Excited to see another soba restaurant in SF, especially after waiting for 45 mins for Sobakatsu We got the cold dipping soba, kamo (duck) cold dipping soba, and tamago roll. I loved the broth of the duck dipping soba. The sliced yuzu was a nice touch. The soba came broken but I understood that it was hard to make 100% buckwheat soba without breaking it. The line was long at the soft opening so plan ahead. read more

Overall 4/5 Food 4/5 Ambiance 5/5 Ten Zaru - noodles not bad but you can see some noodles have broken/fray pieces. Dashi broth is light and not too salty. Gave Soba-yu towards the end so you can make a soup out of the leftover dashi broth. 4/5 Dashi-maki tamago - strong dashi flavor. Tamago was so soft and fluffy! Came out piping hot. Overall I enjoyed the food and would like to come back to try more of their appetizers. I would prefer my noodles to be not so frayed and broken. Texture: chewy & firm. Restaurant is very small and clean. wait is long. Already a line 30mins before opening. read more

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Came here on a sunday around 1pm and the wait was about 40 minutes. Decently sized restaurant however service is a bit on the slower side since they're still on their soft opening phase. I noticed the kitchen and wait staff had a few hiccups so hopefully everyone's ready to go by grand opening! The tempura was very flavorful and delicious. The kamo nanban was yummy on a cold day. The star of the show was the seared duck, it was so flavorful. The hot soba broth definitely hit the spot as well. Not sure if it only happened to our dishes but I felt as the soba noodles were on the choppy/ short side. Wish the noodles were long and more consistent. Overall, definitely give it a try! read more

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It's nice to see a new soba restaurant in SF -- the bay area has far too few of these, and the most popular ones (Soba Ichi and Sobakatsu) both have crazy lines. Sora Dining Soba was good, but has some work to do to get to their level. The Dashi Tamago had potential, but the dashi was very subtle and the sauce was thick and clumpy -- a bit too much corn starch. As for the main attractions, the duck soba had a great dipping broth. The regular dipping soba was good, but don't think I would order that again as the dipping broth didn't wow me. As for the noodles, via delivery (yes they're on DoorDash) it ended up being a bit clumpy, some noodles were broken, but the flavor and texture was good. Overall it has potential and I'm excited to try it again in the future. read more

03.17.2026. No wait on a Tues @ 6:30pm. Tori-Kara-Oroshi 17.00.Ten Zaru (COLD) 26.00. Cold soba with tempura. Tori-Kara-Oroshi was karaage with shredded daikon and a light dipping sauce. The meat was nicely battered and crispy. I don't think that the daikon added anything really but still good. I prefer mayo or aioli for dipping. The soba was nice and refreshing because it was such a hot day and there wasn't any air conditioning in the restaurant. I liked dipping the soba in the sauce, very light but flavorful. The tempura was perfectly fried, crispy. Perfectly paired with the green tea salt. Overall, a solid meal. I don't know if it was enough of a standout for me to make my list of favorites, but worth a try. read more

Menu had a good selection, but execution isn't quite there yet. I've never had a sesame dipping soba before, so I was excited to try. The flavor is pretty good--extra points on fun factor for being able to grind your own sesame seeds. Soba was nice, but cooking time might need to be dialed in a little more. Noodles were slightly overcooked and breaking apart on the plate. It would be nice if there was a chewier texture to the noodle. Dashi egg roll was nice--def get this as an appetizer. Interior is beautiful and super tasteful. Despite the crowd, it feels almost relaxing to dine here. Service was also attentive but not overwhelming. For at least the rest of the year, I'd recommend lining up a bit before opening to make sure you're not waiting long. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Dashi tamagoyaki - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food: 1/5 - left feeling hungry. $24-26 for cold soba with some meat on the side is too much. Sauce tasted good but wasn't filling enough. Tempura 6 piece set didn't have a single long shrimp. Peppers, cheese looking things, and random assortments that were quite small. Service: 3/5 - staff was friendly but we waited way too long for the food once we were inside. When we were outside we were already waiting in the cold. Ambience: 2/5 - I loved the interior decor and the drum but the whole waiting around killed the vibes. Strong desire to turn tables for folks outdoors so feel like we neither felt full nor enjoyed the meal. Wouldn't come again. It was a pricey and meal that didn't make us full. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Kamon soba - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

3.75/5 The cold soba was enjoyable -- al dente. The hot soba, however, softened almost immediately after serving, so it didn't have the same bite or consistency. The tempura selection was interesting, though I didn't enjoy a couple of the items and wasn't sure if substitutions were allowed. Service was attentive and friendly throughout our meal, which we appreciated. We paid $70 post tax/tip for just two soba dishes, and the portion sizes felt quite small for that price point. Overall, there were some promising elements, but the price doesn't justify coming back. read more

Sora Dining Soba - hot and cold tempura soba (IG@confession.of.a.foodie) - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I'm so happy there's another soba restaurant in Japantown now, especially one with more tables. We came around 6pm during the holidays and waited about an hour. The staff were great, and it was fun hearing them hit the drum and greet guests each time a table was seated. It added to the experience. The food was good overall, though a bit pricey for the portion sizes. I left still feeling a little hungry, haha. Food: Dashi-Maki Tamago (8/10): The egg was so fluffy. It had a great balance of umami and light sweetness. I don't think I've had anything quite like this before, and it is definitely worth trying at least once. Kamo Zaru (8/10): The broth was well balanced, light but flavorful. It came with only four pieces of duck, which felt a bit sparse, but the duck itself was very good. It was tender and rich in flavor. Goma Zaru (8/10): If you love sesame and don't mind putting in a little work before eating, this is the one to get. You get to grind your own sesame seeds at the table! The sauce was extremely nutty and flavorful. For both soba dishes, the noodles were softer and more broken than I prefer. I usually like my soba firm with a bit of chew, so this was slightly disappointing, but overall the flavors were still solid. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Kamo Zaru & Goma Zaru - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Came in on a hot Friday afternoon and there was no wait at 5pm. Interior was very nice. Servers were nice. Soba took awhile to come out even though it wasn't fully packed inside. Agedashi tofu was okay. Soba was okay too. Would I come back again? No, too expensive a soba and an appetizer with tips total was $50. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Agedashi tofu - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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So hyped to have a new soba restaurant in Japantown!! While there's an abundance of ramen shops in the city, there's only 1-2 restaurants specialized in soba. I went on their Friday soft opening around 6pm and waited around 30-40 minutes to get in. Once seated and ordered, the food came out super fast! We started off with their dashi tamago, which is a rolled omelette bathing in a bowl of dashi and scallion broth. I'm a huge fan of rolled omelettes and this one was a hit. For our mains, we got the cold soba sets, one with tempura and the other with duck. In terms of broth, I liked the duck one better for the richness. The tempura was fried really well and had a variety of veggies and seafood. In general I prefer getting soba with dipping soup on the side because soba tends to get too chewy when in soup for too long but I saw many others order the hot sets too. Prices are definitely on the higher end among the restaurants in Japantown but I think it's worth it for the quality, service and ambiance! read more

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There's another review that talked about the tempura. They're absolute right. The soba is good, but the real star is the tempura. It's the best tempura I've ever had, bar none. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Not too hard and still melts as you bite into it. They also made chicken breast tempura taste good (wow). Instantly one of my favorite spots here in SF. (Also, I read some negative reviews about hot soba. Please eat it cold lol) read more

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I'm really glad there's another non-ramen Japanese noodle option, and I'm a big fan of Hinodeya so I have high hopes for this restaurant. Unfortunately right now, I don't think it's worth the 1.5 hour wait on weekends. It tastes fine, but there are some opening pains they still need to work through. 1. They really need to have a virtual waitlist situation (Yelp or otherwise) so people aren't standing in line for 1.5 hours. It would help other businesses in the area too so you can go shop around while waiting for your text. 2. The noodles were overcooked and broken in the hot dishes (didn't have cold dishes so maybe it was better?) It feels like the soup was way too hot and disintegrated the noodles. Had to eat it with the spoon. 3. Too many waiters for each shift who are just in the way in the small space. They also aren't particularly in the groove yet as some didn't seem to know the menu and kept choosing odd places to put the dishes (apps at the very end of the table, giving each person the wrong dish, etc.) I'm sure they'll work it out in a few months, and it'll be worth a visit then. Kushi tempura and sukui tofu were really good. read more

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Attend the soft opening . I waited before it had opened . The wait was not long . About 10 minutes before being sat down. I was taken my order right away. The employees were very nice and polite. I had ordered the kashiwa tamago. The broth was very delicious. The Dashi is very potent . Flavorful and the fluffy eggs is nice . Thre was a good amount of noodles . The broth could be more . The noodles were a bit over soft for my liking . I couldn't pick up the noodles because it was too soft and break. The table is noticed was too small to fit the tray it was presented in . I had to be cautious I wouldn't knock over the glass of water . But, the presentation was beautifully presented. I will try this place again. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Kashiwa tamago Delicious broth and fluffy eggs. noodles were too soft for my liking . want more broth good size portion noodles - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

We were really excited to try this new soba spot in Japantown, especially since it's from the owners of Hinodeya Ramen and reportedly has roots in Japan with many years of history. We arrived around 11:45am and there was already a line of about 8 parties ahead of us. The wait was roughly 20 minutes to get seated. The space itself is nicely decorated and the staff was attentive and polite, which made a good first impression. Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to our expectations. My husband ordered the egg and chicken soba, and I went with the special nabeyaki udon--one of my favorite noodle dishes and something that's becoming harder and harder to find, so I always order it when I see it on a menu. At $28, it was definitely on the pricey side, but the photo looked promising. In hindsight, that was a mistake. It's probably not ordered often, and given how new the restaurant is, it felt like the dish hadn't been fully worked out yet. Both noodle dishes also suffered from the same issue: there simply wasn't enough soup, as you can see from the photos. The udon arrived with barely any broth, and I had to ask for more. The noodles themselves were very thick and immediately soaked up what little soup there was. Even after adding more broth, it still wasn't enough. The flavor was just okay--not bad, but nowhere near worth the price. There were some good components, like shiitake mushrooms and two pieces of tempura shrimp, but overall it was a big miss. To make matters worse, I noticed a piece of hair in my bowl. At that point, I didn't want to call it out since I had already asked for more soup and was simply hungry, so I didn't ask for a remake. My husband's soba wasn't much better. The main attraction--the soba noodles--were too soggy and clumpy, likely related to the lack of broth. I later saw other reviews mentioning the same issue. The egg and chicken themselves were fine--very simple and homey--but again, the dish felt underwhelming. We also tried the agedashi tofu, which ended up being our favorite item of the day. That said, when it comes to agedashi tofu, we still strongly prefer the version from Udon Mugizo, which is much better in both flavor and silky texture. Based on this experience, I don't see myself coming back. Japantown has plenty of great udon and ramen spots that are more affordable and, more importantly, deliver much better noodle texture and overall flavor. read more

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There was a line outside for lunch at 2pm on a Friday, but it went by pretty fast. Skip the tamago - it just tastes like regular egg in gelatinous dashi stock and for $10...it was fine but too expensive. Hot duck soba and cold tempura soba were both yummy. The duck is SO GOOD. Tempura includes: shrimp, tofu, pepper, eggplant, brussel, and squid. My only gripe is that the soba noodles were in small pieces. I don't like how it's cut up instead of in long individual strands - makes it hard to eat and the texture's not as nice. Would come back though - nice service and interior! They accept Apple pay and lowest tip option is 20%. read more

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This is a very authentic Japanese soba restaurant. The vibe really feels as Japanese as any restaurant I've been to in the US (and I used to live in Japan). Service was very friendly and helpful. Food was probably 4 stars ... the ambience and service are pulling up the overall score to 5 stars. However, this is about as good soba as you can get in the US. The soba noodles fall apart a bit because the noodles are 100% buckwheat, and the broth is just OK. The omelette visually was gorgeous, and the texture was good, just taste was not as good as it looks. read more

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We got there early during the soft opening for dinner and there was no line but more than half the restaurant was filled. The soba is noticeably better than what you find elsewhere at at home. We've been to rakuichi in niseko and fell in love with that grainier noodle, and this is def more grainy and chewy (in a good way). We really liked the thick chips and the tempura-ed sausage was really fun and something I haven't had before. I'd order 10 of those skewers if I could (came with my cold soba with tempura). They are kid friendly despite being a well put together ambiance, see kid setting in photo. We'll be back to try more of the menu (I think was limited due to soft opening). read more

Sora Dining Soba - Thick chips and kid setting (came with bowl, fork and spoon) - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Loved the cold soba - chewy and fragrant buckwheat taste. The tempura was pretty good with the green tea salt, but the duck was the better part! The hot soba was just okay for us, as the noodles were softer. read more

My husband and I enjoyed dinner at Sora. We got there much earlier than the opening time on Friday evening, but there was already a long line. A server served hot green tea to customers waiting in line, and there were a few gas heaters outside. The waiting time was about 30 minutes. The soba was authentic and had the quality of Japanese soba restaurants in Japan. I loved the soup, which wasn't traditional Tokyo style - not too thick and salty. I was able to enjoy a last sip of the dashi soup. Tempura was excellent too. I appreciated the fresh ingredients, which were more authentic - no carrots or broccoli. The yuzu cheesecake was also delicious. The service was friendly and efficient enough to handle the crowd. I would definitely go back there to try more items! read more

Sora Dining Soba - Yuzu Cheesecake - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Very disappointing. We waited for 25 min even though we were next in line. Portion size was so small for soba and for being $46 after tax, mandate and tip. I was still hungry afterwards. The noodles were totally broke up to inch long noodles making every bite unsatisfying. I got a cold dipping soba but the soba was so wet from sitting on the fake plastic bamboo plates it was hard to taste the sauce. I can understand perhaps for hygiene reasons to have a fake plastic bamboo dish but it literally did not strain at all but rather sat in the pool of water. The service was ok as they checked on us a lot but it often felt empty just to say they did? Not very intentional or asked any engaging questions. The interior design is nice but the place settings are awkward. My partner ordered the duck appetizer and there was no space because the two trays of soba took up the whole table. Poorly planned place settings. Overall not a good experience. read more

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I've seen the hype so I had to try it myself. I waited about maybe 30-40 minutes in line, the place is pretty small so line took a while. The service is amazing though they are very nice and explain their menu. The soba is also refreshing and nutty. You can genuinely taste the quality of the ingredients and the ingredients themselves. It's a very light flavor so I understand that not everyone loves that but I really like it. I also had their tempura, it was okay, the tempura brussels sprouts were nothing crazy, I liked the egg but also nothing crazy. I would suggest coming just for the soba itself! read more

I rarely review delivery , but this one is really bad. upcharge? i understand. but tiny portions, soba was stiff and non-continuous (all chunky), soup was salty. toppings sparse. avoid for delivery read more

waited about half an hour for lunch on a weekend. ordered the kamo zaru and the three piece tempura. pretty good, noodles seem to be buckwheat heavy. sora's tempura is kushi style so they can pin together multiple ingredients but the shrimp shishito was quite skimpy on the shrimp. the broth is served warm with duck, soy, yuzu peel, leek. would come back and try a classic zaru set next time. portions are quite light, tempura add-on was necessary. restaurant is warm with lots of seating inside. read more

Sora Dining Soba - kamo zaru - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Nice atmosphere but the soba noodles were mostly broken. I liked the calm when I was there near closing time on a mid week afternoon however and the dashi was good. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Soba with dashi, egg and shredded chicken - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've been to Sora Dining Soba 3 times and have had pretty good experiences! The seasonal tempura is light and fresh and there is a good variety. The noodles are also really fresh and hit the spot. The servers are extremely attentive no matter when you go, and the place has an elevated casual feel that compliments the experience. My only small critique would be that the consistency of the noodles vary slightly depending on when you go in. Regardless would definitely recommend trying this spot out :) read more

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Overhyped overpriced soba noodles. Not worth the wait. The food is fresh quality, but it's a soba noodle place. There's not much to it. Wear clothes you don't care about smelling like fried oil after you leave. The ventilation inside is poor. We ordered the tempura soba and duck soba. We both enjoyed the meal. Thanks for sharing the joy of eating soba, but please consider lowering the prices and improve the inside ventilation. Service from our waitress was great!! But not all the servers were that amazing. read more

Wanted to try the "broth less" ramen. Saw it pop up on Instagram this place was Michelin star recommended so went to see the hype. Cute little spot in desert ridge, cozy casual but cute decor Japanese inspired. Got seated pretty quick decent being busy. Got the calamari and croquettes for apps. Solid nothing crazy. Wouldn't get the croquettes again but glad we tried it The soba was good. Had a lot of flavor and toppings were pretty generous. Chashu was on point as well as the seasoned egg. Noodles had good chew and the portions were huge. They def don't skimp out on the noodles They have vinegar and chili oil on the table for you to adjust as needed which was nice. Nothing mind blowing but glad we tried. Would come again but not necessarily in a rush to come back No pictures sorry but def worth a try! read more

It's nice to be in the loop with Hinodeya in Japantown. I received an email from them saying that there's a soft opening and a grand opening of their soba restaurant. Slurp! I'm down! Stood in line on Monday, December 8th at 11:45 and within an hour, I was in and out. The hospitality and decor takes you to Japan. The service is exceptional. Everyone was hustling and bustling for their grand opening and they did not miss a beat. Whoever is in charge surely knew how to orchestrate the flow. Thumbs up for the five start service. Now the food rating. "Itadakimasu." It was good, but we don't feel that we have to rush back for more. We found it pricey for the small portion that we received. The tempura was skewered... nice touch. The soba was al dente, but we needed more. We left hungry. What I really enjoyed was the soba-yu. Soba-yu is the hot water used to boil the soba noodles. Pour it into the dipping sauce and you have one oishii cup of soup to finish off your meal. "Gochisosamadeshita!" read more

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Bottom line, portions are small and they have a very limited menu. Not just our table, I also overheard the table next to us asked each other if they should order more food. Probably they also thought the same thing, still hungry. Now that I've tried it once, I won't be going back. The service was also inconsistent during dinner. The server asked the other table if they wanted dessert and the party said no, yet the server still brought over a dessert menu. We finished and were not offered the dessert menu even though we would have order some since we were still hungry after having appetizers and two sobas. Soba is pretty average. Definitely not the quality I would find in Japan. It was a little too al dente for me. read more

My friend and i got in and was seated 11:05. Staff was friendly and warm. We ordered 3 soba and fried chicken for appetizers.kaarage was really good. Perfectly seasoned. I ordered hot soba with duck and my friend ordered hot soba with egg and chicken. I also ordered the cold soba with sesame sauce. We waited like 35 mins for our food. The staff was apologetic and thanking for our patience. The two hot soba we received were flavorful... but like the others review mentioned... they need to work on their soba... it was too soft and it kept being cut when we tried to eat. Had to scoop our noodles pretty much. Hopefully later on theyll be able improve on the noodles. We never got our cold soba and was running short on time so had to cancel. But will def come back to try others. read more

Sora Dining Soba - Hot soba with duck - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

We ordered the duck cold soba, dashimaki, and sake. The dashimaki was excellent, with a rich dashi flavor, and the duck was tender and well seasoned. My soba had not been drained properly, and it was sitting in water on the plate. The food arrived quickly, but the service felt rushed throughout the meal. While we were still eating, small plates was cleared without any words. As soon as we finished eating, a server removed the empty plates, asked if we wanted dessert, and when we said no, immediately brought the payment machine. We were still drinking sake at that point and mentioned that we were not finished yet, but the payment machine was left on the table anyway. After that, different servers came by repeatedly every few minutes. Since no one was waiting outside and we were still enjoying our drinks, the experience felt unnecessarily rushed and uncomfortable. read more

My brothers and I went in for a late lunch today. We were excited to try it - it would've been our first time. We got seated fairly quickly, and then sat for 20 minutes with no acknowledgment from anyone on the staff. We were fully ready to order, and even closed our menus and tried to make eye contact with the staff to get them to come to the table. We ended up leaving after we noticed people who came in after us were being served. As we walked out, someone from the staff said, "Thanks!" clearly thinking we had eaten and left. Unfortunately, this was a terrible first impression and I'm not sure I'll be back, which bums me out. read more

The food was great! The sesame dipping sauce tasted great. Great and classy ambiance, had really nice lighting and open space. Service was quick and the servers were very kind! read more

Sora Dining Soba - Goma - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Got there 15 minutes before they opened and were 10th party in line. We weren't seated until an hour after they opened and were waiting in the cold. The dashi tamago was the best thing we had. So juicy and the flavor was clean and packed with umami. The tempura was quite nice and the duck was soft and delicious. The soba which was meant to be the star of the dish was lack luster. It looked great but all the pieces were broken! It was as if we were getting yesterdays frozen soba and not the fresh kind you expect from this establishment. We didn't understand why the soba was so underperforming. Overall it was good but not worth the wait and the price. read more

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This soba was so overpriced I couldnt believe my eyes. It tasted just like any other soba noodle and the texture was only slightly better. I feel like you could just go to any other place and have a similar experience for cheaper. Also, it was not super filling at all and had to get more food somewhere else. Tempura was mid as well (thin and soft batter and so small!). The only saving grace really was the broth + soba water combo was good and the tamagoyaki was pretty fire. Probably wont eat here again. I ended up spending ~71 bucks total between two ppl w/o tip, which is crazy. Service was fine but waited 30+ minutes... read more

Sora Dining Soba - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Arrived Wednesday evening when they opened and there was already a long queue for soft opening. We waited around 45 mins in line. The restaurant is modern and super clean. The staff provided excellent service. We ordered the tempura soba set, which was very delicious and high quality. Would come visit again! read more

Sora Dining Soba - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Ok, so the soba is fine. But I just had the *BEST TEMPURA OF MY LIFE* here. You must be thinking: It's just tempura. How good can tempura be? It had me laughing. Do go. Also, the tofu appetizer (the first one on the menu) was delightful. It came in this creamy tofu soup(?) with some matcha on the side. Just wonderful. I guess their soba is fine but I'm just not a soba person? read more

I recently visited Sora Soba, and I walked out seriously impressed. Everything I tried was on point, fresh, and full of flavor. I started with the Seared Aigamo, and wow, this dish was insanely delicious. Perfectly cooked, incredibly tender, and packed with rich, delicate flavors. Easily one of the standout dishes of the night. Next was the Kashiwa Tamago, and I can confidently say it was the best hot soba I've ever had. The broth was deep and comforting, the noodles had that perfect bite, and the chicken and egg combination made it unbelievably satisfying. I also tried the Ten Zaru Soba, which came with a great selection of house-battered tempura. Everything tasted fresh and crispy, and the cold soba paired perfectly with the dipping sauce. Finally, the Goma Zaru (a sesame soba) was another winner. Light, refreshing, and full of clean sesame flavor. You can really taste the quality of their noodles. Overall, Sora Soba completely exceeded my expectations. If you love soba or just appreciate well-executed Japanese cuisine, this place is absolutely worth visiting. I'm already looking forward to going back! Servers are all amazing and helpful as well! The interior decor is always very tasteful, kudos to whoever designed the interior! read more

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Tried Sora Dining and loved it. Agedashi tofu was crispy and comforting, and the kamo zaru had fresh soba with a rich, savory duck broth. Everything felt really well balanced. Definitely coming back read more