#koyabar

A long long time ago now, JW posted a video of Crave.tv’s interview of Shuko Oda, head chef of Koya Bar (see video here) and following that, I visited to check out the English Breakfast Udon (read about that here).  Now, it’s been going strong all these years since and when I was craving udon the other day, it seemed the perfect opportunity to go back and visit.

It was a super hot day so we were looking for something refreshing.  Starting with a seaweed salad was perfect.  It was light, zingy with a citrusy dressing and nice and cool!  Very simple but very good!

Considering the crazy hot weather, we both went for hiyashi udon which are cold noodles and then with a cold broth to pour over it.  I went for the saba which is mackerel that came with a bunch of leaves on top.  Hiyashi udon on a hot day goes down really well.  The noodles are super bouncy because they’re cold and the broth is just really cooling.  The fish was fresh and full of flavour as well.  It really hit the spot!

My friend ordered the mushroom and shiso.  This looked really good too with the mushrooms marinated in what looked like a soy based sauce. 

We also ordered some tempura.  It came with 2 prawn and a bunch of veggies.  It was really well fried, light and not oily at all.  The prawns were good and fresh as well.

The last thing we ordered was a special of fried sardines.  They’d been butterflied and then panko crumbed.  It came with a runny mayo type sauce and a pickle sauce.  The sardines themselves were really good but with the sauces, it was really good!  The sourness of the pickle and the creaminess of the mayo really complemented the mackerel.  This was super tasty!

As far as I’m concerned, Koya Bar is still one of the best noodle places in London.  The udon really is amazing and the side dishes are also pretty damn good!

Koya Soho, 50 Frith Street, W1D 4SQ

/ Koya Bar / Soho

Curry udon (vegetable) with tempura prawn

Noodles ★★★★ Broth/Sauce ★★★★ Toppings ★★★★

Will you come again? Yes - so hard to find a place that serve curry udon in London!

Caché derrière de petits rideaux, Koya Bar est un restaurant japonais spécialisé dans les udon, dans le quartier de Soho à Londres. Les udon sont les pâtes les plus consommées au Japon. Après un peu d’attente, car le bar est très prisé, on découvre un petit comptoir en bois de 24 places assises, avec vue sur la cuisine, l’ambiance y est calme et détendue.

Koya Bar, réputé comme étant un des meilleurs bars japonais de Soho, propose chaque jour des udon fait maison, des bouillons aux légumes, aux champignons, des crevettes en tempura, de l’ail des ours frit…  Des recettes traditionnelles japonaises qui changent régulièrement selon les envies des chefs Shuko Oda et Junya Yamasaki.

Un petit restaurant discret mais qui vaut le détour ! 

Atsu-astu udon noodle tempura était délicieux, la crevette en tempura avait du goût, le bouillon parfumé et les udon tendres. Voilà un vrai bouillon japonais comme on les aime ! Nourrissant et qui réchauffe.

Atsu-astu udon noodle beef. Le bouillon toujours aussi bon et peut être même un peu plus parfumé avec la présence de la viande.

L’ail des ours frit, bien croustillant.

Koya Bar est un restaurant japonais que je recommande ! Les prix sont corrects, l’ambiance agréable et surtout on y mange bien ;)

Koya Bar, japanese udon noodle, 50 Frith Street, London W1D4SQ