Kazokutei

For a refreshing soba lunch, consider the Black Vinegar Salad Soba, made with Sakamoto’s black vinegar and topped with plenty of vegetables. One diner said they were offered the option of a larger serving, but chose the regular size because they planned to keep walking afterwards. They enjoyed the soba-yu—the hot water used to cook the soba—and the dipping broth, too. Another option for chilled soba is the Shrimp Tempura Zaru Soba, served with two shrimp tempura and vegetable tempura.

When you want soba to take centre stage, there are set meals pairing zaru soba with seasoned rice, or tempura soba with the same rice. For something more substantial, choose a chicken-and-egg rice bowl set or a set with soba and fried chicken marinated in the restaurant’s original sauce. One diner who ordered the chicken-and-egg bowl with chilled soba recalled the noodles’ satisfying springiness and finishing their meal by adding soba-yu to the dipping broth.

One family dinner included a soba-mae set—a selection of small dishes served before soba—with a drink, rolled omelette, fried chicken and an assorted tempura platter to share. Beer and other alcoholic drinks are available, giving diners the option of adding a side dish while they wait for their soba.

For dessert, try a Japanese-style parfait combining matcha pudding and matcha ice cream, or the rich, moist matcha cheesecake. At Kazokutei’s Kyobashi branch, the menu can suit anything from a light soba lunch to an evening meal with tempura and drinks.