01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Add tempura to chilled soba, or take your time over a simple bowl of zaru soba. At Soba Inoue, soba is at the heart of the menu, but there are several ways to put a meal together. Zaru soba costs 850 yen, while tempura zaru soba is 1,400 yen. The latter is an option for anyone who wants to enjoy chilled soba with tempura. Chilled sudachi soba, a cold soup-style soba with sudachi citrus, costs 1,000 yen. Chilled tanuki soba is the same price; topped with tempura bits, nori and spring onion, it offers a more substantial, sauced style of chilled soba. Choose between the citrusy, refreshing bowl and one with toppings to suit your mood.
Some visitors have praised the firm texture of the chilled soba, the light batter on the tempura and the depth of saltiness in the dipping sauce. They also report being served sobayu—the water used to cook soba—at the end of the meal, which they enjoyed mixed into the remaining dipping sauce. For a hot bowl, options include chicken and spring onion soba, served with hot broth containing chicken and spring onion, and nishin soba. One diner who ordered the nishin soba noted the generous presence of the half fish and its tenderness.
In the evening, there is more to explore than soba alone: charcoal-grilled dishes and snacks to accompany drinks are also on offer. Diners have mentioned enjoying yakitori alongside soba and liking the grilled spring onion skewers. The menu includes charcoal-grilled chicken thigh, tsukune and white leek. There is also an assortment of dried fish, grilled at the table over a small charcoal brazier, making it a possibility for an evening meal finished with soba. Sake is available warm or chilled, alongside beer, so you can build the meal from a drink and a small plate through to a bowl of soba.
