Review of 'Marugame Udon'

I am a big fan of Japanese food including their amazing noodles but it is the “udon” that I prize the most - The delicious, thick round and tender noodles are create both in a soup but also in a stir-fry. In recent years I have noticed the chain “Marugame Udon” popping up in London and have been intrigued as to what it was like. There are numerous other ramen joints in town, so having one devoted to udon peaked my interest so when I was in London recently, I spotted one of their restaurants near Oxford Circus on Argyll Street, just a few doors down from The London Palladium.

A quick check on Copilot tells me that “Marugame Udon” originally came from Japan (it is known as “Marugame Seimen” there) where it was founded in 2000. It has since grown very quickly, coming to the UK in 2021, offering “fast-casual” food. The concept is very much like any fast food restaurant with takeaway available of, if you are eating in, you pick up a tray, place your order from the large menu board and collect your order, take your pick of any “extras” (like fried chicken, tempura, etc - self-serve), a drink, then slide your tray to the end to pay then find yourself a seat. The menu is split into “Udon Bowls” featuring both COLD and HOT bowls of noodles generally in three sizes (small, medium and large) served both as a soup as well as noodle dish with various broths, sauces and toppings (there are also seasonal specials to look out for) but there are also “Rice Bowls” which have similar toppings but on top of rice. These are prepared by the chefs and given to you to add to your tray.

I ordered the “Tantan Chicken Udon” (“Udon noodles with minced chicken, seasonal greens, onsen egg in a rich sesame soup. Topped with sesame seeds, a hint of chili oil and bonito flakes”; £15.25 for large) which was rich and delicious. Perhaps almost TOO rich in the large size I opted for. The noodles were perfectly cooked (to order) - tender and creamy (made daily in house) - while the chicken nicely complimented the sesame flavours. The egg was perfectly cooked, with runny yoke that made the rich sauce even richer.

My companion studied the menu for some time before deciding on the “Chicken Teriyaki Rice” (“Chicken thigh with sweet and sticky teriyaki sauce and steamed rice”; £11.95 for regular) which she found quite flavoursome. The portion size was quite generous and she found it quite filling. She loved the copious number of edamame beans and the chicken was quite tasty but a bit sweet.

From the “tempura” section we selected a couple of “takoyaki” (£1.25 each), and a pumpkin korokke (£1.65). The takoyaki were some of the best I have had outside of Japan but, sadly, slightly cool. The pumpkin korokke was not terribly flavoursome but OK. We had two tins of Coke to drink at £2.35 each which was not cheap but about average for restaurants.

We sat on the ground floor which has a lot of seating but there is also a basement at this location with even more seating (empty when we visited early on a Thursday evening). The basement toilets are unisex with separate stalls (there is one that even has a Japanese-style electric toilet) and were very clean though we noticed it took some time to clean tables in the restaurant itself.

At £37.30 for the two of us, it was a reasonably priced fast food meal with good sized portions and tasty food. We will definitely return to sample more of the menu

Rating: “I have absolutely no complaints”

Review Date: 2025-05-08

Cuisine: Japanese (Noodle Bar)

Address: 1-4 Argyll St, London W1F 7TA ENGLAND

Public Transport: Oxford Circus

Location: London (England) - Soho

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3148 2945

URL: https://marugame.co.uk/