Sasaya

Try a bite of juwari soba—100% buckwheat noodles—with salt first. Several diners have mentioned enjoying it this way, and at Sasaya, there is more to savour than simply choosing a dipping sauce. The cold soba menu includes seiro, juwari, yam-kake and tempura seiro, making it easy to choose whether you want the noodles to take centre stage or to pair them with tempura. Diners who tried the juwari soba with salt enjoyed the change from dipping sauce. Others praised the salt with the monthly and seasonal soba variations, too—a chance to approach the noodles in a slightly different way.

Rather than making a meal of soba alone, another option here is to take your time over soba-mae—small dishes enjoyed before the noodles—and Kanto-ni, an oden-style simmered dish. Choose from daikon, atsuage, egg, beef tendon and more. Diners who tried the daikon and atsuage have remarked on how the broth had soaked into them. Ordering a few small plates first and finishing with soba works just as well for a meal as it does for an evening with drinks.

The à la carte menu includes dashimaki rolled omelette and salt-grilled chicken thigh, as well as corn tempura and fried chicken thigh. For sharing, there are assortments in three-, five- and seven-piece servings. Some diners have found the fried chicken thigh and corn tempura generous in portion, making them appealing choices when you want to share a few dishes before the soba.

The sake list includes labels from across Japan, among them Denshu and Mutsu Hassen from Aomori. Settle in for sake and soba-mae before moving on to the noodles, or enjoy a meal on your own. With soba at the centre, you can shape the table around it with small plates and Kanto-ni.