12/16/08

delicious.. authentic

by evillagefoodie

great japanese noodle place.. very authentic and yummy food both hot and cold.. good selection of sake and beer. Very good service and always busy!

• Pros: great authentic yummy japanese noodles
• Cons: busy, decor is average

08/25/07

Brunch not Dinner

by dezevill

One of my all time BRUNCH favorites. Always has prompt and polite service with solid food. I always go for the lunch box ($15) with udon (cold or hot). It comes with five or six different small samples, and a small dessert.

Tried it for dinner the other day, and was utterly disappointed. I always enjoy eating izakaya fare at night but the quality of their small dishes for dinner was defiantly lacking. Will not give them another chance for dinner at $40 a head.

• Pros: brunch special
• Cons: dinner quality

07/02/07

Transporting experience

by comequieto

I've been coming here for a while and every single time the food is consistently good. The fact that this restaurant is always packed with Japanese people should also be an excellent indication of its authenticity. The soba is fresh, tasty and everything is beautifully presented. It's one of my favorite "comfort food" places in the city. Make sure you make a reservation. If you show up without one, you might wait for a long time to be seated.

The staff is professional and very effecient.

• Pros: Fresh, great tasting soba
• Cons: none

01/04/07

love love love Sobaya

by robotbarracuda

I have been to both Sobakoh and Honmura An, but it is Sobaya I keep coming back to. If I was judging them based on plain soba, Sobaya might not come out on top, but it is the breadth and creativity of their menu that I value most. And the soba ain't bad either. My favorite dishes are the tuna steak-don (seared tuna with garlic sauce over rice), buta kakuni (pork belly in broth with hot mustard and a soft boiled egg), and ikasumi (cold squid ink soba with squid tempura). Their menu is always evolving with the seasons, which is both exciting for trying new things and disappointing when they take off a loved dish. Sobaya is one of the least expensive restaurants for high quality Japanese food in NYC and for that reason I usually eat here about once a week.

• Pros: Great food, great service, great value
• Cons: Crowded dining conditions with little ambiance

Hot and cold freshly made noodles dominate the menu at this Japanese favorite.

by Contributor

In Short
In a small setting on East 9th Street's Japanese row, diners can watch soba and udon noodles being cut and hung to dry. Noodle bowls are mixed with tempura vegetables, mountain yam, mushrooms, or spiced with curry or cold citrus dipping sauces. Fried appetizers, tuna steak and other dishes are also available, as well as an assortment of sakes, graphed on the menu according to flavor components.

05/23/06

Great comfy noodle place

by gc315

I went to Sobaya last night for dinner. The place is clean and waiters very courteous and attentive. The noodle portions are not bad and the soup flavorful. Definitely try the little side dishes. The uni was very fresh. The prices are also not bad at all. I've been to other noodle places that were double the price and so clean/organic tasting (more like tasteless) that I left totally unsatisfied. I enjoyed Sobaya and would return again.

• Pros: Great Service, Good Portions, Tasty
• Cons: Long wait if starving

04/19/06

inexpensive and good

by sortmon

ive been here a bunch of times and ive always left happy. its inexpensive (soba/udon dishes range form $8-$13) and very filling. the soba noodles are fresh, and if youre lucky, you can come to see the chef make it from scratch. soba comes either hot or cold (i prefer cold) and with your choice of tempura, a variety of dipping sauces, or raw fish. they have daily soba and udon specials as well. appetizers (especially the soba sushi) are interesting and varied. afterwards, they serve you hot soba broth (its basically the water used to cook the soba supposedly, its nutritious) to finish your meal. the rice dishes, notably, the unagi-don (eel on rice) are also very good. service is attentive for a busy restaurant. desserts are mild and light. try a few of their unique ice cream flavours such as honey wasabi, yuzu (citrus), or black sesame.

• Pros: inexpensive, fresh noodles, good service
• Cons: long wait, no reservations

02/07/06

FRESH NOODLES

by 1614

i love noodles and eat them about four of five times a week. this place is a great introduction to noodles for those who have not yet become addicts. it has more of a nod toward ambience than other authentic noodle joints have. but of course, what really matters is TASTE and soba-ya delivers. the noodles are hand rolled and cut. (there is NO RAMEN here: udon and soba only.) broths are savory and well balanced. no exotic toppings to scare off novices. a fine introduction to staple japanese noodle eating.

• Pros: fresh cut noodles, delicious broths
• Cons: potential wait

01/15/06

Solid Dining Experience.

by undulatinggrey

I've been to Sobaya only once so I won't be overly broad in my praise but it was a good dining experience, reasonably priced (about $20 per person including tea, entree and dessert, which was $5). The tempura and negimaki soba were delicious. You really should try the yuzu, honey wasabi and green tea ice creams. (I wasn't such a fan of the black sesame.) The portions were fair, good service. The restaurant is quite small and the seating is tight but everything was clean, including the surprisingly nice bathrooms. I'll definitely be back for a return visit.

• Pros: resonably priced, good food, pleasant atmosphere
• Cons: I want gyoza!, More tempura, Tight seating

07/05/05

good solid food...

by suebeelin

decent soba, but other stuff is actually tastier-- my fave is the garlic tuna over rice! I've been here many times. be forewarned that it's quite crowded during peak evening hours (45 minute wait). Lunch specials are great deals, and you get lots of food. My 3 year old neice also loves this place. Be forwarned, tho-- they don't deliver, they don't do take out, and they don't allow outside food if you have kids that are particular about their food.

• Pros: cute, good value
• Cons: long wait