Kinzō Udon — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Kinzō has mastered the art of Japanese fried chicken. I would contend it is the best fried chicken in all of Minnesota and also better than a lot of fried chicken you’ll find in Japan (I lived in Japan for 3 months, and this is quite the claim). Very flaky exterior, very moist interior, good spicy mayo to dip it in, perfection all-around. This fried chicken could launch its own chain and should be sold at the State Fair. I come here primarily for a piece of fried chicken and get udon as a “side” ;)

The udon soup broths have improved much since they first opened. The noodles themselves are excellent in flavor and consistency. I like the tonkotsu with sliced beef the most. The curry udon without any additions is also very good. I didn’t think the spicy tonkotsu was that spicy (by the Japanese or Minnesotan standard) and don’t find it worth the extra price; should try it again soon. I think 2 char-siu slices should be included with the add-on instead of one, but anyway. Sometimes I like to get 2 tempura vegetable patties and plop them in the tonkotsu whilst eating it - some udon shops in Japan do this with bowl-sized tempura swirls that are very eye-catching, but using smaller ones ensures it does not get soggy so fast. I found the gyudon bowl very dry and in need of red pickled ginger; would like to try it again.

Overall this should be on everyone’s list of lunch spots for the...

I loved my dashi broth udon! The noodles were excellent and I could tell they were fresh. Great broth flavor that overwhelmed the beef, so I'll try a different combination next time. The egg was a good addition, making the bites with yolk creamy and rich. The fried sides were also wonderfully crispy and tasty, though they were only warm. I came at an odd time, so I understand, but I can only imagine how much better the shrimp tempura and chikuwa would be if they were hot. Cozy atmosphere with cute paper lanterns. Good value and nice that a person can get whatever suits them! Service is very fast, to the point where I spent more time looking at the menu than waiting for my food!

Update: Karaage chicken is absolutely killer! It outshone the tonkatsu udon and shrimp shumai, which were both good, but the chicken was moist and flavorful beyond belief. I now know what the hype is about!

Update 2: The calamari and creamy udon are also stellar! Calamari is crunchy and light, making it a perfect appetizer. The creamy udon was also well worth the short wait. The lemon provided for the shrimp gave the creamy sauce that extra level to really take the cake. The fish eggs were also great, adding plenty of smoky umami and saltiness. I finished with taiyaki and it was wonderful. Crisp shell and gooey middle with a...

I was really excited to try this place out since I love udon, and went to its birthplace while I was in Japan last year. I left a bit disappointed. Everything felt like they had good intentions and were trying to go for something more authentic but just didn’t quite get it right.

Tried curry and dashi. Curry was a bit soupy and not as flavorful as I’d like but ok. Dashi was simple and decent. Noodles (probably the most important part) were not quite as chewy as I like, but over satisfactory. Side items had been sitting out for a long time and were very dry- maybe better depending on when you go. I recommend the fish cake- nice to have to dip on your broth. Tables were a bit messy despite having a lot of staff working at the time. Also it was annoying that I had to peel the egg myself. The egg is cooked very soft (I liked) which made it really hard to peel, and ended up falling apart and half on the floor. Overall felt like they didn’t quite get it right and a bit disappointing based off of what I was seeing...