Walked in and queued for about an hour during lunch time. Priority is given to guests with reservations. Staff are friendly and they have an English menu (with photos) too! Noodles are springy and so delicious! Tempura was cooked to perfection, love the thin batter. Ended the meal with Soba Yu which is the water filled with nutrients after cooking the soba. We had a cozy seating on the floor where we had to remove our shoes, which made the experience even more traditional.

+3

Really good soba. The queue was about 45mins but it was worth it. Tempura batter is ok, however the ingredients are good they do octopus and scallop tempura. The sashimi is also very good. They serve the actual wasabi and we grate it fresh on our table.

If you happen to be in Otaru for a day trip or an overnight stay, I recommend that you venture outside of the main shopping street to dine at this Soba restaurant. Nestled in one of the lesser known streets, this restaurant offers guests a step back in time with its well preserved dated interior and tatami seating. Wait time was reasonable without reservation and pricing was also budget friendly. As for service and food, both were exceptional and exceeded our expectations. The service was exceptional as the staff, especially the young gentleman and lady that served us, both made great efforts to communicate with us in English (knowing that as tourists we take this added service for granted especially in small cities). I really appreciate the staff for doing such a great job in communication as we could have also tried to learn Japanese, but didn’t and speaking a different language that is not your native tongue is not easy. So thank you to all the servers for your service!! 😇 Food was also great. The method to eating soba hot or cold has a particular method and the staff did a great job walking us through how to fully enjoy our meal. The broth was deep and full of umami. The tempura battered and fried to perfection. And the soba cooked to perfection with the right amount of bite. Overall, very satisfied with the meal!

Enjoyed the traditional Japanese style restaurant and their decent food. Soba-yu was an unique experience and we liked it. Definitely a popular place amongst locals as well as tourists. We got there just before 5pm and there were some people already waiting in tue queue. Great option for a hot summer day.

+1

Seeing that this soba resto had high marks on Google Maps, we decided to give it a try after visiting the Kitachi Glass Outlet. . My sis and I ordered the Uni Toji Soba (JPY2650). It included steamed sea urchin, egg, trefoil, yuzu citrus and leek. The steamed uni tasted sweet yet slightly fishy. It had a firmer texture than I expected and it was even a bit rubbery. It was a pity, as the steaming process seemed to make the uni lose its freshness and creamy appeal. We chose locally produced flour for the soba noodles, which were pleasantly chewy and paired well with the savoury, hot broth. My dad ordered the Nishin Soba (JPY1800). Served as a separate dish, the herring was large, well-marinated and looked very juicy. My mom and my bro ordered the Kaki Soba (JPY2150). It featured oysters, shiitake mushroom, steamed wheat gluten and rice flour cake, trefoil and yuzu citrus. The dish was beautifully presented, with the gluten and rice flour cakes shaped like flowers. The lightly fried oysters were plump and fresh, making for a very satisfying meal. My bro's gf ordered Kashiwa Soba (JPY1200), which consisted of chicken and leek in a tasty chicken broth. She mentioned that the meat was a little tough, likely because the restaurant uses older chickens raised by an organic grower in a neighboring town. To finish the meal, the restaurant provided us with Soba-yu. This is the hot water the noodles were boiled in, which is rich in vitamins. . The resto is really popular, and we waited for around 30 mins to be seated. The waiting area is small, so one may have to wait outside, which can be difficult during the extremely cold weather. . The interior is traditional with wooden furniture, and there are a few free parking spaces directly opposite the resto.

+3