menami

it was quite busy on a friday evening at 7pm. glad we made reservations.

the corn kaki age was a unique dish. it was quite sweet and good.

i had the mentaiko cream sauce udon. the noodles were chewy and delicious. the cream sauce was prepared quite well. i would recommend this dish.

this review is based 2 visits to menami. both on a weekday tuesday, one during the hype when you need a reservation to get in anyday and one when you can drop by as a walk in on a weekday.

i like the simple menu of menami. an unique menu that differs from all the izakaya/restaurant in the area.: their star is the housemade udon.

i like the freshness of non frozen udon. yes there is a different. a subtle different. but if one is paying the same price for a bowl of packaged/frozen udon at other restaurants, why not go for the fresh one with no preservatives?

i tried the original kama udon ($7.95) and tsuke udon with shrimp tempura ($10) both which i really enjoyed. i would say just skip the tempura as the udon is really the star of the dish.

for tapas, i tried the corn kaki-age, roasted hamachi gama, tako-wasa all really solid dish.

for drinks i would suggest to stick with beer (they have delirium on tap) or sake. their cocktails is sweet and weak.

service though was exceptional during my most recent visit. both waiter was nice and go out of their way to make sure i have a good stay.

i would be back for some more fresh udon. i think this is the only restaurant that offers freshly made noodle in gta.

came here with friends last night and the service was good and the food was pretty good too. it was quite busy inside and the interior is pretty nice. beer wasn't that cold though, which is a big no no for me.

menami prides itself as the first genuine traditional udon house in ontario. udon is a type of thick wheat noodles found in japanese cuisine. it can be served warmed or cold depending on the type of dish. opened only a few months ago, menami has already created a lot of buzz. this place is pretty busy, hence expect to wait if you don’t have a reservation. the restaurant is located at yonge and finch. we swung by around 5:30pm on a saturday evening, put down our name and number and waited for about 40mins. they will contact you by phone when your table is ready.

we were blown away by the beef tataki ($12) appetizer and this was my favourite dish. the sauce was very tasty, full of flavour, and has a bit of a kick to it! it is citrus -y and sweet. 

the spicy salmon tartare ($9) was yummy as well and is served with crispy deep fried wonton skin. the salmon is chunky and fresh. 

next was the black sesame puree udon with beef ($15)! i rarely leave a restaurant without trying one of their speciality items. there were many udon dishes to choose from on the menu but this one caught my eye. it was an interesting dish since the sauce is quite sweet and reminded me of the traditional asian black sesame dessert. it was warm and we were quite content slurping up the noodles. the udon noodles were springy and not starchy. the only downside is that there wasn’t much beef.

corn kaki-age ($5) with a honey butter mayonnaise dip! i can see why a lot of people enjoyed this corn tempura dish. personally, i’m not a big fan of fried food but i liked the sauce and i thought it went well with the corn kaki-age.

the bar area is nicely arranged and i liked the wood furniture and details, the cool lighting fixtures, and hip vibes. 
i think menami is a great place to eat with friends or with a date. there’s a good selection on the menu whether you’re feeling for something unique, or just tapas and drinks.

the oven baked udon contained shrimp, scallop, bacon, green pepper, white onion, and tex mex. this one was extremely cheesy with the tex mex on top and full of cream sauce as well. since it was oven baked, the surface of the udon when it arrived was a beautiful golden yellow colour from the oven baked cheese. it smelled amazing too!

there were a lot more shrimps in this than scallops and i liked the bacon slices that were hidden within this creamy udon dish as well. if you love cheese, you will love this udon dish! just like the first dish, i really enjoyed the texture of the udon and its chewiness.

we came to menami for an early dinner on the weekend. it is the same owner from han ba tang that opened this restaurant. the interior is similar to hbt - very hipster haha.

roasted pork belly (4/5)

this was delicious! loved the marinated pork belly. it wasn't too fatty, *like*! :)

smoked salmon with parsnip sauce (4/5)

the smoked salmon was very fresh. the parsnip sauce paired surprisingly well with the salmon.

beef udon (2/5)

there was a mishap with their kitchen for my beef udon... can ask me for details but i'll just leave it at that. the owner was nice about it though!

i'll still return to try other things on the menu.

menami is a nice japanese udon house in uptown korea town. definitely a place not hard to miss with his bright lit sign and big wooden doors. it was quite busy during dinner on a thursday evening when we went and its also due to the fact they are a small place and have limited seating. for the tapas, i ordered the corn kaki age which was corn made with tempura batter dipped in a sweet custard like sauce. it was quite good. from the udon menu, i tried the over baked udon which had shrimp, scallop, bacon, green pepper, white onion and tex mex. it was quite delicious and nicely made. overall, it was a great dining experience. staff was friendly and they have a nice cozy ambience. would highly recommend this place to others.

a self-proclaimed "udon & sake bar", menami aims to provide the same hip, urban vibe as han ba tang further down south along yonge, but with hand-pulled udon instead of korean tapas.

the storefront is cool: an easily-identifiable sign, glass window panes, and a towering, deep emerald double-door entrance. as many other reviewers had noted, it's evident that the "industrial chic" aura resides within menami and its sophisticated interior design. the singular washroom boasts a wall of textbook-like pages with primary- and secondary-industry-related info, along with bathroom mirrors adopting the shape and size of storm pipe cross sections.

as there was a lack of tables, we were offered seats at the bar instead. while han ba tang's bar area was rather short, menami's assumes a long l-shape, and provides viewing access to food preparation and cocktail creation. situated above was a chalkboard donning the names of dishes and appetizers in various hues and fonts.

went with a group of ten so tried quite a bit if the menu. we had: taco wasi, smoked salmon, fried shrimp, pork belly, beef short rib hot pot, vegetable hotpot, black sesame udon, spicy udon. highlights are beef rib hot pot, black sesame udon and taco wasi. small space so reserve ahead of time.

rm

located in the heart of north york, menami (twitter: @menamitoronto / instagram: @menamitoronto) is the first traditional udon house in all of ontario. they pride themselves in bringing authentic japanese udon to the people of toronto. menami is owned and operated by chae kim, the current owner of han ba tang, yonge and finch’s most popular restaurant. menami not only serves udon, they are also known for their galore of sakes (hence the sake bar) – opened very late most nights of the week.

menami is toronto's first house-made japanese udon restaurant which has recently gained a lot of popularity among many foodies. chae kim, owner of menami and han ba tang, another popular restaurant and bar, opened this udon restaurant with a big goal in mind: to serve the freshest and most authentic udon noodles to customers. in order to master the creation of japanese udon noodles, chae kim imported an udon machine from japan and sent her chef, kevin shin, to japan for 3 months to learn the delicate process of making it so that he can bring those skills back to toronto. what separates freshly made udon from frozen is the firm texture it holds and so it is no wonder that the process of making udon requires professional skills and great attention to detail. not only does menami serve udon dishes, they also offer a tapas menu, rice dishes, as well as large shareable items for two.

i'm going to say it.

it may be an unpopular opinion but...

it was average udon.

from the same owners as han ba tang which has gotten great reviews, menami focuses on freshly making their udon. unfortunately, it just wasn't the super yummy experience i was hoping for...an off night?

we had gone several weeks ago and i was holding back this post as i was hoping to go back, but a friend of mine had made the same comments after going twice. so, i probably won't be going back for a while. anyway, if you're still reading...i ordered the kitsune udon which is udon in a broth with marinated tofu. i wanted something simple but wanted the broth as it was a cold night and my toddler was having some; she prefers noodles in soup.

why just average you ask?

the noodles were too firm and i was expecting something more noticeably different from packaged udon (like when you eat fresh pasta, there is a texture difference between fresh and dry pasta).  it lacked a chewiness to it, it's not supposed to be like chewing gum, but it should have a nice bite or bounciness to it. this next point might be a strange one, but the noodles didn't slurp up well, meaning the soup didn't adhere to the noodle as much as i'd like it to. the soup was okay and is pretty traditional it seems, but nothing that would make me drink the whole bowl.  that was alright since the noodles should be the star. anyway, that night, the noodles were average.

however, i did like the marinated tofu - the salty, slightly sweet and vinegary tofu was like eating inari sushi without rice.

for those that are fans of menami, please tell me if it's the cold udon or saucy udon dishes that makes the difference!! i have a feeling the soup udons are not on par with the rest of the menu.

we did order a couple of sides, the chicken kara-age and the corn kaki-age. they were good but nothing particularly special about either. i have to admit we didn't order some of the more interesting options though (going for a simple night). again, i have to make another unpopular opinion...i would not order the corn kaki-age again because it wasn't as unique as we thought it was going to be and it's a small portion of corn in tempura batter for $5...yes, spend that $5 on another side dish instead or use it towards a drink! they are supposed to have some quality sake and interesting cocktails. i want to think "maybe we didn't order the right sides or came on an off night or they are still working on fine tuning" but this first experience did not live up to my expectations.

there are definite positives to this place, service was quite good and the décor and design of the space is very nice; has a hipster vibe - a date worthy place in north york. lots of nice detailing and love the dinnerware and lighting pieces! the bar also looks very inviting...definitely would attract me to have a few drinks there. this is a place i would come to again simply because of the decor and specialty sake options...and while i'm here, i guess i'd try some other sides and give their udon another go.

sometimes first impressions can be wrong...

most good noodles should have a springy quality to it, at least in my books. i prefer my pasta al dante, wonton noodles still with give and udon chewy despite its thick doughy properties. the large green door and vegas style name tag may not traditional characteristics of a noodle joint, but menami udon and sake bar certainly offers an impressive bowl of sanuki udon, despite the buzzy atmosphere.

forget the vacuum packed versions you find in the frozen or dry good areas of asian supermarkets, menami makes their fresh in-house with a special machine imported from japan and chef kevin shin spending a good deal of time in kagawa, japan learning the recipe and technique to reproduce it in toronto (with a few tweaks to meet our climate).

to sample the noodle in its most neutral form, have a plate of the tsuke udon ($7.95), the cool noodles served with a sweet soy, ginger, daikon and onion concoction for dipping. it goes particularly well with

the flashy sign at the front will definitely catch your attention and i loved the oversized doors as it gave the restaurant quite a “wow” factor from the outside. but don’t try to open them (obviously i didn’t hahaha) as it was simply for deco, so enter the restaurant through the side door. similar to han ba tang, the decor has an izakaya feel to it – casual and modern with a truck front grill and whitish-grey wooden chairs.

menami is a new restaurant near yonge and finch from the owners of another popular north york restaurant, han ba tang. the restaurant specializes in traditional udon, made fresh in-house. chae, the owner, sent one of her chefs, chef kevin shin, to japan for 6 months to learn the technique for making udon and imported a japanese udon machine from kagawa in order to create the most authentic udon experience possible for her customers. i had the pleasure of checking out the new restaurant at their media launch.