Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

One of the most famous Udon restaurants in Kyoto, they have a Michelin Bib and a Tabelog score of 3.99 (as of writing), located near Heian Shrine and Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art.

We reached there around 11am and got the bad news of the day, the restaurant is fully booked out by phone reservation for the day already. So we opt for the second best option at that time, go for the Take Out Menzou, which is located right beside their restaurant and is their take out version; of course you can’t eat in a proper setting and enjoy the ambience and seeing the chef and staff doing the works. But as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers.

But this for sure won’t be an accurate review, as we are not having the dine in variable, which is a big factor.

**Close up on the noodles**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

Hot Udon with Burdock Tempura (¥880)

We found some seats at the nearby Okazaki Park to eat this take out, with a view of school kids playing baseball at that time too.

Also decided to eat the hot version first, as it was around 7-10C outside, so wanted to quickly eat it before the broth gets cold.

Broth: Warm and clean base broth, with a natural sweet and umami taste.

Burdock: Tempura fried Burdock, but the batter definitely gets a bit soft by the time we eat it, as we walked around 10-15 minutes to find seats and start eating. So the opinion is based on this scenario; slight crunchy like how you would when you eat root type vegetables, with a nutty taste to it.

Udon: Super long (I’m not kidding, you have to bite it off), thick, firm, and chewy. I mean it’s hard to really write a long description on Udon noodles, you have to really try it on your own to truly experience it.

I will say that, Yamamoto Menzou’s Udon is thicker but slightly less firm/chewy than Byakuan’s Udon, meaning Byakuan is more al dente in my opinion.

Both are exceptional Udon restaurants but of different style in a sense, one from Kyoto and one from Osaka.

Rating: 3.75/5

**Cold Udon with Burdock Tempura**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

Cold Udon with Burdock Tempura (¥880)

Onto the cold udon after we finished the hot one.

Broth: On sight, it is definitely a darker broth, maybe more shoyu or something, but I expected maybe just you know slightly saltier and richer.

But how wrong can I be, it is not just richer and saltier, the taste on the overall is just feel more elevated on the sweetness and umami, and I can really just slurp up real fast together with the udon noodles with this broth. It is really up my alley, and my wife has the same opinion on it too.

Burdock: Tempura fried Burdock, but the batter definitely gets a bit soft by the time we eat it, as we walked around 10-15 minutes to find seats and start eating. So the opinion is based on this scenario; slight crunchy like how you would when you eat root type vegetables, with a nutty taste to it. But on this cold udon’s broth, it will also coat and elevate with it a richer and umami taste.

[Same Burdock, so just copy paste from the hot udon with a slight add-on.]

Udon: Super long (I’m not kidding, you have to bite it off), thick, firm, and chewy. I mean it’s hard to really write a long description on Udon noodles, you have to really try it on your own to truly experience it.

[Same Udon, so just copy paste from the hot udon’s review.]

This cold udon broth is really a standout, and something that Byakuan doesn’t have. In summary and in our opinion, Byakuan has a slight edge on the udon noodles, but Yamamoto Menzou wins it on the cold broth.

But I have to emphasis again, both Yamamoto Menzou and Byakuan are exceptional Udon restaurants, depends on what is your preference.

Rating: 3.75/5

**Chicken Fillet Tempura**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

**Close up on the chicken fillet**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

**There is one green chili tempura too**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

Chicken Fillet Tempura (¥650)

Decent chicken fillet and 1 green chili tempura, nothing to complain nor shout out for it.

We are very sure we are not eating the actual standard of their Tempura dishes, as mentioned earlier, we took around 10-15 minutes walk in the cold weather, so the tempura are definitely affected and no more hot and crispy as it should be. Our rating below is based on this scenario we are given.

Hopefully we can get a chance to dine in at the restaurant on our next trip to enjoy their food fully.

Rating: 3.25/5

**Simple English Menu**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

**Home cooked sets**
Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

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Address: 京都府京都市左京区岡崎南御所町 34

Opening Hours: 11am-Sold Out. Closed on Thursday and 4th Wednesday of the month. If PH falls on official closed day, it will be closed on the following day instead.

Payment Method: Cash

Website: https://yamamotomenzou.com/

Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260301/26002504/

(Last visited: December 2022)

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Yamamoto Menzou - One of the top Udon restaurants in Kyoto, but we only get to try it's take out

Yamamoto Menzou 山元麺蔵

Hot Udon with Burdock Tempura (¥880)

Cold Udon with Burdock Tempura (¥880)

Chicken Fillet Tempura (¥650)

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