Yamamotoyahonten — Restaurant in Nagoya

28/12/24 - 4.5 stars

Our taxi driver recommended this chain of restaurants to us to try one of Nagoya's specialty cuisines: (red) miso udon. The restaurant is immensely popular and, even at 6, it was already full with lines forming. Heaps of locals eat here which is a reassuring sign. Service and decor are top notch with attentive and friendly wait staff. They provided us with an English menu immediately after we sat down which was helpful.

Miso udon stew (with oysters) Soup: SS, 9/10. Thick enough to coat the udon but thin enough to drink. Very umami and rich as expected Udon: SS+, 9.5/10. Never had udon as al dente as this before. Delicious Toppings: S, 8/10. Oysters were nice but the "cochin chicken" was fairly ordinary Value: B, 6/10. $34 is a bit expensive. I do wonder if there is a tourist tax included in the...

As a traditional and long-standing udon restaurant, their food reflected a unique recipe of their own cuisine. I liked its interior wooden design and the professionalism of the staff.

As for the food, the fresh tofu and cold udon were delicious. I found the miso soup udon rather special and I must agree with some other reviewers that the soup was rather salty and strong - it tasted liked an old recipe being passed down generations. Personally I prefer lighter flavour but do come if you are an udon...

One of Nagoya's delicacies: Kishimen. Thin Tagliatelle style noodles in a wonderful mysterious broth I couldn't really tell apart what it contained and "sansei" (mountain vegetables?). My apologies in advance for any misspelling but nonetheless it was worth all the way.

My advice: for all miso lovers, get the miso infused side dish! I forgot the name but the photos speaks for...