Tabelog ratingNakanishi Udon (中西うどん) has made its noodles by hand since 1950. They are very thick, firm gōmen ("strong noodles") boiled in well water. Service is fully self-serve. You take a bowl of plain noodles, warm them yourself in a basket dipped in the hot water, then pour dashi from a tap. Reviewers single out the iriko (dried sardine) dashi as unusually mellow, and many say they drink every drop. The shop moved to its current house-style premises in 2012. Tabelog named it to its udon "Tabelog 100" lists in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Almost every review praises the chew of the noodles and the broth. The most-ordered bowls are cold kake (noodles in broth) and oroshi bukkake (with grated daikon and a stronger sauce). Korean visitors in particular recommend niku bukkake with beef. The anago (conger eel) tempura is a favourite: it is so long it overhangs the bowl. Guests also like the chikuwa, burdock and lotus-root tempura, sweet aburaage and oden. Staff are described as warm and cheerful, and the room as spacious and clean.
Most criticisms come down to timing. Tempura on the self-service counter is often cold, and the anago disappointed some. The noodles are boiled ahead, so depending on when you arrive they can be past their best. Some find the cold dashi salty and the noodles too hard. One regular reported an inconsistent shippoku (vegetable stew) udon.
Reviewers in 2025–2026 paid around ¥370 for a single kake, ¥430–480 for bukkake or oroshi bukkake, ¥530 for a two-portion bukkake and ¥850 for a two-portion curry udon. Tempura adds about ¥210–250 for anago and ¥130–150 for chikuwa. Lunch typically comes to under ¥1,000 a person, and two people ordering heavily paid ¥2,020. There is no dinner service because the shop closes at 15:00.
Value is good. Even a single portion is filling, and the giant anago is called a bargain. One long-time customer felt recent price rises went a little far.
- Getting there: 20 minutes' walk (about 1.6 km) from Ota Station on the Kotoden Kotohira Line. Reviewers put the walk at 20–30 minutes, and most visitors come by car, bicycle or taxi.
- Parking: 30 spaces.
- Booking: reservations are not accepted, so just walk in. Weekend noon queues of around 20 groups are common, but the line moves fast.
- Timing: noodles, tempura and oden sell out, so go early.
- Ordering: order and collect your food before taking a seat. Takeout is available.
- Payment: credit cards (VISA, Master, JCB, AMEX), electronic money (transport IC cards such as Suica, Rakuten Edy, WAON, iD) and QR payments (PayPay, d Barai, Rakuten Pay, au PAY) are all accepted.
- Seating: 68 seats, including counter seats and a tatami area. There are no private rooms, and the shop is wheelchair accessible.
- Children: children of all ages are welcome, including babies, and strollers are fine. The raised tatami area lets small children lie down.
- Smoking: the restaurant itself is non-smoking. Reviewers note an outdoor smoking area right beside the queue.
- Allergies: soba is boiled in the same water as the udon, so take care if you have a buckwheat allergy.