Koya, London

Whilst these days I'm much more interested in ramen, for years udon was, for me, the quintessential Japanese noodle. Partly it was because of the relative ease of preparing an acceptable udon dish at home compared to the very tricky ramen. Partly it was because this thick, chewy noodle was far removed from my experience in a way that ramen, with its associations with Chinese noodles and the British Instant Noodle (Batchelors Supernoodles, Pot Noodle etc.) was not.

Michelin Bib Gourmand holder Koya, on London's Frith St. is a find in an area with far too many coffee shops. It serves a range of hot and cold udon dishes (plus various small plates and some donburi). And the udon at least are totally 'authentic' in a way UK ramen and udon (yes Wagamama I'm thinking of you) seldom is.

The restaurant, spread across two rooms, one with a counter, is light and not too tight, even when full as it was right up until the kitchen closed at 3pm on my visit. Still, in even a 30 minute lunch break you can be in, fed well and out.

I went for tempura udon. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the broth had just the right balance of salt vs fish taste. The tempura was a single, albeit huge, prawn. At £9.90 I felt the dish was expensive but in a city with so few udon choices, just about acceptable. Filtered water is on every table. Beer and sake are on the high side too. 10% is automatically added to all bills for service. Ultimately it's value rests on how much you crave a taste of authentic udon. Part the blue curtain of Koya's door way and find out.

KOYA 49 Frith Street London W1D 4SG