Honke Owariya 本家尾張屋 – Soba with more than 500 years of history

Honke Owariya 本家尾張屋

Takashimaya Kyoto, near Gion Shijo metro

What could perhaps be the oldest soba restaurant on planet Earth, Honke Owariya 本家尾張屋 has an unbelievable history of more than 500 years! If you are interested in its cleverly succinctly summarised history, then dairycream would provide a wholesome review of this place. (It was also thanks to her that I managed to avoid the main restaurant which was cigarette friendly, and landed up in its more modern and accessible branch at Takashimaya, now this will definitely be 禁煙!)

 

The simple menu over here is divided into mainly two distinct sections, the ala carte 単品 section and set ｾｯﾄ which comes with a bowl of rice on top of your soba and radish appetisers at the side. The tempura soba set for slightly above 1000円 was refreshingly delicious as it is soaked in the cold, light but fragrant shoyu sauce while the tempura batter was fried to the perfect crisp.

That may have looked ordinarily delectable and I was suspecting a signature specialty or some sort to be present in the menu and indeed S and I were not disappointed.

From sushi to kimbap to whatever rolls we may have seen, this is perhaps the first soba roll that I’ve had. Termed as the Zushi Soba, these rolls were stuffed with neatly laid soba instead of the usual vinegared rice. And its more vegetarian fillings of mushroom and omelette makes it a pretty light appetiser for the health conscious. Though I wasn’t particularly excited over this dish, the idea behind a soba sushi is indeed worth applauding for.

And this Nishin Soba perhaps is their signature that deserves more attention. Looking really plain and simple, the flavourfully poached mackerel was beautifully amalgamated with the soba by the lightly sweet-tasting warm broth. Though having a more foreign palate, S actually concurred that this is one of the better or best soba that he’s had. Slightly above 1000円.

Though I am not an avid soba fan, this is still a place I reckon should be visited at least once, if you are interested in the dishes that this long serving soba restaurant could offer as I suspect that these signatures could only be found in this restaurant.

Verdict: A good restaurant