The Udon is constantly being freshly made here It is thick and smooth just the right texture. I had the Tonkatsu Really delicious with minced pork, a half hard boiled egg and rich pork broth I recommend adding the scallions and fried onions on top Our group enjoyed a Teriyaki Chicken which can be ordered with either rice or udon, the Nikutama and shared some tempura: shrimp, crab and sweet potato Due to Covid, the only beverages are canned or bottled right now but they have a great selection Open kitchen with booths facing it allows for " entertainment " while you're enjoying your delicious meal read more

The next time you shop at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, and if you love udon and tempura, this is the place! The food was fantastic and the service was terrific! The udon was so delicious and authentic. My wife and I also enjoyed the tempura! Do not let the line overwhelm you since it moves pretty quickly since they have an organized assembly type service. It was an amazing overall experience. It is definitely worth it! Go and check it out! read more

Marugame Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Food is amazing, however, service was subpar. We ordered take out ahead of time and let the cashier know. She politely asked us to step aside to wait for the food to be ready. After we were waiting there for 20 mins, we finally went up and asked how much longer for the food. It was already packaged and ready to go and we were not notified even though we were sitting right in front of the cashier read more

Probably the most flavorful udon I've had so far. The nikutama noodles were chewy and the beef was perfectly seasoned. I got the regular size and it was definitely more than enough. I got shrimp tempura , sweet potato and crab tempura. We came on a Friday, there was a bit of a line but it moves fast. The drive is a bit far but was definitely worth it. read more

Marugame Udon - Nikutama Udon Shrimp Tempura Crab Meat Tempura - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I used Uber ears to order on here . I placed an order for added egg for my curry rice it's supposed to be cooked I received it raw . Another thing is the curry sauce here is too dark the flavor taste like bbq . If you want bbq curry that taste bad come here . read more

Taste amazing, but wait line and price are a bit too high and long. Many choices are wonderful, feel like digging treasures. All tempuras are amazing. read more

Marugame Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Let's me start by saying this is an udon spot. And they serve soupy noodles. You would think they would always have stop in stock. Their service was next to none. Horrible and none responsive what so ever. The noodle itself was pretty solid. However, the broth was like driving ocean salt water. Over hyped!!!! read more

Curry Nikutama Udon is the absolute noms! Wash it down with some ice cold green tea. You should definitely stop by if you're in/around South Coast Plaza or within DoorDash distance! read more

This place usually has a line, so I took the chance to try on a waitless night. I pondered the entire time if this place was the same as the mitsuwa joint, but I guess not. Anyways, this place has better beef than the Mitsuwa place so that's good enough for me. Fresh udon always tastes better than the packaged stuff. My only qualm is that the soup is too sugary. I've been to Japan and I can cook japanese food, it doesn't need to be this sweet. read more

I love to enjoy udon and tempura every time. Soups are great. Not too salty not too greasy. I like crispy shrimp, squid, zucchini, and sweet potato tempura. read more

Their udon here is so fresh and thick! Al dente is a must for udon and every single bowl you order comes out slurpin' good! Don't forget to order an extra poached egg if it isn't already part of a meal. read more

Came here on a Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED! The line wrapped around the corner and almost out the mall! The line didn't move to slow though. It probably took us about 45-50min to get in but it was worth it! I got the beef udon and added 3 shrimp tempuras. It was delicious! You can watch them make the noodles from the storefront window and it looks as good as they tasted! (I was so hungry by the time I got in I forgot to take a picture of the food lol) read more

Marugame Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

After a long day of shopping at South Coast Plaza, this place hit the spot! I loved the whole concept of grabbing a tray, and walking down a line and picking what you wanted. From outside the restaurant, you could even see them making the udon noodles! I ordered the beef udon, while my friend ordered the tonkatsu, and both were killer. The beef was more sweet and savory, and wasn't too heavy after finishing the whole bowl. The tempura that I ordered on the side was also amazing. it was so light and crispy and was so good with the tempura sauce. Overall, Marugame Udon is worth the 25 minute drive. read more

Marugame Udon - Beef Udon and Tonkotsu Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Quick and easy udon spot while shopping at the South Coast Plaza. Decently flavored broth -- not strong enough for my liking but it's okay. Thick noodles that aren't overly done or too stiff, just right. I ordered my udon for pick-up since I didn't want to eat in the restaurant. My reason for 3 stars is that when you place an order for pick-up you get significantly less food than those who order at the restaurant and eat on-site... with their bowls filled almost to the brim and the to-go meal hardly reaching three/fourths of the container. I would highly suggest ordering inside and staying to eat. read more

This is my favorite soup place. I love the sweet beef with the thick noodles. We also like the tonkatsu udon. Definitely will buy again!

I would eat here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. If they had boba and a soda machine I would literally never leave.

The fresh udon has the perfect bounce and texture to it! I always get the same dish (Nikutama) Nikutama Udon and it never disappoints! The flavor of the whole dish is perfectly balanced (sweet, salty, umami) and the beef melts in your mouth. The tempura is also always really good! There's always a wait, but it's worth it! read more

Surprisingly didn't care for the udon I had, which was a little disappointing given they make the noodles by hand and are known for it What I really did enjoy though, was the chicken teriyaki, which is actually chicken katsu! It was so lightly breaded and perfectly crispy, not to mention their sauce was yummy too! Stray away from the beef teriyaki, it was not good. I'd like to try other things on the menu. read more

yummy udon! My daughter's favorite place! our must have whenever we come to the SCP! the beef udon is their best.

This visit was for late October. It was just when indoor dining was re-opening in the orange county area. I've been to the location in Waikiki and was patiently waiting to try this location especially since they're opening and now a pandemic. I arrived just as they open and there was no line. The ordering process is a little different and they will prepare your food themselves from behind the glass. In the past, you've been able to pick and choose the side items which include tempura shrimp, tempura veggies, etc. but they will do it for you When I was there the tables were spaced out which made me feel a little more comfortable. I usually get the beef and onion udon. It has a nice rich broth with chewy noodles. There's plenty of beef and onions. Forgive me if I don't know the exact name of the dish. I always love love love the tempura items. The shrimp, the vegetables etc. This location does not have the tempura egg like Hawaii but still have good choices in general. It's a very filling meal and a good value. It's located on the uniglo side and also by Din Tai Fung. read more

Marugame Udon - Beef Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I LOVE MARUGAME. I first tried Marugame Udon in Waikiki, and I was ecstatic to learn they had a location close by in Orange County! Our go to is the curry nikutama udon. It's so delicious and perfect with the sweet beef, soft boiled egg, and tempura flakes. Don't forget to stock up on shrimp tempura on the side. There was no line when we went, but I'd be willing to wait hours to slurp their udon noodles. read more

Marugame Udon - Curry Nikutama Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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7.5/10- overall not bad. A few hits and a few misses but overall not a bad udon place. Hawaii's marugame was a bit better. 7/10 - Kitsune Udon - the broth was too concentrated for my taste esp compared to Hawaii's broth. Udon and toppings were delicious! 8/10 Curry Nikutama Udon - the better of the two bowls we got. Curry wasn't too thick. Udon and toppings were on point. 8/10 tempura- the tempura was nice a crisp. We liked the majority of them minus the potatoe one. read more

We went for early lunch, the place is clean as always. Food was delicious and fresh. My son love the tonkasu soup and the fried egg.

I went here last night and ordered 2 tonkotsu. So what is wrong with this picture? You guessed it!! It's missing the most important part - the MEAT! I called the store last night and was told that the manager Lance was going to call me back but he never did! You would think a popular place like this would have already reached out to coreect the mistake but I guess they don't care l!! Just sayin' ‍ read more

Marugame Udon - Supposedly Tonkontsu???‍ - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Food was really great . The service was great too. It is pricey though. If you like fried food on the side with you udon be prepared to pay 25$ish, but really good. It seems like a long line but the line goes by fast. Next time I ll go I ll remember to take a picture. read more

This place is pretty darned good if I may say so myself. Came here at 5 PM on a Sunday and it was not very crowded. So I would suggest coming early for dinner. It is in the foodcourt of Mitsuwa which houses the excellent Santouka Ramen as well. You get in line, put your udon order first, which comes out super quick. Then you grab styrofoam containers and pick out which tempura pieces you want, buffet style. We got two large Beef Udons and one small katsu Curry Udon. The Beef Udons were excellent and a large portion of food. The Katsu Curry Udon was good, just not great in my book. After paying, they have a small station where you can get cups of tempura sauce and tempura crumbs, along with red pepper chili powder. My only gripe is that the tempura pieces seemed a bit overpriced. 2 bucks for a 1/4 of an onion fried in tempura batter? 1.50 for two small shishito peppers? Besides this minor complaint, the food and service here is solid and would definitely return. read more

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Always love visiting this restaurant, they did remove some things off their menu, not sure if it was due to covid but the items such as the chicken rice bowl and all the masubis ( shrimp, spam, crab) so they currently just have all the soups and the tempura. I've been told they will restore the masubis by next month though, really look forward to it! As of right now everything is served by the servers rather than self-serve; they are taking covid measures seriously! Really glad to see it. read more

Very delicious food the Chicken bowl is amazingnot boring w good texture snd crispiness staffs are smiley but I'm A little confused about the sitting other than that very good food and tan tan noodles soup Is our new fave and the tempuras are very delicious read more

After my friend and I paid for our food, we went to the closest open table (4 seats) at 4pm. There were many tables. Right after we put the food down, the lady worker told us to move so they could save the table for bigger groups since it was the day before Thanksgiving. We understood that, so we move to a smaller table (2 seat) and she said it's better for picture taking anyways, but I didn't care about taking a picture of the food. Shortly after, two people were sitting at the original table, but the lady coworker didn't tell them to move even though there were still small tables available. Throughout our meal, there were other 4 seat tables that were used by parties of 2 or 1 people, but the lady worker did not tell them anything. She only told us to move. The chashu pork and egg were not very flavorful, the seat pads were broken, and tables were dirty. One worker making the tempura was not wearing gloves. read more

My new favorite go to spot! Located a floor below Din Tai Fung, Marugame Udon is quite the hidden gem. THE FOOD They make their own noodles here from scratch it seems--you can't get any fresher than that! The set up is you start with your choice of udon at the beginning of the line with a tray. I've tried the beef and the tonkotsu one (this is much like ramen). Then you slide down to the tempura. The sweet potato is my favorite. A little pricey for what you're paying for, but I think it's worth it! Now the thing you cannot miss out on is the Mentai Musubi. This literally changed my life. It was all I could think about so I went back 3 times within a week just for the musubi. It was suggested by one of the staff members and I am so glad I listened. It's this spicy roe rice ball with mayo and the flavors are PERFECTION. If you like musubis and/or rice balls, then this is a must try. The roe/mayo mix erupts from the tip of the triangular rice "ball" in the most delightful way. I don't like it going to waste, so i'll scrape off the ones stuck on the plastic first. Then I take bites from the bottom of the rice ball so I can leave the best for last. It gets messy, but it's totally worth it. They put the times these are made on the stickers, so if you can ask for a fresh(er) batch, do so if you can. I had one that was over 4 hours old and the rice ended up being chewy. This wasn't a big deal, but it makes a difference eating an "old" one and a fresh one. THE SERVICE Everybody is super friendly and helpful here! I love that they make suggestions for you if you want--very helpful for someone like me who can be indecisive or just new to the restaurant. Every single time I felt very welcomed and greeted warmly. They are all great about answering questions, and I never feel like I'm burdening them with my questions. FINAL THOUGHTS Very decent prices for the service and for the flavors of the food. One of my favorite parts about this experience was probably that I could pack up my own food at a station at the end. xD. With all the to go bags, lids, and utensils you need, I actually really enjoyed being able to separate the orders by bag and not have to worry about asking for an extra chopstick. I am definitely coming back here. This is kind of a silly little dream, but when it's safer to be shopping out and about again, I think this would be the perfect place to grab a quick bite in between shopping. HAhahaha May the flavors be ever in your favor. read more

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Love this place as always! They always make great quality food at a great price. The staff is super nice and when they messed up my order, they never do, they gave me a free voucher read more

This spot is extremely a highrecommended place for udon. They cook good and delicious food. Make sure that you come early and wait in line. This place is always crowded but the service is fast and place is so clean right after everyone finished their food. read more

Marugame Udon - Tonkotsu Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Just like the one in Honolulu, Hawaii. Cafeteria-style ordering. Choose your base udon, whether it's just noodles with broth, or additional toppings, you begin with picking up a black tray and making your way down the line. I love curry udon and try at every establishment. While I've tasted Shin-sen-gumi's curry udon and Curry House's curry udons, Marugame really hits it home with their beefy, umami packed fresh udon, the Curry Nikutama. The sliced beef is cooked to perfection and there's so much in one bowl, enough to be had with every bite. I really enjoyed the soft-boiled egg that comes with this one too. I recommend for first time udon havers, to get the regular sized Kake (udon with the base dashi broth), then add some of your favorite tempura sides like the shrimp, sweet potato or others. Note: the large is actually quite large, so for those of you have eyes bigger than their stomach, you may be going home with some extra noodles and broth like I did. read more

Hooked on these noodles since our trip to Oahu.. the service, the employeee and of the food all 5

I was shocked with the affordability, quality, and taste of Marugame Udon. Genuinely, I had heard all the rage about Marugame, and it still took me a while to get around to going. Did not realize that the restaurant was inside South Coast, however, after a short walk, I was able to find the place, and I'm so glad that I ordered ahead of time! The line was crazy , and now I understand why. We opted for the Kake, squid tempura, and shrimp tempura. I was pleasantly surprised with the balance, depth of the flavor that the Kake had, and fell in love with the soft yet chewy udon noodles. While the shrimp tempura wasn't my personal favorite, I will say that the squid tempura was amazing! By far the best squid tempura that I've ever had. The tempura paired well with the Katsu sauce that it came with, but I also loved adding it in my soup. The tempura absorbed the broth and made for the perfect bit with some of the Katsu sauce. Highly recommend for a simple yet delicious lunch! read more

Marugame Udon - Kake - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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First time eating here last night. I was sort of put off initially because the line was incredibly long but my friend said it's worth the wait. She was so right. The food was amazing. I got the nikitama bowl and it did not disappoint. The staff was all courteous. With how busy it was, I thought for sure we wouldn't find seating but there was ample. Highly recommend. read more

Ordered a large bowl of Kake udon for to go today, got home and was very disappointed to see too little broth, it barely covers the udon, very disproportionately. THIS WAS VERY BAD, IT REDUCES THE FLAVOR of the Kake udon bowl. This was a repeated issue. RECOMMENDATION: more broth read more

Marugame Udon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

we had a WOUNDERFULL time here the food and everything else is amazing! I loved the food

I don't hate it but I don't love it... I had been waiting for this place to open for years ever since I heard one was opening up nearby! Doesn't quite taste like my beloved in Hawaii but it'll do! I feel like there's quite some msg in the food bc I am so thirsty afterwards. The wait can seem overwhelming but it actually goes by quickly bc they are super efficient. The udon is made onsite and they have clear windows so you can watch them make it. It's actually very therapeutic watching them make the noodles! I typically go with the most basic bowl (regular kake udon and add a ton of green onions) and have a bunch of fried goodies as add ons. You will definitely see me as a regular here! Located right across uniqlo and below dtf! I feel like you can't go wrong with anything you order here! 3 Easy Steps: 1) Choose your base or your bowl of noodles 2) Choose your fried goodies! (my favorite is always the karaage, fish cake, and shrimp tempura) 3) Room for musubi? (Always!) read more

I thought this place was pretty good! I got a regular Tonkotsu Udon! When you walk in, you would order first and they make it in front of you. Once you receive your udon, you walk down and can grab the extra sides stuff like tempura, etc. it will cost extra for them though. What i like about the Tonkotsu Udon was the noodles and the soup! It was pretty good in my opinion! The pork wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I definitely had better. They also only provide 1 too when i ordered. I was hoping for 2 or more. I knew i wasn't going to be filled up with 1 pork so i grabbed several extra sides like spam masubi, potato croquette, and this fried chicken (im not sure what it was called). I think the side that i liked the most that I got was the fried chicken that i got! It was pretty good! I got pretty full from eating all of that food! I couldnt eat spam masubi so I gave it to my girlfriend. I did take a bite though! I think I would come back here again to get the fried chicken again and maybe try a different selection for the udon. read more

Marugame Udon - Tonkatsu udon is the one at the top of the picture! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California