DTLA: Hot Soup On a Cold Night at Marugame Udon
beef curry udon
As a long time fan of Marugame Monzo, I was excited by the mini chain Marugame Udon opening all over Los Angeles. I can get great udon everywhere! Then I found out they weren’t related. And the more I thought about it, I wasn’t so into the fast casual concept.
Until I actually tried it. We went to the one at the Bloc in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s always busy when I’ve seen it during lunch but it wasn’t crowded when we went after our movie at Alamo Drafthouse.
You start with a bowl and tell them what you want (in this case, we got a curry beef and an extra side of noodles for the two of us). Then you go down the line to pick out various appetizers including tempura. If you are ordering to go, just get a take out container and it’s the same process.
I was a child who grew up loving cafeterias (yes, Clifton’s of years past) so I actually found it fun to push the tray along. There was some crispiness lost on some of the tempura. Some things worked better than others- the fried meats like that giant hunk of chicken but I’d probably skip all the veggies next time.
I would definitely go back to try the other noodles. I liked the curry beef quite a lot!
Marugame Udon
700 S Flower St., Ste 2600, Los Angeles, CA 90017 — (213) 628-3209
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