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Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Midtown EastOur extra crispy dumpling, aka Gyoza, and Sapporo & Kirin draft beers are at half price on Sat & Sun! We hope to see you this weekend!!
Announced 1 week agoGrand Central (4, 5, 6, 7, S)
Lexington-3rd Aves-51st St (6, E, V)
Mon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"The sushi was excellent. The fish was fresh and flavorful. The different varieties of ahi, aku, salmon, and eel was exceptional. Every…" read more »
So I was super hungover from a crazy night out at a friend's coworker event. I apparently made a total fool out of myself and swore never to drink alcohol again (Let's see how that lasts). So after throwing up twice today, I was not in the mood for eating anything heavy but something easy on the stomach.
Tada~ So my friend takes me to this Udon West she frequents for lunch during the week.
We get there and the place is VERY CLEAN. The staff are extremely polite and friendly I left a big tip. She was very patient with our indecisiveness, and recommended grapefruit juice will help with hangovers. The tea there was very yum. I think we had about 8 cups each and they were so kind to immediately pour the tea in.
Food: OK, so the selection isn't that great (I lived in Japan - so I do know what I'm talking about, ehem) but the appetizers were pretty tasty. We had the intestines in vinegar, gyoza (which is apparently 50% OFF with beer on Saturdays and Sundays - no I did not drink the beer), and tongue. Then my friend had the beef bowl, it was a bit light on the taste but ok. I had the nabeyaki udon. The soup was not bad but I couldn't eat the two shrimp tempuras nor the egg in it. (My stomach would have slapped me across the face if I did). Then my friend had some sesame icecream - was sweet and pretty big. Our bill was less than $40.
All in all, I do recommend this place, especially if you're hungover, chinatown is too far (porridge), and need soft food.
Oh---- and check out that little blackboard that has the daily specials. They had a nice sushi platter and some interesting items on it.
Udon, Udon and more Udon.!
People: mix crowd
Food/Drinks: happy hour! Cheap beer, good broth, udon unlimited, crispy fried gyoza, & a warm beef bowl........ahhhhh... = )
Price:Average price, affordable, so like a "$$"
Service: nice and attentive staff.
Ambiance: cozy, casual & neat
Would I come back? *knods* = )
It hasn't broken 50 degrees on the thermometer today, officially ushering in Fall and a few weeks of underdressing/overdressing as I get used to the new season and the weather changing. Udon West has been around for a few months now so I'd been there a few times before today, but all my experiences have had a little mental note attached to them, saying "MAN, I BET THIS WOULD BE GOOD ON A COLD DAY".
I put my hunch to the test today and walked in to see that a lot of other people had the same idea as I, huddled over bowls of udon and curries and rice bowls (the three things they serve at udon west). What to choose? Would I get the combination Beef Bowl and Udon set? I'd had this in the past, beef and onions over rice (think yoshinoya beef bowl but legit) and a bowl of udon, all very tasty but too much food for lunch. Udon with tempura? Again very tasty, but even though the noodles are silky, tasty, and filling, not quite at the level of comfort food I was seeking. No, I'd have to go with the FRIED CHICKEN AND CURRY UDON (kara-age curry udon), which are fried chicken tender sized strips of fried chicken sitting atop a generous helping of japanese curry and udon noodles and broth. Although this is more of a typical udon broth with japanese curry mixed in rather than the plain noodles swimming in curry that I was used to having in LA, it did the trick and was still plenty hearty for me. Add fried chicken (can you really ever go wrong with fried chicken?) and I was in heaven, especially when the bill came out to be less than $10.
Came here for dinner with a friend. I had udon noodles in a soup and she had noodles. Very good service, the food came out quickly, and it was a very relaxing atmosphere. Recommended.
Came back to this place for luch, had their Shrimp Tempura Udon, with a side order of goyza, and it was nice. I have to say the broth is really nice, and the noodle was pretty slurpworthy.. I don't usually order udon, but this place has pretty good noodles...the usually noodle seasoning, was actually a great accompaniment to the soup, it didin't over power the noodle as noticeably as it would at Cafe Zaiya. Probably would try their Zaru udon next time.
I came to this location for a quick bite, and was satisfied. When I stepped into the restaurant, you… Read more »
I dined there multitude of times and udon was oishi! I especially like the waves of irasshaimasse! when you just poke your head through the entrance.
Their combination sets are plentiful, I especially like their gyudon and curry sets. Did I mentioned it's BYOB? If you are too lazy to bring anything anyway, you can ask them and they'll run close by to get you few cold ones!
Normally, I am not a big fan of udon, I do not try to order this out. But for some reason, when I ordered here I really loved their udon.
Maybe it is because of the perfect flavor of their udon broth. Or maybe it is the texture of their noodles that is perfectly cooked.
I also love the beef that they add to the udon. Man this place is legit.
Also, I call this the magical udon place, because when you are drunk and feeling nauseous, one bowl of udon will make that feeling go away. Even if you eat that bowl of udon with sake. Even in this state, you will wake up without a hangover (haha maybe).
Take your mates to dinner at Udon West and you'll be hard-pressed to not yell out gochiso-sama deshta (translation: it was a feast!) when the meal reaches its conclusion.
This nicely priced noodle joint in the East 40s has a lot going for it:
- BYOB
- Good for groups
- Cheap (big bowls of soup for ~$8 and curry/soup sets for ~$12)
Though Udon West is casual, the interior is not an afterthought; I liked the dark wood touches and the tables.
Our server was a cherubic character that made us all smile.
I can't wait to return!
I came here for dinner around 8pm on fri after a day of thunderstorms (perfect timing for noodle soups!) and the place was filled, but no wait!
i ordered the marinated beef and kimchee udon while my companion ordered the chicken curry udon. my broth was delicious! the noodles were soft but tough enough to chew - very different from other udon i've had which were more tough and solid. the chicken curry broth tasted good but i didn't sit well w/ my brain- i have this notion that curry should be thick!
ALSO, TRY THE BLACK SESAME ICE CREAM!!! it was AMAZING. we ended up getting another scoop on top of the scoop we had already.
THIS place should be a part of the recession special ppt that's been floating around! total cost of meal w/ dessert and edame: 27$
Udon West in midtown is awaiting their liquor license, so they're BYOB! Holla!!!
Oh, should I be discussing their food here?
I just had their fried chicken curry udon (karaage karrei udon) for $8.50 with an ondo tamago (onsen tamago aka softboiled egg) and it was the best I've had in NYC. The onsen tamago add-on for $2 was a good pick as well. Oh yes I will... I just handed midtown's Udon West their first 5-star rating.
The broth was tasty (great mixture of curry sauce and broth, most places mess this up), I couldn't taste the MSG, though that doesn't mean there isn't any in it. The freshness of the noodles (no rubber chewiness!) obviously indicate that they're made at the shop.
This is Udon West's second location. Their original spot is on St. Mark's in NYC's version of Japan Town. This one is much bigger. It's a nice, clean venue. Now's the time to take advantage of their liquor license-less status to be BYOB'ing.
On weekdays, they're open until 11pm. On weekends, they close by 10pm. Plenty of time for some pre-game BYOB'ing.
Although Porkchop has been trying to eat here forever, I always rejected, scoffing "Ew, udon's gross."
Well, it turned out the same as it did with soba. In other words, mediocre udon/soba is gross (whereas mediocre ramen is good), but well-done udon/soba is delicious. Luckily, Udon West's udon is well-done!
I tried both the curry fried chicken udon and the shrimp and veggie tempura udon. I really liked the curry broth from the prior: it was snappy and flavorful, though a bit too salty. The normal broth is pretty good too. A warning to vegetarians: NOTHING here is meat-free. The soup base has fish broth. My vegetarian coworker asked if there was anything he could have and the waitress, confused, pointed him towards the shrimp. Um, no.
The tempura shrimp and vegetables were enveloped in batter and a few cups of oil. Ew. It was too heavy, even after dunking in the soup, even for me. It gave me a slight tummy-ache. It was crisp and fresh, but just too oily.
The noodles on both instances were good: chewy with just the right mmmmp as your teeth reach past the breaking point.
Great prices too! The noodle soups range from $7 to a little over $10.
This used to be a Teriyaki Boy carryout. It was *technically* a sit down place, but didn't look 100% inviting - weird color choice for their walls, terrible lighting and, often not resembling a totally hygienic environment. The food was also pre-prepared and just sat on top of hot water.
When I came in, I was super-surprised. First surprise - everything is twice as expensive. You are looking to dish out anywhere from $11 - $15 for an average lunch.
But... when I saw that they completely renovated the interior, I have to say - I guess there is value in creating a somewhat inviting environment. It looked nice and I was with a friend so we decided to stay.
I ordered the chicken teriyaki in curry which was actually very delicious and well prepared. It wasn't too spicy like some of the Indian joints that require you to mix in the white cucumber sauce and not too bland either - definitely need water in that glass next to you.
On the downside, the portion was kind of tiny, so I was kind of grateful for remembering to take my appetite-curbing Cactus supplement, otherwise I would have been on a hot dog stand hunt. But, for anyone on a diet, I guess portion control is an upside.
Delicious meals. Beautifully renovated. A little steep with the $, but would definitely recommend this place.
Um, how is it that before my visit to Udon West I'd never tried udon noodle soup before?? Oh right - I ate nothing but bread and butter sandwiches until I was 14. I got off to an admittedly slow start.
Since I'm a total newb, I let the experts I was with decide on my order. With the exception of edamame (steamed salty soy beans) I had never heard of most things on the menu. I ordered a spicy vegetarian curry udon bowl with tempura and the portion was MASSIVE.
If you've never eaten udon it's a similar concept to pho but the noodles are way slipperier and sort of puffed up. It essentially feels like you're slurping up an (electric) eel with every bite. I know that sounds unappetizing, but you get used to the texture quickly and trust me when I say it's mighty tasty.
Also, they don't have a liquor licence yet so it's BYO. Coming from the uptight tyrannical BYO rulings of Toronto I kinda love this.
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Let's be serious. If you want to get to me, you gotta get through my stomach. And if you want to get to my stomach, know that I love all these pasta. You with me so far? Okay.
So Udon is pasta (rice flour based but still...) and I love it! And Udon West does it right (in various combinations varying from Beef and Kimchi Udon to simple Mountain Vegetables Udon). This time, I opted for cold Udon noodles with bonito flakes, mushrooms, etc. in a cold fish broth. The portion was a bit small for me (I was hungry!) but it was yummy either way. The gouza is a must order as well as the potato salad. And please note...this place is BYOB so if you're into that, it's a very good thing to know.
So, what have we learned besides how to get to know me better....hmmm....Udon West is a great option if you like Japanese food and are near Grand Central/Midtown East. Go! Go! Go!
Oh, and the decor is cute. (It's a plus for me!)
Oh midtown east...I've always had a hard time finding food here that was both cheap AND good....until I found this place. Man, what a steal! I stopped in here for a quick bite before headed to the local trivia night, and was surprised at how reasonable the prices were. I ordered the chicken udon, and was impressed with how tasty it was. The broth was really flavorful, and the noodles were perfectly cooked. I've only recently developed an udon addiction, but this is the best I've had in my brief obsession with this soup.
The whole shebang couldn't have set me back more than 10 bucks with tip, for a quick dinner that filled me up. Kudos!
This used to be a Teriyaki Boy, but I think that TB and Udon West are also affiliated so it shouldn't really matter.
This is THE place to go for a hot bowl of udon noodle soup during one of those brisk NY winter days. Their food is moderately priced (remember, this is Midtown) and GOOD. But then again, I am biased as I love anything udon.
Come here for fast Japanese comfort food, friendly service and a "comfortable" feel (aka NOT DIRTY).
Where did this place come from? It's about friggin time we had good Udon here!
I don't know what it is about Midtown East, but I've always had bad luck finding some good (inexpensive) eastern cuisine -- save for the the makeshift udon/sushi bar at Cafe Basil.
I bought a big container of fried bean curd udon for $7.50 -- enough to last through lunch and dinner.
Oh, hello, Udon West, nice to see you've moved above 14th Street. Say hi to your mother for me.
What's that, a bowl of veg-tempura udon for $7? Why, that's much cheaper than Menchenko around the corner, don't mind if I do.
And what do you know, it tastes better too. I like that. And god knows it tastes better than the Teriyaki Boy that used be in this location.
We should do a movie together sometime. Get yourself a telephone number so I can place a delivery order soon.
I went here for lunch earlier today -- I'm always welcome to new options in Midtown East as I feel that there's a dearth of decently cheap food in the area. Upon a quick glance, the restaurant looks like it can fit about 20 people seated. It's clean, the kitchen is open air so one can see the noodle bowls being prepared. The menu was laden with various appetizers and udon soup items, such as shrimp tempura udon and marinated beef udon all for around 8 bucks a bowl including tax. I decided on the marinated beef udon and brought it back to the office. I liked it. The udon had a nice chewiness to it, the beef was in small tender pieces (and also sprinkled about shredded). The broth WAS a little too salty for my liking and could've used a little more udon (caveat: i'm a carb dude).
I would definitely go back there again.
Sometimes first impressions are totally wrong. Walking into the new Udon West for the first time set my Spidey sense off. I thought that it looked too clean, and too bright. They didn't seem to be set up for lunch take-out, and they didn't even have a delivery menu.
All of those thoughts went out the window after I tasted it.
I got the pork cutlet bowl, and it was very good. Not only was the pork cooked fresh, but they did a very good job. It was thick and not overdone, without too much of the breaded outside. The bowl contents were good as well. Standard white rice, but the egg was the right consistency, the scallions were tasty, and it left me full.
Sure I'm sad that I can't get my eel platter from Teriyaki Boy any more, but this is probably better. Yeah, a bit on the expensive side, but I'll manage.
It's tasty. It's fast. It's udon!!
Udon West is a great lunch spot, especially when it's cold outside, nothing beats a hot bowl of noodle soup. I like how their udon noodle is cooked just tender enough, and you can have it with a big variety of flavors. In addition, they've just reduced their weekend Gyoza special to $2!! Talk about a deal. However, I'm not so sure about their Donburi offerings. For Donburi, I'd go to Donburiya on E47th St.
you can't go wrong with the udon here. the noodles have a good texture and the add-ons are freshly made. can't beat the value here.
udon with ebikaki-age is the most popular here but i find the tempura a little too oily. its neat to see the soft ball of rolled up vegetable and shrimp tempura but because of its size it just soaks up too much oil. i think you're better off ordering ebiten or goboten.
for the summer they offer cold udon and this is the way to if you love a noodle with springy texture. if you love slimy things then try the stamina udon which is piled high with mountain yam and if that wasn't slimy enough they added to this dish natto and raw egg yolk as well.
staff is very friendly and professional. dining room is new and clean. this place is nothing like the udon west in flushing. way better to come here.
It's just great to have a semi-fast food place in the area for lunch. Despite the numerous udon choices, you also get a selection of donburis: oyako don, niku don and katsu don. You pay a couple more dollars and you can have your donburi warm and freshly-made, fast; instead of those dull-looking and premade donburis at Café Zaiya or Café Zest. How great is that?
Service is definitely fast, place is clean, staff is generally nice and friendly. One thing I should remind you is that I always get really thirsty afterwards, which tells me that the broth is pretty loaded with MSG. I don't really mind MSG, but I thought you should know.
I'm not sure they are BYOB any longer. A week ago, we arrived for dinner with bottles of wine and they said they had their liquor license, but since it was early and there was only 1 other table occupied, they were accommodating and allowed us to drink our wine.
We had gyoza to start which tasted a little funny. We remained optimistic and went on to the Chicken Teriyaki and the Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura Udon. Chicken was decent and the tempura was a little greasy for my taste, but the noodles were fantastic - best part of the meal. They were actually so good that I'd gladly overlook the other meh-factors and visit again. There's a reason it's called UDON West: go for the udon.
Staff was consistently friendly and warm throughout meal - had a bit of trouble communicating at one point but were able to figure it out. Given the location, interior design, and menu (pictures included of every item), it seems to be more of a lunch spot. Udon was great though.
Found this place thanks to Yelp, now that usual spot for my family is under renovation.
This place rocks. The udon was fantastic - i got the gyu-don combo which is portioned to feed 2. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the choices were great.
The menu is extensive in the line of an izakaya - drinking bar - with a wide range of small plates. It's almost like a Japanese tapas bar.
The service was friendly and the greetings on the way in and out make you feel right at home.
If i had reviewed this place before today, this would have gotten 4 stars. But after today, I'm going to have to take one star away.
The food is pretty good and reasonably priced. There are different types of udon noodle soups, so it's not just the usual chicken or shrimp tempora. And the two times that I've come here before today, the service has been pretty good-- it doesn't really take that long to make udon. Then today came. I don't know what happened, but all i know is that i waited nearly 30 minutes for my udon. I was with my friend, so I didn't notice how much time had passed since i ordered. But people who came in after us got their food BEFORE us. My friend inquired about our order and they bought hers out. Thinking mine's would come shortly after, i didn't think to ask again. I ended up waiting another 10 minutes. I wasn't the only one who had to wait... another patron sitting next to me didn't get her food yet either, but her friend got her dish. Finally mine came and it was already 1pm... I was here at 12:25. Hungry and feeling pressured to make it back to the office in the hour, i hastily scarfed down my steaming hot fried chicken udon and not having time to fully savor this dish. Then we asked for the check and that (not surprisingly) came really fast. Hopefully this was just an off day...
I wanna say that i really really loved DIZ PLAYCE. Really. I have lived in Japan a bit and I would say this is pretty darn close to what you get over there. The price is right and the quality beeeee HIGH. I got the tonkatsu curry rice with a bowl of udon. The broth was especially good and the noodles seemed perfect. My only small complaint was that while the udon was crayzee taystee, the tonkatsu curry rice was missing that special something. Don't get me wrong, it was excellent- just lacked that weird special something you get with Japanese food in Japan. It's like they have this crazy magic spell that isn't available for casting on food over here. For me, it's a little hard to find really good Japanese food outside of Japan but this came pretty close. The waitress was friendly and even chased me down the street with my phone charger I left on the bar. Thanks waitress, i'll think of you every time I plug my phone in. I will definitely be back. Mata ne!
On a cold rainy day, I ducked into this place and found myself greeted en masse by the staff with shouts of "Irasshimasse!" I knew immediately I had found a Real Japanese noodle place. And it really was fabulous. I had a hot steaming bowl of uden along with a side of shrimp and vegetable tempura. The udon was chewy, but the tempura, oh the tempura, was just the right crunchiness, lightness and not greasy at all. I've lived in Japan, and this is the closest I've come to authentic Japanese food in NYC.The homemade gyoza? Even better than some of the places in Japan and are alone, definitely worth a special trip. I haven't even mentioned the black sesame ice cream which is just amazing. The only drawback is that, some Americans may not be accustomed to the "Japanese-size portions" but the prices are reasonable enough that you will be glad that you have an excuse to order more.
My search for real deal fried Japanese goodness came to an end at Udon West. Their croquettes were fried to perfection and their pork katsu with curry rice was amazing. Also, it was very generous portion of curry and rice. The prices for the lunch sets were also decent. I'll definitely be back for more next time I'm in the city.
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Neighborhood: Midtown East
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