[Cupertino] Uzumakiya Udon Izakaya- is udon the new ramen? (But that shabu shabu udon really is fab)

The Japanese owners of Ramen Taka in Santa Clara has opened a udon joint in Cupertino recently, in the same mall as QQ Noodle. We got there on a Saturday evening about half an hour after opening, at around 6. There was 5 or 6 tables ahead of us. Fortunately, being predominantly a noodle house rather than an izakaya, tables turned relatively quickly and we ended up waiting for about 20 minutes.

I believe they still had their limited opening menu as the amount of appetizers or small eats seemed to be limited to 10+ items only. And most of the patrons focused on the udon.

We ordered the chilled shabu shabu udon, which came with a savory dipping broth, a side of chili flakes in chili oil, and ginger. I dumped all of the chili and ginger in the dipping broth, and the resulting broth was awesome when the noodles were dipped inside. Normally somewhat averse to salt, I actually thought they might be able to dial the salt up a bit since only a small portion coated onto the noodle. But the resulting dish was very good. My most preferred dish among the noodles, and I wouldn’t hesitate getting this again. As was a common theme during the evening, the udon noodle could use a bit more chew and be more al dente. That didn’t bother me to a big degree though.

The uzumakiya udon- with slices of beef. With an oxtail broth slow simmered. The broth was great to sip. Also a good bowl.

The oxtail udon- with the same oxtail broth. Instead of slices of beef, it had a big chunk of oxtail instead. Also good. Given its easy to cook oxtail at home, I’d probably just get the cheaper uzumakiya udon next time.

Overall, their udon was pretty ramen-like. Substitute with ramen noodle and the dishes probably wouldn’t miss a beat. But the dipping noodle was great. Try it.

I haven’t been to Ramen Taka in Santa Clara. But the experience at Uzumakiya was positive that I’d love to give them a try if I am in that area.

Menu:

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Nice report.
Question: Are those menu prices high? Or is the location of the shop a determinate in setting prices?

Three years ago I’d have told you yes. But restaurant dish prices have risen a lot in the last few years, so this is pretty much market price to get a bowl of ramen now. So by extension, a bowl of ramen-like udon would cost similarly.

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Ramen Taka is definitely worth a try as well.

Uzumakiya is the sister restaurant to Kemuri Japanese Baru in Redwood City per their manager (Nobu), who used to work at Orenchi and the broth and oxtail recipe is virtually identical to Kemuri’s (it’s the same chef actually). I’m not clear or I was not told about any connection or ownership with Ramen Taka.

Thanks for the intel.

Now that you brought up Kemuri, the taste did taste familiar, though I haven’t been back to Kemuri for a couple years now so didn’t make the connection at the time.

Even the udon options at Kemuri look exactly the same- oxtail spicy or non-spicy, dipping, and ikura:

ABC says Taka and Uzumakiya are run by the same people.