menami

i had the salmon cream sauce udon - salmon just barely cooked (like sous vide), pretty good, and i liked the cream sauce. honestly i don't taste much difference from regular frozen udon, but this udon is more soft and less chewy. . the mentaiko udon and albacore tuna tataki were good and i liked the watercress in the spicy seafood soup. yaki udon very flavorful sauce as well. also tried the popularcornkakiage which tastes like it sounds - deep fried battered sweetcorn- nothing mind-blowing.

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 thecornkaki-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 coming back and 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).

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

thecornkaki 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 thecornkaki-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.

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 thiscorntempura dish. personally, i’m not a big fan of fried food but i liked the sauce and i thought it went well with thecornkaki-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.

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 thecornkaki age which wascornmade 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.

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 thecornkaki-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 thecornkaki-age again because it wasn't as unique as we thought it was going to be and it's a small portion ofcornin 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...