Kyourakutei

On my first trip to Tokyo I requested noodles (unsurprising to anyone who eats with me regularly) and had the distinct pleasure of a lunch full of them at Kyorakutei. In numerous subsequent trips, I have never found better soba anywhere.
I tried two things for the first time in this tiny noodle shop (and suggest you do the same):
1. Yuba
Tofu skin, or bean curd skin, didn’t initially sound particularly crave-​able to me but once this silky smooth dish arrived in front of me, I immediately regretted ever thinking a bad thought about the stuff. I suggest yuba topped soba as an entry point here. I now ask for yuba everywhere thanks to my first taste at Kyorakutei.
2. Tempura with salt
Typically, I’m used to dipping tempura into sauce. The tempura at Kyorakutei is fried right in front of you and the vegetables appear fresh picked. High quality tempura is best eaten unadulterated and thus they serve it here with a tiny dish of salt as opposed to sauce. And wow, what a difference! The vegetables seem to sing with just a few grains of salt. And no more soggy tempura!
Sitting at the counter is definitely the way to go so you can get in on the action. Just behind you, you’ll see the soba making process underway. There are no menus in English so take a Japanese speaker. Also, it’s cash only and while lunch here is good value it’s not cheap.
For top quality, handmade soba in Tokyo, this is the place!

One of the best soba places in Tokyo.
At Kyorakutei, they serve very fine buckwheat soba made right in the shop. They make their soba just by the shop front near the counter.
I love sitting by the counter, watching all the chefs at work. I’ve only ever been here for lunch so I’m mainly here for the lunch sets. I don’t know where to begin because everything is so good.
Here are a few of my favourites. First try the yuba soba. Yuba are tofu skins. Your cold soba will come fresh layers of delicate tofu skins which is refreshing and delicious. It’s a great dish to have during the summer to cool you down. If you want something different, try their tomato soba. This is a cold soba topped with slightly spicy cold tomato sauce with basil. A bit of a East meets West dish which would is also popular in the Summer.
In winter, my all time favourite is the hot soba with beaten egg on top. I know it sounds simple but trust me, it is sooooooo tasty. The soup is delicious and on top of the bowl of soba is a thick layers of beaten egg that is about over an inch thick! It warms you up from the soul.
To finish, make sure you have some of the boil soba water with your soy sauce.
This place is not give a Michelin star for nothing. Definitely go check it out!