When I was invited to review Marugame Udon, the new Japanese restaurant in the centre of Bromley’s shopping district, I conjured up images of beautiful Geisha girls serving up bowls of steaming hot noodles amid a surround-sound of traditional h?gaku music. What we found was something entirely different, writes Michael Holland.
We were welcomed by smiling staff, all looking very smart in their black Marugame uniforms – Like ninja warriors. I thought they were directing us towards a table but they were pointing towards the back of a queue where a sign informed us, ‘Your Udon Journey Starts Here’.
Marugame Udon is not the traditional fine dining I had imagined but a fast-food eatery for the 21st century. With this discovery, myself and dinner guest Janet, soon found ourselves overwhelmed with LED displays of ever-changing bowls of food and their accompanying details, and instead of music a motley crew of young, international kitchen staff all loudly chanted in Japanese every now and again. We needed to sit down and stabilise our thoughts before venturing any further.
I found a menu so we could familiarise ourselves and re-enter the fray with more knowledge to order without dithering. But Janet had never tried Japanese food before so as I was asking if she wanted Katsu, Teriyaki, Tempura or Tonkotsu, I could see a strange fear come from her eyes, and I know that if she didn’t have a broken shinbone enveloped in a big protective surgical boot she would have done a runner right then.
It was at that moment a Good Samaritan in the shape of a staff member saw our plight and came to the table to offer her help. She explained the menu to Janet in words that she could understand, enabling her to choose a main dish, a couple of tempura sides, a drink and a dessert. She even queued up for Janet to ensure she got exactly what she asked for rather than leave that responsibility to me. From that moment on any panic was assuaged and things could only get better.
And they did. The food was being cooked right in front of us by the highly-trained team in the open kitchen. It looked and tasted very fresh and the aromas were divine.
Janet loved her Chicken Paitan and extolled the virtues of thigh over breast; she raved about the tempura but the ultimate praise was when she said, ‘Wait until I tell Shirley we’ve got a new place to try!’
I was very pleased with my Chicken Teriyaki and I truly could dine just on the choice of tempura offerings – I loved the Brussel Sprout Tempura. It could be a way of getting the kids to eat them!
Marugame Udon goes to great lengths to make your Udon journey a good one: helpful staff and even a handout to show the uninitiated the steps to take. And you can also personalise your meal with sauces, fresh ginger, spring onion, chilli and tempura bits. A nice touch.
Younger people will not have the problems we gave ourselves but will instantly know this set-up of eating. While Five Guys have their sacks of potatoes on show in their restaurants, Marugame Udon has bags of flour stacked up for making their Udon noodles while you watch.
It is clean, bright, fast, modern and, above all, the food really is very good. And who needs Geisha girls when you have good food, good conversation and intermittent chanting from the kitchen?
There is a varied choice of dishes that should keep everyone happy but the only downside was not finding out what the chanting was for and what they were actually saying. But I will do when I return in the very near future.
Marugame Udon, 3 East St, Bromley BR1 1AB. Check website for menu:
Total: £41.50
