Udon Mugizo — Restaurant in San Francisco

Udon Mugizo is a smallish restaurant tucked away in San Francisco Japantown's Kinokuniya (West Mall). Just opened two months ago, this restaurant features Japanese (fresh, literally made in the front window) udon (fat) noodles. We literally stumbled upon this restaurant while attending an art sale this weekend-we watched diners line up for this place and finally figgured it was good when the wait staff called a diner's name and he nearly ran over my teenager to claim his table! This place was literally packed to the rafters on 8pm on a Saturday night.

After a short wait, the three of us were seated in the front, near the window. I have to say, even though the place was bustling with business, the restaurant is laid out in such a way that we found our table relatively private and quiet.

The menu was filled with udon choices, from traditional to curry to modern creations that would satisfy most anyone familiar with Japanese food. The homemade broth was a standout and it was obvious the homemade noodles were perfectly fresh! My husband's and my udon were accompanied by a mini cake of tofu topped with a mini-spoonful of Japanese chili - for those who like a little spice in their life, this was a great accompaniment to the meal!

Oh, and just so you know, it is best to come hungry, as in REALLY hungry. The bowls are huge, as in bring a friend (or two) huge-and they don't skimp on the accompianments, either; each bowl is filled to the brim with whatever is ordered. I had the so called "mini-set", consisting of a "mini-udon" and donburi (a Japanese dish consisting of a seasoned protein (such as meat or fish) over rice and it could have comfortably satisfied two appetites for a relatively low price. There will be leftovers! Don't miss the udon parfait for dessert featuring fried udon (!), green tea ice cream, still warm wasabi mochi (not that spicy) drizzled with black honey! Unique and yummy, one serving comfortably shared with two adults and an older teen.

The wait staff was relatively fast, friendly and efficient for a bustling Saturday night. Upon learning we were first time diners, the waitress walked us through the menu and everyone, from the servers to the bussers were knowledgeable and happily answers our "newby" questions.

My enthusiastic recommendation is to GO! Bring an appetite, bring friends, plan and be prepared to wait, but be rewarded with a meal that won't...

I would have rated 5 stars, but there is unclear communication with the availability of their Signature Sea Urchin (Uni) Cream Sauce Udon. Restaurant opens at 11:00 and we were seated before 12. It was not a full house. Supposedly there’s only 20 orders made a day. The waitress did not tell us right away that it wasn’t available and when I tried to order it, she just said they don’t have it and will check with the kitchen…she did not say that they were just not offering it at all or whether it was sold out. It should be indicated on the menu or told right away to the customers that it is not available. Disappointed that I was not able to try it. Make sure you call for its availability if you’re specifically going here to eat that.

Otherwise, we were very pleased with all the dishes we ordered. The kid’s meal is a generous portion for those under 6. They were well prepared with a little bowl on the side so we could take the noodles out of the soup for my nephew to eat. They even gave plastic utensils and water in a plastic cup without us asking for it.

The Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen broth was rich and flavorful - not watered down and high quality. There were 5 pieces of thinly sliced and tender chashu. The ajitama egg was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The shrimp tempura was lightly battered and good. Tempura flakes gave a nice extra crunch and there was a nice amount of spinach inside.

The Mentai Cream Sauce Udon was also very delicious! Love all the toppings that are in it. The cream sauce is a good consistency - not too thick and not too watery. The mentaiko gets lost in the cream sauce if you mix everything together. Next time I would ask for it on the side and sprinkle in a little at a time.

The Sparkling Yuzu drinks in both White Peach and Red Shiso and Apple were so refreshing! You could taste a balance of all the flavors. The drinks weren’t too sweet and the carbonation wasn’t too strong. Perfect!

Restaurant was nice and clean. Service was basic - took your order, brought your food/drinks, and took care of the check. They didn’t check up on us while we ate. Quality of udon, food, and drinks...

I'm a big udon fan but it's difficult for me to find a good restaurant that serves it. Many years ago when they had the uni cream sauce udon this place was amazing. It definitely satisfied my cravings for a well made udon dish that is better than what I can make at home.

I wanted to relive that moment but it seems they have drastically changed since then. Not only do they not have the uni anymore, but the taste is different. I had the nabeyaki udon and my girlfriend had the mentai cream sauce udon.

The nabeyaki soup was so watered down and completely bland. Even the added spice seasoning available at the table couldn't save this dish. I also think the udon noodles are smaller than before. This change can be fine but I had random clumps of noodles together and inconsistent lengths. I wouldn't even be able to slurp the noodles if I wanted to because there are short strands in the bowl. It was strange, I've never seen that before. Aside from that, I didn't like that the shrimp tempura included was already soaking in the soup when served so it was soagy by the time I ate it. Lastly, the chicken wasn't seasoned and it tasted like boiled chicken thigh from Costco.

The mentai cream sauce udon should be renamed as parmesan cheese udon. While there was a bit of fish roe egg on top, once you mix it together the taste is very minimal. There was hardly any cream in it. Instead you get a thick cheesey taste similar to Mac n cheese but with udon. My girlfriend mentioned it was too salty as well.

We also shared the assorted tempura which actually does taste familiar from before and was well prepared.

Sadly I don't think I will return again. I would not recommend this to anyone especially when there are far better restaurants...