Samurai Mama
205 Grand St
(between Bedford Ave & Driggs Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(+1)718-599-6161

Samurai Mama is a cool looking spot in Williamsburg that serves udon made in house. A lot of udon served at restaurants here are frozen udon that has been cooked once so it doesn’t have a nice texture. Before you go, you should know that they accept cash only, which is one of the downfalls of this place because after a dinner with a fair amount of sake, the bill isn’t exactly cheap.

They have a good selection of sake and great tapas size dishes to go with them. I personally love the communal table and rustic interior of Samurai Mama.

Oshinko- assorted pickles

Salad with jyako (small dried sardines) and pickled hakusai (napa cabbage)

Teppan (hot skillet) pork gyoza

We had cold udon with a mushroom dipping sauce. The home made pickled chili that comes with the cucumber is absolutely delicious. The cold udon was nice but the noodles in the hot udon were a little soft for my liking (maybe they cook them longer to suit the general American palate?).

Overall, this is a great spot to enjoy some sake, small bites and an udon (maybe to share) at the end. In Japan, we generally eat the starch at the end of the meal (called the “shime”), whether it be udon, rice or soba. All the food here tastes authentically Japanese even though it has some foreign influences.