I visited a soba restaurant near the Taito Ward Legal Affairs Bureau branch for lunch. The name of the restaurant is very common around here and has a traditional soba restaurant vibe. I wonder if shirasu is in season now. Sometimes it makes me feel intensely nostalgic. I think Maachan's cold soba comes with watercress. Watercress used to be thinner in the past, but recently it seems thicker. Maybe it's because of the heat.

I had an eel rice bowl and soba noodles. The nearest station is listed as Suehirocho, but it feels more like it's in Akihabara at Maruka. The eel season has arrived. The combination of soba noodles from a soba shop and a long eel rice bowl for less than a thousand yen is perfect for a casual meal. The traditional atmosphere of the soba shop is nice and calming. It's been a while since I opened the wooden sliding door. The pickled mustard greens and dried young sardine rice bowl also looked good. They also mentioned, "We have somen noodles today." Somen noodles are great, right? Summer is approaching.

Soba restaurant Maruka located near Akihabara. There is also a shop with the same name in Naka-Okachimachi, but they are not directly related. There are 6 tables. When it's crowded, you may have to share a table. I tried the Anago Tendon Set (950 yen tax included) by piggybacking on the neighboring customer's order. The portion was good, but the sauce was too little. Asking for more sauce might be difficult as the staff seemed very busy, so I ate by dipping the soba in the sauce. The soba is made with buckwheat flour from Shinshu and has a chewy texture. The soba sauce is rich and has an Edo-style flavor. By the way, the name "Maruka" is often mistaken for a chain restaurant, but it is actually a separate entity. Unlike chain restaurants, each Maruka shop does not need to maintain the same service or taste, so they have their own unique styles. Other examples of soba restaurants with a similar setup include Yabu, Sunaba, Sarashina, Chojusan, Matsuzuki, and Asahiya. Looking into the history of Maruka, it started with Kato Toyozou who moved to Tokyo in 1893 and worked at a soba shop in Shitaya. After 7 years, he opened his own shop in Udagawa-cho in Shiba and named it Marukami Kawaya. However, another shop with a similar name opened nearby, so he consulted a monk named Ando Shosun from the Shinryuji Temple in Asakusa who suggested the name "Maruka." It turns out that "Maruka" is a lucky name with the character for celebration. As for whether the original Maruka shop still exists, further investigation is needed. The oldest existing shop is said to have been established around 1910 in Nihonbashi, Chiyoda-ku.

Curry rice bowl set for 900 yen (curry rice bowl and cold soba noodles) at a place that looks like a typical soba restaurant. I arrived at 11:40 am, it's been about 3 years since my last visit. I didn't have any information from my previous visit, so I decided to order the curry rice bowl set. The menu was served in about 6 minutes, and it looked delicious. The curry rice bowl had a thick curry sauce with a hint of starch, which kept it warm for a long time. The soba noodles had a strong texture and were easy to swallow, but the wasabi flavor was a bit lacking. Although the curry rice bowl looked small, the depth of the bowl provided a satisfying meal. Both the soba noodles and curry rice bowl were to my liking, and I was very satisfied. It was a delicious meal once again on September 10, 2019.

I usually get the conger eel rice bowl and soba set, but today I went with the omori. Thank you for the delicious meal.

Shirasu bowl with wild vegetables and soba set for 850 yen is recommended! I enjoyed it very much. Used during lunch on August 25, 2017.

Located 6 minutes east of Suehirocho Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, about 30 meters down a side street from exit 1, you will find a traditional soba restaurant with wooden sliding doors that exude a Showa-era charm. Inside, there are wooden tables and chairs typical of a soba restaurant. Today, I am indulging in a little luxury soba dining experience here. When it comes to a soba restaurant, you can't go wrong with sake. They offer over 10 types of sake, including popular brands like Dassai and Taisho. The chilled sake is especially delicious. I decided to order the recommended item, which was the warm tanuki soba. It had a rich broth with a Kanto-style dark color, a subtle katsuobushi aroma, and a hint of sweetness. The soba noodles were thin and had a smooth texture, making it very tasty. I also tried the curry nanban soba, which had a flavorful curry sauce with a thick, hot broth. The tako butsu (octopus fritters) were generously cut and had a satisfying chewy texture with a hint of sweetness. The shime saba (marinated mackerel) was well-pickled, offering a moist texture and a good balance of oiliness. They also served negitoro with seaweed on the side, which was a delightful combination when wrapped in nori with wasabi soy sauce. Overall, it's a pleasure to have such a soba restaurant nearby. I would love to come back for lunch and try their rice bowl dishes. Thank you for the delicious meal.

I feel like eating udon. It's hot and humid, but I want something warm, not cold. I wander around looking for a place, and then I remember this restaurant and decide to go in. It's around 12:30, and there are quite a few customers. I sit at a table and look at the menu, trying to decide what to order. They have set lunches, with A-C sets and other individual items. The difference between A-C sets is the contents of the tempura rice bowl that comes with it. A: shrimp and smelt with 2 types of vegetables tempura bowl B: squid and smelt with 2 types of vegetables tempura bowl C: smelt and 2 types of vegetables tempura bowl. You can choose soba or udon to go with it. I chose the A set (850 yen) with warm mushroom udon. The tempura in the tempura bowl is freshly fried, as stated. You can hear the sound of the tempura being fried in the kitchen! The udon broth in the A set is dark in color. When I taste the broth, it's really thick. The udon noodles are very soft. They remind me of the soft noodles I had when I was sick... The tempura in the tempura bowl is delicious, with plump shrimp and fluffy smelt. The vegetables are carrots and sweet potatoes. It would have been nice to have some green vegetables too. The tempura sauce is just right. I was originally planning to order just udon, but I'm glad I got the set as a backup. The udon is disappointing, but the tempura is delicious. Maybe I should have tried the soba here instead. I'll come back next time to try the soba.

The rainy season has ended and hot days continue... Just being outside makes sweat pour out. On days like this, I have no appetite... I decide to go to a local soba restaurant called "Namuruga" for something light to eat. While "mori soba" is good, today I opt for "hiyashi namuruga" instead... As I enter the restaurant, the sliding door opens with a clatter and the place is packed... I wait near the entrance for a while until the previous customers start leaving, then I enter the restaurant again and take a seat at a table for four, with three other people. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is like a traditional soba shop in the old town... It has a calming effect and a charm that you wouldn't find in a family restaurant. I look at the menu and search for "hiyashi namuruga"... Huh? "Hiyashi mujina"... This is unusual... "Hiyashi mujina" is a cold soba dish with "tempura bits" on top... Some places call it "hiyashi kitsune" with "aburaage" on top, but this one has both "tempura bits" and "aburaage" on the cold soba. Depending on the place, it may be called "hiyashi obake," but in this restaurant, it's "hiyashi mujina," so that's what I order. After about 10 minutes, the "hiyashi mujina" is brought to me... First, I taste the soba broth... It has a nice aroma of bonito, a subtle soy sauce flavor, and a moderate sweetness... The overall taste is smooth and has a modest deliciousness... I pick up the soba noodles... The soba is thin and square-cut... The texture of the soba is fine and not rough... I can't see any bits of ground buckwheat husk... It's closer to the "sarasoba" type, but the color of the soba is somewhat darker... I take a bite... Since it's a local soba shop, I didn't have high expectations, but it has a firm texture and a sweet taste in the soba itself... The toppings in the "mujina" include "tempura bits," "aburaage," "wakame," "naruto," and "kaiware daikon"... The "aburaage" is sweet and simmered, spreading a gentle sweetness as you chew... The tempura bits are fragrant, and when they dissolve in the soba broth, they add a unique flavor and depth to the taste... The "hiyashi mujina" at "Namuruga" is a dish that is delicious twice in one bowl... Definitely worth a try! Bon appétit!

Today was extremely hot. I felt like eating cold soba, so I decided to go to this restaurant where they have cold zaru soba. I arrived around 12:20 and the restaurant was about 80% full, so I had to share a table. The menu was brought to me and I found out that the daily special was a set of clam and egg rice bowl with soba or udon, but I had already decided what to eat. I looked at the menu and realized that they didn't have cold zaru soba. I had no choice but to order cold inaka soba. When I asked if I could have a large portion, they said it would cost an extra 150 yen. That's quite pricey for a large portion. Nevertheless, I decided to go for the large portion with the extra charge. After a short wait, the soba arrived. There was something different about the appearance. It had sunny lettuce but no cucumber. The toppings included sunny lettuce, seaweed, tempura crumbs, one naruto slice, and a separate serving of chopped green onions. The bowl for the large portion was relatively big and the dipping sauce was generous. The soba itself was nothing extraordinary, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Thank you for the meal.

I pass by this place a few times in the morning, and I often see the smell of bonito broth and steam coming out from the side of the shop. I imagine they must be doing a good job, so I decided to stop by. It seems like a typical soba restaurant in Tokyo, a town with a soba culture. When I arrived, it was full and I was seated at a shared table. I ordered the large portion of cold soba noodles. The soba was white in color with a nice firm texture. The broth was delicious, and I finished it by mixing it with soba water. The interior of the restaurant was clean and tidy, and I noticed a refrigerator with chilled sake inside. There were two staff members in the hall and four in the kitchen, including a woman.

(Visited on October 12, 2012) I had bookmarked this restaurant after smelling the delicious scent of bonito while passing by during a seminar near my company. The atmosphere of the place reminded me of my childhood, and the interior had a nostalgic feel to it. It was lunchtime and the timing was not great as the place was almost full, but they kindly allowed me to share a table with someone else so I could sit down quickly. I was tempted by the "Cold Zaru Soba for 850 yen" but since it was my first visit, I ordered the "Tempura Set for 1050 yen". I started reading a weekly magazine that I had brought with me, and within 5 minutes the food was served. First, I took a bite of the soba. The soba cup looked like a tempura bowl, making it a bit difficult to eat, and the broth was a bit thin for my liking, lacking the bonito aroma I had sensed outside. The soba noodles were quite thin, perfect for enjoying the smooth texture. The tempura was a pleasant surprise with two slightly thick prawns, sweet potato, decorative eggplant, and grated radish. I wanted to enjoy the soba soup at the end, so I ate the tempura without the grated radish. The thin soba soup left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, but the tempura was crispy and delicious. The portion of soba was a bit too much for me, and it started to get soggy, but I managed to finish it all. The soba soup was also light and refreshing. The prices were reasonable, and it felt like the restaurant was making an effort to provide good service. They even apologized for making me share a table, which made me leave the place feeling good.

Lately, when it's hot, I've been enjoying warm soba noodles, but this time I indulged in curry nanban. I tried the curry nanban soba (800 yen) at Maruka. The soba noodles were thin and had a smooth texture, which I really liked. The curry was slightly thick and had a rich flavor, with a good amount of long green onions and onions that were cooked just right. Although I was hoping for duck meat, there were big chunks of chicken instead, which made the dish quite filling. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't finish it all. Overall, the curry flavor was really good.