I've had my fair share of delicious udon, but I've never really seen anyone do udon the way Koya does and I love them for it. I've never seen so many variations in one place, and I've never seen so many temperature options. The difference between hot broth and cold sauce is pretty apparent. But I needed clarification about the udon itself. Hot udon means the noodles come served inside the broth whereas cold udon means it comes served sepatstely, and you're able to add it into the broth at your own pace and discretion. As someone who loves bouncy noodles, and hates basically all soggy food, I was amazed. Their broths are really flavorful and warm you up perfectly on the inside, the tempura is soo crispy, and the walnut miso is so addicting. Not to mention the servers are super friendly. read more

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My wife and I recently visited Koya City for dinner. I tried the Hiyashi Lamb Cumin Miso. The dish was delicious. Soft savory Udon Noodles were paired with rich flavorful ground lamb and crisp greens. read more

Koya City - Hiyashi Lamb Cumin Miso - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

Set in a quiet off-street spot near other restaurants/businesses, this is a nice place for a quiet dinner if you're in the mood for udon The menu has a nice mix of cold and hot options, even dipping vs in broth options, so definitely a good variety you can choose from to share. We went with one cold and one warm. The warm was a lamb udon dish. At first a bit too hot, but then quite nice once you get into it. The cold, however, was our favorite. Went with the shrimp and vegetable tempura with dipping udon. The tempura was great, perfectly crispy. The dipping noodles, however, were great with such a nice crunch and overall texture. Reasonably priced sake options to accompany your dishes. We sat outside, which in the nighttime early spring weather we had was the way to go. read more

Koya City - Warm udon with lamb - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

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Wow to my surprise (sorry I had a low expectations), Kaya was amazing! Just what I needed after eating having northern European winter food for a week. Their home made noodles were on the soft side but still bouncy. Their fried tofu skin was thick and juicy. The broth had great depth of the Dashi. Extra point for them having authentic salted sour plums on their menu. They had interesting sake menu. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection including a great french sake. Simple decor with quick service. Only complaint was our server was eating standing up by the bar then coughing into his hands then not washing his hands. read more

Koya City - Kitsune Udon - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

We initially came during dinner but they were busy and told us that they did not take any walk ins. The following day we came during lunch with a reservation and it was less busy (which looked like you can do walk ins then). I made a reservation for inside but they sat us outside because there was no space. I felt it was poor planning on their part as the table in front of us was a walk in with no reservation. We were on time for our reservation as well. I ordered the niku udon with a prawn tempura and tamago plus a soju tasting. We also ordered a fried tofu for the table. 1. Niku udon with added tamago: broth has an ok flavor. The noodle was nice and tender as well as the beef. The egg really added depth to the broth. This was good but, not the best niku udon Ive had. 2. The prawn tempura was the highlight of the experience. Nice and crunchy! Order this with your food! 3 . Fried tofu: nothing special 4. Soju tasting flight: nothing special but i like how they have filtered to unfiltered soju. Overall, food was good but, service was ok. I would come here if it wasnt busy and I got to sit inside because the outside is quite cold without the heat lamps. read more

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Solid udon at Kota City. I've been to all three Koya locations and the location is my favorite. read more

Koya City - Tempura udon - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

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This was one of my first outings post lockdown and it did not disappoint. I've been to their Soho location and this one is definitely more spacious but with the same level of care and attention to detail. Every dish was cooked perfectly. Dashi broth had a heavenly unami flavour and was the best companion with the udon noodles. The dish I had sounded simple but had three kinds of mushrooms, cabbage and a miso walnut paste that added even more depth to the broth. I probably didn't need to add the poached egg but who could resist? My dining companions also enjoyed their vegetable tempura, hot and cold noodle dishes. The fried tofu was also the right consistency with a delicate sauce. Excellent service added to the ambiance and made this a wonderful experience. Note that it is very cold sitting outdoors here even with heat lamps so dress accordingly. read more

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Just ok. I had the special fried chicken and hot Niku Udon with tamago (egg). The chicken was nicely fried, crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. But, i didn't care for the flavor of the chili spice sprinkled on top. It was kinda bland without a great taste. The beef over the udon was a little dry and flavorless. The soup was similarly light on flavor. Lastly, the noodle texture was a just ok. While it wasn't too mushy, it didn't have that nice satisfying chewy texture. Overall, just ok. read more

Setting is nice and clean but the food was not great. Donburi chicken and egg was a little bit salty. The prawn tempura udon contains flavorless udon. It was not bouncy or chewy but just broke in each bite. Maybe it was not cooked long enough but my daughter said it was dough-like. The prawn tempura did not contain fresh tasting prawn since the prawn meat seems to fall apart. Seems to be frozen prawns...not sure. But it wasn't good. The red miso soup which came with the rice bowl was not edible since it was super salty. Felt the scoop a pot size of miso paste into each tiny soup bowl. Waste. read more

Very good Udon Noodles and broths. Simple menus with only three pages included drinks menus. The Buta Kasu-Miso (Pork udon) has the best broth, the pork is not the best! But I still enjoyed it very much! The Tempura udon looked the best and the prawn was very delicious too! The Niku (Beef udon) was similar to the pork, but the broth is no as good! The black hose was the Kitsune (Sweet Tofu udon), it was very tasty. One of my friend ordered the Sakana (White Fish and poached egg udon). Looks good, but I don't know how good it was! The three waitresses there are very nice and helpful. Good services and attentive. Good choices for quick meal specially they open until 10:30pm. read more

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Good udon but pricy. I guess it's normal London price if you want to spend 20+ usd on a bowl of udon, including tip of course. It's very busy at lunchtime but the wait isn't terribly long as those who sit at the bar eat and go and usually don't linger too long. My friends udon was much better than mines. She got the duck udon (Kamo hiya atsu) and her broth was amazing !!! I got the beef udon (niku hiya atsu) and that broth was just okay. I added an egg and they bring you a whole egg that you... crack yourself which was sort of weird as I really didn't want to touch the egg.. was hoping it's cracked in a bowl for me already. I'd come again but wouldn't rush here as you can get handmade udon in the states for way cheaper and it tastes the same. read more

Couldnt give more than 2 stars since the udon was too hard and overall the food was not good. Thought would be bettter than marugame since its more pricey. I gotta give to the breadcrumbs for the tempura because they were good and make sure if you come here only order these because the udon wasnt good. Not recommended for the udon. Marugame has better ones and more worth it!! Not recommended unfortunately from me better go to marugame. Ive tried so many japanese food and this is not for me. Cheers! I hope this helps! read more

Koya City - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

I got the lamb udon and it was delicious! The noodles were perfectly cooked and the lamb was both sweet and spicy which was such a great combination. The two other people I was with got the duck and the chicken and said the duck was delicious but the chicken was not as much of a hit. Would absolutely recommend! read more

Koya City - Lamb Udon - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

I don't know if it was an unfortunate evening but, although Udons were really good, toppings (my smoked mackerel) were just ok-ish; not bad but not worth the price. read more

Koya City - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

Came here on a blustery weekday afternoon for something to warm me up in the middle of the workday, and Koya definitely lived up to its hype! Super quick service, and the waitress gave good recommendations. I wanted something on the lighter side that still had a lot of flavor, so I ordered the pork in miso broth with hot soup/hot udon. The soup, as promised, was piping hot, and while really flavorful and rich from the pork, did not sit heavily in my stomach. The noodles were thick, PERFECTLY chewy, and plentiful. I finished the whole bowl and was satiated for the rest of the afternoon! Really lovely service. The waitress noticed my employee badge, and gave me a discount that I did not know we had access to. I'd love to try out their Soho location for breakfast! read more

Koya City - Japanese Near Me - London, XGL

We've been to the Soho branch once and it's always busy, so we decided to check out this new location in Bloomberg Arcade on a weekday afternoon after the Christmas break. At about 4pm there was maybe only one other table, and plenty of staff, so obviously no wait at all. We ended up getting assorted pickles and agedashi tofu small plates as starters, both of which were really good. Pickles didn't look like much, but had a really lovely flavour and texture. Tofu had a gorgeous delicate texture, nice coating, good sides like green onion and ginger, and a tasty broth. Would definitely order both again. I ordered the hot udon and hot broth with walnut miso and mushrooms. At first I found it a bit bland, but once I stirred in the walnut miso, that helped a lot. It could have used a bit more umami/salt for me, but I am aware I'm a salt addict, so it was probably plenty for most people. My date got Katsudon, which is apparently the lunchtime version of Tonkatsu, breaded pork and egg on seasoned rice. He liked it a lot but said that he would probably get noodles next time, this was a bit rich. For me, it was a great way to have a meal that was a little healthier following the gluttony of the holidays, but still delicious. Service was quick, they take Amex, there is free wifi, and bathrooms are clean read more

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Fun atmosphere and good food but slowest noodle restaurant on the planet. And despite what Yelp says, it is open on Sunday.

I've been to the Koya Bar in Soho, where I had to queue for a seat at the bar, but I work in the City so I stopped by this new location for a quick bite on a rainy winter evening. I was the first diner at around 6 PM (it doesn't seem to close between lunch and dinner), and it's walk-ins only, but a few other people showed up over the course of the next half hour. It was much less busy than I expected, but that may also be a function of it being the City versus Soho, which is always full of diners all the time. There are also tables for 2-4 people, which is a plus if you're a group. I ordered the buta kasu-miso and it was served within 5 minutes. It was good, but I don't quite think it's queue-worthy and hardly worth the £10+ you pay for a bowl. It did the trick out of convenience, but I wouldn't go out of my way to stop by. read more

This is one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in London. Its chefs know how to cook delicious Japanese cuisine! Aside from the taste, atmosphere is also nice. As a Japanese, I highly recommend this restaurant to people who would like to taste authentic Japanese foods. read more