Koya (udon noodle bar)
I love noodle soups. So when I saw this glowing review of Koya in last week’s TimeOut, I hopped to it. Thanks to the TimeOut effect, which I’d expected, there was a lengthy queue at Koya when I arrived at 7:30 last Friday evening. Luckily, Koya sits next door to Mooli’s, so while waiting, Jon and I snacked on a dry, sitting-around-too-long beef kati roll before wandering a little further down the street to try some Roman-style pizza al taglio at Adagio. Sadly, our slice of sausage pizza was also dried out and sitting-around-too-long.
kaiso salad (£4) and onsen tamago (£2) at Koya
After 40 minutes, we landed seats. It was clear the staff was overwhelmed by the crowds as some tables sat empty for a while before a server could clean up and seat new customers.
Jon and I were underwhelmed by the side dishes we tried: a seaweed salad (kaiso) was too sour for me to enjoy, and the onsen tamago wasn’t half as silky as I’d expected. It tasted like a regular poached egg served in room-temperature broth.
prawn tempura udon noodle soup (£9)
The udon noodle soup was (happily) quite outstanding, but for £9, I was expecting more than a single prawn tempura (which arrived soggy beyond belief). The noodles were a great, chewy-but-firm texture, and the broth was elegantly clear and packed with flavor. The couple with whom we shared a table had smartly ordered inexpensive noodle soups and then ordered a portion of prawn tempura for about £10, which meant their prawns arrived (1) separately from the soup and therefore not soggy; and (2) in a generous portion – there must have been four or five on their tempura plate.
So when the queues die down, I’ll go back to Koya and order my tempura separately from my udon noodle soup.
One last note: ginger tea (a whopping £3) is something I love making at home, and Koya’s version started out nice but it soon became clear that the restaurant had added a thickener (a gelatin?) to the tea, so as the tea cooled, it solidifed into a mucous-like beverage. Pretty gross. Stick with the “Japanese” tea for £2.20.
Our total for two bowls of noodles, two teas and two side dishes: £36.
Koya, 49 Frith Street, W1D 4SG, 020 7434 4463; closest Tube station: Tottenham Court Road
Noodle Oodle (la mien/Chinese noodles)
After having eaten at Koya, I thought it was only fair to give a shout-out to Noodle Oodle, a no-frills Chinese noodle soup shop right next to Tottenham Court Road station. I’ve been going here for years and just never got around to blogging about it. The guy in the window making the la mien (hand-pulled noodles) tells you everything you need to know: stick with the la mien dishes.
Occasionally, my dining companions, despite my best efforts to stop them, order something off the starters menu (like any of the various dumplings). And it’s always a mistake. Always. Just get the noodle soup. At most, the garlic-stir-fried veg are a nice addition (gai lan is my fave).
gai lan
roast pork noodle soup (char siu la mien) £7
I usually get the roast pork (char siu) noodle soup, and occasionally with won tons (which have a delicate ginger flavor that I love). Roast duck is less consistent than the char siu and won ton soups, with the duck being kind of stringy sometimes, so order that one with caution.
The place can get noisy and is definitely not a place to linger, but the noodle soups are hot, fresh and great for the price. Where Koya is elegant and stylish, Noodle Oodle is efficient and functional, but for the price and lack of queues, Noodle Oodle’s la mien soup continues to get my vote.
I’ve never spent more than £12.50 a person for a side of veg, a beverage and a ginormous bowl of noodle soup. If for some reason you’re still hungry afterwards, it’s a quick walk down Oxford Street to the inimitable Beard Papa for a delish cream puff.
Noodle Oodle, 25 Oxford Street, W1D 2DW, 0207 287 5953; closest Tube station: Tottenham Court Road
Alternate location: 106 Queensway Road, W2 3RR.
An American in London 
£9 does seem awful high for that bowl of noodles – I’ll take your advice when I finally make it down there.
I also got a Noodle Oodle recommendation from another acquaintance who said to go to the Bayswater one rather than the Oxford St branch. Gotta get me down there too! Thanks!
It was also a rather *small* bowl of udon noodles (in contrast with the monster you get at Noodle Oodle). It was a good thing Jon and I had snacked while queuing at Koya.
I really need to go to Koya but it was shut when I went the other Monday (it was the bank holiday). Good tip on ordering the tempura separately.
Not been to Oxford St Noodle Oodle in ages but good to see its maintaining its standards. A more recent to the Bayswater branch was a shocker though. Worse dan-dan noodles ever.
Well, the down side of ordering tempura on the side is that it’ll cost more, but the quality of my noodles was so good that I think it’ll be worth the extra money. I just wouldn’t think of Koya as a cheap night out (which, really, a noodle bar should be, no?).
Dan dan mien – I had a horrendous version at Leong’s Legends last Saturday, but I blame my dining companion for ordering it. We were there for dim sum, so I figure that’s the punishment we get for ordering a non-dim-sum dish. Anyway, I have a feeling Leong’s rice-stick-and-sweet-sauce-from-a-jar version might give your Bayswater version a run for its money in awfulness. : )
Disappointing to hear Koya was not great – I think Marina did a glowing review of it in Metro as well so I was expecting big things! Thanks for the alternative suggestion though the hand pulled noodles sound great.
Well, the udon noodles and the soup broth were both top notch, so at least Koya maintained *that*. I think some places are just too small to deal with the attention that comes with positive reviews in major media outlets. In any case, as long as the noodle soups stay delicious and high quality, Koya can only improve as the crowds die out and they hit their groove.
I reckon, like in Japanese restaurants, you could ask for your prawn to be served separately from the udon soup. Not quite orthodox but useful for avoiding overly soggy tempura prawn 😉
Charmaine – definitely. I think last Friday, though, getting that sort of “special” request carried out would be next-to-impossible. As it was, we ended up getting the wrong couple’s bill and also paid cash after it became obvious that nobody had time to deal with a debit card. Things should improve on the service front once the crowds your review has caused have died down. : )
In search of that elusive bowl of soup noodles – my hangover remedy… thanks for the Noodle Oodle suggestion. By the way, we went to Jom Makan (Pall Mall near Trafalger Square) for Malaysian the other day. Food tasted like came from a bad buffet and the noodles were horrible. And speaking of bad dandanmien, had dismal meal at Hot Chili near Kings Cross. The place was (over) packed, service was chaotic, and everything tasted like it came from a bad student canteen. The noodles were, well, coagulated, if that’s possible!
Hiya, somehow my comments were sent as “Anonymous”, something I definately am not!
Well, well, well – I was right behind the people you photographed in the queue on Friday night! If only I knew you were there! However, after about a 1/2 hour wait without moving, I decided to go back at a quieter time, and ended up discovering a terrific Korean place around the corner – Po Jan MaCha. Good tip on ordering the tempura separately.
Oh, and it was also then closed on Sunday, but I’m determined to get in the door some time!
Mike – sorry to hear about both Jom Makan and (I assume you meant) Chili Cool. I actually enjoyed the meal I’ve had at Chili Cool, though I remember it wasn’t very spicy, which was disappointing. In any case, it sounds like there’s a tight race underway for the title of worst dan dan mien in London!
Greedy Diva – that’s pretty funny. you must have been right in front of me because at around the 40-minute mark, a whole bunch of tables opened up and that’s how we finally got seated. Po Jan MaCha duly noted. I’m craving bibimbap today so am planning to have that for lunch today, actually.
My family lives in Philly, where in the Olney section is a Korea-town — a humongous, scrumptious Korean slap-up meal with about 13 side-dishes and bibimbap in sizzling stone dish is $9.00! Having to pay for kimchee in London really makes me angry!
Paying for kimchee – *agreed*. It’s craziness. I ate at dotori last weekend after snagging a tennis court at Finsbury Park . . . we were the only ones who ordered Korean food, and the bibimbap was quite tasty (and cheaper than that of Young Bean, which is my “usual” in London).
I think whoever who find Koya is great should go to try out the udons in Asakusa Japanese Restaurant. I personally like their signature udon called Asakusa Udon!!
Was really keen on trying out Koya but didn’t like the look of the crowd.
Re the tempura: most of the Japanese places I frequent will be happy to separate the tempura from the udon soup at no charge. And they usually give two prawns too.
Did you mean, the crowd looked too big, or you didn’t like the look of the people who made up the crowd? If the latter, I thought it was an especially well-dressed, well-heeled bunch. Surprisingly for a noodle bar, there were more than a few designer goods (Max Mara? Miu Miu?) in the house. It was kind of odd, actually.
I love Koya and have been 4 times but did feel a little short changed when I ordered the smoked mackerel one and got about 4 pieces. Still, I will go back repeatedly; the mushroom and walnut miso hot broth with cold noodles was so good I crave it constantly.
I’ve been back once since I blogged about it, and I showed up late on a sunny Saturday afternoon, so there was no queue. Much better! I paid extra to get two prawn tempura, instead of one, and had it come on the side, so all was right in the world. Except the price. It still seems steep for a noodle soup, no?
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