Friday, November 13, 2009




Restaurant : Udon West
Location : 11 West St. Marks, New York City, NY 10003
Website : http://www.udonwest.com/


Granted, there are many amazing places to eat on St. Marks. Sometimes I wonder how they all compete with each other! But I guess that's the wonderful thing about St. Marks... You don't have to make decisions until you are standing right there, in front of the store or restaurant.
So we were walking one chilly Autumn day and though...

"Hmm... something warm sounds good... maybe noodles?"

Udon West is definitely worth stopping for.
Being the ideal tiny hole in the wall in NYC, Udon West is squished between other flashier looking restaurants.
But who needs flashy for a yummy quick lunch?
So we stepped inside... Only to be intoxicated with the smells of soup broths.


We took a seat at the tiny tables in the back rather than the bar.
Udon West has a very cozy, tiny Japanese noodle bar type feel. With very friendly Japanese waitstaff and often filled with mostly Japanese clients...
Cant be that bad, can it?

Au contraire!

It was amazing!!!


Bunnie's Rating

Money : Cheap Japanese food (like $8-15) ... and they have great combo deals and great lunch deals!

Must Try : Everything we had was great. Personally, it might have been one of the best Chicken Katsu donburi I ever had!

Type : Extremely casual and extremely small... I wouldn't recommend coming with more than 3-4 people! Best I think is single or 2 people. Also keep in mind this is a 'cash only' place!!
Also, you get your own water from a little water dispensing machine by the bar.

Reservations : No reservations... first come first serve.

Okay! So bringing on the food!!


The Chicken Katsu Don
(For those who don't know, its chicken katsu over rice with egg and onions! SO GOOD...
And this combo came with soup!)

The little rice 'doughnuts' we had on the side were okay... nothing to rave about...


The curry soup with udon noodles and Shrimp Tempura
(you cant go wrong with Japanese curry)

And another combo...
Katsu with Nabe-Yaki Udon and a bowl of rice


Pros:
Everything was super yummy... the price was great for the quality... the service was fast, nice and efficient...
And actually, because the place was so tiny and could only fit so many, it never really felt overwhelmingly crowded! Great spot to hit for a quick bite with friends on a late night(I believe they are open til 3am) or even just to go and eat on your own at the bar!!


Cons:
Cash only can sometimes be annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Their rice doughnuts, although very cute, were not particularly as good and I expected...
But the other food made up for it.


So when in St. Marks and feeling like some Japanese food...
Although there are many many other great Japanese food places scattered all down the block (which I intend to blog as well!)... definitely stop in and give this place a try!



Til next blog!


Eat. Drink. And have Dessert!!!



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