TsuruTonTan

21 East 16th Street

(between Fifth Avenue and Union Square)

On my continuing quest for noodle soups during this cold spring of 2017, I heard about TsuruTonTan, a restaurant specializing udon noodles.

And the fact that it’s in the former Union Square Café location also intrigued me.

As I had heard that reservations were highly recommended, I went ahead and made lunch reservations a week ahead of time for a friend and myself.

The upfront restaurant décor near the bar is lovely.

 

I especially appreciated the graphic wall design with the lit-up letter spelling out the name of the restaurant.

 

The restaurant was comprised of several different sections or rooms. There was a back room (where we were seated), a more cafeteria-style seating room, and an upstairs room for probably larger or private parties.

 

The menu, which provided a photo for each menu item, reminded me of the menus normally found in Korean restaurants.

 

We decided to start with two appetizers. The spicy tuna tartare cone ($12), which was comprised of avocado puree, micro shiso, and wonton skin. It was a very cool and yummy concept and design.

With the appearance of a mini ice cream cone, the tuna tartare and avocado were layered. So with each bite, one would experience a different flavor texture.

The hamachi carpaccio ($13) was fresh and light.

And we, of course, had to order a bowl of udon. We decided to share a large bowl of duck udon ($18). A regular and large noodle bowl cost the same, so it makes sense to just go ahead and order the large!

 The duck were both duck breast and duck meatballs. The broth was light as we were hesitant about ordering a creamy broth. We also went with the chef suggestion of the thick, wide noodles as opposed to thin noodles.

 

Going with the wider noodles, meant less noodles overall, but I could definitely taste that the noodles were freshly made.

The spoons, though, are ridiculously large. They’re fine to help ladle out the noodles, but not useful whatsoever to drink with. So don’t be shy about asking for a smaller spoon.

To accompany our meal, my friend ordered a non-alcoholic lychee mojito ($8). It was very refreshing and tasty.
 

And after some very generous tasting samples (I think they let me sample about four wines???), I went with our waitress’s suggestion of the Riesling Havemeyer Piesporter ($12) from Germany. It was sweet and light and went perfectly with our meal.

On our way out, we noticed the Japanese Waving Cat bidding us fare thee well!

Pros:

Friendly service.

Tasty udon.

Cons:

Small, hot bathrooms.

Uncomfortable booth seats.

The little stone they provide as the chopstick holder is ineffective. Chopsticks kept sliding off throughout the meal. Should either be larger or a groove should be created for the chopsticks to sit on. Or just simply have the chopsticks folded within the napkin or rest on top of the plate.

 

Final Thoughts

Glad to have tried their giant bowl of noodle soup once, but unless I’m in the neighborhood it’s not someplace that would be a destination spot. It would, however, be a good option to take an out-of-town friend.