Marugame Udon opened a couple of weeks ago in Sawtelle Japantown. Simply stated, this area is bounded by Centinela to the west, Santa Monica Blvd to the north, the 405 to the east and Pico Blvd to the south. What caught my attention is the fact that the parent company also owns the namesake in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The line in front of Marugame Udon
Since my mom lives nearby in West LA, I invited her out to lunch. After picking her up, we arrived 10 minutes after their opening time and were surprised to see a lot of people already lined up. Parking wasn’t easy because the streets off of Sawtelle require residential permits.
The restaurant is set up for cafeteria-style ordering. Once inside, you select your udon (reg, small, hot or cold). Prepared tempura is available by the piece. Diners can select items like shrimp, squid, asparagus and sweet potato.
The cafeteria style setup facilitates quicker ordering. Diners don’t have to wait for a server to arrive at your table. Tempura is already prepared and may be selected by the individual piece. Rice bowls topped with spicy tuna or chirashi are also available as either side dishes or your primary meal.
Condiment station
The condiment station is rather unique. Toppings such as tempura flakes, ginger, wasabi, green onions and cilantro are available for customizing the udon or rice bowl to your liking. Soy sauce, dashi sauce and warm tempura sauce is also conveniently placed for self serve operation. People that enjoy customizing their dish will have a lot of fun here.
Tofu Salad with sweet potato and asparagus tempura
My mom leans towards vegetarian and selected the Tofu Salad. This was a cold salad that included tomato, crispy onion, douchi paste and sesame ginger dressing. She also selected sweet potato and asparagus tempura to accompany her salad. She told me afterwards that the toppings really made this dish tasty and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience (despite the line).
Nikutama Udon with tempura side
Prior to that day, I did a little research and preselected Nikutama. As we pulled up towards the ordering station, I was amused that two customers ordered Nikutama as well as the guy behind me. Kake sauce with yakiniku beef and a soft boiled egg was mixed into the udon. My tempura choices were shrimp, asparagus and squid tempura. Since they also had karaage, I selected that as well.
Marugame Udon makes their noodles fresh on the premises. While I was in line, I watched how the chef rolled the dough into a large rectangular piece. It was then rolled and hung vertically on its side. The noodles are fresh and have the proper firmness as you bite into them. I ordered my dish “hot” and was surprised that the broth was lukewarm.
While I didn’t order a rice bowl, they appeared to be the size of a standard rice bowl. Appearance-wise, the dish resembled poke more than chirashi. Of course you can jazz it up with the complimentary toppings.
Prices for the regular size udon range from $4.50 to $8.50; add $1 for the large size portion. Rice bowls range from $2.90 and $3.90. Tempura is individually priced. The vegetable tempura is approximately $1.00 to $1.20 and the seafood items are higher at $1.60 to $1.80. Fresh made lattes as well as lemonade, beer and sake are among their standard beverage offerings.
Marugame Udon, 2029 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
http://marugameudon.com/