Udon Mugizo — Restaurant in San Jose

This place was awful from the moment we entered the door. Unbearably loud music, coupled with a few other annoyances, makes this a place I won't go back to.

A friend of mine, and I, used to enjoy Ringerhut, which was at the same premises, before Udon Mugizo bought the place. We had remembered a nice, quiet Japanese diner with reasonable prices. The new establishment, Udo Mugizo, was none of that.

The music was unbearably loud from the moment we walked in until the moment we left. It was this thumpa-thumpa-thumpa pop that we measured at an average of 80 decibels using my phone's decibel app. And, it spiked well above that to 95! We had gone out for an evening of talking and eating, but we got no talking done. It was just too darn loud to hear each other. We could barely hear the wait staff. We asked them to turn it down, and they politely took our request to management, but we must have been outvoted, because the music never went down. Everybody in the place was yelling, but I don't blame them, because you had to be heard. Trouble is that that only added to the noise.

Right in the door, the hostess talked so fast we could barely understand her. When we asked her to slow down, she aid, "oh sure," and continued to talk a mile a minute. When we asked for a table for two, she told us to enter a phone # in her ipad and said they'd call us when a table was ready. Nice tech, but not the way I would have handled it. I think a classier thing to do would have been to say, "there's a 15 minute wait. You're welcome to wait here in the lobby, or, if you'll give us your phone #, we'd be happy to call you when a table becomes available."

They charge $2.50 for tea. Not a sin, but many of us assume that tea is complementary at Japanese restaurants.

The food was good, though my curry donburi was saltier than I like it. That item is only $6, which is a great price. The udon was $15 on up. They also don't have any wheat-free noodle soup dishes, which is difficult for someone like me who's allergic to wheat. I knew, going in, that it was an udon place (which is wheat noodles), but usually places like that offer soba, which is buckwheat noodles (which I can eat -- buckwheat is not wheat -- it's a separate, gluten free grain).

There's a special place in hell for patrons who give money to restaurants that blast their music. Loud music is for bars, night clubs, and restaurants with dance floors (which this place didn't have). My advice to management is to turn the music way down and switch to jazz. If they want something Japanese, there's nothing wrong with Keiko Mitsui or Kitaro.

My ears are still ringing and I'm sick to my stomach...

Went without reservation around 8pm on Sunday night. However, there was a wait with a few groups of people ahead…Strange as there was an area which was literally quite empty with 2 tables occupied but apparently they have finished their meals and the rest of the tables were ALL empty. Not sure why they didn’t try to accommodate anyone in that area, but instead gave a false sense of the restaurant being packed. Probably waited 10 min to be seated. My guess is they were trying to cordon off the area and not have more customers in that section. We were all seated in the adjacent area shortly after about 10 min of wait. My friend and I agreed that the restaurant was very cold; I could feel the restaurant had cold air draft. The temperature made the stay uncomfortably chilly and I usually prefer cold over hot surroundings too. I was also concerned that would cause my food to cool down rapidly. I had read some reviews prior to coming to the restaurant. Appeared to me that the cream udon, especially the Mentai cream sauce udon was popular and was raved about by other reviewers so I decided to give it a try since I do like Japanese Italian pasta. Unfortunately it was beyond salty for me. I finished the food since I was hungry but I couldn’t say I enjoyed it at all. It was an overload of sodium which overwhelmed the taste of the other ingredients. All I could taste was the extremely salty cream sauce. I understand that the seasoned cod roes and parmesan cheese combo might be the reason for that result but it should have been adjusted to make it more palatable. I was however able to finish the food by washing down the food with water. It’s a pity cos I had really looked forward to having it especially after the raving reviews I had read. Most Japanese restaurants serve this dish using ramen vs udon but none of them is as salty as this place. I should have done a soup udon instead. My friend chose the more traditional option of the nabeyaki udon and the only complaint was that the portion was small for the price that was charged. My regular portion was enough since I didn’t enjoy it. I did enquire with the server before leaving if it’s normal that the cream udon I had was so unusually salty to be enjoyed and he responded that he would convey the feedback to the kitchen. Anyway, based on my experience I can’t recommend this place and at this point I think the food...

I absolutely loved this restaurant! I have had the pleasure of dining here on multiple occasions, and each time has been a delightful experience. The restaurant maintains a high level of cleanliness, which is always appreciated. Although the place is often busy, I was pleasantly surprised by the minimal waiting time. It's evident that the staff efficiently manages the flow of customers, ensuring a smooth dining experience. During my last visit, I decided to try the salmon spinach cream sauce udon, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I do wish that there were more than just five thin pieces of salmon in the dish. Nevertheless, the flavors were delicious, and it left me wanting a bit more. One dish that truly stood out for me was the Tonkotsu soup. It was incredibly flavorful and had a generous amount of ingredients compared to the salmon soup. If you're looking to satisfy your appetite, I highly recommend trying the Tonkotsu soup. You won't be disappointed. As for appetizers, my go-to choice is always the takoyaki octopus. It never fails to impress, and I highly recommend ordering these delightful little bites. Overall, this restaurant has consistently delivered enjoyable dining experiences for me. The minor concern regarding the portion of salmon in the udon dish was overshadowed by the delectable flavors and the variety of options available. I highly recommend visiting this establishment and indulging in the Tonkotsu soup, along with the takoyaki appetizer. You...