marukame udon

i guess this is what would be considered japanese fast food. it's very good handmade noodles with wonderful tempura sides. i prefer the coldbrothon the noodles because of the warm weather. this has become an inexpensive staple in my waikiki diet on visits here.

thoroughly impressed by the udon and tempura here. i hadn't heard of marukame udon before walking past it on vacation, and after seeing the line, i just had to try it. the queue moved much faster than i expected, only a short 15 minute wait! the udon noodles were bouncy and chewy, just like they should be, and thebrothwas clear, simple, and satisfying - the entire bowl was harmoniously flavourful! i will definitely be back, and highly recommend for anyone in the area.

nikutama udon: 9.5/10

definitely get in this place early because during dinner times, waiting lines can go up to 40mins! we came here for breakfast, and honestly, i am not an udon person, but this udon was soo delicious! i had a soft boiled egg with it and it was perfect! the noodles were cooked to perfection, thebrothwas bursting with flavour and the meat was soft and tender. the prices here are super affordable and there is a good range of seating. service is also very good!

we loved it. line is long but moves quickly. great udon noodles in flavorfulbrothwith fresh and tasty mix ins. tempura was ok but i recommend skipping it and sticking with the udon noodles and broth.

truly don't understand the really high rating on zom & the massive queue (possibly one of the longest along with the cheesecake factory). having been to one in japan & sydney (both were very different & adapted to local taste), this one is good, but somewhat behind the others. after queuing for 40mins, it was finally our turn to order. i got the nikutama udon, which was hot in a soybrothtopped with beef & an onsen egg. the udon noodle itself was good, al dente udon style. thebrothwas a little salty for me. my friend had a local variation, spicy chicken udon, it wasn't spicy enough for her, but she did enjoy it. the tempura were good & had a big selections of veg & seafood. overall ok, but i wouldn't really wait 40mins for another one.

first time having udon. great experience. the line is out the door but moves fast as it is the ordering line. service is very fast and effecient. a regular size bowl is roughly $6 and fills you up and there is tempura for about $1.50/piece. thebrothis made of seaweed and fish broth.

hot fresh noodles cut from hand-made dough (you can see the chefs making them fresh!!)  broth was flavourful and  the dishes are really inexpensive.  i really enjoyed the tempura asparagus :-)

saw the line outside and had to check it out. also since this place got 4.5 stars out of 5 based on over 2700 reviews they must be doing something right.

tried the udon and it was the bomb. the noodle was so soft andbrothwas delicious. i had the niku udon (i think that's the name).

also the last told me they aka 500 lbs of udon a day which is insane. prices are cheap considering it's waikiki. i would definitely come back.

this place has a reputation for the best udon in hawaii for a reason. thebrothin particular is delicious - the best i've had. this restaurant is a must if you're in oahu.

extraordinary authentic udon!  located on kuhio avenue, you will have to park in one of the less busy streets or walk to this location.  unless you go in the morning, lunch, dinner and late times always has a huge line, so assume to wait for a very long time.  

however, with that said, it is definitely worth it.  the reason why it takes so long is that they handmade and prepare the udon noodles, giving it the best texture and absorbency of whateverbrothit is place in.  in assembly-line fashion, you let the first chef know what kind of udon you'd like to order; they have a variety of hot and cold udons, with different broths and flavors.  then after you let them know which one you want and the size of the bowl, they hand the freshly made udon bowl to you and proceed down the line, where you have an array of toppings and side orders to choose from; each topping and side order (e.g. rice balls, musubi) incurs a cost, so be mindful of that. 

my husband and i went to marukame twice!  we ordered the curry udon, ontama udon (the one with the egg), and the niku udon.  my husband's favorite was the curry udon with its decadent and thick seasonings and japanese curry flavors, while my favorite was the ontama udon - i'm an egg lover and the way they cook/poach these eggs was to die for, it was so good, and paired well with their tasty broth.  the niku udon was infused with lots of beef flavor notes, and the beef that accompanies it was very tasty indeed - it was definitely close to our favorites, we just happened to like the others more due to our personal preferences.  as for the toppings, i believe that any of the toppings would seriously fit and pair well with any of the soups.  all the toppings we had were fried with tempura batter: the squid, fishcake, soft-boiled egg, croquette, shrimp, fried chicken, sweet potato, and mushroom.  we also purchased their tuna mayo rice ball, salmon rice ball, and the musubi.  all the toppings were great (just choose on your preference), and the tuna mayo rice ball was definitely excellent!  we've had better musubi elsewhere, but the udon and its toppings definitely outshines here!

and what's even better was that everything came to a very affordable price - for our first visit (when we nearly bought all the toppings and side orders listed above and 2 udons), it only came out to $19.50 (with tax included) - and we had to take some leftovers home!  we were gratifyingly full and our wallet did not break, compared to many other restaurants in the area. 

so my recommendation is this: whether you are a local, tourist, in waikiki, or just visiting the island for one day, stop by here!  the udon brings me back to my japanese days in its authenticity, atmosphere, and taste.  marukame will surely not disappoint and you'll be glad you went!

amazing. anything you get will have a perfect balance of taste texture and flavours. the udon noodles are handmade and cooked in front of you while you line up for your bowl. tempura vegetables and delicacies complement perfectly the hotbrothand the whole atmosphere is very unique. a very good value for money and well worth the 30-45 mins line.
will come back again.

if you love noodles and only have one place that you can visit in waikiki, make sure to try marukame udon on kuhio avenue.

their freshly made sanuki-style udon is amazing. of course, this means that it can get really busy here during the peak rush. since they open early, we decided to avoid the big crowds and have udon for breakfast… this also let us walk off our extremely filling meal afterwards.

once you enter the restaurant, you get in line to place your order and watch how they quickly assemble your udon. then the fun part begins as you get to pick from a big selection of tempura and musubi to add to your meal.

here we have the niku udon with sweet beef and caramelized onions in a traditional light fish and seaweedbroth(topped with an added poached egg of course).

next is the ontama bukkake udon with a flavourful bukkake sauce and soft poached egg.

as i mentioned, there’s a large variety of tempura to select from. on this visit, we tried the crispy fried chicken, asparagus, prawn, eggplant, squid, and fish cake tempura to name just a few… not to forget the spam musubi.

don’t forget to garnish your udon… the condiments area is just past the cashier and has tempura sauce, chili flakes, wasabi, tenkasu, welsh green onions, and grated ginger.

sanuki-style udon noodles tend to be a bit firmer and chewier and i’ve yet to be disappointed here.

the noodles are quite filling so make sure you don’t overindulge with the tempura.

dat yolk tho!

definitely add a soft poached egg to your udon and try them out for breakfast to avoid the crowds.

no contest. the best udon i've ever had. house-made noodles were firm and chewy, thebrothwas incredibly flavourful, not too salty, but complex enough for the noodles to sop it up and be an amazing meal.

marukame udon is a highly hyped restaurant and upon first glance i was sceptical. it looked like a food court style eatery in the inside with a crazy long wait. the line did take maybe 20 minutes to get through, but they have their turnover in the restaurant down to a science.

in the end, the wait was worth it. great udon and an interesting selection to choose from. i got the kamaage which is the style where you dip the noodles into the broth. really allows you to take in the texture of the noodles uninhibited by soaking in a bowl. thebrothwas also fantastic, quite salty but savoury and filling as the tempura flakes clung to the noodles.

along with the udons, you're also able to purchase sides from musubis, rice rolls and tempuras. it looks and tastes so good that it's a difficult decision to choose what you want without getting too much to eat.

definitely a must-visit restaurant in waikiki.

niku udon and tempura – traditionalbrothwith light fish and seaweed taste topped with beef and caramelized onions. the noodles were cooked perfectly and had a chewy bouncy texture. i thought the regular portion was a good size and ended up being quite filling. thebrothwas light and had a slightly salty seafood flavour, but also tasted a bit sweet from the caramelized onions.

quick and yummy udon. yes there is a huge line, but service is very fast. simple quick food. freshly made udon noodles and pick your own tempura seafood or vegetables. cheap and yummy. greatbrothtoo.