Mikaku Udon Bar — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

Food: 2 Stars Service: 4 Stars Ambience: 4 Stars Value: 3 Stars Overall: 3.25 Stars

Went to Mikaku Udon Bar with a friend last Thursday around 5PM, and it wasn't too busy. The atmosphere is lovely, decorated with Japanese-themed art and decor, which really adds to the experience. The warm lighting and traditional Japanese elements like the wood accents and art on the wall made it feel quite cozy and authentic. It was a relaxing place to sit down and catch up with a friend after a long day.

We started with the Buta as an appetizer, which was presented nicely. This dish was actually quite good, and as it comes with the salad in the middle, it complemented the dish well. For our mains, we ordered the Spicy Cream Udon and the Seafood Udon, as we were both craving something with a bit of heat. Unfortunately, despite the two chili pepper symbols next to these items on the menu, we found the dishes to be extremely mild—there was barely any spice at all. This was quite disappointing, especially since we specifically ordered these dishes for their advertised spiciness. We even checked with our server to make sure the order was correct, and she assured us it was.

The flavours overall were not bad, but nothing extraordinary. The Spicy Cream Udon had a creamy texture, and the noodles were cooked perfectly, with that nice chewy consistency that udon is known for. The seafood udon was also well-prepared in terms of udon texture, but the broth was quite mild, and there wasn’t much depth to the flavour. The seafood itself seemed fresh, but one area they really fell short was the shrimp—it wasn't deveined. As someone who cooks at home, I know that deveining shrimp is an important step, both for presentation and to avoid any off-putting taste. In this day and age, there are pre-cleaned shrimp options readily available at most grocery stores, so seeing the shrimp served with veins still intact made me question the attention to detail and overall quality control in their kitchen. It was a small detail, but one that left a negative impression.

Aside from the shrimp issue, the udon itself was quite nice. The udon were bouncy with a pleasant chew, and it was clear that they know how to cook their noodles well. The portions were generous, and the ingredients used seemed fresh, which I appreciated. The atmosphere and the quality of the udon noodles were definitely the highlights of the experience.

However, despite these positives, the overall experience felt a bit underwhelming. The lack of spice in dishes that were marked as spicy was a major letdown, and the menu itself didn't offer anything particularly unique or exciting that would make me want to return. The options were quite basic, and while they were executed adequately, there was nothing that really stood out or differentiated Mikaku Udon Bar from other Japanese restaurants in the area. Given the competitive landscape of Japanese cuisine, especially in a city with so many great options, I think it's important for a restaurant to have a signature dish or a unique twist that makes it special, and unfortunately, I didn’t find that here.

Overall, while the food was okay, and the atmosphere was lovely, there wasn’t enough to make me want to come back. The menu options felt quite standard, and similar dishes can easily be found at other Japanese restaurants—many of which offer a bit more in terms of flavour and creativity. If you're looking for a cozy spot with decent udon, it might be worth a visit, but if you're after bold flavours or something truly memorable, you may want to explore other options.

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Alright for the price, and service was efficient despite how busy it was for the Saturday dinner rush. We didn't see our servers a lot because it was so crowded and they were juggling a lot of tasks, but they were friendly enough and did not try to rush any parties despite the obvious need for turning over tables to accommodate the demand.

My group ordered the Maze, oden, and spicy seafood udons. Spicy seafood was probably the least impressive in light of it being the priciest - the red pepper was very present and dominated the flavour profile, so it was hard to pick out the seafood flavour unless you were actually eating a piece of seafood. The actual seafood was also a bit underwhelming: I wouldn't be surprised if it came out from a frozen seafood medley bag, although the mussels were decent. The udon itself was probably the best part, but to be honest, it is on par with mid-tier frozen udon you can buy at an Asian grocery store. Portion sizes were also smaller than we expected - I'm not confident that each bowl had the equivalent of one block of grocery store frozen udon, and would not be surprised if it was less than.

I sampled the oden soup, and similarly, it had a strong black pepper flavour that I felt overwhelmed the broth. I personally didn't try the Maze, but received feedback from my companions that it was "decent but not particularly special", which seems to sum up our collective opinion of this place. For the price, I guess we can't complain as dishes were 15-20 dollars per bowl before tax and tip, but you can definitely get much better udon and broth in Toronto (both downtown or in the suburbs) for paying a bit more. Alternatively, I don't think it would be that difficult to recreate similar dishes at home with a bit of ambition and cooking skill, so I can't say I understand the hype in the reviews. Again, decent, but neither the taste nor value are enough for us to want to come back for a...

Mikaku Udon Bar is a cute little restaurant that has a range of flavors on their tasty yet simplistic menu.

Food: The food came out quick and is quite reasonably affordable however if you have a big appetite, I'd suggest to order a little something extra!

Chicken Curry Udon (Soup-less) - A thick and creamy base, topped off with crispy chicken with green onions to garnish. The flavour is rich, and pairs perfectly with the different textures that the dish carries. Udon was perfectly cooked and carried a nice chew and bounce. The chicken was still crispy and steaming hot. Nice and hearty but does get a little salty if you prefer your food on the lightly salted end. 8/10

Maze Udon (Soup-less) - Udon with special sauce, dried bonito, minced pork, green onion, chives, garlic, dried seaweed, egg yolk, and sesame. Vinegar is put on the side incase you want to add it in. Once you finish the noodles, a bowl of rice is delivered for you to mix the leftover sauce with. Its like a 2 in 1 dish! This was my favourite dish by far as it was so umami. You definitely need to try this dish! 9.5/10

Tako Wasabi (Side) - Diced octopus salad. Tastes pretty similar to most I've had but has a kick of freshness to it. Loved snacking on this before our dishes came 7.5/10

Chicken Karaage - boneless crispy fried chicken. 7.5/10

Note: also received a side dish of pickled cucumber/celery and cabbage salad per person. Great way to balance out the saltiness of the heavier dishes.

Service - Quick and Kind. 9/10

Atmosphere - Small and quaint with a modern yet homey vibe. As long as it doesn't get too busy I quite like it there....