Sobasennin

There is more than one way to enjoy zaru soba: try a little salt first, then dip the noodles lightly in the sauce. Sobasennin’s zaru is made with coarsely ground buckwheat flour from Shinshu. Some diners have enjoyed it with salt and wasabi before adding a little dipping sauce. If it is your first time, you could ask about how to eat it and find the approach you like best. For a chilled bowl with toppings, options include myoga zaru, topped with finely shredded Japanese ginger, and tororo zaru, made with Tottori-grown Nagaimo yam called Nevarikko.

The chilled-noodles, hot-broth kamo-jiru is a dipping soba dish served with Kawachi duck loin and white leek. There is also kamo-jiru tofu: tofu simmered in the duck broth, with the menu listing a choice of two or four pieces.

For a lunch with a range of dishes, try the niju-hachi or juwari set meal, available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The menu lists five small side dishes, a rice ball, kakiage and chikuwa seaweed-fried fish cake alongside the soba; a set is available with either zaru or kake soba. One diner who ordered the niju-hachi set said the side dishes and rice ball arrived first, followed by tempura and soba. It makes for a substantial lunch: nibble on the sides and rice ball while you wait for the noodles, then enjoy the kakiage and seaweed-fried fish cake too.

A diner who ordered the soba and squid rice set mentioned the rice’s chewy texture and the kakiage, and said they enjoyed the meal with soba tea. In the evening, the menu also includes dishes such as soba dashi omelette. Pair one with sake or a glass of wine to take a meal beyond soba alone.