Udon Mugizo

I never really understood why you would order udon at a restaurant until I went to the homemade udon places in Hawaii and LA, and I grew a greater appreciation when I tired to make my own udon noodles it was a lot more work than I had thought. The best part of great udon is the chewiness of the noodles, and unfortunately I found the noodles here just okay. The prices are a bit high for what you get, and (to me) the quality isn’t there.

This is my second time at this restaurant. I went after 7pm both times and was seated right away but not sure if there would be any queue before then. Although, the food comes out quite slowly, waited for about 10, almost 15 minutes for a dish.
Overview of the food:
Sukiyaki nabeyaki udon — what made me come back is the sukiyaki nabeyaki udon. As a sukiyaki lover, I absolutely love this dish! The soup makes it delicious — not too sweet or salty. Crack the slightly cooked egg yolk and let it ooze into the soup to add even more flavor. I ordered this both times I came here. Got my bf to try it and he ended up liking it a lot too.
Uni cream udon — this caught my eye since the first trip, who doesn’t love some uni goodness? This turns out to be slightly too creamy for me. The first few spoonfuls was good but becomes too overwhelming after a while (but I have a rather low tolerance to creamy/​cheesy food). There were bits of uni mixed into the sauce but no big pieces, although the uni is not that fresh.

This place has been on my list to try for a while because of their uni cream udon. I have read some okay reviews about it and my boyfriend had it before & thought it was good, we ended up coming here last night before our paint nite date. We got there 15 minutes before they opened, so we killed time at the stationary and book store around the area. We then walked in right away and got seated by the host/​waiter
I’m a huge noodle person and love trying different styles of noodles around the city! This is probably the only restaurant I know of in SF that has many specialties in udon (and they have soba as well). From hot udon noodle soup to cold udon, this place has it all. I was impressed with the selection they had right from the get go. I got their uni cream (price is now $ 16.50), and my boyfriend got a pint of Asahi and their shabu kobe udon ($ 13). Service was very fast and the portion sizes are HUGE and have lots of noodles. I’ve seen pictures/​my boyfriend told me how the uni cream udon used to look; my portion didn’t have too many big chunks of uni :(there was some roe and green onion to top it off, but not like how it used to be. Most of the uni was mixed in with the sauce in which little pieces were found. They use parmesan to create the cream sauce, so overall the sauce was a little more cheesy than I would like it to be. My boyfriend’s udon was good and we both felt the meat pieces were cooked nicely since they were at a consistency of medium rare to rare. The broth didn’t have much flavor but the noodles and meat was good.
Overall 3.5 stars and it’s a good place for a unique selection of udon specialties, but I don’t think i would come here too often since I don’t crave udon too much. If you happen to be in Japantown, it’s worth trying if you haven’t before!

Prices have gone up about $ 1.50-$ 3 since they opened a year and a half ago.
I’m really glad that they added the donburi + mini udon combo to the menu. It’s a really good deal since this is practically two meals. The ‘mini’ udon seems barely smaller than a regular sized udon at some restaurants. I’d definitely be back for that!
The quality of the udon has remained top notch — homemade and ‘al dente’ (chewy and bouncy). The soup was very tasty and drinkable too.
The salmon and spinach cream sauce udon was also quite good. The cream sauce was like a light pesto sauce. The best part was the salmon was very high quality, nicely sliced, and had a generous portion size. I could definitely see the ribbons of fish fat running through it. I thought that it would be quite tender, and the salmon practically melted when I bit into it.
So glad there’s a dedicated udon restaurant where I can get my udon fix!

I was in JapanTown playing tourist for the weekend, and stumbled upon Udon Mugizo. I like udon, but rarely go out for it. On a Sunday at 7pm there was no wait, and I was seated immediately. I ordered the kakiage udon as well as a side of the California Inari. The Inari was not bad. Lots of crab sitting on top of some rice inside an inari. The udon — the star of the show — was pretty good! I had never tried kakiage udon before, and I enjoyed it. The broth had a really strong bonito taste, but when you mixed in the tempura the balance was much better. If I go back, I’ll still probably order the udon but I’d like to order the ½ order of udon with a ½ order of rice/​don. The service was super quick, and I was in and out in no time. Overall a really positive experience! For $ 22 incl. tip, I left completely stuffed and happy.

This review is based on my lunch visit this past week during which I ordered the cream of sea urchin udon. The decision was based on certain reviews I read and seeing the photos. The item was definitely great. I loved the taste. It was creamy and rich though, therefore it’s easy to get the sluggish after-​lunch feeling. The price was $ 16.50 and therefore will be a worthy consideration sometimes.
Note that here they charged for San Francisco employee health tax, which got my meal was 50 cents. I admit I have mixed feelings about restaurants doing this.

Unfortunately I have to update my review based on my most previous experience.
We waited around 40 minutes for a party of 7, and they mistakenly gave our table to another party. My friend noticed and immediately asked about it. They admitted the mistake, but did not unseat the group (the other group was literally just walking in to the table) as I have seen other restaurants have done in the past in the same scenario. If the other group had already ordered, this would have made more sense. But they were JUST walking into the restaurant when we pointed out this mistake.
In spite of this, we said that we were okay with being split into two tables of four and three. However, after waiting even longer, they seated other parties of four before us. When we inquired about this, they simply told us that we would have to wait for 30 more minutes, without any apology whatsoever.
Although the food is good, I am really disappointed by the service. No restaurant should treat their customers this way.

I had lunch here with a coworker several months ago, and we both enjoyed our food very much! This restaurant was inside one of the main buildings in Japantown, but since there are so many restaurants in that general area it actually wasn’t too busy during lunch hour. We were seated as soon as we arrived, and the waitress was friendly and fast. My coworker and I each ordered a meal from the lunch menu that came with a main course and a mini udon, and were surprised by the generous portion for both. The prices for lunch were very reasonable, and with the large portions we were able to save the leftovers for one more meal. I ordered the Oyako Donburi with mini udon, and got a whole tray of delicious food! The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice too, perfect for a low key lunch place to catch up with a friend.

I never really paid much attention to this place, but one day we decided to check it out, and I’m really glad we did!
Definitely one of the best food options in the Japantown Mall. It’s located right next to Sophie’s Crepes and Kinokuniya Bookstore. The udon noodles are made fresh and they have a really great variety of udon, soba noodle dishes, tempura, and donburi (rice bowls).
Prices are fair, food is solid, and the food presentation is nice too.
We tried the Sea urchin cream udon (uni pasta) — The uni pasta came in a huge portion and it was extremely heavy. A good way to describe it is a heavy uni-​flavored alfredo sauce over udon noodles. It was topped with some chunks of uni and fish roe. It tasted good, but it was really heavy. I suggest getting this dish to share with 3+ people. It’s too much for one person.
Oyako donburi (chicken over rice) + mini udon soup set — it was nicely portioned (enough food for 1) and everything tasted great. The udon noodles are al dente and the broth was clear and tasted nice.
I definitely want to come back and try the other noodle soup items.

Portions are big enough for 2 people!
Katsu Curry Udon: great flavors, curry is thick, carrots and sadly just one piece of potato, and super tender beef slices in addition to the Katsu. Katsu was okay, it was sort of dry and too much batter to taste the chicken. $ 15 for a bowl is pretty expensive for this dish, but highly recommend to split for 2 servings!
Shabu Shabu Udon: tastes similar to hot pot style but a little sour. The dish came out warm so it wasn’t as appetizing as I’d like, it should be served hot so it soothes the throat. The peanut sauce is delicious with the beef slices.
Overall this place is def a 3 star place, it’s decent if you’re craving udon but it’s pretty pricey unless you split with someone else.

Delicious udon place located on the second floor in japan town next to Sophie’s crêpe! We were really hungry, so we decided to have some udon instead of kbbq since we didn’t want to make another stop.
For appetizers, we ordered seaweed salad, agedashi tofu, and takoyaki. They were all on point! Super delicious! The takoyaki, compares to the other ones that I’ve tried, portion was bigger and more meat inside. The agedashi tofu was soft and crunchy, which makes the dish even more delicious.
I ordered the Kobe shabu udon! My friends ordered the donburi combo and the Korean kimchi udon. I loved the Kobe shabu udon because of the sauce and the Kobe beef! The sauce made the soup super creamy, which add more flavors to the broth. Highly recommended the Kobe shabu udon! And if you’re a fan of spicy food, request for peppers on the side ;).
The food was amazing and it was definately worth the wait!

This place was solid, and I want to come back here to try some of their more popular dishes. I ordered the sukiyaki nabeyaki udon with extra udon. The broth was flavorful and delicious, especially on a cold night. I would have preferred a little more meat and content to the dish to make it something truly memorable. I also wish that the extra udon noodles were put into the dish instead of the side — reason being that the side noodles were served in a very light (almost flavorless soup) which had a noticeably different taste than my actual bowl of noodles.
Service could have also been a little more attentive. No one really checked in on us throughout the meal, and we had difficulty getting attention if we needed water refills. The restaurant was not super packed, so a little more effort on their end to take care of us would have been nice. I was only able to get someone’s attention as we were handed the bill, and the payment part, of course, was a very fast transaction.

Service was average, no restroom in the restaurant, but didn’t have to wait too long to be seated on a Friday evening.
Agedashi tofu ~6
Udon and oyako don combo ~12
Sukiyaki nabeyaki udon ~14
Extra udon ~2
I didn’t have the nabeyaki udon but was assured it was good. The tofu was average and drenched in sauce. I’d give it ³⁄₅ stars. The udon was bland but was good on a cold night however the udon (which apparently is made in house) has a weird texture. The oyako don was bathing in a soy sauce brine. It also came with a big bowl of rice that probably needed to be mixed together.
Wouldn’t mind never coming back here but definitely trying other things if I do.

I realized that I can’t live without Japanese food more than 3 days. I was craving Sushi, Udon or Soba so bad in San Francisco after 3 nights in Napa.
I searched this place MUGI ZOU in Japantown San Francisco!
Saba Aburi Sushi was yum!
Unfortunately neither the dipping sauce or Kake Soup needed to be progress. Lack of DASHI. However Tempura Kamaage Udon made me so happy and comfort!

What $ 14+ will get you at Udon Mugizo:
1) A server who has already checked out for the day
2) Tea
3) A large bowl of thin tasting curry soup, slightly overcooked udon noodles, and a few lonely pieces of potato and carrot.
4) A grungy soup ladle the size of your head.
5) Some crisp and non-​greasy shrimp and veggie tempura.
6) Most importantly, close proximity to Sophie’s Crepes.

So excited they I found out that San Francisco opened a udon restaurant and the fact they have UNI Cream Udon. I had the best creamy udon in LA at Marugame Monzo. It was completely amazing and mind blowing how good it was. There I was so excited when my friends decided to come here.
I got their uni cream udon. What a DISAPPOINTMENT! The uni was not fresh and I didn’t even get any uni on top. It was topped with roe. It was so fishy, that it was hard for me to eat. So lucky I got the California Inari Roll, which was super delicious. The udon noodles itself was really good but the uni cream was not good at all.
Not saying I’m not coming here but I wont be getting the uni cream. I had some of my friends soup udon and it was so much better.

My friend and I came at 7:30 on a sunday night. There was only a 5 minutes wait.
I had the Katsu Curry Udon and my friend got the Sea Urchin Cream Udon.
The Katsu Curry Udon was underwhelming. I didn’t like there curry that much. The katsu was pretty standard. Anyway, for $ 14.50, i thought i was a little expensive for the Katsu Curry Udon even though the portion was huge.
I tried the soup of my friend’s Sea Urchin Udon. I was quite creamy and seafood-​y .
Anyways, if I comeback next time, i will try the traditional tempura udon. But this restaurant is most likely not in my favorite list.

I’ve been wanting to try Udon Mugizo for a while now but have been hesitant seeing the 3.5 star rating, especially after having udon in Japan. The reviews seem to vary so much between people who loved Udon Mugizo and people who were very unimpressed.
A sudden udon craving hit me, so the bf and I decided to give this place a try. We came by at 8 p.m. on Sunday and there was no wait, and the place was pretty empty. We were greeted and seated right away, and menus came shortly. There was a bit of wait time between us getting menus and getting our order in. I think the setup of the restaurant isn’t the most efficient in terms of providing service. Where the staff hangs out makes it hard for them to really see if anyone needs something =/​Because of that, the service was slow even though the staff was nice.
After we ordered, we got our waters super quickly and food came withing 15 minutes I think. Holy gigantic bowls of udon!!! I thought they’d give you an average-​sized serving, but one order could definitely feed two people *_​_​_​*! You get what you pay for at $ 12 average per bowl.
Pumpkin tempura: saw this and I HAD to have it since it’s my favorite. The pumpkin is sliced thinly, and the batter was nice and crisp without being too heavy. I prefer thicker slices of pumpkin, but no big deal here
Kobe shabu shabu udon: yum! The broth was salty, but had good flavor. The beef comes almost fully cooked, and finishes cooking in the hot broth. The «ponzu» they give you for this udon is more of ponzu mixed with gomadare, meh. The noodles were good and not overcooked/​soggy. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this and enjoyed it.
Katsu curry udon: boyfriend enjoyed this very much!
Because the bowls of udon were so huge, we were too full to try the udon parfait. Next time!

Rating: 3.5
I’ve been wanting to try this place, their creamy uni udon sounded very appetizing and looked amazing in pictures.
Came here around 6PM and got seated right away. I got the creamy Uni Udon and my boyfriend got the Slice Kobe Beef Udon. The portions were pretty big and comes in a big bowl. I wasn’t too impressed with mine, it was not hot enough, kind of cold. It didn’t have enough uni flavor, pretty watered down and I felt like it was just heavy milk. They BARELY had any uni in the udon, quite disappointing. My boyfriend enjoyed his kobe beef udon, it came with a nice sauce to good with the beef. The meat was decent.
I think if mine was more hot I would of enjoyed it more. I did see a lot of people order the curry udon, it looked pretty good.

I’ve always been told that Japanese food isn’t great in Japantown, which has been true… until I came to Udon Mugizo.
The cream-​based udon looked amazing so my friend and I tried the sea urchin and cream sauce udon, as well as the chicken and mushroom with mentai cream sauce udon. Some people might find the cream sauce too heavy for their liking, but I loved it. It was creamy but not overpowering. I was extremely tempted to drink the sauce after finishing the noodles…
I did wish there were more mushrooms in the chicken and mushroom udon, BUT the chicken was fried and then dunked back into the cream sauce, making it crispy but soft at the same time. Overall, highly recommend this place and definitely want to come back to try some of the other udons on the menu.
PS. the udon here is also handmade and pretty chewy