つるとんたん Udon Noodle Brasserie 銀座店

Such a fun and upbeat place. It did take awhile to get a table. I'd say about 25 minutes. It was just me (as usual). I was seated at a high top table. It was pretty loud but I was able to enjoy that food. I ordered through the tablet they had set up at all the tables. The horse sashimi was really interesting and I recommend it to anyone looking for something new and unique. The udon was BIG! Plenty of food. I loved the mojito and plum wine. The bartender was quick and clearly was on top of his game. The menu is quite large and there's plenty of options for veggie lovers to steak eaters. It gets busy, but I loved it.

Loved the decor of this place. It felt very elevated!

The wait was about an hour but it felt like it moved fast since we were waiting with friends.

The food was good, portion sizes for the noodles were huge! I got 1 full portion and I couldn't finish it. We got some side dishes, beef, mushrooms, veggie. The Korean style side dish was really small.

Ok the service, there was 5 of us and for some reason they kept forgetting about my order. I didn't get to eat until 20minutes after everyone at the table was done eating... I didn't get my cocktail until after my meal and we had to get out of our seat to ask for service. Two different parties sitting next to us came and went... this is how long we were forgotten.

My friend who brought us here said she's never experienced such bad service here... but it was my family & I first time and because of this service, we will not come here again or recommend this place to anymore.

TsuruTonTan Udon Noodle Brasserie is a world famous restaurant for you Udon Noodle lovers. This particular location is in Ginza on the 10th floor of a Commercial building.

We stopped by here twice during our last Nov trip to Tokyo and I thoroughly enjoyed not just the Udon soup I ordered, but also the ambiance, decor, and layout. The far side wall is a large glass wall and if you're fortunate enough, you can sit with a 10th floor view looking out during the daytime.

I ordered the Curry Udon both times I was here, because if this sounds delicious, then you should probably order it yourself. Service was light, as you order via tablet and your interaction with their staff should be minimal. Definitely one of my favorite noodle shops in the Ginza area.

I loved the udon at Tsuru Ton Tan so much I went twice during my November trip to Japan. They're located in a large shopping plaza on the 10th floor, where there are other restaurants available to you. There is a hostess stand in the front and the wait can be short or long depending on several factors. For my two trips here, the wait was no more than 10 mins each. Once seated, you order via a small tablet at your table, which makes it really easy to order.

You're able to order up to 3x the udon noodles so have fun with this. If you get a heavier sauce like the curry, that should weigh into your decision on how much udon noodles you can handle. Service is what you would expect from any restaurant in Japan, which is to say courteous and prompt. The ambiance here is also nice, high ceilings, tables are decently spaced out and there is a large window looking out from the 10th floor. Good for you if you can secure a table near the windows.

I will most certainly be back here, hopefully later this year. If you love udon like I do, this is a must try in Tokyo.

TsuruTonTan Udon Noodle Brasserie / Ginza (Tokyo) -- It was our first evening in Tokyo, and Jamie W. and I were dealing with heavy-duty jet lag. However, we were intent on having a nice dinner to celebrate my birthday a day late. After reviewing Time Out Tokyo's top dining picks, I thought an udon brasserie might be an interesting choice as neither of us had been to one.

Well, we walked a few blocks from our hotel and made our way to the 10th floor of Tokyo Plaza Ginza. There we saw a variety of restaurants on the floor, but by far the most popular was this one. We took our number, and the wait was well over an hour with no place to sit. Did I mention the jet lag? When we were finally seated, it was in a small carrel with counter space.

It was hardly the fine dining experience I was expecting, and we made our order through a tablet screen. We had already decided what to get since we had plenty of time to look at all the plastic replicas of their specialty udon bowls during our arduous wait. Jamie ordered the ¥1,530 Vegetable and Mixed Pork Champon Udon which had more the consistency of porridge than soup (photo: https://yelp.to/dvIP21S6K5).

He pronounced it middling with the udon noodles a bit too overcooked for his taste (he prefers ramen). Mine was the ¥1,880 Hot-Pot Nabeyaki Udon which looked great in plastic (photo: https://yelp.to/n6kKUN8ngT). When it arrived, the shrimp tempura looked wilted from the heat of the broth, and the rest of the ingredients were on the verge of mushy. Even with subpar texture, it still tasted pretty good.

It helped that I paid ¥400 for the addition of pork meatballs (photo: https://yelp.to/D996aB1WXq). Somewhat disappointed, Jamie decided to order the ¥1,280 Assorted Sushi Rolls for us to share. Considering this is an udon house, I thought the eight rolls were decent enough though the fish portion was skimpy compared to the rice (photo: https://yelp.to/hexBxIHiTj). Gee, I guess I know what an udon brasserie offers now.

FOOD - 3 stars...overly soft udon noodles cast a giant shadow
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...seems nice if you have a table, but the carrel wasn't that enjoyable
SERVICE - 4 stars...the servers were timely if a bit abrupt
TOTAL - 3 stars...udon as a gourmet item really didn't work for us

RELATED - Exploring Japan? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2qrUBZo

Udon is probably my favorite type of noodle and so I've been to TsuruTonTan way too many times. It's a comfort meal for real. They have HUGE bowls and HUGE spoons for massive udon. So many options from plain udon to seafood to meat. I suggest getting cold noodles because when it's in warm soup, the chewiness of the udon reduces by a lot.

You can order via iPad and so you can change the language. So it's quite tourist-friendly! Very popular so if you go at peak times, you might wait for more than an hour.

I went to the Honolulu location and really liked it. The menu at this Tokyu Plaza Ginza 10F location is slightly different, but just as good. The popular items are the udon noodles in giant bowls. You can get up to three times the noodles free of charge, although I can't imagine anyone finishing it all. There are other items like sushi and tempura to go with the udon. We got the chicken udon and beef sukiyaki udon - both had a homey taste. I tend to add a rice cake tempura or a shrimp tempura to my noodles, and this restaurant lets you easily customize with a quick touch of a button.

The seating system is quite easy. You sign up to get a number at the front of the store. English is available. Then you wait until they call the number in Japanese. Know your Japanese numbers. If you don't know Japanese, just remember the party in front of you -- hopefully they know when they are being called. Once seated, there is a tablet at each table with photos to make your selection. After you are done, bring your check to the front to pay.

The restaurant is quite big, so turnover is fast. Families bring young children and babies. Be careful of all the strollers FYI. They can slow down the turnover for your coveted seat.

Well worth the wait. A friend and I came here I think around 7 pm on a Friday night. And we put our names down and considered eating elsewhere but there was a wait everywhere and a friend had recommended this place to me. Also, it had the most reasonable prices.

I think we waited an hour and a half or a little more. Be warned, they only call out the numbers in Japanese so you might want to check the machine where you got your number or check with the attendant.

We were seated facing the windows and ordered from a tablet. You can choose how much noodles you want but keep in mind the noodles are filling. My friend and I ended up really full but the noodles are amazing. I got the curry udon and it was some of the best I've had.

And for being in Ginza in what looks like a fancy mall, the prices were very reasonable. We also got some cocktails and they were okay. I'd pass on those next time and save room for more noodles.

The udon here is good for sure, you can't go wrong with any of your choices. The sushi was also really good, I would stay away from the rolls. They are very simple and westernized. Even though they are really known or a sushi place their nigiri was sooooo good! Overall this location, has a very upscale dining experience and is a great spot for grabbing food with a friend.

The udon here is delicious! They also give you free up sizes up to 3x the amount. I chose 2.5x the amount of udon I ended up kind of regretting it because it was so much udon. I also wished I got a different sauce since the carbonara does get a bit heavy the more you eat. However overall it was good!

The restaurant is actually located in the mall on top. The space itself is spacious and has plenty of tables but it is quite popular so we had to wait for about an hour before we were seated. Prices are super reasonable!