U:Don Fresh Japanese Noodle Station – University District — Restaurant in Seattle

TLDR: how to order (see below). Tempura is sold by the piece.

Fast food. Stools are square/cube shaped. One thing you'll notice is the viewing area for what's going on behind the counter while you wait--they post a sign that asks patrons to not take pictures. It kind of makes you wonder why.

Service: order along a line and pay at the end. Seat yourself. Bus your own table. Water yourself. There is a drink fountain if you purchase a drink. Table cleanliness seems to be kept up well.

How to order: Grab a tray and a plate Order one of the udon types listed above the tray area Server will ask if you want: green onions, ginger, or seaweed ($0.29 extra) toppings. Additional toppings listed and are an extra charge. Slide along the tempera bar and pick what you'd like (it's charged by the piece). I like this a lot since I'm picky. Complimentary tempera flakes! 5: Pay at the end. Tempura sauce is in a dispenser next to the register. Tonkatsu sauce will be handed to you in a small cup if you get items that go with it (ex. Potato croquette). Utensils will be handed to you. Tables have napkin dispensers.

Below are items I have tried.

Udon noodles: slightly tougher than most places. Not sure if it's because it's house made and supposed to be like that. Still tastes like udon.

Nikki Udon: Soup is good. Beef is cut very thin and I wish there was more of it. They might as well call it onion udon. Adding ginger as a topping didn't do much to the flavor.

Tempura Bar Items Kombucha: morning favorite! Tofu: it's ok. Not the best I've had. Very watery in the middle. Potato Croquette: average but still tastes good. Sweet Potato: average sweet potato. I think next time I'll grab...

Over the years, between the cap hill location and this one, I've eaten at U:Don 112 times (yes I've ordered delivery/pickup a lot, that's why I know the number). It was my favorite restaurant until recently. It's cheap, it's delicious, and it's pretty quick. For the last 5 years or so the U district location has consistently forgotten parts of my order and does not pick up the phone, making it hard to order pickup consistently or rectify any issues with my order. While this caused me to avoid this location in favor of cap hill, I occasionally still ordered from here when I had to.

Enter 2021: Recently, U:Don has started turning off delivery at peak hours. While this is a huge bummer for me, and the inconsistency makes it impossible to count on them, I understand that restaurants have trouble keeping up with the surge in demand and need to turn off access from the apps. However, three times now in the past 3 months this location has cancelled my order after accepting it, meaning I wait 45-60 minutes for my order to finish being prepared, watch 2- 3 driver's get turned away, only to have the restaurant cancel my order. This sucks for me and for the multiple drivers who drive all the way to the restaurant and don't get paid for their time. Whoever you hired recently to manage this location needs a...

We have been wanting to try the udon here, and we are soo pleased. It's cafeteria style where you grab a tray and order the udon, like some udon cafeteria in Japan. First you pick the udon style. They have S, M and L bowl size which I like so I dont overeat and can eat more tempura. We had the tantan goma zaru dipping udon and ume oroshi niku soup udon. We then chose the tempura variety that we like, the veggie tempuras were good. They put the tempura sauce in a thermos and you help yourself with it. The dipping udon was actually served cold, both sauce and noodle were cold, only the meat was warm. The sauce was a bit too sweet for me but still good and rich. The meat was okay. The soup udon was fantatic. If you are a fan of ume and daikon like me, you must try it. We also ordered a side of mentaiko. Only $1.50 for a scoop, what a deal. You can also order a side of white rice. Cant wait to come back for more! Btw street parking can be a bit challenging in U District. But we had a fun time strolling along University Way...