Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu Tokyo: Traditional Soba Restaurant

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu, Tokyo (板蕎麦 香り家 恵比寿店) is a classic soba restaurant that has good reviews with a 4.2 star Google review. Its soba and tempura lunch combination looked like the quick and simple lunch we were looking for and it was easy to find – close to the Ebisu station.

Popular Soba Restaurant Near Ebisu Station

According to Wikipedia, Ebisu Station (恵比寿駅) is a railway station in the Ebisu neighborhood of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward. The station is named after Yebisu Beer, which was once brewed in a brewery in this vicinity.

The buildings in this neighbourhood are not new but have interesting retro vibes. This wedge shaped building is the thinnest building I have seen and houses a restaurant serving takeaway food on the ground floor. The lamp posts in the area have beer mug shaped lamps! The newer and more touristy parts of Ebisu (including the Yebisu Beer Museum and Yebisu Garden Place shopping mall) are located about 500m to the south.

Lunch at Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu Soba Restaurant

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu is located on the ground level of a block of residential apartments. There was a short queue when we arrived at 11.25am on a weekday, just before the opening time at 11.30am. Thankfully, we were early enough to be part of the first batch of diners to be ushered in for lunch.

We felt like we had been transported from a city centre restaurant to an eatery in the countryside. The dim interior had a cosy feel. Heavy wooden furniture and the hardwood floor gave it a warm rustic feel. Most of the seats are at two long tables.

Pots of tea, cups, chopsticks and menu were all placed on the table. Our fellow diners seemed to be familiar with everything at this soba restaurant. Sit, order, eat and leave. The diners before us took less than 30 minutes. So the queue to get into the restaurant moved quickly.

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu Tokyo Menu

Here are pictures of the Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu soba menu and set lunch menu. The set lunch seemed to be popular with the fellow lunch diners and so we followed suit. Soba was the only main course and the only decision to be made were the side dishes. Buckwheat noodles with roasted duck in warm soup or with tempura. Instinct made us want to both order the tempura but curiosity made us try one of each.

The Appetiser

A small plate of appetisers soon appeared after our order was taken. The seared bonito (mackerel), Japanese omelette and duck breast were all tasty and enjoyable. The main courses were served soon after.

Buckwheat noodles with roasted duck in warm soup

We liked the way the cold soba noodles were served – spread out thinly on a large wooden plate. It was accompanied by a sesame dipping sauce, chopped spring onions, a small bowl of duck soup and rice. We tried dipping the soba into both the sauce and the duck soup and it worked well both ways. We however thought that the soba was quite average for such a scenic place. The duck soup was quite unusual and provided a rich flavour for the soba.

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu Soba and Tempura

The highlight of the day was the tempura that was served with the soba and tempura set lunch. The deep fried vegetables and prawns were crisp and expertly cooked with very little oiliness. We would definitely order this on a future visit.

Overall it was a memorable soba restaurant experience in Tokyo. It was the first time we encountered such enthusiastic soba slurping in real life. We also joined in. The servers were friendly and helped us with an English menu.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu
〒150-0013 Tokyo, Shibuya, Ebisu, 4 Chome−3−10 Japan
センチュリー・パーク 1F

Opening Hours: 11.30 am to 3.30 pm

Website