at another table. I couldn’t stop laughing because there was still beef in my friend’s jacket pocket. He took it well. To recover from the mistake, the owner offered to pay for his dry cleaning and didn’t charge him for his meal. Nice job! Other than that, i enjoyed my experience here.

Best udon ever!
It’s a tiny restaurant a quiet street. And upon entering it’s as though I’ve stepped into Tokyo! I had high hopes as they staff are all Japanese & majority of the patrons were too.
The service was prompt & no nonsense.
The wooden table & chair were functional. Not comfy enough to sleep in.
The menu is easy to get around. I chose the udon with niku (beef) & fried tofu. It was delicious. I didn’t really like the 3 pieces of fried tofu as it was sweet — I prefer them savory.
The toilet was clean.

The food was okay. The service … really dropped the ball there, repeatedly.
We ordered the marinated beef udon, shrimp & vegetable tempura udon, and chicken karaage.
Marinated Beef Udon ($ 11.50) — pretty good, sweet flavor from the beef made the broth sweet and delicious. Mr. Joy ordered this and I wish I had ordered this as well.
I ordered the shrimp & vegetable tempura udon thinking it was going to be the large pieces of shrimp covered in tempura batter and individually fried pieces of vegetable tempura. However, I was disappointed with what I received. The fried concoction looked like an Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Onion, everything in one oddly formed fried cohesion. Perhaps I accidentally ordered the wrong thing, but I remember distinctly pointing to the picture on the front of the menu.
I could have easily forgiven that. I still ate it, but only because it took so long for me to receive my food that I was too hungry to question it. I think I finally got my bowl of udon about 20 minutes after Mr. Joy got his marinated beef udon. When I asked our waiter where my food was, he looked puzzled and grabbed the bowl of udon that had been sitting on the counter for a while. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t a nice piping hot bowl of noodle soup.
So to recap…
Strike 1: My food wasn’t what I had anticipated it to be.
Strike 2: The wait staff clearly forgot to bring me my food. I only ate it because it took so long for me to get it and I was pretty hungry.
&…
Strike 3: We never got the chicken kaarage we ordered. By then, we no longer wanted it. It still showed up on the bill, so we had to ask them to correct that and take it off. Our waiter did just that.
The waiter seemed so scattered that he barely apologized for making me wait so long for the food or for the error on our bill. It is not necessary but would have been nice.
I understand that mistakes happen, but the food itself was not that great. Also, the tiny restaurant was only about ¾ full at that time. So it was not ridiculously busy or packed. I left feeling disappointed, and in the back of my mind, probably searching for a better udon place elsewhere.
On a more positive note, I sat in front of the chef wrapping potstickers or gyoza, dumplings, whatever you want to call them. He worked skillfully and quickly. It’s nice to see dumplings made in house. Although I don’t know if they’re all fresh. They probably cook some and freeze the rest to use in the future, which should still taste good, but I don’t know, I didn’t order potstickers. They looked great.

Lunch time is always packed, you end up waiting in line for 10 mins or less, which is not that bad.
The Udon Noodle soup with beef is amazing! I love how the broth isn’t oily and still remain very flavorful. Love the texture of the udon. I can eat bowls of udon any day. The Donburi beef bowl over rice on the other hand wasn’t as good. It was just okay. The second time around we ordered the Udon Noodle soup with beef again and it was still amazing. The cold Zaru Udon was good, but not great. I probably prefer cold soba in that dipping sauce.
Service was a little slacking, needed to flag down waiters every so often. But considering how busy the place is, I would cut then some slack.
Overall Udon West is a pretty solid place if you want quick and good Japanese Udon and Rice Bowls.

THEY TAKE CARD!
The restaurant itself is long and narrow.
If you plan on coming here during lunch hours, come alone or with one other person; you get seated quicker that way. My friend and I only needed to wait 7 minutes for our table. As soon as we ordered our food came 5 minutes later. I got the marinated beef udon and my friend got the chicken curry udon. My udon was yummy and very satisfying for a brisk December day. The waitress was very friendly and attentive and the whole experience was very satisfying.

I used to go there a lot, at least once a week. I do not think they have the maximum NY Health grade, for some reason, which made it difficult for me to bring some people over. But anyhow, for once, a real Japanese restaurant.
I like the setting, very similar to a traditional Japanese restaurant, with paper signs in Japanese on the walls. The staff has also always been nice to us.
The price is really reasonable — that is why it is usually full, and a lot of people come on a regular basis to this place.
The food is good. Just take something quite basic and enjoy. It is also very filling! Really recommend

If udon like the food here, udon know jack!
Alright, alright. Now that the punny-​ness is out of the way, let’s get to it. This place churns out solid udon and other izakaya style dishes without breaking the bank. As you’ve probably read, the peak times are at lunch during weekdays. But come any other time (even 3am… yes, they’re open THAT late), you’ll probably be seated immediately.
Came here with the SO on a weeknight and the host seated us right away. The interior is deceivingly large and offers bar or table seating. As for the décor, it’s typical of most izakaya joints with posters and flyers galore, specifically of the food and booze. Some may call the walls cluttered, but I think the place has its charms.
Started with Age Tofu and Gyoza, and ordered the Udon with Kara Age and Shrimp Tempura for my main dish. The tofu had a great crunchy crust while the inside was subtle and silky. And the tentsuyu sauce it was paired with was awesome. The gyoza, unfortunately, were a bit of a let down. They were tiny and the flavors were lacking. So on to the main event… the udon. The broth is dynamite — so flavorful, and not overly salted or seasoned. Really the perfect combination of light and savory. The kara age and tempura were crispy deliciousness, and the perfect complements to the dish. The SO was raving over the curry, so maybe I’ll get that next time. The only let down was that the noodles, were just a wee bit overcooked for my liking. But overall, the dish was great and probably the best udon I’ve had in the city.
Will absolutely be back here the next time I’m jones-​ing for some udon. If you haven’t been, definitely give this place a shot. They offer a ton of sweet deals for happy hour and late night, too.

Came here for a quick dinner after work as this place was just a flew blocks from my hotel. I totally felt like I was in Tokyo. The setup, the vibe, the specials that were on paper pasted on the wall, the people eating in there… just felt so much like when I was in Tokyo. Instant love for me. This place is legit.
I ordered the udon (but of course) and added two toppings: mountain vegetables and fish cakes. I also tried the marinated tripe and broiled mackerel fish. Felt a little embarrassed ordering too much for a solo diner but I just had to do it. They had my favorite items on the menu.
I want to be back for sure.

TL;DR: Udon West is NOT at all vegetarian-​friendly, despite appearing so.
I came here on a Sunday evening with friends to catch up, and it was easy to get a table. Udon West has a really cool layout/​building, and it reminds me quite a bit of izakayas I saw in Tokyo. I, perhaps foolishly, assumed that with all of the vegetable udon listings (Mountain Vegetable Udon, Vegetable Tempura Udon, Fried Bean Curd Udon, etc…) that at least one of them would be vegetarian. However, when I asked the waitress what on the menu was vegetarian, she only named the salads and the Cheese Harumaki (essentially, a block of cheese wrapped in a spring roll sheet; see attached photo)… not even the Vegetable Tempura side dish was vegetarian. All of the udon is made with beef broth, apparently.
So, I ordered the Cheese Harumaki, which was super fried and greasy (in a bad way) and a super small portion. Luckily I had eaten before, as this was literally two bites of food. However, my omnivorous friends all seemed to enjoy their udon.
The one plus side is that Udon West has fairly creative drinks, kind of… I liked the Calpico-​Hi drink I ordered (but I’m a sucker for anything Calpico-​related,) but my friend’s ~Magic Slushy Frozen Sake~ drink was disgusting, after it melted within 30 seconds. Props for the novelty, though.

Holy crap, they are open till 4am, score! That was the thought process of my friends and I the night we went. We went really late after a night of drinking and it was still meh, how is that possible? I love the Japanese feel of the place and I love the Japanese staff but the food was kinda lacking. Also, totally skip their beer Happy Hour thing, think it was Saporro, it was so God awful. The beer had a weird taste to it, I didn’t finish my beer, no wonder it was discounted…
The food:
Zaru Udon with shrimp tempura– I had this dish in Japan and naturally I was curious to try the version in NY, it was a fail. The udon itself had a great chew but the dish as a whole didn’t offer a lot of flavor. The noodle had the nice chewy and silky texture but not a lot of taste and the broth felt like it was missing something. The shrimp tempura was nice and hot but I didn’t like the batter they used, it wasn’t a crispy batter, it was like a soft doughnut with shrimp inside. lol

I found this place via Unilocal and decided to give this place a try since it was open late and close to my boyfriends work place.
Udon west is open till 4am, which I usually come after 10pm. For the most part, this place gets pretty busy. Service is a hit or miss.
Now for the good stuff; I’ve tried multiple Donburi bowls (beef, chicken, tempura), mini tacos, Mostsu Nabe (beef w/​veg. In hotspot), & their udon noodle soup. They’re popular for their udon noodles, but believe it or not, it was my least favorite. I had the house special udon noodle with shrimp, egg, chicken, etc. The noodles itself were way too chewy, & noodles seemed undercooked.
I think this place is over hyped. Although I do enjoy their late night HH SPECIALS. Would I recommend it to a friend? Sure why not.

I’m a huge fan of noodles, specifically udon, so this place is paradise for me.
I got the fried chicken udon, $ 10, and the udon was perfectly cooked and the chicken was well-​seasoned and delicious. The broth went well with the udon and was really flavor full. However, it does seem like something I could make at home since all the ingredients are readily available, but it was still a great meal. I’d love to come back sometime to the curry on udon *_​_​* and everything else on their menu.

Udon West offers consistently good bowls of udon. Their menu have extensive combinations of udon toppings such as Fried Chicken, Shrimp Tempura, Bulgogi, and Sansai (wild vegetables). This small hidden spot is usually packed during peak lunch hours with lines out the door into the streets.
As an occasional lunch spot, my coworkers and I do enjoy the udon here. We usually do pick-​up so we cannot comment on service. My favorite made-​up combination would be the Sansai Vegetables and adding a side of Fried Chicken. Sansai Vegetables are salty, preserved vegetables. If you love salty, give it a try. Fried Chicken are golden brown and crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I think they use dark chicken meat but who cares, it’s good! I have also tried Shrimp Tempura which is always a safe option.
Soba noodles are also offered here with the same different types of combination as well!

Restaurant proposant des plats typiquement japonais, rapides et délicieux pour un lunch, je recommande fortement: vaut le détour !