Yamamoto Menzou Kyoto: Takeout Udon Menu, Prices & Booking
Tokyo Mate
Yamamoto Menzou in Kyoto has been picked six times for the Tabelog Udon Hyakumeiten. I turned up without a reservation and used TAKE OUT MENZOU, the takeout shop right next door. This post covers how to book the main shop, the menus and prices at the main shop and the takeout shop, and my review of the burdock tempura udon.
Yamamoto Menzou Main Shop: Hours and Info
The Yamamoto Menzou main shop is an udon restaurant in Okazaki, Kyoto, picked for the Tabelog Udon Hyakumeiten in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
| Name | Yamamoto Menzou (山元麺蔵) |
| Awards | Tabelog Udon Hyakumeiten 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024 |
| Hours | Mon, Tue, Fri 10:00-16:00 L.O. Wed 10:00-15:30 L.O. Sat, Sun and holidays 10:00-17:00 L.O. |
| Closed | Thursdays, plus irregular closures |
| Reservations | Online booking available ➡️ Book Yamamoto Menzou on TableCheck Phone booking 075-751-0677 / 075-744-1876 |
| Seats | 18 (10 at the counter, two 4-person tables) |
| Location | 34 Okazaki Minamigoshocho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 📍 View on Google Maps |
| Access | About 11 min walk from Exit 1 of Higashiyama Station About 2 min walk from the Okazaki Koen Dobutsuen-mae stop (Kyoto City Bus 5, 32, 105) |
| Official website | ➡️ Yamamoto Menzou website |
| Official SNS | ➡️ Yamamoto Menzou on Instagram |
📅 Visited: August 4, 2026
✅ How to book Yamamoto Menzou
How you book the Yamamoto Menzou main shop depends on the time slot.
| Time slot | How to book | Bookings open |
|---|---|---|
| 9:45-10:45 | TableCheck online booking | From midnight 3 days before |
| 11:00-13:45 | Same-day phone booking | 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the day |
| 14:00-16:30 ※ Until 17:00 on Sat, Sun and holidays | TableCheck online booking | From midnight 3 days before |
➡️ Book Yamamoto Menzou on TableCheck
➡️ Phone booking 075-751-0677 / 075-744-1876
⚠️ Online bookings require you to register credit card details because of the cancellation policy. Cancelling within 12 hours of your booking time costs 1,000 yen per person.
The booking time is when you should arrive at the shop, not when you'll be seated. Even with a booking, depending on the day you may wait 20 to 30 minutes to get in and get your food.
If you're very late for your booking, you can only go in if there's a free seat, and depending on how busy it is that day you may be sent to the takeout shop.
※ Hours and booking methods can change, so check the official website or Instagram before you go.
The Main Shop vs the Takeout Shop
Yamamoto Menzou runs a takeout-only shop called TAKE OUT MENZOU right next to the main shop.
When I visited, customers without a reservation were being directed to TAKE OUT MENZOU next door rather than the main shop. I hadn't booked, so I used the takeout shop.
The main shop and the takeout shop are right next to each other, but they work differently.
At the main shop you eat at a seat in the restaurant. TAKE OUT MENZOU serves the udon in disposable containers to take away. There's an eating area on the 2nd floor where you can eat the packed udon straight away.
Here's how the main shop and the takeout shop differ.
| Yamamoto Menzou main shop | TAKE OUT MENZOU | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Eat in the restaurant | Served in takeout containers 2F eating area |
| Booking / ordering | Online and phone booking | Order on the spot (when I visited) |
| Hours | Mon, Tue, Fri 10:00-16:00 L.O. Wed 10:00-15:30 L.O. Sat, Sun and holidays 10:00-17:00 L.O. | Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 11:00-18:00 |
| Closed | Thursdays Irregular closures | Thursdays 4th Wednesday of the month Irregular closures |
| Payment | No credit cards Cash only | No credit cards Cash and PayPay |
✅ How the takeout shop works
- Order on the 1st floor and take a number.
- When your number is called, hand in the number and get a seat number card.
- Go up to the 2nd floor and sit at your assigned seat.
- The udon is cooked at the main shop, packed into containers and brought to your seat.
- When you've finished, put your rubbish in the bag and take it down to the 1st floor with your seat number card.
Yamamoto Menzou Menu and Prices
The Yamamoto Menzou main shop has a wide menu: hot udon, zaru udon, tsukemen, udon with aromatic oil and more.
✅ Main shop zaru udon
Zaru udon is boiled noodles cooled down and dipped in tsuyu. It's the udon where you can best feel how springy and chewy the noodles are. There are also versions with chicken tenderloin tempura, vegetable tempura or burdock tempura.
| Chicken tenderloin tempura zaru udon (鶏ささみ天ざるうどん) | 1,400 yen |
| Vegetable tempura zaru udon (野菜天ざるうどん) | 1,450 yen |
| Burdock tempura zaru udon (土ゴボウ天ざるうどん) | 1,400 yen |
| Zaru udon (ざるうどん) | 850 yen |
✅ Main shop hot udon with aromatic oil
The aromatic oil udon is hot udon with the shop's own oil, made by frying plenty of garlic, ginger and spring onion. Compared with regular hot udon, it adds aroma and savoriness.
| Aromatic oil red Menzou special (香味油の赤い麺蔵スペシャル) | 1,700 yen |
| Aromatic oil beef and burdock udon (香味油の牛と土ゴボウのおうどん) | 1,450 yen |
| Aromatic oil pork udon (香味油の豚うどん) | 1,450 yen |
| Aromatic oil fried mochi udon (香味油の揚げ餅うどん) | 1,200 yen |
There are also hot udon, tsukemen, tempura and rice dishes. If you want to choose your udon from the full menu, book the main shop.
TAKE OUT MENZOU, on the other hand, had a much simpler menu when I visited.
✅ TAKE OUT MENZOU menu
It was a short menu of 2 udon and 3 sides. The udon cost 880 to 990 yen.
| Burdock tempura udon (cold) | 880 yen |
| Burdock tempura udon (hot) | 880 yen |
| Curry udon (limited quantity) | 990 yen |
| Burdock tempura | 600 yen |
| Chicken tenderloin tempura | 700 yen |
| Chicken and burdock rice | 460 yen |
Burdock Tempura Udon Review
At TAKE OUT MENZOU I ordered the 880-yen burdock tempura udon twice, one cold and one hot.
The udon is cooked at the main shop, then the noodles, broth and toppings are packed into separate takeout containers and staff bring them to your seat on the 2nd floor.
It was the same dish, but the texture and the whole experience were quite different depending on the temperature of the noodles.
✅ Cold burdock tempura udon, 880 yen
With the cold udon you really feel how bouncy and chewy the noodles are.
The noodles are thick, but they didn't go soft or feel heavy, and the springiness held up the more I chewed. The burdock tempura comes long and thick, and inside the crisp batter the burdock keeps its texture, which went well with the udon.
If chewy noodles matter most to you, this is the one.
✅ Hot burdock tempura udon, 880 yen
The hot udon noodles were noticeably softer than the cold ones, but they kept their chewiness.
Eaten with the broth, it felt different again from the cold udon. The soft noodles went well with the hot broth, and the burdock tempura that had soaked up some broth was good too.
At first I thought the tempura would go soggy quickly in the broth, but the burdock kept its bite, so it was good to eat with the noodles.
Where the cold udon is all about the springy noodles, the hot one was best eaten as a whole: broth, noodles and burdock tempura together.
If you have to pick one, go cold if you like bouncy noodles, and hot if you want warm broth with it.
As of September 1, 2026, Yamamoto Menzou is No. 1 in Tabelog's popularity ranking for udon in Kyoto City. After eating the udon, I think I understand why it rates so highly.
I only ended up at TAKE OUT MENZOU because I went without a reservation, but the bouncy noodles, the hot broth and the crisp burdock tempura stuck with me. Next time I'd like to book ahead and try a different udon at the main shop.
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