Mentouan Review Summary

You have to go early and put your name on the list or you might miss it. When it went they were only open from 11am to 3pm, so it’s a pretty short time. If you don’t put your name on the list just forget it you’ll never get in. There was already quite a bit of names when I went but I only waited 45min since o was solo and a lot of people didn’t show up when their name was called (they wandered away and miss their window 🤷🏻‍♀️) I had the famous udon with the curry and it was one of the best Udon I had so far on my Japan trip ! This is one stop I’m happy I made.

Udon noodles wrapped in a fried egg bag. The broth is very rich and is perfect for the winter season. The curry tastes great too, although it got a little more diluted from the noodles.

There are only 20+ seats here and one wait staff so service may require patience. The queue took nearly an hour but was worth the experience.

Toilets are available here, although you would be seated next to a large fish tank and the wall between you and the kitchen isn’t sound proof.

Waited approximately 40-45 minutes to be seated. Although there were open seats, they weren’t being used because staff shortage. Friendly staff, they’re just short on workers to serve a lot of people at once… so please understand while you wait!

Waiting was well worth it! We ordered the curry udon and the regular udon. Broth was great for cold seasons, curry was fine too.

I preferred the regular udon more because you can sip the broth and not so much for the curry. Shrimp tempura was decent, I recommend eating that first unless you want a not so crisp tempura.

Had no issues bringing a large luggage to this restaurant, will visit again when in Nara!

I found this place on Instagram and was hoping it wasn't a gimmick and after waiting almost two hours to sit down we discovered it wasn't.

Unlike most restaurants that make you queue up when they are full, at Mentouan you write your name and number of people in your party on a list. This allows you to browse the shops close by rather than standing there the whole time.

There are only a couple of soup options for the tofu skin pouch. Beef curry, Dashi and Dashi with Mushrooms. I chose the Beef Curry and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was a well balanced curry with a fair amount of heat, but not too much. After I was done with the Udon noodles I finished off the tofu which was also good.

As we were leaving the restaurant, the chef was in the entry way. I asked for a photo and he obliged.

Enjoyed the udon noodles and the flavour of the broth and curry. It's worth trying for the experience and would recommend coming here early. I arrived at 10.55am on a Monday with about 15 people ahead and waited 30 minutes to be served. It is understandable the restaurant let's a few people in at a time as they appear to be understaffed.