For more details, please visit the blog: https://tokyo-tabearuki.com/tokyo-sunflower 1. What is Tokyo Sunflower Iidabashi? Tokyo Sunflower Iidabashi is a standing udon restaurant that opened in November 2020. It has a rating of 3.58 on Tabelog and 4.6 on Google Maps. It is the second branch of Tokyo Light Blue Hongo-3 located in Hongo 3-chome. The owner of the restaurant is from Oniyanma, a popular udon restaurant. 2. How to get to Tokyo Sunflower Iidabashi and its operating hours It is located a few minutes' walk from Iidabashi Station West Exit. The address is 2-2-7 Fujimi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0071. The operating hours are Monday to Friday from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm, and Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. 3. Exterior, menu, and atmosphere of Tokyo Sunflower Iidabashi The restaurant's exterior is painted in sky blue with a surfboard-shaped sign. The menu includes udon starting from 350 yen, with options like bukkake and kake for 390 yen. There are also tempura items like chicken tempura starting from 120 yen. Inside the restaurant, there is a large ticket machine where you can purchase your meal tickets. The seating area is small but cozy, with Asian staff members serving customers. They may ask if you want ginger and tenkasu with your udon. Overall, the restaurant offers delicious udon at affordable prices.

A stylish standing udon shop. Cold kake udon for 430 yen, with an option to add 120g for an extra 60 yen, a warm egg for 100 yen, and chicken tempura for 130 yen, totaling 720 yen. When purchased from the vending machine, the information is automatically sent to the staff, and when the dish is ready, customers are called by the ticket number. At that time, customers are asked if they want ginger and tempura flakes. If you don't want green onions, it's best to mention it at this point. The broth has a refreshing taste with a hint of seafood. The udon noodles are firm with a nice texture. To put it simply, it's really delicious. If I had tried this when I was on a business trip to Kagawa last month, I would have been extremely impressed. Next, I want to try the grated radish udon. I have a feeling that this will become my go-to place for a while.

I felt like having a beer, but at Okei, just having one wouldn't be enough. I decided to have tempura as a snack with the beer. For the finish, I chose udon. I happened to find this udon restaurant on the way back from Yami Tsuki Curry. The food was pretty good, and they even gave me daikon tempura as a service, and my friend got asparagus tempura. I felt like I got a good deal.

Due to a device malfunction, I stopped by Kudanshita and decided to have an early lunch at the newly opened second branch of Hongo-Sanchome in Iidabashi. I went straight to the counter at 11:30. I topped the default warm egg with chicken tempura and vegetable tempura. The thick and chewy udon noodles with a strong texture were a bit difficult to slurp, but they were really delicious here! All four staff members were foreigners, which was quite impressive!

Located a 2-minute walk from JR Iidabashi Station West Exit, right across from Iidabashi Sakura Terrace along Waseda Street. The appearance is far from a typical udon restaurant, giving off a refreshing vibe as if it were by a summer beachside. The majority of the interior is counter seating, with a few chairs at the back. Orders are made through a ticket system, purchasing from a vending machine near the entrance. The menu mainly consists of soy sauce udon, bukkake udon, and kake udon. Toppings include tempura, egg, seaweed, bonito flakes, grated radish, offering a variety of choices. The kake udon (as of 2023.9.5) can be served cold or hot, with the option of tempura bits or ginger. The clear golden broth shines with a delicate yet rich umami flavor from using dried bonito. The udon is soft yet chewy, with a pleasant aroma of wheat, very delicious. The fried chicken tempura (as of 2023.9.5) is served hot and fresh, enveloped in a slightly firm coating, bursting with juicy flavor. The half-cut fried eggplant tempura (as of 2023.9.5) retains its fresh and tender texture, with a sweet flavor from frying. The asparagus tempura (as of 2023.4.26) features a long asparagus spear coated in batter and fried, offering a crisp bite and a deliciously cooked sweetness. The vegetable tempura (as of 2022.10.6) is served hot and fresh, bringing out the natural sweetness and umami of the vegetables. Dip it in the broth to enhance the flavors. The flavored egg tempura (as of 2022.9.12) is coated in batter and fried, providing a subtle taste that complements the udon well. The enoki mushroom tempura (as of 2022.8.26) features individual clusters coated in batter and fried, offering a delightful aroma and a crunchy texture. The soy sauce udon (as of 2022.7.25) can be served cold or hot, with the option of tempura bits or ginger. Pour soy sauce provided at each table over the udon to enjoy its delicious flavor directly. The pumpkin tempura (as of 2022.7.25) is served hot and fresh, with a crispy coating and a moist, fluffy texture inside, complemented by its natural sweetness from frying. The bukkake udon (as of 2022.5.31) can be served with or without tempura bits or ginger, only available cold. The slightly stronger broth is poured over the udon, featuring a rich umami flavor from the dried bonito, making it very delicious. The cold udon is firm with a chewy texture, allowing you to savor the true deliciousness of the udon. The tempura side dish complements the udon perfectly, creating a delightful combination. Bon appétit.

Visited the restaurant on August 15, 2023, around noon. Had to wait for about 3 minutes as there were 3 people ahead of us. They have a ticket machine for ordering and only accept cash. Open for continuous service until 9:30 pm on weekdays. Ordered the Chicken Tempura & Chikuwa Tempura with Warm Udon (cold) for 680 yen. Also received a complimentary Sweet Potato Tempura. Overall, a good experience.

I visited this restaurant around 1 pm on a regular day. I was curious about it because of its good reputation. The fact that it is a standing-eating style place had kept me from going before, but I really felt like eating delicious Sanuki udon, so I did some research beforehand to avoid any hesitation when buying the meal tickets. I ordered the Cold Bukkake Udon for 390 yen and Chicken Tempura for 120 yen. You don't need to hand the meal tickets to the staff, just go to any available seat and get a paper cup for water by yourself. The staff will ask you if you want green onions and ginger, and then you just wait. To my surprise, they also included a free piece of eringi mushroom tempura as a service for those who ordered tempura. It was juicy and delicious! As for the udon, it was perfect. Smooth, chewy, with a great texture. Even though it's a standing-eating place, the fact that you can eat such quality udon at this price is unbelievable. The place was still crowded even after 1 pm, which is understandable. It reminded me of the Sanuki udon I had in Kagawa. I will definitely visit again when it gets a bit cooler. Thank you for the meal!

This morning, I visited the designated store, "Tokyo Sunflower Iidabashi," in Iidabashi. Despite the temperature nearing 30 degrees, I confidently ordered the hot kake udon! The thin Sanuki udon noodles had a good firmness and paired well with the broth. The attentive service and a simple "Have a good day!" made it seem like it would be a great day! Delicious!

Bukkake udon for 430 yen, Tokushima sudachi for 70 yen, and vegetable tempura with 3 kinds of vegetables for 180 yen, totaling 680 yen. It was past 5 pm on a weekday. I bought a meal ticket from the ticket machine on the left and placed an order at the same time. The order was sent to the kitchen. When my order was ready, they called my number or the name of the dish, and I picked it up at the counter. They asked if I wanted ginger and tempura flakes, so I asked for both. As usual, they gave me an extra piece of tempura. This time, they said, "Here's an extra piece for you," which made me feel like I got a good deal and left me feeling satisfied. The vegetable tempura included sweet potatoes, daikon radish, kabocha squash, and enoki mushrooms (probably).

There is a standing udon shop in Iidabashi that always has a line during lunchtime. I visited before 11:30 and was able to get in right away. It was my first time there. It seems they have raised their prices, as the regular kake udon now costs 430 yen, up from around 390 yen. However, the place is always bustling, so it seems the price increase hasn't affected their popularity. This time, I ordered kake hiya (refreshing broth), with grated daikon topping, and a set of oyako ten (flavored egg + chicken tempura). Before they serve the udon, they ask if you would like green onions and ginger. My personal recommendation is the oyako ten set (250 yen) with chicken tempura and flavored egg! The chicken tempura has a strong flavor in both the coating and the meat, and it is delicious. It goes well with the refreshing broth. The flavored egg was perfectly runny, and it was amazing. And the best part is the cost performance. The udon has a nice firm texture and is perfectly chewy. It brings happiness to your mouth. Since it was a hot day, the refreshing broth was a good choice. It wasn't too strong, and adding ginger, green onions, and grated daikon made it even more refreshing. I might have made a mistake by choosing a light broth with grated daikon, but it was still good. I would like to try other broths next time.

The usual shop owner? It seems like because of them, the noodles were cooked and chilled just right, and there was even a tempura bonus. The broth of the bukkake was delicious, even with the price increase it's amazing that you can still enjoy this taste for just a little over 600 yen. I think it's really great. I especially like to visit during the summer.

I visited around noon and it was busy but I was able to get in quickly. I hadn't eaten breakfast today so I was hungry, so I ordered the chicken and fish cake tempura with raw egg, large serving. They always ask "Would you like ginger and tempura flakes?" so I added tempura flakes. As always, the noodles were chewy and had a good texture, delicious! Next time, I think I'll try something different.

It had been a while since my last visit. The prices were cheap, the service was quick, and I highly recommend the bukkake style over the regular soy sauce. However, when I went back after a long time, I noticed that the staff had changed to foreigners (maybe part-timers?). Unfortunately, they no longer offer the complimentary tempura that they used to give. Many regular customers, including myself, looked forward to this service, so it's a shame that it's been discontinued. Also, the noodles were a bit lukewarm and the shime (finishing touch) was a little too sweet for my liking.

Bukkake Udon with extra noodles 240g, extra extra noodles 120g, chopped chikuwa, wakame, green onions, tempura flakes, and fried eggplant totaled 980 yen. The noodles are apparently 240g each, so the total became 600g. It was just enough to fill me up 100%. Delicious. And it's surprisingly cheap for ordering this much. I really liked it.

At lunch in Iidabashi, I had the vegetable tempura set for 570 yen. It included three types of vegetables: potatoes, lotus root, pumpkin, and asparagus as a bonus. I went during a less busy time to avoid crowds. The tempura was delicious.

Bukkake, onsen egg, and chicken tempura: 600 yen (390, 80, 120) at Iidabashi for lunch. It was a bit late for lunch, but it had been a while since I last visited. I thought I had timed it well around 2 pm, but it was still quite crowded. The delicious broth and noodles were just as good as I remembered. It was a satisfying meal. Today's complimentary dish was enoki mushroom tempura.

I like udon with a firm texture. This udon here reminds me of Sanuki udon, with a good core but not too hard, chewy but not too soft. It's perfectly al dente. They open early in the morning, so it's okay to go before 7 am. The bukkake udon is only 390 yen, and it's delicious yet cheap! Furthermore, this morning, when I ordered the 390 yen bukkake udon, they generously gave me two asparagus spears (worth 130 yen) as a bonus. That's a third of the price of the main dish as a service, haha. I'm worried about how they can sustain this with the amount of effort put into making the udon at this price and service. I will definitely visit this place often.

The shop is open early in the morning (from 6:30) so it is very convenient, and the udon noodles are extremely delicious. The tempura is also freshly fried and tasty, and we even got a freebie. The staff's customer service is great, making it a pleasant experience from the morning. Writing this review makes me want to eat there again (laughs).

I discovered a hidden gem udon restaurant near Iidabashi. As a noodle lover, I had given up on Marugame Seimen due to the long lines. This new place serves Sanuki udon, which I like. It's a standing-only shop with only 4 high stools at the counter. I chose the warm dipping sauce from the vending machine and added green onions and grated ginger. For 390 yen, I got a serving with eggplant tempura and tenkasu. The noodles had a good texture and the broth was tasty. The portion was just right for me and the value for money was excellent. The quality was much better than the crowded Marugame Seimen. By the time I left, a line of about 5 people had formed. It seems to be a well-kept secret among locals.

Located about a 2-minute walk from Iidabashi Station, this standing udon shop (although there are also seats with chairs available) is probably a branch of Ultralight Blue (formerly known as Kokwagata) in Hongo Sanchome. This means that ordering the Toriten Udon is probably the only choice. I ordered the cold udon with extra noodles (60g for 120 yen) and one piece of Toriten (120 yen?). I'm not entirely sure about the prices because I just used the ticket machine. The dipping sauce had a slightly strong fish flavor, which was tasty but different from Oniyanma or Kokwagata, giving it a slightly odd feeling. The noodles were firm and had a good throat sensation. The Toriten is sold individually, which was surprising to me since at Oniyanma you can get about 3 pieces with one Toriten ticket. People who are familiar with Oniyanma should do their research beforehand to avoid having a meal like mine, which was delicious but full of unfamiliar elements. Those who have done their research thoroughly will likely enjoy this place.

The seating area had standing tables in the front, but there was also proper seating towards the back. The cost performance is really high. It's also close to Iidabashi Station, so I plan to come back again. The udon noodles had a good texture, and the fried food was delicious as it was freshly fried. Highly recommended.