Best home-made udon noodles in the area. Highly recommend to try. I loved the Beef udon. And selection of assorted tempura.
Lisa N.
I wasn't expecting much about this place. My friend suggested this place and we decided to check it out. Located in the same plaza as 99 Ranch Market & Gen BBQ. Udon Factory is similar to Chipotle but with udon and tempura instead. Choose your bowl size, base, sauce, free toppings, and then tempura for sides (sweet potato, tempura shrimp, spam mochi) which are additional charge. I got the Beef curry udon with poached egg. The noodles were more of the flatter type than the thick udon type you would get at marugame udon. The noodles reminded me of pho but bigger. Once they give you your bowl, you add the broth yourself at the pickup area. I went with the hot dashi broth, which was good. I had to add more some togarashi for some spice. Noodles are made in-house. They have a big machinery that cranks out the noodles. I ordered some Spam mochi and fried fish cake. Spam mochi sounds weird but it was quite interesting texture and flavor combo. Salty from the spam yet sweet from the mochi. Just wished the tempura was more fresh and hotter. It seems like it was sitting out for some time under a heat lamp and temp was lukewarm. Overall, seems like an "instant udon" type place but with options for toppings. Prices are great here considering the portion that you get. Solid "quick" spot. **Check in on Yelp to receive 1 free tempura with a purchase of $10 or more**
Dorothy L.
Definitely hits the spot!!! Arrived around noon on a dreary Sunday morning. Their noodles are flatter than the udon noodles I've had, but just as tasty. I went with a regular size Beef Udon. The broth was really flavorful and the beef was deliciously sweet and savory and egg was perfectly poached. I like that you can add in the amount of broth you want. Also got mochi spam as well as their sliced salted pork appetizer. I was so stuffed after sharing the appetizers and finishing my udon. Loved all the sides that they offered at the sauce bar. All of them went well with the udon. Don't forget to bus your own table! Check in for a free piece of tempura with $10 purchase. Didn't check in until we left so I didn't redeem this, but next time! I'll definitely be back.
Cherisse B.
I used to drive to SF to Marugame for their udon and I was sooo happy when I tried Udon Factory and it really was as good! The dashi broth was perfect and exactly how I like it--very flavorful and is self-serve so you can literally go back for more if you finished it too quickly like I did. The marinated beef was also very tasty and their housemade fresh noodles were the perfect consistency. The first time I came here I built my own bowl but I would recommend not getting too topping-happy like I did because you'll get giant mounds of toppings and have to dig for the noodles. Overall, flavor was there and decently priced! Now I don't have to drive to SF for udon(: Would recommend to anybody!
Kwun H.
Authentic udon from Udon Factory & Kitchen. The service was great, the dashi broth was spot on and the beef was just like when we had it in Japan. I love the freshly made udon but not used to the flat style udon. I wish they made it round/square like other ones. That's the only issue I have with it.
Frank Liu
Enjoyed the udon. The noodles are shares differently than other places. You can build your own bowl and add a bunch of different toppings. The pricier bowls are at 11.24$ for just a regular size but it could also go down to 8.74
Derek S.
Came by for lunch the other day and it was a tasty experience. Udon factory reminds me of Tokyo without the long-haul flight! Experience starts by ordering with the line cook. The line cook preps the meal within a minute and also takes payments. There are either pre-set udons or make your own. While waiting in line, the udon making chef is in the back making the udon and cooking it. There are a dozen or so tables inside. The udon itself was very fresh and the broth was quite light and refreshing. The beef and onion topping was tasty too! The egg was a touch too runny for me... The special pork shoulder butt was tasty, although it might have been borderline on being spoiled... ~$18/head after tax for lunch. They do take credit cards!
Christene M.
It's hard not to compare this to Marugame: in house noodles, tempura bar, udon made to order, and cafeteria style layout. However, there are some differences: - broth is self serve from a dispenser so it's up to you how much or little you want - they have a complete DIY udon with endless topping selections - there's only one cook, so service is on the slower side - free tempura check-in Yelp offer - Flat udon noodles We got the gyu udon and carbonara. Both are great!! The carbonara is just a little bit on the salty side because of the bacon. If you want soup, def get the gyu udon, but if you want something more comforting and heavy, go for the carbonara. I'd pass on the tempura though, they're a bit stale from sitting out for too long under the heat lamps.
Katherine C.
I think this place isn't bad if you want some Japanese food, however I think this place is just okay! I would give it 3.5 stars but no option for that..but here are my thoughts: Beef Udon: it wasn't bad, but I think it wasn't amazing either. I do appreciate that the workers gave us a lot of meat and topping, but it was almost too much for the soup and overpowered everything! The nice thing is you can get unlimited soup, so that could have helped possibly, I was just too lazy to get more soup myself. The noodles itself are really good in my opinion (I love handmade noodles), however, doesn't really feel like it's udon. It just feels like it's chinese noodles that you would get at restaurants and so I guess I wasn't feeling it with the kind of soup it was with. I think these noodles would go great with like beef noodle soup however LOL. Mochi Spam Musubi: ok this was definitely unique and worth trying! I imagine if I ate too much aka more than one whole piece I would feel really disgusting as it is heavy but I think it's worth it to try!!! Maybe split with someone. Cause not many places offer this so it's definitely worth picking up one! Overall this place was actually okay but I think I wouldn't really crave it or come back unless someone wanted to meet up here. I still appreciate that they have the fresh handmade noodles though!
Chi L.
Tried this for dinner with family. Ordered two larges for 2 adults and 3 kids. Plenty! Ordering is like what's been trending with pick your own hot or cold udon bowl with whatever protein (costs extra) or toppings (free). You can also pick your own soup base like miso paste, curry base, etc.Then they cook/prep your bowl and you put your own dashi soup on it at the end from a dispenser. Overall, quite tasty, udon is wide flat style with decent QQ texture to it, with generous portions - At least for my family's appetite. $29 fed our family of 5 and we picked chicken (tender), beef (gyu-don flavor) and 2 poached eggs (one for each bowl). The proteins cost us us about $10 in extras but I'm satisfied given good portions. Next time may try the tempura sides - didn't feel like fried foods today. Recommend trying!
We decided to come try this new udon factory kitchen out. You have the option to make your own bowl or choose one of their signature menu udons. It's no fancy udon spot but a descent quick noodle fix if you were looking for one. We got #2 beef udon - which is classic and ok for us. Thin slice beef in hot fashion broth. We got #3 curry beef udon - this had a ball of curry and everything else was the same as #2 petty much. Once you incorporate the curry ball, it was ok as well. We got #6 sauces chicken udon (sauce version so not dry and not wet) The fried station had 1-2 pieces of everything. I grabbed a few and when you bite into them, they were very oily and not crunchy :( big disappointment for my lil family. The mochi spam was interesting. Sweet potato was the only crunchy item. The hot dashi was the only thing I actually liked. You can add as much or as little as you want to your bowl. This is not to be compared to Marukame udon - the Serge style is similar but the food and taste is no where even close. Yelp Checkin gets you a shrimp tempura if you spend $10 which is easy to hit - it is a really small shrimp - lots of batter unfortunately.
Jonathan N.
Great casual spot for udon. The noodles have a nice chew and can be seen being freshly made. The beef udon is great and there's also some delicious spam mocho.
LeeLee C.
3.5 star if I can make that choice. Seating is like a canteen, first come first serve after you place order at the kitchen bar. You can order from the menu or build your own. We tried both. Start by grabbing a metal tray and a piece of brown paper onto the tray, then tell the cooks behind the bar your orders. After ordering, if you show yelp check in, you get a free tempura item which also includes fried rice balls, spam mochi (yummy but sticky) and assorted kinds of tempura. For tempura items, you put them on the brown sheet, no plates for that. After ordering, you wait for them to call your name while securing a seat. Go back to the kitchen bar to pick up your udon. If it's hot, you add hot dashi broth yourself from a tap. You can see the udon machine at the kitchen and how a sheet was pulled out and how the cook sliced the sheet into flat strands of udon. The udon did taste el dente, though I prefer it in a smaller size. The poached egg was yummy and very soft. The toppings were not sparingly and the dashi broth was flavorful. I don't mind coming here to eat, but udon and broth preference I would go with Uzumakiya Udon Yzakaya in Cupertino.
Melisa Paramo
Fresh udon, delicious broth. They also have a nice selection of sides like tempura and musubi. I really enjoyed my first visit during lunch and will be back.
Quyen L.
So many steps...and so many things to choose from! When the hubby and I first stepped into Udon Factory & Kitchen, we had to take a step back in order to process everything. The ordering system is...a lot. You have the option of making your own udon bowl, starting if you want the bowl large or small, hot or cold, with or without soup, then select your protein, sauce, flavors, and finally dressing. Then on top of that, you get to choose an unlimited amount of toppings as well as additional appetizers and special toppings, like tempura shrimp or spam musubi. If you were anything like us, we decided to try their signature bowls, just to minimize the number of choices we had to make. I chose the beef and poached egg udon with hot soup while the hubby chose the kitsune udon, also with hot soup. He also added a tempura yam stick to his and I got tempura shrimp. It was breathtaking watching the chef prepare fresh udon noodles and believe me, you can tell the difference! The noodles were beyond perfect with their chewy texture and silky finish. Unfortunately, the hubby and I got a little too excited at the sauces bar, so we went overboard with the flavors, but we certainly liked the variety. Next time, we will definitely show more self restraint. The toppings, however, were cooked quite well, but the additional cost to the tempura yam and shrimp wasn't worth it. Udon Factory certainly epitomizes the concept of "paralysis of choice," but if you practice some restraint, we think you can make yourself a pretty decent bowl. The hubby and I will certainly come back and try this spot again!
Best home-made udon noodles in the area. Highly recommend to try. I loved the Beef udon. And selection of assorted tempura.
I wasn't expecting much about this place. My friend suggested this place and we decided to check it out. Located in the same plaza as 99 Ranch Market & Gen BBQ. Udon Factory is similar to Chipotle but with udon and tempura instead. Choose your bowl size, base, sauce, free toppings, and then tempura for sides (sweet potato, tempura shrimp, spam mochi) which are additional charge. I got the Beef curry udon with poached egg. The noodles were more of the flatter type than the thick udon type you would get at marugame udon. The noodles reminded me of pho but bigger. Once they give you your bowl, you add the broth yourself at the pickup area. I went with the hot dashi broth, which was good. I had to add more some togarashi for some spice. Noodles are made in-house. They have a big machinery that cranks out the noodles. I ordered some Spam mochi and fried fish cake. Spam mochi sounds weird but it was quite interesting texture and flavor combo. Salty from the spam yet sweet from the mochi. Just wished the tempura was more fresh and hotter. It seems like it was sitting out for some time under a heat lamp and temp was lukewarm. Overall, seems like an "instant udon" type place but with options for toppings. Prices are great here considering the portion that you get. Solid "quick" spot. **Check in on Yelp to receive 1 free tempura with a purchase of $10 or more**
Definitely hits the spot!!! Arrived around noon on a dreary Sunday morning. Their noodles are flatter than the udon noodles I've had, but just as tasty. I went with a regular size Beef Udon. The broth was really flavorful and the beef was deliciously sweet and savory and egg was perfectly poached. I like that you can add in the amount of broth you want. Also got mochi spam as well as their sliced salted pork appetizer. I was so stuffed after sharing the appetizers and finishing my udon. Loved all the sides that they offered at the sauce bar. All of them went well with the udon. Don't forget to bus your own table! Check in for a free piece of tempura with $10 purchase. Didn't check in until we left so I didn't redeem this, but next time! I'll definitely be back.
I used to drive to SF to Marugame for their udon and I was sooo happy when I tried Udon Factory and it really was as good! The dashi broth was perfect and exactly how I like it--very flavorful and is self-serve so you can literally go back for more if you finished it too quickly like I did. The marinated beef was also very tasty and their housemade fresh noodles were the perfect consistency. The first time I came here I built my own bowl but I would recommend not getting too topping-happy like I did because you'll get giant mounds of toppings and have to dig for the noodles. Overall, flavor was there and decently priced! Now I don't have to drive to SF for udon(: Would recommend to anybody!
Authentic udon from Udon Factory & Kitchen. The service was great, the dashi broth was spot on and the beef was just like when we had it in Japan. I love the freshly made udon but not used to the flat style udon. I wish they made it round/square like other ones. That's the only issue I have with it.
Enjoyed the udon. The noodles are shares differently than other places. You can build your own bowl and add a bunch of different toppings. The pricier bowls are at 11.24$ for just a regular size but it could also go down to 8.74
Came by for lunch the other day and it was a tasty experience. Udon factory reminds me of Tokyo without the long-haul flight! Experience starts by ordering with the line cook. The line cook preps the meal within a minute and also takes payments. There are either pre-set udons or make your own. While waiting in line, the udon making chef is in the back making the udon and cooking it. There are a dozen or so tables inside. The udon itself was very fresh and the broth was quite light and refreshing. The beef and onion topping was tasty too! The egg was a touch too runny for me... The special pork shoulder butt was tasty, although it might have been borderline on being spoiled... ~$18/head after tax for lunch. They do take credit cards!
It's hard not to compare this to Marugame: in house noodles, tempura bar, udon made to order, and cafeteria style layout. However, there are some differences: - broth is self serve from a dispenser so it's up to you how much or little you want - they have a complete DIY udon with endless topping selections - there's only one cook, so service is on the slower side - free tempura check-in Yelp offer - Flat udon noodles We got the gyu udon and carbonara. Both are great!! The carbonara is just a little bit on the salty side because of the bacon. If you want soup, def get the gyu udon, but if you want something more comforting and heavy, go for the carbonara. I'd pass on the tempura though, they're a bit stale from sitting out for too long under the heat lamps.
I think this place isn't bad if you want some Japanese food, however I think this place is just okay! I would give it 3.5 stars but no option for that..but here are my thoughts: Beef Udon: it wasn't bad, but I think it wasn't amazing either. I do appreciate that the workers gave us a lot of meat and topping, but it was almost too much for the soup and overpowered everything! The nice thing is you can get unlimited soup, so that could have helped possibly, I was just too lazy to get more soup myself. The noodles itself are really good in my opinion (I love handmade noodles), however, doesn't really feel like it's udon. It just feels like it's chinese noodles that you would get at restaurants and so I guess I wasn't feeling it with the kind of soup it was with. I think these noodles would go great with like beef noodle soup however LOL. Mochi Spam Musubi: ok this was definitely unique and worth trying! I imagine if I ate too much aka more than one whole piece I would feel really disgusting as it is heavy but I think it's worth it to try!!! Maybe split with someone. Cause not many places offer this so it's definitely worth picking up one! Overall this place was actually okay but I think I wouldn't really crave it or come back unless someone wanted to meet up here. I still appreciate that they have the fresh handmade noodles though!
Tried this for dinner with family. Ordered two larges for 2 adults and 3 kids. Plenty! Ordering is like what's been trending with pick your own hot or cold udon bowl with whatever protein (costs extra) or toppings (free). You can also pick your own soup base like miso paste, curry base, etc.Then they cook/prep your bowl and you put your own dashi soup on it at the end from a dispenser. Overall, quite tasty, udon is wide flat style with decent QQ texture to it, with generous portions - At least for my family's appetite. $29 fed our family of 5 and we picked chicken (tender), beef (gyu-don flavor) and 2 poached eggs (one for each bowl). The proteins cost us us about $10 in extras but I'm satisfied given good portions. Next time may try the tempura sides - didn't feel like fried foods today. Recommend trying!
Restaurantji Recommends
We decided to come try this new udon factory kitchen out. You have the option to make your own bowl or choose one of their signature menu udons. It's no fancy udon spot but a descent quick noodle fix if you were looking for one. We got #2 beef udon - which is classic and ok for us. Thin slice beef in hot fashion broth. We got #3 curry beef udon - this had a ball of curry and everything else was the same as #2 petty much. Once you incorporate the curry ball, it was ok as well. We got #6 sauces chicken udon (sauce version so not dry and not wet) The fried station had 1-2 pieces of everything. I grabbed a few and when you bite into them, they were very oily and not crunchy :( big disappointment for my lil family. The mochi spam was interesting. Sweet potato was the only crunchy item. The hot dashi was the only thing I actually liked. You can add as much or as little as you want to your bowl. This is not to be compared to Marukame udon - the Serge style is similar but the food and taste is no where even close. Yelp Checkin gets you a shrimp tempura if you spend $10 which is easy to hit - it is a really small shrimp - lots of batter unfortunately.
Great casual spot for udon. The noodles have a nice chew and can be seen being freshly made. The beef udon is great and there's also some delicious spam mocho.
3.5 star if I can make that choice. Seating is like a canteen, first come first serve after you place order at the kitchen bar. You can order from the menu or build your own. We tried both. Start by grabbing a metal tray and a piece of brown paper onto the tray, then tell the cooks behind the bar your orders. After ordering, if you show yelp check in, you get a free tempura item which also includes fried rice balls, spam mochi (yummy but sticky) and assorted kinds of tempura. For tempura items, you put them on the brown sheet, no plates for that. After ordering, you wait for them to call your name while securing a seat. Go back to the kitchen bar to pick up your udon. If it's hot, you add hot dashi broth yourself from a tap. You can see the udon machine at the kitchen and how a sheet was pulled out and how the cook sliced the sheet into flat strands of udon. The udon did taste el dente, though I prefer it in a smaller size. The poached egg was yummy and very soft. The toppings were not sparingly and the dashi broth was flavorful. I don't mind coming here to eat, but udon and broth preference I would go with Uzumakiya Udon Yzakaya in Cupertino.
Fresh udon, delicious broth. They also have a nice selection of sides like tempura and musubi. I really enjoyed my first visit during lunch and will be back.
So many steps...and so many things to choose from! When the hubby and I first stepped into Udon Factory & Kitchen, we had to take a step back in order to process everything. The ordering system is...a lot. You have the option of making your own udon bowl, starting if you want the bowl large or small, hot or cold, with or without soup, then select your protein, sauce, flavors, and finally dressing. Then on top of that, you get to choose an unlimited amount of toppings as well as additional appetizers and special toppings, like tempura shrimp or spam musubi. If you were anything like us, we decided to try their signature bowls, just to minimize the number of choices we had to make. I chose the beef and poached egg udon with hot soup while the hubby chose the kitsune udon, also with hot soup. He also added a tempura yam stick to his and I got tempura shrimp. It was breathtaking watching the chef prepare fresh udon noodles and believe me, you can tell the difference! The noodles were beyond perfect with their chewy texture and silky finish. Unfortunately, the hubby and I got a little too excited at the sauces bar, so we went overboard with the flavors, but we certainly liked the variety. Next time, we will definitely show more self restraint. The toppings, however, were cooked quite well, but the additional cost to the tempura yam and shrimp wasn't worth it. Udon Factory certainly epitomizes the concept of "paralysis of choice," but if you practice some restraint, we think you can make yourself a pretty decent bowl. The hubby and I will certainly come back and try this spot again!