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We first stopped by on a Wednesday but found Sobakatsu closed for maintenance, so we came back the next day to finally give it a try. We arrived about 30 minutes after opening and waited roughly another 30 minutes before we could order at the kiosk and get seated. The restaurant is very small with only about a dozen seats. You wait until a seat opens up before ordering, so depending on availability, you may end up sitting alongside other parties. The whole setup and atmosphere reminded me so much of the small soba restaurants I visited in Japan and added to how authentic the experience felt. I ordered the Tenzaru Soba with Omakase Tempura and was genuinely impressed. The soba portion was incredibly generous, and I left very full. The noodles were some of the most authentic soba I've had in California, and I ate every last bit. Everything felt simple, carefully made, and satisfying. Parking is street parking only, but we were able to find a spot nearby and walk over. I would absolutely come back to Sobakatsu, just with the expectation that there may be a wait.
I saw the hype on YouTube over this place so naturally, I had to try it for myself when I was in SF for the weekend. I waited over an hour since this place is TINY. So if you're starving, I suggest getting a light snack. The menu is short but sweet which means they can focus on their craft. Since it was a rather windy and cold day, I ordered the tenkake (hot soba) with shrimp tempura and the chef's special tempura. The soba noodles were very soft and tasty, the broth was perfection. The tempura were lightly battered and not too oily. I noticed most people ordered the dry soba so I'll be sure to give that a try when I return. Was it worth the wait? Not really but if you're in the mood for soba and fresh tempura, then this is your spot.
Hands down my favorite soba spot in the bay! Their soba is delicious, but my favorite thing is probably the fish cake that comes with the set. Also, the egg appetizer is very yummy as well. The only drawback is they are extremely tiny and it's dine in only, so the line to get in moves very slowly. Every time I've gone for lunch it's been about a 1-2hr wait. They close when sold out so there were a couple times when I went for dinner but they were already sold out by 5:30. Additionally, they will sometimes be closed on random days, but they post the schedule for the current month and the next in the window.
As everyone else mentioned, Sobakatsu is dine-in only, has limited seating, and always has a wait. It's best for small parties of 1-2. There's bar-type seating and tables, so you may share with strangers. You order on a tablet, pay, and then sit down. When there's no more seats, you're just waiting in line to order. Chef calls out your order # and then you pick up your tray of food and return to your seat. When you're done, you return the tray to the chef. I ordered the tenkake (hot soba) with shrimp kakiage and soba warabimochi. The soba noodles had good texture, nice and chewy but not mushy. The dashi broth was delicious and warming. The shrimp kakiage was good, but a bit greasy. The soba warabimochi was chewy and mildly sweet. They have a bathroom onsite, which funnily enough, is roughly similar in size to the dining area. If you're eager to try Sobakatsu, I recommend lining up 30 minutes before opening for higher chances of first seating. Don't take your chances closer to closing, since they may close early when soba runs out.
The wait is long but everything we had was great! We stopped by on a cold day and went for their hot soba. We tried their clam soba, yuzu-scented niku suba, and scallop kakiage. The broth flavors were light and refreshing and each bowl came with a hefty portion of soba. I liked how crispy and fragrant the kakiage were. The batter had a nice toasty flavor. The flavor was pretty mild/not salty but good with the provided sauce. I'm glad I got to try out this spot but the wait is a bit too long for me to want to come regularly.
Sobakatsu is in the heart of Japantown, and is quite a popular restaurant! We ended up going on a Friday afternoon right as it opened, but still ended up waiting nearly 3 hours to be seated. The seats are very limited, and there were only two staff members cooking. Everything else is self-service, including finding seating and ordering! I had the cold noodles with the fried scallops, and I thought that everything was done very well. The noodles were bouncy, and the tempura lightly battered and not too oily! I would definitely give it a try, though I wouldn't wait in line for it again. Hopefully it's easier to get a spot in the future!
$29 Tenzaru (cold dry noodle) Omakase Surimi (assorted fish paste tempura): I really enjoyed this. Not heavy overall. This is a tiny 11 seat operation with screen ordering and two cooks. Either line up 20 minutes early (at least and it was a Friday) or expect to wait outside for an hour. Great 80's Japanese City Pop plays overhead. I liked the ambience. Not worth traveling into the city just for this. But a fine destination if you're already near Japan Town and you plan ahead.
I came here alone on a weekday a little after lunchtime and there were only a few people ahead of me waiting for spots. It's a tiny spot with about 11 seats inside. You have to claim a seat first before you can start ordering at the kiosk. I tried the hot scallop soba, which came with little bay scallops that were tempura fried really well. The portion sizes were decent and everything came out hot and pretty quickly. I also ordered the chicken plum karaage as a side. It was all white meat and surprisingly tender and juicy. It didn't have a ton of flavor, but the texture was good. You can watch the chefs working right behind the counter, which is kind of cool. The whole meal came out to a little over 40 dollars after tax, so expect to pay a bit more for the experience. Overall, it's a cool spot to get fresh clean soba and it's close to Super Mira.
We got here around 10-15 minutes before opening on a Wednesday and there was already a line. Luckily we were still seated within the first round. There is only a small seating area fitting around 6 small parties or so, you go in and order on a kiosk and they will call your number when your meal is ready to pick up. I got the Zaru Soba Surimiten with cold soba and the Warabimochi. The cold soba was super refreshing especially on a hot day and after waiting in line. I loved that everything is homemade from the soba and tempura all the way to the soba dipping sauce. The tempera was delicious, it came with a different variety and some that I never tried before. I would highly recommend coming early and getting in line before it opens to be able to get in first, but definitely worth the try for some authentic Japanese soba!
I got here at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and got in at 2:30 p.m. and got the place to put my order. Good: I really liked the tamago dish, and I got the hot soba soup with a bunch of tempura. The tempura ended up being too oily, so I didn't finish it, but I did really like the soba soup. It was quite tasty and savory. Also got to sit next to the lucky Buddha, and I rubbed the feet, so that was actually quite a nice blessing. The chef is really, really nice. Even though he was being swarmed, he was very nice to me and taught me how everything worked. Bad: The soba noodles themselves were just okay. They didn't have much flavor, and they didn't taste that great to me. It's also pretty expensive to get just an appetizer and a soba dish. It was over $40. Overall, I'm glad I came and tried out this super unique and special place in SF. I had a day off, so it was worth the wait. If I weren't coming on a day off, it would be harder to justify the wait.
Sobakatsu is really good but I'm unsure if it is worth the wait. There are only 11 seats here and they run out of food closer to closing time so I highly suggest getting here early in the day if you have the time. My friend and I ordered the tenzaru omakase combo and this came with assorted vegetable and seafood tempura. I thought the soba yu broth was good if you wanted a hot broth in addition to your cold dripping sauce, but it tasted like hot water for the most part. The soba noodles were a perfect texture and were great with the dipping sauce. Again, I would only suggest coming here if you have time.
Still the best cold soba in San Francisco, but I regret to update that the weight is still extremely long. 45 minutes on a weekday after arriving 15 minutes after opening. The food is still delicious, but didn't blow me away like it did the first time. Considering how inconvenient it is to dine here, I can't justify returning. I also wish there was more dining space, because you are cramped together with other tables and don't have enough privacy to have a conversation. I would think that by now this restaurant is successful enough that they could finally offer takeout or open up an additional larger location given their brands success.
a small corner establishment, inside is super small but decorated nicely and is cozy. owners are kind and very hardworking! this is my second time here, so i came an hour early to line up, i ended up being first and other customers shortly followed. got the cold soba, it's superior to the hot one albeit that one is still good! soba is cooked perfectly, has a bite to it and they give you a hefty amount. the kakiage was good, the tempura batter is light, delicious, and not oily at all. the dipping sauce is yum, light with a soy flavor. they also provide green onions and wasabi for you to flavor your sauce as desired.
13 hours ago
Felt like I got transported back to Japan when I was dining here! The space is very small and only fits 11 people total across a couple tables and bar seats. You self order at a kiosk and seat yourself. There are two people cooking everything from scratch in the open kitchen and they'll call your number when your food is ready. I advise coming before they open as my friend and I came 15 minutes before they opened on a random Wednesday and there were already 5 others ahead of us. If you miss the first seating, you'll have to wait 45 min until someone finishes and leaves. We decided to share one cold soba with shrimp tempura and veggies in addition to the spicy dipping broth. It was delicious!! If you aren't a big eater, one order is definitely enough to share. The soba portion is quite generous. The tempura is made-to-order and really crunchy. I'm excited to come back and try their scallop kakiage. The spicy broth was really good with a hint of yuzu so if you like spicy food, I'd recommend adding that as a side item. It's a "cozy" restaurant so you might be sharing a table with another party. I'd come solo or even at most with one other person to have the best opportunity to sit each other. read more
Visited this lovely restaurant during a layover in SF. Even though I do not have to eat gluten free items, it's nice for those who are gluten free. We ordered the Hot Yuzu Scented Niku Soba ($25) & the Tenzaru Kakigage ($28) which were both delicious. The hot soba came with onsen tamago which was rich in flavor. The Tenzaru Kakigage came with cold soba, crispy deep fried veggies, and dipping sauce. The restaurant is small & you have to order before picking a seat. I would not recommend bringing a big group. Ordering food is through a self serve tablet and you pick up your food at the counter when your number is called. They offer soba-yu for after you're done with your meal that is meant to be added to your dipping sauce and consumed as a broth. read more
amazing ... visited today (9/18) and surprisingly wasn't too busy during the late afternoon -- decently packed but customers would come and go so seating is available with a bit of waiting. the interior is cozy but definitely a lil cramped so this place is best for smaller groups or solo dining. you can order through a self serve kiosk and seat yourself after --- i ordered the cold soba with tempura and wowwwww. genuinely the shrimp tempura is unbelievable -- the batter was perfectly crispy and light and the shrimp melted in my mouth. then the soba noodles -- the portion was generous and honestly perfect . i do wish some of the strands weren't so short but otherwise, beautifully done dish. the man working here is kind and friendly, as well as efficient. ^__^ def will be visiting again. thank u read more
We first stopped by on a Wednesday but found Sobakatsu closed for maintenance, so we came back the next day to finally give it a try. We arrived about 30 minutes after opening and waited roughly another 30 minutes before we could order at the kiosk and get seated. The restaurant is very small with only about a dozen seats. You wait until a seat opens up before ordering, so depending on availability, you may end up sitting alongside other parties. The whole setup and atmosphere reminded me so much of the small soba restaurants I visited in Japan and added to how authentic the experience felt. I ordered the Tenzaru Soba with Omakase Tempura and was genuinely impressed. The soba portion was incredibly generous, and I left very full. The noodles were some of the most authentic soba I've had in California, and I ate every last bit. Everything felt simple, carefully made, and satisfying. Parking is street parking only, but we were able to find a spot nearby and walk over. I would absolutely come back to Sobakatsu, just with the expectation that there may be a wait. read more
I saw the hype on YouTube over this place so naturally, I had to try it for myself when I was in SF for the weekend. I waited over an hour since this place is TINY. So if you're starving, I suggest getting a light snack. The menu is short but sweet which means they can focus on their craft. Since it was a rather windy and cold day, I ordered the tenkake (hot soba) with shrimp tempura and the chef's special tempura. The soba noodles were very soft and tasty, the broth was perfection. The tempura were lightly battered and not too oily. I noticed most people ordered the dry soba so I'll be sure to give that a try when I return. Was it worth the wait? Not really but if you're in the mood for soba and fresh tempura, then this is your spot. read more
Hands down my favorite soba spot in the bay! Their soba is delicious, but my favorite thing is probably the fish cake that comes with the set. Also, the egg appetizer is very yummy as well. The only drawback is they are extremely tiny and it's dine in only, so the line to get in moves very slowly. Every time I've gone for lunch it's been about a 1-2hr wait. They close when sold out so there were a couple times when I went for dinner but they were already sold out by 5:30. Additionally, they will sometimes be closed on random days, but they post the schedule for the current month and the next in the window. read more
2 months ago
As everyone else mentioned, Sobakatsu is dine-in only, has limited seating, and always has a wait. It's best for small parties of 1-2. There's bar-type seating and tables, so you may share with strangers. You order on a tablet, pay, and then sit down. When there's no more seats, you're just waiting in line to order. Chef calls out your order # and then you pick up your tray of food and return to your seat. When you're done, you return the tray to the chef. I ordered the tenkake (hot soba) with shrimp kakiage and soba warabimochi. The soba noodles had good texture, nice and chewy but not mushy. The dashi broth was delicious and warming. The shrimp kakiage was good, but a bit greasy. The soba warabimochi was chewy and mildly sweet. They have a bathroom onsite, which funnily enough, is roughly similar in size to the dining area. If you're eager to try Sobakatsu, I recommend lining up 30 minutes before opening for higher chances of first seating. Don't take your chances closer to closing, since they may close early when soba runs out. read more
The wait is long but everything we had was great! We stopped by on a cold day and went for their hot soba. We tried their clam soba, yuzu-scented niku suba, and scallop kakiage. The broth flavors were light and refreshing and each bowl came with a hefty portion of soba. I liked how crispy and fragrant the kakiage were. The batter had a nice toasty flavor. The flavor was pretty mild/not salty but good with the provided sauce. I'm glad I got to try out this spot but the wait is a bit too long for me to want to come regularly. read more
Sobakatsu is in the heart of Japantown, and is quite a popular restaurant! We ended up going on a Friday afternoon right as it opened, but still ended up waiting nearly 3 hours to be seated. The seats are very limited, and there were only two staff members cooking. Everything else is self-service, including finding seating and ordering! I had the cold noodles with the fried scallops, and I thought that everything was done very well. The noodles were bouncy, and the tempura lightly battered and not too oily! I would definitely give it a try, though I wouldn't wait in line for it again. Hopefully it's easier to get a spot in the future! read more
$29 Tenzaru (cold dry noodle) Omakase Surimi (assorted fish paste tempura): I really enjoyed this. Not heavy overall. This is a tiny 11 seat operation with screen ordering and two cooks. Either line up 20 minutes early (at least and it was a Friday) or expect to wait outside for an hour. Great 80's Japanese City Pop plays overhead. I liked the ambience. Not worth traveling into the city just for this. But a fine destination if you're already near Japan Town and you plan ahead. read more
I came here alone on a weekday a little after lunchtime and there were only a few people ahead of me waiting for spots. It's a tiny spot with about 11 seats inside. You have to claim a seat first before you can start ordering at the kiosk. I tried the hot scallop soba, which came with little bay scallops that were tempura fried really well. The portion sizes were decent and everything came out hot and pretty quickly. I also ordered the chicken plum karaage as a side. It was all white meat and surprisingly tender and juicy. It didn't have a ton of flavor, but the texture was good. You can watch the chefs working right behind the counter, which is kind of cool. The whole meal came out to a little over 40 dollars after tax, so expect to pay a bit more for the experience. Overall, it's a cool spot to get fresh clean soba and it's close to Super Mira. read more
We got here around 10-15 minutes before opening on a Wednesday and there was already a line. Luckily we were still seated within the first round. There is only a small seating area fitting around 6 small parties or so, you go in and order on a kiosk and they will call your number when your meal is ready to pick up. I got the Zaru Soba Surimiten with cold soba and the Warabimochi. The cold soba was super refreshing especially on a hot day and after waiting in line. I loved that everything is homemade from the soba and tempura all the way to the soba dipping sauce. The tempera was delicious, it came with a different variety and some that I never tried before. I would highly recommend coming early and getting in line before it opens to be able to get in first, but definitely worth the try for some authentic Japanese soba! read more
I got here at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and got in at 2:30 p.m. and got the place to put my order. Good: I really liked the tamago dish, and I got the hot soba soup with a bunch of tempura. The tempura ended up being too oily, so I didn't finish it, but I did really like the soba soup. It was quite tasty and savory. Also got to sit next to the lucky Buddha, and I rubbed the feet, so that was actually quite a nice blessing. The chef is really, really nice. Even though he was being swarmed, he was very nice to me and taught me how everything worked. Bad: The soba noodles themselves were just okay. They didn't have much flavor, and they didn't taste that great to me. It's also pretty expensive to get just an appetizer and a soba dish. It was over $40. Overall, I'm glad I came and tried out this super unique and special place in SF. I had a day off, so it was worth the wait. If I weren't coming on a day off, it would be harder to justify the wait. read more
2 months ago
Sobakatsu is really good but I'm unsure if it is worth the wait. There are only 11 seats here and they run out of food closer to closing time so I highly suggest getting here early in the day if you have the time. My friend and I ordered the tenzaru omakase combo and this came with assorted vegetable and seafood tempura. I thought the soba yu broth was good if you wanted a hot broth in addition to your cold dripping sauce, but it tasted like hot water for the most part. The soba noodles were a perfect texture and were great with the dipping sauce. Again, I would only suggest coming here if you have time. read more
Still the best cold soba in San Francisco, but I regret to update that the weight is still extremely long. 45 minutes on a weekday after arriving 15 minutes after opening. The food is still delicious, but didn't blow me away like it did the first time. Considering how inconvenient it is to dine here, I can't justify returning. I also wish there was more dining space, because you are cramped together with other tables and don't have enough privacy to have a conversation. I would think that by now this restaurant is successful enough that they could finally offer takeout or open up an additional larger location given their brands success. read more
a small corner establishment, inside is super small but decorated nicely and is cozy. owners are kind and very hardworking! this is my second time here, so i came an hour early to line up, i ended up being first and other customers shortly followed. got the cold soba, it's superior to the hot one albeit that one is still good! soba is cooked perfectly, has a bite to it and they give you a hefty amount. the kakiage was good, the tempura batter is light, delicious, and not oily at all. the dipping sauce is yum, light with a soy flavor. they also provide green onions and wasabi for you to flavor your sauce as desired. read more
I live very close to this establishment and almost always see a line outside. Today, I had some time to check it out for lunch and I wasn't disappointed. Firstly, I'd say be prepared to wait a little bit. This is a more intimate and smaller restaurant with only 11 seats. You order at the kiosk and wait for your number to be called. I got the cold soba (tenzaru) and I thought it was delicious. Every item on the plate tasted good, and I was surprised how refreshing the noodles were. I definitely recommend this place for someone wanting to try Soba Noodles! read more
I came here on a rainy Saturday about 30 minutes before opening and was able to make it in the first wave of seating since we were the second party. They open right at 12, and you put in your order on the kiosk before taking a seat. We received our food after about 20 minutes of our order. Overall, the soba was refreshing and the tempura was light and crispy! The noodles were very fresh and the texture was perfect. I enjoyed the whole experience, but I don't think it was necessarily anything super special or worth any longer than an hour wait, personally. There was a long line after we left, so we definitely felt a little rushed to finish our food and leave to make room for others to dine. It is indeed very tiny (literally 11 seats). read more
5 months ago
I love this authentic little spot in Japan town. The soba was earthy and delicate. The tempura are fried with a gluten-free powder that gave a interesting texture. One can put a generous amount of spice powder to the tempura to give it more flavor. The dipping sauce was perfectly complementary to the chilled soba. You can add your preferred amount to wasabi and spring onions in the sauce - I put all of the wasabi in the sauce and it was still excellent. I love the fried the scallop tempura, and all of the vegetable tempura. This is the ultimate comfort food on a rainy day. I came around 5pm and left as round 6pm on a Tuesday There was space for singles/couples but harder to find table for 4 given the space. No wait for table and I got my food in 15 minutes. Great value and love this spot for a simple, authentic and nuanced dinner. I also tried the soba warabimochi, a gelatin chewy rectangular pieces of dessert dusted in sesame powder. It was solid but the soba is the winner here. I would love to come back to try the hot soba as well. read more
We arrived at 11:08 AM on a Saturday and were already the 6th party in line which didn't make the cut for the first wave of seating. If the food is truly good though, I don't usually mind a wait. I ordered the hot soba with surumi tempura which was essentially an assortment of 5 different fishcakes. My husband got the same but with the special tempura. Right off the bat, the tempura lacked salt. The hot soba broth leaned on the sweeter side as well. There is salt provided in the container on the table, so maybe the lack of salt was intentional? I've just never had to personally add more salt to any tempura. Portions also run a bit small, especially with the surumi tempura, but this, I expected. Overall, the food was mid. You do have to grab your own order after it is ready from the counter, which can be a bit precarious since the restaurant is extremely compact. For waiting a total of 2 hours before seeing food, I'd say Sobakatsu wasn't worth it and didn't live up the hype. read more
This is a great place, but not worth the almost 3 hour wait! I found this randomly on my maps and decided to try it out on a weekend. I happened to arrive right at opening, not knowing this is a ridiculously sought after place. I ended up waiting almost 3 (!!!!) hours. It looked too good to pass up and line actually didn't seem that long. Turns out there's only a handful of seats inside and line moves very very slow. The service is great! The cooks are very sweet and friendly. There are a couple options. I got the additional spicy dipping sauce add on. The spicy is fine, no need to order. The tempura is fantastic. It's light and airy and well flavored. The noodles are good. The normal dipping sauce is a little fishy, but not bad. The experience is nice but not worth the line! read more
excellent, really authentic soba! we finally managed to snag some fresh noodles and around 5pm on a tuesday -- previously they've always sold out when I tried to go later. it's a tiny space with 11 seats and is pretty much self-serve (pre-pay). the dishes are a bit pricey, but they are good. we got one hot and one cold: - Hot Yuzu-Scented Niku Soba ($25) - Cold Tenzaru Omakase Special Kakiage & Veg ($28) we couldn't really taste any yuzu in the former other than the yuzu strips, but I still liked the flavor and noodle textures. the cold dipping soba was paired well with some well-fried tempura. remember to polish off your dipping sauce with the free soba-yu! read more
Hard to find soba at all, let alone at this level. Was so excited to hear sobakatsu had opened but hard to get a seat! Our second attempt dining here was a success! 1st time we came at 3-4ish on a Friday and they'd just sold out early. This time we arrived 1:45 Friday, waited with about 10 people in front of us in line for 45 mins, the maybe another 15 for food. On our way out, saw the line was maybe half as long. If you're willing to chance a sell-out and try them around 3 that's probably still a good bet. Single diners should peek in and try to snag a single seat open at the bar - save like 30min wait. While the clam and duck hot sobas caught my eye, it was a warm day so we both opted for cold soba. We tried both the jumbo shrimp and shrimp/veg tenzarus. I preferred the jumbo shrimp (typical with tempura), both came with veggies. I could have eaten a lot more tempura! Light batter, so fresh. The soba was so simple but satisfying, comforting and .. pure? So much restraint on this plate. You can dip your tempura in the broth and finish it with the sobayu. I typically would but I was honestly too stuffed - it's a hearty amount of soba! We also tried the ume chicken tempura which was moist and super interesting - I love shiso so was a great surprise! The sobawarachimochi was a delightful dessert (hubby ate his throughout the meal), combining the buckwheat with kinako and kuromitsu. Softer and lighter than rice mochi. It's a small spot, so you may feel pressure to eat quickly and vacate your seat (maybe that's just me) instead of slow down and enjoy the meal, the time and passion and expertise put into it. You bus your own table - the bar we sat at was pretty sticky even after we wiped it down with the wipes they provided. But sometimes wipes themselves could be sticky! Prices feel reasonable, and despite the wait and stickiness we are already plotting to come back! read more
I heard of Sobakatsu from my friend from NYC who found it on TikTok and suggested going when she was visited SF last year. We ended up elsewhere; however, I alway kept Sobakatsu bookmarked for another time. An opportunity presented itself when my local friend and I decided to grab an early weeknight dinner. It was great because we were able to avoid crowds, and there was no queue to order. While I'm not typically inclined toward cold food, I decided to give it a go here rather than default to soup. I got the tenzaru with shrimp kakiage and vegetables. The kakiage was perfect! Not greasy at all and the flavor was on point. As for the noodles, there were certainly a lot of them. I thought they were alright, but the amount was disproportionate to the amount of protein, and I couldn't finish them all. I really debated giving this place 3 or 4 stars, and honestly, I'd say it's a decent 3.5, but I'm rounding down because I think the volume of noodles to kakiage could be more balanced. read more
6 months ago
Popular and small soba noodle spot located near Japantown. The line is notoriously long but today it looked shorter than usual so decided to give it a shot. Despite having only six people in front of us, we still waited about 45 minutes to get seated. The inside is very small. There is a small counter sitting for 2-3 people. Another 3 to 4 tables sitting maybe 8 to 10 people. You prepay and order at a Kiosk and than wait for your meal to be served. the menu is limited -- the main decision is do you want to go down the cold soba noodle path or the hot noodle with soup path. From there, you pick from a variety of tempura or kakiage options. The tempura is a little lighter and the kakiage is also deep fried but more of a corn fritter texture and look. We ordered one of each and ultimately I prefer the cold noodles for its more chewy texture but the hot version provides a nice fish broth. I found the dishes satisfying, tasty, and delicious. The tempura had a nice crunch but was not as light as others I have had. The noodles were al dente and good, but overall, nothing was spectacular enough for me to wait 45 minutes to 1.5 hours for, especially when it's $20 to $25 a bowl. Probably 3.5 stars for me... read more
2 months ago
So good! This place definitely lives up to the hype. The tempura was incredibly light, airy, and perfectly crispy without feeling greasy at all. The soba was also delicious and paired really well with the tempura. One thing to keep in mind is the wait. The restaurant is tiny, so even on a random weekday we ended up waiting about 40 minutes. I've also heard weekend waits can easily stretch to over an hour, so definitely come prepared if you're planning to visit during peak times. Funny enough, they accidentally gave me the wrong order--but I wasn't about to complain because they gave me the more expensive fish tempura instead of the shrimp tempura I ordered. It ended up being a happy accident because I got to try even more of their menu. The fish tempura, hot soba, shrimp tempura, and handmade fish cake tempura were all delicious. I'd happily recommend any of them! read more
Soba restaurant at Japanese town in San Francisco. It is small restaurant at corner street and it is specialized in authentic and freshly made Japanese l soba noidle . It was busy and people in line when we arrived and the restaurant is not opened yet. We missed the first seating as It only have 11 seats in the restaurant with some are bar style seat. The wait time was about 45 to more than an hour. The best to line up before it opens. Once you are find a seat, you can order from the touch screen ordering The menu is simple , first you can choose hot or cold soba, and for tenzaru and tenkake set you choose either tempura or kaikage. There is also other lr soba choices. For small bites it has chicken tenders, braised pork, and and mochi for dessert. We ordered tenzaru and tenkske with shrimp kaikage. We also ordered kakesoba, chicken tender and mochi. Both cold and hot soba are unique and yummy. I like soba texture and yhe broth cold and hot are yummy. The kaikage is unique as it is a bit chewy. The chicken tender is ok. Mochi is yummy. Looks like one of the worker is the owner and he was friendly. Overall it was a good lunch. You have to be patient if you want to have a meal here. Ehile you are inside , you feel like uou are in one of the restaurant in japan as it is small, with open kitchen, and pack. Parking is on the street and the restaurant has one restroom. read more
8 months ago
No wait on a Tuesday 6pm! Order on the tablet and the seat yourself. As you already know, the space is small. In terms of the item, order one cold tenzaru with surimi tempera ($22) and one hot, tenkake ($20) soba. Asked for a small bowl for sharing and was declined unfortunately. The surimi tempera consists of scallop and shrimp tempera, it was good, but I wished the pieces were larger. The veggie tempera is contains good variety and fried in fresh oil. Simple meal. I prefer chewier noodles, so I like the cold noodles, but the broth of the hot soup. read more
Intimate Ambiance. Lengthy Lines. Generous Portions for Price. Cold & Warm Menu, Including Seasonal Special. Decadent Food. Paid Metered & Lots Around Area. See Below for More Details: Intimate Ambiance: Sobakatsu has an intimate ambiance with twelve seats. There are two tables of four and then four bar stools. The space is cozy. Thus, Sobakatsu is best for smaller groups or solo diners. Lengthy Lines: Lines can be long, as shared by other reviewers. However, this was not my experience. Serendipitously, I found myself in Japantown during my day off, and I was able to find a seat, order, and get my food within ten minutes. I am super grateful. Generous Portions for Price: Sobakatsu has generous portions for the price, relative to other San Francisco restaurants. I have a hearty appetite and was full for hours following my meal at Sobakatsu. Cold & Warm Menu, Including Seasonal Special: Sobakatsu has an expansive menu consisting of cold and warm noodles. The restaurant even offers a seasonal special. For instance, I had the Niku Noodles special during my December 2025 visit. Decadent Food: Sobakatsu has decadent food. I had the Niku Noodles, and what a delicious meal, my favorite for fall 2025. The broth was warm and nicely seasoned. The noodles were soft. The eggs was complimentary to the noodles and meat, gooey and mixed well with the broth. I am counting down the days until I am able to return to have noodles at Sobakatsu. Paid Meters & Lots Around Area: Sobakatsu is in San Francisco's Japantown. There is parking in the perimeter including paid street meters that you can pay with quarters or a card as well as private lots, such as the Japan Center Garage. If you want to get steps and take in San Francisco weather, there is two-hour residential parking several blocks out from Japantown. However, be cautious about street cleaning and signs. Overall, I had an incredible experience at Sobakatsu, and I am joyous to return soon! read more
There are similarly tiny noodle shops in Japan, so many that I find it amusing that this spot is so popular among the SF Gen Y-to-Z crowd, enough for them to queue up on the sidewalk. In fact, on one weekday afternoon, I was so shocked at the absence of a line of young foodies that I decided to make my long delayed virginal visit. As I suspected, not a single silver-haired J-Town senior was to be found on any of the eleven seats. I believe my presence must've shot up the age median significantly. It looked to be a two-man operation, and I found out ordering needed to be done on a tablet. Thanks to the mouthy couple waiting behind me, I felt pressure to order quickly and mindlessly selected items à la carte. I was corrected by one of the men who backed out my order and had me place a combo order for the $20 Tenzaru Meal of Shrimp Kakiage and Cold Zarusoba Noodles. That saved me $8. Thank you sir. Fortunately I was able to seize a counter seat when it opened and didn't wait long for the arrival of my traditional meal (Photo 7). The chilled soba noodles were piled neatly on a bamboo tray accompanied by a light soy dipping sauce, some fresh wasabi, and a bit of green onion. The deliciously crispy shrimp kakiage was served on its own laquer dish and presented as a lightly battered fritter of roughly chopped shrimp. I'm usually allergic to buckwheat, but the noodles went down quite smoothly. I also added a dessert, the $6 Sobawaramochi, which was a serving of the jelly- like warabi mochi coated in kinako (roasted soybean powder) and sitting in a pool of kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup). What a treat as it's more of a regional sweet treat in Japan often sold off mobile carts. Now I understand why people wait in lines here. I just may do that next time with Jamie W. FOOD - 5 stars...authentic tenzaru meals executed flawlessly AMBIANCE - 4 stars...tight quarters for sure SERVICE - 5 stars...he didn't have to save me money TOTAL - 5 stars...a little soba never killed anyone (thank goodness) RELATED - Exploring Japantown? Here's a collection of places l've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/l1AAkI4i6h read more
Yum! Worth the wait if you're craving soba and some tempura! There's about 10ish seats inside so the wait might take a bit. You order at the kiosk then your food should be out shortly after being seated. We tried the soba with scallop and fish tempura. I would say the fish tempura is a must try! The batter is light and the fish is flakey. There's a nice citrus flavor. The scallop tempura is a bunch of baby scallops fried into a patty of sorts. The shrimp tempura was also solid but nothing outstanding. To finish we had the warabi mochi which we found to have an interesting texture. It was more hard and solid than what I was expecting, I had thought it would be more jiggly and melty. Defiantly a fun spot to try out if you're near by and the line looks short! read more
Writing this feels really weird since A) I actually liked what I tried here and B) this is far from a negative review. Yet, after seeing all of the glowing five star reviews that so many folks have given Sobakatsu, I can't help but feel a little sheepish giving "only" four stars since it puts me in the clear minority! Now, as so many others have already noted, it really is striking just how small Sobakatsu is. In all, there are just eleven seats inside - a four-top, a couple of two-tops, and three counter seats. Despite their size, though, this place is no less mighty and, not surprisingly, quite efficient. Once you've made it to the front of the line and see a space open up, enter your order at the tablet and grab your seat(s). As for the menu, while it may be similarly modest, everything on it looks great. Obviously, soba is their specialty, of which they have over a half dozen hot and cold varieties, but they also have a nice assortment of tempura, kakiage, and small sides as well! -- SCALLOP KAKIAGE This was terrific! The batter was perfect and I loved how flavorful the bay scallops were. Plus, it was a nice surprise to get a few pieces of tempura as well. The snap pea was okay, and both the mushroom and kabocha were good, but my favorite was the surimi. -- BRAISED PORK BELLY DISH I was a little worried when I saw how big and fatty these were, but this was so good! Although each piece had a bit of fat on them, they didn't have a super fatty taste to them and were oh so tender. Plus, the sauce was rich and delicious! -- TENZARU SOBA SET - Cold Soba with Mixed Tempura A bit disappointing, to be honest. Mostly, both the soba and the sauce didn't taste different from what I've had at legit Japanese restaurants elsewhere. As for the tempura, the batter was really thin, but I loved that the portion was generous (five pieces of shrimp!). Sadly, since we missed the first wave of seating when they opened (we got here at about 11:40am on a Friday), my friend and I ended up having to wait about an hour and a half before we finally got in (it was a little after 1pm by the time we ordered and sat down). That being said, I have to admit it didn't feel that long since they're good about churning our orders (and groups) quickly. All in all, I definitely wouldn't mind coming back to check out more of Sobakatsu's offerings, especially one of their hot soba options, but I'm not sure I would wait as long as we did again to do it. Don't get me wrong - I was happy to do it to finally come here and the food is certainly worth checking out. It's just that while what I had was good, I don't know if it's wait-in-line-for-90-minutes-again good. If I only had to wait for half of that time, though? Absolutely. FOUR AND A HALF STARS rounded down. read more
8 months ago
Small restaurant with two cooks and a tablet POS to order. I arrived a few minutes after opening on a Tuesday and had to wait for the first wave of customers to eat and leave - about 45 minutes, so I'd plan to arrive before opening next time if you want to be the first seating, or come after the lunch rush around 2 or 3, but risk their closing early for selling out. Authentic refreshing cold soba and exceptionally well fried light crispy tempura. Warabimochi was nice and chewy but a lot of the powder got on my backpack - eater beware. Cute restaurant and enjoyed the cozy vibe and authentic food but wouldn't wait hours for it read more
Third time's a charm! Finally got to try here after several failed attempts. We went for lunch and despite arriving at 11:45am before it opened, there was already a huge line and still had to wait over an hour. You order on the screen and there's 2 men furiously popping out soba and tempura. I got the veggie set and my friend got the combo. We both got hot soba. The soba was slightly soft for me, but otherwise the tempura was good. While I probably would not wait again for over an hour, definitely worth checking out and if the line ever dies down I'd come back when I'm in town! read more
11 months ago
After first hearing about this little spot on Tiktok I knew I had to check it out. I absolutely love soba noodles as well as tempura so I ventured out to Japantown to give it a try. When I went there was already a long line that I ended up waiting an hour an ten minutes. Luckily I had already grabbed a matcha from maruwu seicha so that held me over a bit while I waited. The inside seating is incredibly small only seating roughly 15 people with a small kiosk up front to pay and a broth refill station. I decided to get the cold soba noodle set with tempura and it was so incredibly refreshing and delicious. The soba was chewy and bouncy while the broth was chilled and tangy. The tempura was also perfectly crunchy and delicate. My absolute favorite item however was the warabi mochi. This was hands down some of the best mochi I have ever had and it was dusted with soy bean powder and topped with a sweet glaze. Absolutely recommend getting this in addition to the soba noods! read more
While its hard to find seating because Sobakatsu is small, once inside it's about as authentic (to Japan) as you can find. The soba is chewy and good, the dipping sauce (dashi) is solid, and the tempura was light and as good as I've had, including in Japan at a good tempura spot. Order ahead on a screen, get a ticket, find a seat, and wait for your lunch, as it's made-to-order. Turn around times were fairly quick, but I did come after the lunch rush. Limited seating, so you'll need to time your a visit to best enjoy it. I recommend coming at off hours and not at peak times, if possible. read more
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More info about Sobakatsu
1700 Laguna St
San Francisco, CA 94115
Japantown, Lower Pacific Heights
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https://www.sobakatsu03.com
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Ask the Community - Sobakatsu
I would like to take my mom but she cannot stand for long. Is it possible to make some accommodations for her? Thank you.
I think this might not be the place for her as the line is usually very long and the space inside is very tiny and for active dining only. It's possible you could bring a foldable chair for her, or you can get there very early before it opens and…
Do they accept reservations?
No-they do not accept reservations. It is "first come, first serve"-2 tables with 4 chairs and 3 chairs at the bar. very small. But the food is Devine and worth the wait.😉
Does it have miso soup and how much is it?
They don't have miso soup on their menu.
