Udon West
“My sister tried a bowl of udon but she actually liked the broth better in the udon sets.”
“There is a self-served water dispenser on the opposite side from the bar seatings.”
“Shrimp tempura was fairly small to me but I've never seen big shrimp tempura in the city yet so it is good enough to me.”
Udon West
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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If this review was based on how full you are after eating such an inexpensive meal, this place would receive 5 stars. But it's not. The point of this review is to describe the quality and taste compared to other restaurants.
I've been venturing here for the past three years. Every visit is just A-OK.
The broth tends to be either flavorless or too greasy. The noodles always seem to taste like they were frozen at one point. The tuna don is okay but nothing special.
The food here is mediocre at best.
It's a good place to fill your tummy not to enjoy quality food.
3.5 stars.
I'm conflicted because yes it is cheap, and I guess the quality sort of does match the price. I ordered the gyu-don set for 10.50. Gyu-don bowl comes with white rice and a bit of pickled radish/red onions? Udon was fairly plain and had 2 slices of that artificial meat and chopped up green onions. Service is fairly inattentive, I noticed the waitresses who worked there spoke Japanese. I don't know if that is the sort of culture in Japanese restaurants, where you don't follow up with the customer to ask how they are doing..?
There is a booth sort of area in the back with two tables. For the most part, people sit at the bar. The place is small and probably fits around 20 people maybe?? They also have donkatsu which is like a pork curry with rice. I may try that next time if I go.
They don't offer water and I didn't realize that you could get our own water from the machine until we were leaving. Gyoza is $5 for 5 pieces, I thought that was kind of pricey in comparison with the rest of the menu!
I came here not too long ago to grab a little food and meet up with a friend. We ended up, each with our own bowls of Udon and a plate of Kaarage (japanese marinated fried chicken) and just relaxed chit chatting.
The only thing is that we weren't allowed to have a table since it was just 2 of us and they needed at least 3 people for a table, of which they only have 2, so – go in a pair and not more since you'll need to sit next to each other to talk.
Other than that – the food is pretty good nothing special, but tasty. I'd come back with just one other person to talk and have food.
Pretty good Japanese food in the East Village at affordable prices. My best friend and I got here at around 1pm and we were able to snag two bar seats. I had originally wanted to sit at the regular tables but I actually liked the bar seating because it lets you see the cooks prepare your food right in front of you. The server was very nice and attentive. The place is small but definitely not the smallest establishment I've been to. Water is self serve and you have to get up yourself to get it but if you strategically sit at the two bar seats right in front of the water dispenser, you can just turn around and get it without getting up #smartidea
Chicken katsu curry- The curry was very tasty. I liked it better than the one at Go Go Curry since the one here had a nice spiciness to it. The curry at Go Go Curry was just sweet and not spicy at all. In terms of the katsu, Go Go Curry wins because it's a little crispier and they give bigger portions. Here, they only give 5 pieces of katsu. The portion of the rice is huge though so you will be full.
Spicy tuna don/udon combo- My bro got this and I got to try a little of it. My bro liked how the udon noodles were very soft but not too mushy and I really enjoyed the broth that it was cooked in. The spicy tuna tasted very fresh and they do give a reasonable portion of it.
We ended up splitting a $25 check, which I would say is pretty worth it for lunch in Manhattan. The portion sizes are fair and the service was good. The food itself was alright, nothing too special. I would say to come here if you work around the area and are looking for an affordable place for lunch.
2.5-3 stars. This place solidified my general view on the the myriad of Japanese spots/casual joints lining St. Marks: fast, hearty and solid food for cheap but definitely mediocre quality at best.
I ordered the shrimp and veggie tempura udon bowl per one of the waiter's suggestions. It was extremely filling but really very basic. There were only 4-5 shrimps total. The tempura "veggies" we're basically strips of fried onions and the occasional carrot.
It's not my cup of tea, but I can't complain that much because it was really cheap and the wait wasn't too bad at all. If you're looking for quality udon though, prepare to be disappointed.
Super affordable meals. I ordered the combo set which comes with udon and a rice bowl with beef for eleven dollars and not only was it delicious and tastes like home, it was filling. Sitting at the bar is super interactive cause you can see the chefs make your food. I'd come back no doubt.
My go to place to grab a quick bowl of noodles with a friend when I'm in a rush. Emphasis on A FRIEND since it's a small place and they don't seat you if you have a lot of people. I say a party of 3 or less is the safe route to take. Not a fan of their rice but their seaweed with simmered beef udon noodles always hit the spot.
Cheap? How cheap?? Cheap as Hell?!
This may (or may not) have been the line of questioning that transpired between myself and my one friend who had been singing Udon West's praises for the past couple months. Japanese food is almost a passion of mine, with the simple yet deep flavors evoking memories of my times abroad… oh so long ago; plus, those Japanese peeps stay pretty slim, so the food must be relatively healthy, yeah?
After weeks of a mutual inability to find a day to meet up, the stars finally aligned, and we were able to check this place out (while adding an additional two persons to our dining party). I should warn that coming to this place squad deep is not the best idea… with four in our group, we were easily the largest party; luckily we had arrived just before the dinner rush crowd, so we were promptly seated. That being said, there was a number of groups of 3-5 people deep that had to wait until my dining party had eaten to completion.
Our uber idiosyncratic waitress was super snappy, but not pushy, and ultimately entertaining; granted, yours truly has a strange appreciation for such characters (depending on the time and the place)… but I can totally understand how it can be a negative for most. Essentially, waitress knew that more would be coming after us, and that despite our collective need to socialize, it was neither the time or the place for any of that; we pretty much needed to eat (and leave).
It was kinda fun, having to rush through our orders, with the waitress repeating our orders to herself in rapid succession so that she didn't forget. In the end, she got my order right, so that's all I have to say about that.
For less than $10, I got myself a fried pork cutlet over a heap of rice and curry (katsu curry). The portion was super generous, and the katsu was much larger than the pictures had me expect. The curry was beautifully flavored… totally worth the asking price. Everyone else got an udon dish (they each expressed their approval).
In the end, we were in and out at the snap of a finger. Despite the hasty in and even hastier out, the line was still quite sizable… might I suggest that you either fly solo to this place, or, come here at odd ends and times with a group no larger than 4 if you would like to sit, eat super tasty food, then get the hell outta there (as quickly as possible).