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    Zen

    4.0 (42 reviews)
    Closed • 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Beef Shabu Cold Udon
    Lorynn C.

    Delicious cold udon with beef! The workers here are also so nice and attentive. Will definitely come here again.

    Jonica K.

    I really enjoyed the udon here! The service was a bit slow, but I imagine the recent grand opening has kept the staff incredibly busy. I'd definitely come back during a less hectic time. If you don't like CHEWY udon, then this may not be the place for you. // Warm Tempura Udon + Nami Tempura Set If you're looking for udon with tempura on the side, I highly recommend this combination. You can choose either warm or cold udon, and there are four tempura set options- I went with the Nami, which seemed to be the most popular. The dashi broth was comforting and flavorful, the udon was fresh with a great chewy texture, and the tempura arrived piping hot and crispy. // Mentai Cream Udon This was excellent. I only had a few bites of my friend's, but it had the perfect balance of rich, creamy, and savory flavors. I've had mentai cream udon elsewhere that was overly heavy or too salty, but this version was well-balanced and delicious. I'd definitely order it on my next visit. The food was worth the wait, though be prepared if you're visiting during peak hours. We came on a Friday evening and waited about 40-50 minutes for a table for two. The restaurant is fairly small, so I'd recommend visiting during off-peak times, especially since it's still new. Parking in downtown Sunnyvale can also be difficult during busy hours.

    Decor
    James L.

    The signage and overall look made this place seem promising. The restaurant is newly opened, and parts of the interior looked refreshed, but other parts still looked a bit old. I'm guessing it was only lightly refreshed after the previous restaurant closed. Our table was also a bit wobbly. There is a good selection of udon dishes, and the staff were friendly with quick service. I got the beef shabu cold udon, which looked like a good choice on a warm day. The broth was served separately to pour over the noodles. It was tasty, but there wasn't quite enough of it since the broth jar was less than half full. The menu does warn that the noodles will be chewy, and they definitely were. Honestly, it was too chewy for me. The beef was also pretty chewy and had a bit too much fat. I was hoping it would be more tender. Since there wasn't enough broth, the rest of the dish needed more flavor, including the beef. It looked promising but was pretty disappointing. I think they're going for the healthy restaurant trend, which I appreciate, but the food needs work. Hope it gets better.

    I got the veggie tempura which was delicious.
    Dae B.

    I must admit, I was a bit surprised to open Yelp and see that Zen sits below a 4-star rating. Maybe I'll end up having a different experience with some of their other dishes, but based on our n=1 experience, both the food and service were excellent. A friend and I ended up ordering the tempura udon set along with a gyudon rice bowl, which was offered as a $3 add-on (not sure if it was a promotion, but I'm certainly not one to turn down cheap food). Altogether, the portions were massive. While I'd like to think we're foodies, we both ended up leaving with leftovers. The tempura udon had noodles with just the right amount of chew, and the broth was rich and comforting. By the end of the meal, I had mixed feelings about the generous heap of ginger they added, but that's more of a personal preference than a knock on the dish. The tempura, however, was really the star of the show. It was evenly battered, light, and crispy, offering a satisfying contrast to the udon. As others have mentioned, the gyudon was also delicious, and for just $3, it honestly could've been a small meal on its own. For around $24 altogether, we thought Zen offered an excellent value for lunch. I can't speak to the rest of the menu just yet, but based on this visit alone, we'll definitely be back to try more.

    Tempura
    Dave D.

    Zen is a new Japanese noodle shop in downtown Sunnyvale. They took over the spot from Ramen Seas and did a minor facelift to the place. It's a bit brighter and pretty clean. The service is friendly and efficient. The problem is the food. The Niku udon was a bit undercooked (very chewy), the beef was a bit tasteless and stringy. The tempura was generally undercooked. We actually sent one of them back because it was rock hard. They did replace and the replacement was slightly better. Overall the tempura needs to be breaded less and cooked more. The Gyudon rice bowl was probably the best thing we got, but it was a $3 add-on to the Niku udon. I hope they can improve.

    Niku Udon
    Anthony N.

    This place was so good. I think that the flavors are all there for each broth. The curry udon is super flavorful and the curry taste is all there. The tonkotsu udon has such a depth of flavor that is rich in flavor. The cold shabu shabu beef udon was so good too. The tempura was fried so well too. The batter wasn't too heavy and it was nice and crispy.

    Sarah C.

    We are super disappointed that Ramen Seas closed. We've been dedicated customers for the last 4+ years. We came here with our newborn, then infant, and now toddler. We love coming here as a family - our toddler usually eats very well. The ramen /broth along with the chicken karaage. The Yaki -onigri was our favorite. We decided to come here to give it a chance. Unfortunately, they don't sell any of our favorite appetizers anymore. The udon was really doughy - our daughter didn't eat much and then was hungry again that night. Not too much toppings in all 3 off the dishes we ordered. We won't be returning.

    Menu
    John D.

    Udon It Newly opened Japanese restaurant replacing the former Ramen Seas** here in Downtown Sunnyvale. They specialize in Tempura sets and Udon Noodle soups, with the latter featuring their traditionally made four-ingredient Udon Noodles that take a full day to make, along with rich umami-filled broths that are done sans MSG. The Good: * Free street parking as well as a parking lot * Service was friendly and efficient. * Housemade noodles were nice and thick and had a great chew and mouthfeel. * Small curated menu * Sake and a the standard Asahi & Sapporo beers. * Mentai Cream Udon was simply superb and was ordered upon the recommendation of the waiter. Savory, salty, smoky, and an umami bomb on top of it. Reminded me of a carbonara of sorts, but with the nice thiccc noods instead of spaghetti. * Ebi Shumai was a nice, hearty rendition of this classic dumpling and came packed with shrimp in these fat little satials. The concomitant dipping sauce was another umami bomb and definitely had kombu in it. The Meh: * No outdoor dining The Ugly: * The Tonkotsu Udon was not our favorite. While the noodles were terrific and the broth was good, the rest of it needed some work. Firstly, the egg that came with it was so severely underdone that once Carissa went to open it, the whole thing just disintegrated into the broth, egg whites and all. Secondly, the "pork" (and I use that term loosely) that came with it was, to put it mildly, not good. It was gristly, tough, and had no seasoning whatsoever. I'm not sure if this is their intention, because if it is, then it's back to the drawing board. Conclusion: Overall, probably 3.5*, but I would definitely come back for the Mentai Cream Udon--and more of those noodles! **I'm not sure if it's a re-brand or new owners. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Tonkotsu Udon/とんかつうどん.
    Don U.

    So, my foodie sister told me about a couple of places recently, and one of them is Zen, which got our mom interested because that's the short version of her name. I figured that we go here with most of the family first because it's less of a drive. Our mom isn't a fan, but that's because she's not much of a Japanese food person at all outside of sushi. Before I forget, this trait isn't the reason why I gave the place the score I inputted. Zen/禅 is an udon place on Sunnyvale's Murphy and Washington. The place has the sanuki method of making udon noodles, the thick process from Kagawa on the island of Shikoku. The place isn't about shortcuts, as the process of making each dish is all about getting it right. Grading the place was complicated. I so want to like the place more. I am that fond of udon because udon is my favorite food whenever I have a cold. Let me type up why the grading process gave me fits. The place does multiple parts right as we stepped in. I figured initially before we left the house, I'd have a new go to udon place. I mean, the place has a simple look (to fulfill the ambiance part), a legit feel, a spirited server who provided wonderful service, and tasty food and drinks. I ended up with the most ordered dish in the tonkotsu udon and a wakame salad along with a Ramune yuzu soda bottle because I usually don't pick that flavor. The rest of the family ordered different bowls, tenpura, mini rice bowls (bowls you can combine with your udon for $3), and chawanmushi (savory egg custard). Then, the flaws piled up. Though I typed only two minus signs for my initial notes section at the top, the reason was that each section piled up related to the overall flaw itself. Once I type up the flaw listed on the notes, I go delete it so that the reviews you see from me are the way they are now. With that typed, the general flaw I have listed here is well, "a bad food and drink list" is a ruthless flaw for me to type. So, I'll instead type up "a food and drink list with multiple bits of harm". It's easy to remember the good parts, but I must type up the flaws so that you all know if the place is okay to work around or what. Let me point out the drinks first. Though the hot sake we had is good, what I was let down by is the lack of my favorite sake in Sayuri, and to add on to that, neither my youngest brother nor I saw his favorite Japanese beer in Okinawa's Orion. The fact that only oolong tea is served scratches off any desire I had for tea in the evening because the caffeine's a twitchy element if I need to wake up early the following day. The biggest drink issue I must type here is while it is nice that I saw Ramune soda bottles (cultural drinks do matter to me if I'm not in an American restaurant), what bothers me is the lack of a juice because there are times I'm not in the mood for a soda, and the celebration I had to warrant a soda, thank goodness, is the nephew starting kindergarten. Switching to the food, as good as the food is, I'm more let down by the batch of food than the drinks. Right off the bat, there's spicy food a plenty, and while that may be good for a number of you, it's the biggest flaw not including proper technique for Japanese food spots that drives me bonkers because if I'm not sick, I'm never in the mood for spicy Japanese food (this is developed by how Japanese people have a cat's tounge or a sensitive tounge, not being really fond of spicy food unlike people such as the Koreans). All tenpura layouts have the shishito (not Shiseido as my mom called it) pepper, and I know you can remove elements, but it's still a bother. The other food part that irritates me is how there's so much beef, but so little everything else. The mentai udon's there, but the spice flaw is there also, and you don't have a chicken udon or a tonkotsu udon with pork. It's so weird how there's so much beef, and yet, there's no sukiyaki udon. I know I have been spoiled by Shiki's, but Shiki was the place that made me Mully/Steph 3-pointer level giddy (really really really giddy in other words [three "reallys" intentional], not just giddy) on buying udon, and I still haven't found an udon place that has come close to the Satou family's since (five years and counting). Zen is a mixed okay bag. While it does carry a good amount of beneficial elements like good service and tasty food, it's bogged down by a menu that makes me twitch more times than it should, and I still look for my go to udon spot as this isn't it. Would I go back? If it's family, sure. Solo, maybe if one harmful element is fixed, but I know way too many Japanese spots here in the southern part of the Bay Area. +/Zen is good zany because of the spirit of the place, the legit feel and the real tasty udon and other foods. -/The place does more harm than good for me with its menu because of flaws such as the insane love of hot spice and the lack of a guilt free drink for kids outside of water.

    Eva L.

    This new Udon place replaced Ramen Seas. Had the Tonkotsu Udon with mini rice bowl. Also tried the Niku Udon. The Tonkotsu had the pork broth while the Niku had the bonito dashi broth. The two share the same ingredients: thin sliced beef similar to fatty brisket used in Vietnamese pho, a poached egg, al dente noodles, and naruto (fish cake slice). The Niku Udon had seaweed. The main difference is the type of broth. Tonkotsu had a slightly dense broth, slightly milky. This broth reminds me of a the creamy pork broth but not as bold in taste. Not too salty. The dashi broth definitely had full bonito (fish) flavor. Saltier that Tonkotsu. Clear lighter broth. The meat that they use was just ok. Texture was on the tough side. Thinly sliced but required more chewing. Tasty, though. The side of mini bowl has steamed white rice and slightly sweet flavored brisket in thin slices all curled together on top of the rice Ok for the price. It was only $3 if added to the Udon.

    Nami Tempura Set (Classic)
    Jessica K.

    New udon place in downtown Sunnyvale that replaced a ramen shop, with virtually the same interior as the previous shop. It's a cozy interior but not very large - may be difficult for larger parties. They advertise handmade chewy udon noodles. Service was friendly and efficient. They only have 1 bathroom (gender-neutral) to service the entire restaurant - so the line can get long. Mentai cream udon: absolutely delicious - highly recommend! The sauce was the perfect balance between creamy but not too thick, and it was well-balanced in flavor with a hint of umami and a small kick of spice. The noodles were also very chewy which I like. Nami tempura set udon: I loved the tempura; it was really fresh, served piping hot, with an airy crispy outer layer. The udon itself was simple. For some reason the noodles tasted more doughy, and it felt a bit more like Korean knife cut noodles (kalgooksu) but good nonetheless. I felt that the broth lacked a bit of depth, but the simplicity of the flavor was good too. I highly recommend the additional gyudon bowl that you can add on for $3 with any entree. There was a pickled green with the rice and the gyudon itself was pretty tender and flavorful. It was so worth it! Overall the portions were generous, and I felt the pricing was very fair.

    Niku Udon Tonkotsu Udon
    Emily H.

    We walked in on a Wednesday night and was able to snag a table right away. Since we came on a Summer Series night, Sunnyvale downtown was filled. We ordered the tonkatsu udon and the Niku udon. Since the restaurant was completely full, it took quite a long time for the udons to come. The toppings on the udon, I felt, were also a bit lackluster. The noodle texture however, is amazing and the broth are also flavorful. Overall, I will be back.

    Kucing W.

    I really liked the texture of the udon. I ordered the premium cold udon, and while it wasn't the traditional Japanese style, it was an interesting reverse take that worked surprisingly well. The broth was slightly on the salty side, but it paired perfectly with the cold udon. The service was friendly and efficient, even though the restaurant was very busy. It's a small, cozy place, which actually gives it an authentic Japanese neighborhood restaurant feel. The tempura was excellent, so good that it almost stole the spotlight from the udon! I'll definitely be back to try their chawanmushi, one of my all-time favorite Japanese dishes, especially during the winter.

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    The food is really terrible! It doesn't even like they have a real chef to cook. Feel like a car washer shop's manager becomes a chef now.

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    The food was delicious. I'll definitely, come back and tell my friends about it. Friendly service, and really welcoming space!

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    Paik's Noodle

    4.3(1.9k reviews)
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