7 best udon restaurants in Osaka

At first glance, it’s easy to mistake the udon at Aozora Blue for soba due to the noodles’ unusual reddish-brown colour. But that’s what makes the udon here so special: it’s all down to chef-owner Hirofumi Matsui’s 15 years of experience in soba-making.

Aozora Blue’s signature Jikaseki Arabiki udon is made fresh on-site daily, using techniques distinctive to soba. Domestic wheat, sourced directly from farmers across Japan, is coarsely ground with the husks on using a stone mill. This preserves the grain’s natural flavour, aroma and colour, resulting in a noodle that’s more granular in texture and surprisingly fragrant – in ways that common white udon simply isn’t.

On the menu, you’ll find the aforementioned coarse-ground whole-wheat udon alongside a blended version that’s closer to regular udon. The former is the reason Aozora Blue holds a Bib Gourmand rating, and it’s revelatory in both texture and flavour. Also worth watching out for is the rare special where chef Matsui showcases seasonal ingredients, such as perilla leaf, in his ‘speciality’ udon...

Located near Tenjinbashisuji, arguably Japan’s longest shopping street, this Bib Gourmand-rated udon specialist also attracts a long line of its own. But it’s worth it, especially if you like your udon chewy and springy, and your noodle broth deeply savoury.

The hiyakake udon – a minimalist serve garnished with just spring onions, grated ginger and sesame seeds in a clear broth – is the best dish to appreciate that addictive texture. The cold seafood dashi broth is refined and flavourful, but not salty, making it easy to drink to the last drop. The kijoyu udon is another purist-pleaser: cold, soupless noodles served alongside grated daikon and ginger, spring onions and sudachi lime, with soy sauce on the side to drizzle as you please.

The menu is extensive, ranging from hot and cold noodles to a small selection of curry udon. For first-timers, you can’t go wrong with the popular toriten taichikuwaten ontama bukkake...

Udon Kyutaro is cheap, good and opens at 7am – a godsend for early risers looking for a hearty breakfast in the city. Located in the bustling business district of Honmachi, this standing-room-only udon specialist can fit eight people at a squeeze around its communal table, which explains why there’s often a queue outside its entrance. Don’t worry, turnaround is quick.

Beyond its affordable pricing starting from just ¥600 and the much-welcomed early opening hours, Udon Kyutaro has built a following for its thick and chewy Sanuki-style wheat noodles. The chef-owner had honed his skills in Kagawa prefecture, the heartland of Sanuki udon, before opening this restaurant in 2017.

The menu is plastered on a raw cement wall in the narrow space. The options are extensive, and though there are photos, everything is written in Japanese only. Popular items include the beef and maitake mushroom udon in clear broth...

A little slice of the ‘udon prefecture’ Kagawa smack in the middle of Osaka, Udonbo serves its thick and chunky wheat noodles just like you’d get them in Takamatsu: fast, simple and cooked to al dente perfection. Made with a mixture of Kagawa- and Hokkaido-produced flours, Udonbo’s noodles give off a rich aroma and has that unmistakably firm and elastic mouthfeel. Most other ingredients are sourced straight from Kagawa too, including olive-fed pork and beef, Sanuki heirloom chicken and Kamebishi’s artisanal aged soy sauce.

In addition to a variety of hot and cold udon soups available year round, the menu lists a monthly special that’s usually well worth a punt. For example, the January-only dish is an innard-warming udon zoni (rice cake soup) topped with a hearty serving of vegetables cooked in traditional white miso from Kagawa...

Takeuchi’s version of thick, flat and chewy Sanuki udon – the signature dish of Shikoku’s Kagawa prefecture – has been attracting a constant stream of noodle-fans to the back streets of Nakatsu since 2006. The small shop’s secret is in its craftsmanship and attention to detail, which encompasses everything from sourcing top-quality wheat and other ingredients from trusted suppliers to pairing the noodles with juicy, mouth-watering bits of tempura.

Their signature dish is the toriten bukkake, a bowl of freshly made Sanuki udon and chicken tempura in a rich and flavourful soy sauce-based broth. Other popular offerings range from basics such as wakame udon to the lightly flavoured toridashi tsukemen, in which the noodles and chicken-based dipping broth are served separately. The curry udon with chicken tempura is also worth consideration...

Umeda’s ‘dancing’ udon purveyor puts a swing in diners’ steps with soft and fluffy home-style noodles available as part of classic dishes such as kake (in warm broth), kamatama (mixed with raw egg) and namajoyu (hot or cold in unpasteurised ‘raw’ soy sauce), as well as with a variety of topping combinations.

Among the latter, we like the Niku Maitake Ontama Bukkake (¥1,200), served in a nicely balanced soy sauce broth and topped with crispy maitake mushroom tempura, a soft-boiled egg and beef simmered in sweet sauce. Alternatively, you can leave out the meat and pay only ¥900 for the flavourful deal.

A word of warning: Odoru Udon enjoys a cult following among the Kansai region’s noodle aficionados and the queues in front of the Umeda shop in particular can get long...

This ever-popular eatery in the Shin-Umeda Shokudogai restaurant corridor, underneath the sprawling complex housing the Osaka and Umeda railway and metro stations, is considered the birthplace of Osaka-style Sanuki udon. A power-packed pairing of Kagawa prefecture’s thick and chewy wheat noodles and rich, flavourful Osaka-style dashi broth, the dish is perfect for those who find regular Sanuki udon a little too bland.

Kamatake serves its artisanal udon with a wedge of lemon, freshly ground ginger and chopped scallions – a topping combination that brings out the gentle texture of the noodles and tempers the punchiness of the broth. The basic dish can be complemented with tempura (we like the chikutama, a combo of egg and chikuwa fish cake) or fancier ingredients such as wagyu beef (ask for niku bukkake). You get to choose the size of your dish from small (300g of noodles), medium (400g) and large (800g)...