Udon Mugizo - San Mateo — Restaurant in San Mateo

It was a 20 minute wait before seated for mid week lunch. The total experience was worth the wait.

There was retractable barrier belt in front of the restaurant to clearly mark where the line begins. There was no sign-up sheet. It is waiting in line for first come first serve. The front facade is modern and clean. There were four 4-tops in the outside balcony. It was a chilly day so I am happy when we got a 4-top table in side.

Inside is well decorated as well. Tip: grab a to-go menu if you want pictures of what the dish look like; the sit-down menu has no pictures. I ordered assorted tempura, regular cream, large curry udon, and large tonkotsu udon. We have left overs to take home for the three of us.

I enjoyed the cream udon with fish roe. It is creamy, cheesy, and soothing. Udon has the right chew like pasta (not as chewy as al dente). Curry has the right spice. The tonkotsu ramen looks nice but I did not try.

All in all, I will return. The food comes out really fast like 5 minutes after ordering. Servers took our order, brought water, refilled water, and took payment. The...

Almost my first time trying udon, and I absolutely loved it! We ordered the nabeyaki udon, and it was excellent. the broth was light yet full of flavor, and the udon noodles were cooked to perfection. The shrimp tempura that came with it was crispy and satisfying and not greasy at all. Would recommend this udon.

We also tried the seiro mushi, which is a complete meal featuring steamed vegetables, unagi, tempura, and a mini udon. If you’re hungry, definitely go for this. The unagi is served with a sweet and umami sauce. While I usually don’t enjoy sweet flavors in savory dishes, I still found the overall dish to be worth trying.

The service was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable, making for a really pleasant dining experience. The portion size is generous. The only downside is the wait: be sure to sign up on Yelp to join the queue, as it can get busy. That said, for this level of quality, the wait is...

Located in 3rd Avenue in Downtown San Mateo. This is the best Japanese Udon restaurant! Handmade udon noodles, rich broth and delicious side dishes. The mentaiko cream sauce udon dish was creamy like a fettuccine with Parmesan cheese as opposed to a broth. The dish comes with a scoop of red mentaiko fish eggs, which is salty and adds a balance to the creamy sauce. The Nabeyaki udon was prepared like a classic Japanese dish, fried tofu, shrimp tempura in a shoyu broth. I also recommend a side order of their crispy shrimp tempura, which comes with grated daikon. Perhaps one of the best surprises was their yaki onigiri: 2 fried rice balls, one served with smoked salmon and ikura. The second was served with mentaiko and Parmesan cheese. Be sure to...