Kunitoraya, an udon restaurant on rue Villedo since 2010

Kunitoraya, an udon restaurant in the Japanese quarter of rue Sainte-Anne, near the Palais-Royal, opened its bistro on rue Villedo at the end of 2010. Born on rue Sainte-Anne, the house takes its name from the chef’s family restaurant in Aki, Japan, and presents itself as the first udon restaurant in Paris.

For this second address Kunitoraya took over the premises of Chez Pauline, a former brasserie turned into a loft. It serves some twenty kinds of udon, thick wheat noodles: in hot or cold broth, on a bamboo sieve, with vegetable and prawn tempura.

Since 2013 the chef Masafumi Nomoto has made the noodles here by hand. Over the years the house has become one of the pioneers of udon in Paris and opened other addresses, including Charbon Kunitoraya. The bistro keeps its queue on the pavement and takes no bookings.

The long, narrow room has brick walls and a counter along the window. Diners order kama-age with vegetables and a dashi dipping sauce, udon in bonito broth or fried chicken, in the 1st arrondissement, a short walk from Pyramides station.