九段一茶庵 (Kudan Issaan)

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A fantastic soba place located somewhere between Kudanshita and Jimbochou. Absolutely crazy about the soba here. Been going back again and again since last winter and tried everything in the menu. A lot of items are seasonal and only available for a few weeks or so. I think they have MORE variety during summer, probably because soba is actually a seasonal food that doesn’t taste as good in summer so they offer more variety of toppings to compensate.

For all the hot soba with soup, you can choose between regular soba(“seiro”) or thick soba(“inaka” or “country”). For the other soba(e.g.cold soba), you can change the soba from “seiro” to “inaka” for a charge of Y100. I love inaka soba so I always ask them to change it for me. “Oomori”(large size) is plus Y500.
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五色盛りそば(¥1800): 季節そば(さくら)、黒ごま、田舎、せいろ、けし。
5-colour soba(Y1800): seasonal soba(sakura), black sesame seed, inaka, seiro, keshi(poppy).
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つくねそば、¥1500。 たまご焼き、¥800。
Tsukune(duck meatball) soba, Y1500. Tamago-yaki, Y800.
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おろしそば、¥1100。焼き味噌、¥500。
Oroshi(grated radish) soba, Y1100. (Inaka +Y100)
Grilled miso(with soba flour), Y500.
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鴨南蛮、¥1500。 揚げゆば、¥700
Kamo Nanban(duck), Y1500.
Fried yuba(tofu skin), Y700.
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辛味もちそば、¥1200。 茄子田楽、¥500。
Grated radish and fried mochi(rice cake) soba, Y1200.
Nasu Dengaku(grilled aubergine with grounded meat in miso), Y500.
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胡麻だれせいろ(冷)、¥1300。つくね煮、¥600。
Cold seiro with sesame seed sauce, Y1300. (Large +Y500)
Simmered tsukune, Y600.
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ねぎそば、¥1200。 ぶっかけ、¥1300。
Negi(leek) soba, Y1200.
Bukkake, Y1300. Default is inaka soba.
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夏野菜かれいせいろ(冷)、¥1500。 竹の子そば、¥1300。
Summer vegetable curry seiro, Y1500.
Bamboo shoot soba, Y1300.
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なす茗荷そば、¥1400。すずしろせいろ、¥1100。
Aubergine and myouga soba, Y1400.
Suzushiro(shredded radish) seiro, Y1100.
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湯葉とじそば、1300。 赤なす揚げ煮せいろ、¥1400。
Yuba and egg soba, Y1300.
Fried red aubergine stew seiro, Y1400.
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そばとろ、¥1350。
生のりと梅もずくの冷かけ(冷)、¥1400。
Soba toro(grated yam), Y1350. (Large +Y500) (Inaka +Y100)
Raw seaweed and sour plum mozuku cold soba, Y1400. (Inaka +Y100)
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一本穴子せいろ、¥1900。 豆乳坦々せいろ、¥1500。
Anago seiro, Y1900. (Inaka +Y100)
Soy milk tantan seiro, Y1500.
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仙台地鶏とたたき長芋のぶっかけ(冷)、¥1500。
梅ぶっかけせいろ(梅干、大葉、茗荷、三つ葉、カツオ節)、¥1400。
Sendai chicken and Nagaimo(long yam) Bukkake, Y1400.
Sour plum Bukkake seiro, Y1400.
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天ぷらせいろ、¥2250。
沖縄島オクラとじゃこヘイヤ(冷)、¥1500。
Tempura seiro, Y2250.
Okinawa Okra and dried fish and Molokheya, Y1500.

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

九段 一茶庵 本店(Kudan Issaan)
Add: 3-6-6 Jimbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tell: 03-3239-0889

蕎麦作 つじ田 (Soba Saku Tsujita) CLOSED!

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肉そば(中300g)、¥880。
Niku soba, Y880. Other than pork, there are also lots of stuff like half-cooked egg, leek, kikurage mushroom, shiitake mushroom, green veggy inside the spicy dipping soup for the soba. Since it was filled with too much ingredients, I couldn’t really dip the soba into the soup at first. ^^;;;

This small(10 counter seats) soba place is opened by a really good ramen shop Tsujita just across the road. The soba branch is nothing as “gourmet” as the ramen shop though. Big pile of soba dough is squeezed through a machine and drops straight into boiling water. But I still like this place because it is VERY CHEAP and they managed to make a bowl of cheap soba quite tasty. If you order cold soba, you need to choose from 200g, 300g and 400g. It is the same price whichever you choose and I always ask for 300g. For hot soba, maybe because of the fixed size of the bowl, they won’t ask you how many grams you want, but after you finish, you can ask for “kaedama” and they will serve you another portion of soba. There is a pot on the counter for you to add soy-sauce-based soba soup freely. Other FREE goodies on the counter are raw egg, raw quail egg(I always add this! There is a special scissor for cutting open the quail egg), regular tenkasu(crunchy bits of deep-fried flour-dough) and also spicy tenkasu.
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豚そば、¥800。
Buta(pork) soba, Y800. Very satisfying!
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十割そば(かけ)、¥680。タコめし、¥250。
Juuwari soba(soba consists entirely of buckwheat), Y680. Tako-meshi(octopus rice), Y250. Tako-meshi has a nice buttery taste.
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合鴨の味噌漬け、¥400。海苔胡麻そば、¥780。
Miso-marinated duck, Y400. Heated with a burner before serving. It is a little salty and probably better as a snack for drinking beer.
Seaweed and sesame seed soba, Y780. The soba is not of very high quality so cold soba without soup to cover up is probably a bad choice.
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0812290027天丼・十割そばセット、¥1000。
Tendon(tempura on rice) and Juuwari soba set, Y1000. The tempura is fried on order. Not amazing but good for the price. Again Juuwari soba tasted better with soup. Tendon is 400yen if order on its own.

Location is 10 mins walk from Akihabara. It is open on Sat and Sun too.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.

蕎麦作 つじ田 (Soba Saku Tsujita)
Add: 1-1, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku

松翁 (Matsuou)

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白子天ざる、¥2350。
Shirako(fish milt) Tenzaru, Y2350. Available only in winter. Very nice shirako tempura(you get 3pcs) and also lotus root tempura and maitake tempura. They serve the tempura one by one so you can eat it while it is hot.
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手打ちきしめん、¥1050。田楽(こんにゃく、小芋)、¥550。
Store-made Kishimen(flat udon), Y1050.
Dengaku(Konjac and taro), Y550. Usually dengaku is grilled but the one here is only steamed. Served with miso as usual.
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なめこそば(鴨つくね なめこ)、¥1400。二色もり(むらめ切りと並そば)、¥1050。
Nameko soba(Duck meat ball and Nameko mushroom), Y1400.
2-shoku-mori(perilla soba and regular soba), Y1050.
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田舎そば、¥1100。けんちん汁、¥400。
Inaka(country) soba, Y1100. Kenchinjiru(miso soup with root vegetables), Y400. The kenchinjiru is a bit salty so it maybe good to eat it with plain soba.

I like the tempura, the toppings on soba, the soup…but I’m not so crazy about the soba itself. Most items on the menu are quite expensive and for this kind of price I would rather go somewhere else for really good-quality soba(Just found a quite expensive but really good soba place in this area which I will blog after I’ve exhausted its menu in a few months or so ^^;;).

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

松翁 (Matsuou)
Add: 2-1-7, Sarugaku-cho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3291-3529

志な乃 (Shinano)

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A friend recommended this little soba place in the middle of an office area. There is always a long queue at lunch hour.
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合盛(大)、¥1250。けんちん汁(並)、¥400。
Aimori(soba+udon). Soba is thick and hard type, while udon is soft and springy type. Both are homemade and are very good. Eat with a light dipping sauce, and also spring onion, wasabi, shiso, grated radish and grated ginger. Kenchin-jiru with lots of root vegetables in it.
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冷麦、¥1500。
Very cooling Hiyamugi. Though I ended up ordering a small portion of hot Kenchin-jiru.
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けんちんそば(並)、¥1150。五色そば、¥1050。
Kenchin-soba. Hot soba in Kenchin-jiru.
Five-colour soba. Hot soba with kamaboko, aubergine tempura, quail egg, shiitake mushroom and leek.
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とろろ合い盛り、¥1350。
Tororo Aimori: soba and udon with grated yam and quail egg.
In general, I like the soba more than the udon, and menu that are served cold are better than the hot ones. The staff are very friendly and the atmosphere is warm.
Lunch menu(J): 1, 2.

志な乃(Shinano)
Add: 3-1-4 Higashi Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-3664-9795

竹邑庵太郎敦盛 (Chikuyuantaro no atsumori)

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The bright, bold, eccentric interior looks more like a Turkish restaurant than a soba place! You sit on colourful cushions and eat off low tables.
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里いものうま煮。 だし巻玉子。
Satoimo no umani(simmered taro) is a bit straight-from-the-fridge cold. Dashi maki tamago(dashi-flavoured eggroll) is Kyoto-style, i.e. not sweet. Freshly made and hot, very good!
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みそ田楽(粟・よもぎ・生麩)。
3 types of miso dengaku(broiled miso-topped skewers) – awa(millet), yomogi(mugwort), fu(wheat gluten). The miso is a bit salty but still very good.
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0801280012追っかけ皿そば。

Cold black soba. Comes with a bowl of raw egg, lots of negi(spring onion), tororo(grated yam), wasabi and tsuyu(dipping sauce). You are supposed to mix the ingredients like the way you mix natto…and dip the soba to the foamy sauce to eat. 5 small plates are for one person. The soba has an acquired taste which I am not so crazy about. Worth trying once though. This soba shop is originally from Kyoto and the madam is an interesting character who gave us a lecture about how the way you sit can affect your ability to attract a man….err….^^;;; One of the two waitresses is from Burma and the other is also Asian – both are very cute and friendly! Two of us shared the food, plus a drink each, about 3000yen per person.
Menu(J) here.

竹邑庵太郎敦盛
Add: 3-15-6 Shinbashi, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5473-8803

神田まつや (Kanda Matsuya)

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大ごまそば、¥850。
Famous soba place established in 1884. The present building – dated from 1925 – is one of the historical architectures in Tokyo.
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そばとろ、¥900。天丼、¥1900。
Soba toro(grated yam). Tendon(rice with prawn tempura).
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かしわ南ばん、¥950。 力うどん、¥950。
Kashiwa(chicken) Nanban. Chikara(grilled mochi) udon.
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にしんそば、¥1000。鴨南ばん、¥1600。
Nishin soba – soba with smoked sweet-flavoured herring(Kyoto origin). The fish tastes like the canned ones…not my cup of tea.
Kamo-nanban(Duck soba). Very good!
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親子南ばん、¥1000。 花巻、¥850。
Oyako(chicken and egg) Nanban. Hana-maki – soba with seaweed.
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鴨せいろう、¥1600。カレー南ばん、¥950。
Kamo(duck) Seiro. Curry Nanban.
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鍋焼うどん、¥1000。
Nabe-yaki udon – udon hotpot.
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おかめとじ、¥1000。 おかめ、¥950。
(Right)Okame soba : soba with Yuba, tamago-yaki, shiitake mushroom, kamaboko, bamboo shoot, seaweed, spinach.
(Left)Okame-toji soba: Okame soba with egg on top. Very good!
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寄せ鍋うどん、¥1200。 小田巻きむし、¥1100。
Yosenabe Udon. Super delicious! So many ingredients(including my beloved mochi) in it.
Odamakimushi: chawanmushi with udon(just a little bit) at the bottom. Need to wait for 15mins but totally worth it.
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かき揚天丼、¥1000。 雛そば くさきり、¥1000。
Kakiage-tendon. Not only kakiage, but also two prawn tempura. The prawns are smaller than the more expensive “Tendon”, but tasty enough.
Soba made with yomogi(limited period).

Not only soba, udon is good too. Tsuyu(soup) is delicious. Nothing I ordered was disappointing but yosenabe and okame-toji stand out the most. Portion is not big, so I always order L portion, which is an extra 100yen(the price quoted above are all for regular portion). The staff are very friendly but they don’t keep very good track of who ordered what. I always order L size but they never remember that – I have to remind them to charge me 100yen more each time. ^^;;

Look at the queue during New Year holiday…normally it is crowded and you may have to wait a bit and share a table during busy lunch hour, but I’ve never seen a queue like this outside a soba place…
Menu(J): 1, 2.
神田まつや
Add: 1-13, Sudacho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-1556

よし房凛 (Yoshibourin)

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田舎蕎麦、¥750。 小天丼、¥500。
Inaka(country) soba and small tendon(tempura on rice).
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辛味大根あげ餅そば、¥950。 小天丼、¥500。
きざみそば(焼き油揚げと薬味合わせ)、¥950。
Radish and fried mochi soba, and a small tendon.
Kizami soba: Aburaage and seaweed etc.
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ごぼう天そば、¥1000。 磯天おろしそば、¥1300。
Burdock root(gobo) tempura soba.
Isoten oroshi soba.
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鴨南蛮、¥1600。 かき揚せいろ、¥1400。
Kamo-nanban: duck soba.
Kakiage(mixed tempura fritter) seiro.
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天せいろ、¥1600。 地蔵そば、¥950。
Seiro soba with tempura.
Jizou soba: Aburaage and ankake(thick starchy sauce with soy sauce taste).
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梅そば、¥1050。
Ume(sour plum) soba.
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山かけ、¥950。
Yamakake: Grated yam with quail egg.
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そばがき、¥1050。
Sobagaki- kneaded buckwheat dough, served hot with soy sauce.

A soba place that I am totally addicted to. Everything is so delicious. Not only the soba noodles that is fantasic, but also the tempura, the duck, and many other toppings. For a soba place, the price is very reasonable considering the portion and the quality. Getting a small tendon(500yen) will make even a big eater like me leave with a happily stuffed belly. I tried almost everything in the lunch menu and all are so great that I don’t mind going back for another round of the menu again, especially because you can choose either hot noodles with soup, or cold ones without soup, and I want to try both!
Lunch menu(J): 1, 2.
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蕎麦味噌の春巻き。越前おろし蕎麦。
Some old visits from here. Soba spring roll with miso and shiso, very good! Echizen soba: radish, spring onion and dried bonito. It is not bad but I think there is too much radish…at the end I could just taste the radish. Shouldn’t have mixed them all even though the lady staff told me to.
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060609 025.jpgせいろ、750円。小天丼、500円。 Mini tempura rice bowl is very good!! So good!! Mainly vegetables, also prawns, all freshly fried and light. And after devouring the rice bowl, so happy that there was still the yummy seiro soba waiting, which was sweet in a natural buckwheaty way. Even the small pickle dish and the soba-yu(the hot water used in boiling the soba, usually they give you a pot and you pour it into the leftover soy sauce which you dipped the soba with, and drink it like a soup.) were good.

0605029 009.jpg田舎蕎麦、750円。
Inaka soba.

よし房凛(Yoshibourin)
Add: 2-36-1, Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3823-8454