menami

great food but service could be better. the short ribs and dumplings were awesome. they also have a oyster special some nights. the chicken wings were just okay. service could improve. this place is busy and waiter disappeared for a while. they made us wait for our table to be ready then told us we only had 2 hours to eat then never camebackto take our dessert order. i would gobackbecause the food was worth it! good price point too.

love the decor and atmosphere here. sultry jazz playing in the background. had the spicy pork udon which was great. definitely comingbackto try the draft sake.

i wish zomato would get rid of the 140 char minimum!!

the udon came piping hot and was perfectly cooked. it was definitely the perfect dish for a cold evening, but i couldn’t help but fawn over the saucy noodles my friends were having.

i started thinking about menami over the next few weeks and was itching to gobackto try their pasta-like dishes. i finally returned a few weeks ago, and ordered the mentaiko cream sauce udon while my friend ordered the seafood yaki udon.

we decided to check out menami on the weekend for lunch after hearing all the hype. i mean, fresh housemade udon? that's pretty cool and unique in toronto. they even imported an udon making machine from japan! we got the corn kaki-age as an appetizer and that was good (not amazing like other reviews have said). the sauce went well with the deep fried corn. for our udon mains, we got the tsuke udon & mentaiko cream udon. i love dipping noodles but i was surprised the tsuke udon was served with cold noodles and broth. mentaiko was good at first bite but you get sick of the cream sauce fast.

the service was fast and for me, it was an interesting experience to try their housemade udon (verdict: slight difference, more chewy texture). overall, i won't be comingbackand i'm not sure what others are so excited for. but if you are *really* curious about what fresh udon tastes like, then sure, give this a try (but that's the only reason i can think of to go here).

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 bebackfor some more fresh udon. i think this is the only restaurant that offers freshly made noodle in gta.

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 skillsbackto 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 holdingbackthis 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 goingbackfor 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...