Mifune Restaurant

LUNCH SPECIAL $ 9.75
choice of noodle: niku udon, zaru soba, snsai udon/​soba, chasu ramen
choice of side bowl: niku don, curry rice, ten don, pork or chicken katsu
Niku Udon (Japanese Meat Udon): If you see the picture you’ll know what kind of meat it is. The meat marination makes the udon broth sweet. I’m not a big fan of sweet broth so I don’t really like this dish.
Sansai Udon/​Soba (Japanese Vegetable Udon/​Soba): I prefer udon noodles so I get the Sansai Udon. There’s no meat in this one but is made out of vegetables. The broth tastes very simple and clean and there’s also a lot of vegetables inside.
Niku Don: I like to have a bowl of rice with my noodles so I’ll either get this or the Curry Rice. Most Japanese restaurants have similar choices as for the side bowls. It’s like a mini Yoshinoya beef bowl (except, I honestly think Yoshinoya tastes better).
Curry Rice: Just a standard bowl or curry and rice.

I was sicky at the time and decided to get some nice bowl of Udon soup from here. They had a lunch special combo that allowed you to add a side order — varying from katsu, tempura, and more Japanese eats. I got the regular udon with chicken katsu — probably not the best choice for me at the time but it was pretty good. Prices are pretty reasonable especially with the amount of food given ($ 8-​$ 9). I am a little surprised with the average ratings here — kind of weird — but I enjoyed my experience here, I would come back for some udon. Thanks!

So I came back to try a different restaurant at this food court. I ordered the Chashu Ramen and the Ten Don (?) combo for less than 10 bucks. The portion was generous. The wait was not that great, took about 10 minutes. However, the pork was cut very thick and hard to chew. I had to use my chopsticks to hold it while I use my teeth to pull them out. Compare to another ramen restaurant that I tried in the same food court, it’s a very big difference. Looks like this restaurant is the «bargain one» when the price is 10 bucks and the combo at the other restaurant would be around 13 bucks. But having tasted but I think I will stick with the other restaurant in the future. Maybe Mifune’s other menu items would redeem themselves. We’ll see.

My go to when I have a craving for a (massive) serving of nabeyaki udon.
The food here is simple but good, and cheaper than going out to most restaurants. The owner (?) recognizes us now, and usually throws in a freebie (ie a bottle of tea) when we come visit! The food itself is nothing too fancy, but it’s reliably good and generously sized. I would stick with the nabeyaki udon, as I’ve had their ramen before as well (when I wasn’t quite so hungry) and it’s…okay. The meat was thick and juicy, but the broth tasted kind of just like salty water, and there weren’t many other toppings (which is very much the opposite of the nabeyaki udon!). There’s also usually a shorter wait here compared to some of the other places in the food court, making it a good in and out place in an otherwise very crowded food court.

Quite disappointed with our meal here. We went to Mitsuwa’s food court on a Sunday afternoon and wanted to try something different from the great & familar Santouka & Hannosuke. Therein lies our mistake. Should’ve stuck to the tried & true.
Walking by the Mifune display case, the blown up photos of the sukiyaki and sukiyaki nabe (with tempura) caught our eye. Sukiyaki is a long time favorite of mine growing up in San Francisco and I haven’t really come across a good one in my time in Los Angeles.
I ordered the sukiyaki and it was no sukiyaki I was familiar with. It was more like a less than stellar beef udon. For one, the broth had no sweetness to it as sukiyaki should. It was clear broth from I do not know what stock. And it came with udon instead of the thinner glass noodle as sukiyaki should. The photo neither depicted the type of noodle used nor could I, of course, tell it wasnt going to be sweet as expected. It came with thinly sliced beef, cabbage, carrots, enoki mushrooms, fried tofu and that tasteless broth. I wasnt happy at all with my order. In fact, I felt a bit foolish in what I ended up with versus what I expected to be eating. Sukiyaki and a can of ginger ale ($ 12).
We also ordered a sukiyaki nabe which in their photo has a shrimp tempura added to it. When our order came up, we had identical sukiyaki dishes. When questioned, the Japanese lady working the cash register stated the sukiyaki did not come with a shrimp tempura. When she was told that one of our orders was the sukiyaki nabe (with shrimp tempura as seen in the photo) she said that doesnt come with shrimp tempura either. WHATT!!! C’mon now… Dont try to treat us as if we’re stupid. If you didnt write the order down correctly, then just say it. The proof is in the photo and when we compared receipts, we were charged the same exact thing. The sukiyaki nabe was supposed to be $ 11 on its own. She didnt write the correct order down. I dont know if there was a language barrier there or what but I felt a bit put off by the whole thing.
It wasnt a great meal. I dont wanna seem ungrateful as food is food and we’re lucky to have it but… It wasnt what I expected. It wasnt sukiyaki. It had no flavor. It wasnt anywhere near the expected sweet broth that sukiyaki is supposed to have. Just a forgettable meal. I will not be a repeat customer.

I like Mifune’s hot soba especially the soup was very simple and good. I also like their Nabeyaki udon there’s a lots of toppings like chicken, egg, vegetables, mushrooms and shrimp tempura on the top in a hot pot. You can’t go wrong in this order so delicious.

For a place in the market, Mifune is pretty good. One would expect food court food to be supplementary for the market however, Mifune did more than that.
I got the cha su ramen with pork katsu. It was their lunch special so it was priced around $ 11. The ramen was on the thicker side but it was still very soft. The broth was very flavorful however my friends also got the same thing and he said it was a bit salty. Depending on your preference, it might be salty for you. For me, it was just right. The pork katsu is very crispy and it was simply delicious. Overall, pretty good for foot court food.

No surprise, a Groupon brought me in. However, the amazing flavors and fresh ingredients will keep me coming back. First of all, I love the whole Mitsuwa market and all the places in it. There are a wide variety of places to choose from and I’m curious to try a few others as well. However, after trying this place and seeing that the items ordered will be exactly as hoped — if not better — I’d definitely come back for more.
I love that they have plastic/​wax models of all of their dishes. It takes the guessing out and shows you what you can expect. The first time I went for an udon noodle soup. The second time I ordered what appeared to be more of a hot pot — sukiyakinabe! This is my new favorite. It had 2 distinctly different flavored mushrooms, a crispy tempura breaded shrimp and all sorts of other fresh ingredients offering amazing flavor and texture to the soup. My daughter would totally love the tempura shrimp.
Especially with winter upon us now, I can’t wait to go back and hang out and read over a hot pot!

I LOVE it here. Although there’s many to choose from, THIS is my favorite pick inside the Mitsuwa food court.
I always get the niku udon and pay extra for them to throw in a kitsune. It’s something about their broth too that makes my mouth water so much. Hot, flavorful, and dare i say umami?
Delicious! :)
Oh and the barely tea is also a nice plus
Hehe.

Restaurant inside the Mitsuwa food court. Groupon brought me here. The food here is just so-​so.
Yamakake (grated mountain yam) Soba has always been my favorite at other restaurants, but theirs was bland. They put a raw egg yolk in the middle of the Yamakake (which I liked), and it made the Yamakake look like a sunny-​side up, which was pretty cute. It tastes better if you dip the soba noddles inside the soy sauce rather than pouring it.
The Katsu Don with egg was rather soggy. Another lady sitting next to us ordered a Katsu Don from the restaurant next to us, and hers looked so much better. I think this restaurant has room for improvement for their food. I say nay for these 2 dishes I ordered, but maybe their other food is better!

I got the kimchi Sukiyaki. Let’s start with the wait… it took and extremely long time for me to get my order. The lady at the register was getting orders a bit mixed up. One of her employees came out to help with the backup of orders but she shooed him away.
When I finally did get my order, the food was just ok. It was a stew with tofu, egg, kimchi, pork, noodles and mushrooms. There was hardly any pork at all. I feel that they may have put in too much kimchi, it overpowered the other flavors. The new overall wasn’t bad, it just tasted like something that I could make at home. Nothing special.

Oh Mifune, where would I eat at Mitsuwa without you? A shining beacon that’s willing to take that 2% base rate + however much of the total transaction the merchant services fees are, they will almost always get my business. Hey, it’s the 21^st century, how much cash DO YOU CARRY?
In all seriousness though, they do have the best kastsu curry chicken of all the places in the food court. The cutlet itself is nice and tender, perfectly breaded and they don’t hang it into the side of the curry where it gets soggy and nasty on one end, instead it’s usually perched up atop the rice and «out of harm’s way». I’ve also ordered the hot Sobe noodles and while they are good too, it’s just too slimey and frustrating to eat at lunch and I always inevitably end up getting the ramen juice splashed all over the front of my shirt. Naaaaah, I’ll just stick to the curry.
Other things to be aware of: The outdoor parking is a complete and utter disaster. Your best bet is to dive into the underground as soon as you pull in and then park near the elevator. There are always plenty of empty spots and your car stays cool too down underneath. Also, once you order and get your number, make sure you’re listening to the lady, she’ll call out «Mifune Number…» which makes it easier, but it’s a food court with a lot of ambient noise as it is.

Good food at very reasonable prices. The lady at the counter is very sweet and gracious. The food is presentable and not bad for what you pay for. They take credit card/​ATM which is a plus!
They serve complimentary iced green tea and ice water is accessible at the counter; another bonus!

One of my favorite places to eat inside the mitsuwa marketplace! I really like getting their ebi donburi bowls. Its very simple and plain, just the way I like it.
[WHAT I GOT]:
Ebi Donburi:
A simple bowl of white rice and four shrimp tempura drizzled in eel sauce (i think). the tempura shrimps were really good and crispy, they werent too heavy covered in tempura and the shrimp, itself tasted delicious. the bowl came with a lot of white rice, about half the bowl was covered in white rice. personally, i would like to have the sauces on the side to avoid having soggy tempera in my bowl. it was also a lot of sauce in my rice too since i just wanted plain white rice from the beginning. the food was still good and i would recommend this place since they also have other types of donburi bowls, soba, and udon. last time, they didnt have the sauce in the bowl but i would just ask for it on the side next time to be on the safe side.
Miso Soup:
My order came with a free miso soup, which was great but it was very salty and tasted a bit weird. definitely had better miso soup from them in the past, i was very disappointed but i’ll still come back to give it another try.
[SERVICE]:
There were about 4 – 5 people in front of me but the line went by fast with only one cashier. she was really nice, getting people’s orders and calling out «mifune, #_​_​_​is ready.» there was a self serving area on the side with soy sauce, wasabi, water, ice tea, etc. to grab if you needed them.

My favorite place to come have lunch, with my Japanese Patient. She very much enjoys the bento plate with Tempura shrimp, gohan (White rice) & salmon, every meal comes with miso soup. We come atleast once or twice a week. I personally enjoy the beef donburi, my favorite I always order the same thing every week, but I’ve actually tried everything on the menu, and like the beef donburi slot better.

Mifune is terrible. I frequent the Mitsuwa marketplace for lunch at the Santa Monica location and one of my favorite places to eat is Sanuki Sandou. Mifune is essentially the Torrance-​Mitsuwa version of that place.
Pros: the size of the bowls is quite enormous and cheap $ 7 per Donburi.
Cons: where do I start?
Beef donburi was sub-​Yoshinoya quality. The meat was dry, old, and the onions were tremendously soggy. I didn’t know onions could be soggy. The worst possible thing was the rice. It was almost spoiled, that’s how overcooked it was. I didn’t eat the majority of the flavorless bowls because of how repulsed I was from the offset. It was tragic.
The most interesting thing to this is that it was being frequented the least by anyone. I always find that to be an interesting sign of business quality, here was particularly a good example of it.
My advice: go to the SM location and try out Sanuki Sandou if you want beef bowls.

I’ve been to the mitsuwa food court so many times that I finally had to try Mifune. I wasn’t missing much (but I’m glad that I tried it). Now that I have, I don’t plan to again.
I guess I’m not much of an udon fan, so I can’t really fault Mifune. My personal tastes prefer ramen. Ramen is so beautiful and complex; udon just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I haven’t travelled enough or had really good udon yet. Whatever the case may be, I didn’t enjoy Mifune’s udon.
Udon noodles in broth: nothing special. The broth was too salty. I didn’t finish it. I usually finish all my ramen broth, even if it’s not that good. So this was a sign of not-​goodness. Gotta give three stars because udon just isn’t my thing, but it wasn’t terrible either. The tempura items were average. Now that I’ve tried it, I’ll just keep going to santouka.

Located in the Mitsuwa Marketplace Food Court, Mifune offers a variety of Japanese dishes, including ramen, soba, udon, katsu, and donburi. There is a display case of the food, so you’ll have an idea of what you will be getting. They usually put the specials on the counter in front of the register. Service is not the fastest, so be prepared to wait, especially during the lunch rush.
Food:
— Ten Zaru Soba — Cold soba with tempura (two shrimp, two sweet potato, carrot, and my favorite, broccoli!). For $ 1.00 extra, you can get Spinach Soba! Noodles were fresh, and they had a smoother texture than the traditional buckwheat noodles.
— Chicken Katsu Curry — Served over a generous portion of rice. Chicken was tender but a little dry. The curry has chopped carrots in it. It was tasty but a little oilier than I’m used to.
*Tip: 20% off coupon on any item for DINE IN only in Motto LA Japanese coupon magazine (found in many Japanese markets)

I know that this is located in Mitsuwa’s food court so I should not expect too much from the food here, but does it have to be this bad? I’ve had lunch here a couple of times and have been consistently disappointed with what I’ve got. During lunch time you battle your fellow diners for space in the tiny food court with nothing more than your food tray after having endured the long wait for its slow preparation. I generally get their lunch special ($ 8.95 + tax) which is either a soba or udon along with one of their rice bowls. Like every other place in Mitsuwa’s food court they are cash only.
This time I wanted to go light so went with the Ten Zaru Soba combo ($ 8.25 + tax) which comes with cold soba noodles along with dipping sauce and a side of vegetable and shrimp tempura. The soba is bad. It has absolutely no bite, no sweetness that you expect with delicious buckwheat noodles nothing. It feels like normal spaghetti noodles. The dipping sauce is dead no matter how much wasabi you add it refuses to be revived. You almost hope for tomato sauce to make the spaghetti eatable. The tempura is fresh but is fried in cheap vegetable oil so has a strong oily smell and is greasy to the extent of dripping oil. You almost wish you had gone with their rice bowls as you rarely go wrong with Japanese rice. I think I’ve finally learned my lesson and will stick to Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garage for my zaru soba shots.

Niku Udon + Niko Don = $ 8.95!
Portions are big, tastewise, it was okay. The udon was chewy but the beef was tough!
Complimentary Iced Tea (self-​serve)
Located at Mitsuwa Food Court.
*btw, whoever created this page spelled restaurant wrong…
*CASH ONLY