Koya Restaurant Soho
Udon noodle restaurant · Soho
50 Frith St, London W1D 4SQ, United Kingdom
Highlights
Hand-pulled udon noodles in broth or with sauce; Japanese breakfast
Hand-pulled udon noodles in broth or with sauce; Japanese breakfast
"There are two other Koya locations, in London Fields and The City, but it’s the Soho original that has the most consistent and compelling line. Sidling up to this polite, anticipatory scene on Frith Street is always a pleasure. We like noodles for breakfast or lunch, but it’s the late-night line that wins out. It’s polite, sometimes merry, and there's always a guaranteed great meal at the end. Orderly creative directors with an IPA" - jake missing, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley
"Koya is a teeny tiny Japanese restaurant on Frith Street in Soho that serves exceptional hand-pulled udon, huge donburis, and London’s best steam facial courtesy of the curry atsu-atsu. Thanks to those chewy noodles, you’ll usually find people waiting outside with a look of katsu concentration on their faces. But Koya, we thank you for being open from 10am until 10pm daily so our last-minute udon cravings are always covered." - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, daisy meager
"Koya is a temple of noodles and soups, and it can lay claim to having the best udon in London. It’s a great place to come for a Japanese-style breakfast, to eat at the bar with a friend or two, or even solo should you have an hour to yourself. Besides the noodles, order some of their sides like the braised pork belly which is slow-cooked with cider and will make you very happy." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, daisy meager
"Koya’s bar has long been a broth-filled refuge among the mania of Soho and the udon specialist is still one of the best lunch spots anywhere in London. A bowl of atsu-atsu rarely goes down anything other than spectacularly, and a chicken kara-age donburi goes down similarly satisfyingly. Everything hovers around the £15-£20 mark, though if you bring a friend, you can share a couple of the small plates too." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna
"Shuko Oda’s little bar in Soho is among London’s most acclaimed Japanese restaurants. Over a long, blond wooden counter, chefs calmly and politely pass hot bowls of steaming broth containing noodles made on-site, topped with proteins like tempura prawn or smoked mackerel, or seasonal green vegetables from Sussex farm Namayasai. The traditional Japanese breakfast is the most steadying in London. Know before you go: The specials board of small plates changes every day and exhibits some of the city’s best modern British cooking." - Adam Coghlan
