Samurai Mama

This is my go to lunch place. I get the lunch prix fixe and then get my mani/​pedi a couple doors down. You can walk right past it. Be aware!
The food is amazing! I took one star off because I didn’t care for the soup that came with my lunch. Not terrible… just not my thing.
There is a communal table which I would normally not be a fan of… but they space it out so well and most of their customers are people I would possibly dine with anyways! Lol
Definitely give it a try :))

Definitely a place worth trying if you like udon, or sushi, or both. As mentioned by many other reviewers, a majority of the seating area is a large communal table, and there are a few small tables (for 4?) on the side.
Ordered two appetizers with a friend to share, the pork belly and the sushi tacos. The pork belly was solid, and cooked to a nice tenderness. It was a sizable portion, with a nice sauce accompaniment.
Their sushi «tacos» have a very deceiving name. I literally was expecting fish in a tortilla or something. It’s actually just sushi… with seaweed as the wrap… think about that. Regardless of the lack of any true novelty, it was good sushi. The rice was made well, and the fish quality was pretty good.
I ordered the spicy udon, which wasn’t actually that spicy. The broth was flavorful and a little on the salty side. I didn’t mind because I like salty. But if you don’t like salt, and don’t mind looking foolish, pour some water in it or something.

Okay so I love the ambiance here and the sushi is phenomenal. I had the tuna guacamole roll and the salmon roll, they were both very tasty. I also like the fact that you can choose between a roll and a taco! I would have given them 4 stars but I wasn’t too fond of the Udon noodles. The broth was disgusting! I’ll be back for sushi but I didn’t like the noodles at all.

i would’ve gave it a 4.5 if there was a choice, the food was absolutely bomb! it was very good and the flavors were well brought out in the dishes we had ordered. With three people, we ordered the Mama Pork Gyoza (6 piece), the way it was presented was amazing, a light thin layer that you crack through to get your gyoza. The gyoza had a little toping of some spicy component, even though it was very spicy, it was very good. Next off was the sushi/​rolls. We had ordered the Unavo Roll, Hellow Yellow Taco and the Salmonavo Taco. The Unavo was the best eel roll I’ve ever eaten and to my defense, I have had a lot of eel rolls. For my entrée, I got the Pork Curry Udon with the topping of On Tama, aka a poached egg. The base of the udon was very textured, as in you can taste the curry flavor and it’s not just like powdery like other curry dishes. The Pork Curry was a lot on the spicier side but you will be able to handle it.
The only downside to this dinner was our seating. We came in right when the dinner timing started so there wasn’t a lot of people. We got the left hand side once you walk right in. That area was very nice and calm looking but the air-​con was directed right at the seating. The heat was blasted to make the whole restaurant warm but it was very uncomfortable. Plus, once someone opened the door, you could’ve felt the cold air touch you. Overall, the food was amazing and would love to try the other things

My friend and I sat at the communal table. Wasn’t too bothered by the surrounding guests at all. The only difficult part would be turning your head in the same direction throughout the night since we sat next to each other instead of across.
Food we ordered:
Pork belly — there’s a lot more pork belly than I expected! Very tender and went well with the grilled zucchini.
Taco set — this was definitely my favorite! What an interesting interpretation of a «taco». The set came with 3 pieces of fish, 1 shrimp, 1 w/​uni
Spicy bukkake udon — the broth, poached egg and the udon are presented separately. I mixed half the broth and the poached egg together. Incredibly flavorful! The broth can be overpowering if you add too much but that’ll depend on your preference.
Overall, I had a very good evening here.

I don’t venture to Brooklyn often but my brother and sister suggested this place for New Year’s Eve dinner and what a pleasant surprise. Not only was the food fantastic but the atmosphere and service were amazing. We were sat down at a booth but even the folks sitting at the communal tables seemed like they were having a great time.
Some of my favorite dishes: Pork Gyoza, Pork Belly Udon and BBQ Short Ribs. There were so many other dishes I tried that were amazing. Highly recommend.

I’m happy we came across this place. If «Kaiki filtrated water» or whatever is the Kool Aid, I’d drink it again.
You can sit in a booth or communal table, which is nice. The place itself has a warm aesthetic. Service was really attentive and also pretty mint. Ladies, take notice.
We had:
Kinpura
Pork Belly w Daikon
Seafood Curry Udon
Kinpura is tasty, but I don’t understand all the mixed lettuce stuff. Are you supposed to eat that as a salad or is it just excess «garnish»? Anyway, the tablespoon of Kinpura was good.
Pork Belly dish was cooked so well I could cry. Very tender, not greasy.
Seafood Udon — the noodles were absolutely delicious and super fresh. The broth was well-​balanced and not overly salty. I wish there was more seafood, particularly mussels.
I thought that sh*t was in season, but I don’t know anything about mussels and was still very happy with the udon.

****UDON IN A CABIN****
This restaurant could only exist in Williamsburg…
I’ll cut to the chase — what is SM’s secret to serving up the best ramen in NYC? Purportedly, nothing other than its oxidane… in other words, high quality H2O.
Their menu notes their use of «chemical free «Kaiki Water» «filled with natural energy» and a «natural mineral balance» that is pH balanced. They refuse to use «contaminated, low-​energy tap water.» In their defense, I can’t say this is exclusively hipster nonsense, since many pizzerias seem to think the Force or whatnot of the NY water makes a superior product for their domain as well.
Anyway, onto the food…
SUSHI TACOS:
Can’t run a hip asian restaurant without some Mexican fusion action going on. These were actually great– the fish was fresh and in good portion wrapped by seaweed, tacos were well put together, and the dipping sauces with wasabi were flavorful and distinct. Definitely recommend getting some of these as an appetizer.
UDON:
In the tradition of «Brooklyn Style BBQ,» SM purports to deliver their own style of udon distinct from the varieties in Japan without really giving much of an explanation of what this entails, beyond saying its «characteristic of where we are.» Supposedly they get their flour to make the noodles from a mill in California, so does their udon fall in the tradition of California/​BK fusion style? Otherwise, they say they get pretty much all of the other ingredients from Japan…
Regardless, the udon is actually really good. Granted, I don’t get udon a lot at restaurants because I can make a good bowl of restaurant quality nongshim udon in 5 minutes at home, but I can’t say the same for instant ramen. I do think the udon here was some of the better udon I’ve had, but I certainly couldn’t taste the 2 days of processing that goes into SM’s udon.
COCKTAILS:
Pulled these off and priced well for NYC (all under $ 10). Strong and very well made. Similar to Angel’s Share with Japanese themes.
EXPERIENCE:
Service was attentive and professional. We sat at a bar near the back. There is a large front room with communal tables in the middle and more secluded booths for groups on the sides. The bar further back was actually very intimate and comfortable. Further back there was another room for mainly drinking, I think. Interior wise, cross off checkmarks for rustic wooden tables, exposed brick walls, and asymmetrical large industrial lights dangling from the ceiling.
FINAL VERDICT: Over the top even by WB standards, but for the most part, backs it up. Udon didn’t completely blow me away but the food was good and the atmosphere intriguing enough to at least recommend warranting a visit.

Good little place in the neighborhood– we got there around 8 and got seated right away at the communal table. Service was adequate, we got water right away and they came back to take our orders a little after.
I really enjoyed the spicy tuna «tacos», each portion comes with 2 pieces, and they were delicious.
I got the udon with pork in soup form and those noodles were one of the best I’ve had so far. Only downside is that I wish the udon portions were bigger, especially for the price.
Definitely a spot worth checking out

Came here last week on a cold winter night.
There was a bit of a wait. The place is tiny. But I’ve come to realize that many really good restaurants are small!
We waited a little over an hour to be seated. The restaurant has a cute little waiting area in the back where you can order drinks while you wait.
There’s a large communal table right when you enter. There are also other smaller private tables around the restaurant. If they offer you seats at the communal table, take it! Or else you’ll have to wait longer. Once we were seated the service was fast and the staff were very friendly. Very cozy with dim lighting inside. I felt very relaxed!
I ordered the pork curry udon. The noodles were delicious, the curry added a nice touch of curriness and spiciness to the noodles. I definitely recommend this one!
Their pork gyoza is not like any I’ve had before. The wrapper is thinner. There’s more meat. It’s definitely good!

One of my go-​to places when I’m craving Japanese food in the area or on a cold blustery day to enjoy some hot soup with udon!
Definitely expect a wait during dinner hours on weekends, but it’s generally ok to get a seat during the week or earlier on in the day. During busy times they stick you in this back room where you can have a drink but there’s barely any place to stand or sit and it’s a bit uncomfortable.
Once seated, I usually enjoy the Bukkake udon, a term which I used to connote with very bad things but apparently means ‘dump style’ udon where you pour broth onto a bowl of noodles and a poached egg. Once you add a topping or two on there the dish comes out to about 13 – 16 bucks.
I was extremely hesitant to try the ‘taco’ style sushi as it sounded like some sort of gross fusion concoction, but it’s really just a modified hand roll. There’s a ton of fish and other goodies in each one, and it’s quite filling. It’s also the first time I saw a sushi dish come out with a choice of three different soy sauces, each with a different level of wasabi already mixed in. I’m not sure if that’s more or less authentic than a normal sushi place but I it was certainly unique!
One dish I was surprised not to love the Mama’s gyoza dish, which is a whole bunch of gyoza cooked together on a cast iron pan. I love gyoza, and I love the crispiness provided by the cast iron, but in this dish it just made each dumpling soggy and hard to eat vs. just having normal individual ones. Disappointed as I was sure I would be a huge fan of this!
Finally, I highly recommend their lunch special, which they also serve on weekends! For $ 10 you can get a donburi bowl with salad and soup, and for $ 3 you can get a bowl of udon on the side! It ends up being a huge meal with a lot of variety for a bargain!

Love this place! It is a great little place with delicious food and polite service.
Might be difficult to get seating (the center of the dining room is shared communal table) and there are tables surrounding. However, the wait is well worth it! Drinking warm tea in this nicely designed space makes you forget you’re in Brooklyn (no hate, I live here too).
We had the seaweed salad (unlike your regular seaweed salad from other Asian~ restaurants) which was the real deal. I had the ground beef udon dish and it was superb: broth was perfect and the beef spiced well.
Will definitely be returning soon!

Great little gem!!! The atmosphere is wonderful, everything we ate was absolutely delicious! The best was the Mama’s veggie gyoza of Edamame! Yummy!!!
The Bukkake Udon soup was out of this world! And the Guacamole Tuna sushi was very good!
Would definitely come back here next time I’m in Williamsburg!

One of the best udon spots I’ve been to in nyc. Food is fantastic here. Udon here is hand pulled, fresh and has great texture so you can’t go wrong with either the cold or hot options. A million times better than the frozen stuff from packages.
Portions are decent size. Not small by any means but if you’re feeling hungry and eating with a second person, go for the fried chicken and pork gyoza.
Service was a little slow but they were pretty busy. They were otherwise very polite and as attentive as their time can afford I suppose. I would definitely keep coming back here.

If I was rating my experience on food alone, I would probably give a five. The food here is delicious.
The reason why my rating is low was due to the host and the service.
Me and my bff arrive for dinner and asked for a table for two. The host said it would be fifteen minutes unless we wanted to sit at the communal table, of which we could be seated right away. We opted to wait for a private table. The host brought us to a weird room in the back with a bench in it, with the promise that we could get drinks while we waited. Fifteen minutes passed and no one came by to get us drinks and the host came back ready to seat us. Whatever. We then walk past several empty tables for two and get seated AT THE COMMUNAL TABLE. WTF. We ask for one of those tables and he says it would be another 15 minutes. WE suck it up and stay at the communal table.
We are seated for another 15 minutes before a busboy gives us water and menus. Ten minutes later a server comes by and just asks if we are ready to order. WHAT SERVICE! (not.)
I might return, because the food is pretty delicious, but I really hope they get their act together with either new servers or better training.

Wandered in here after seeing a movie with my boyfriend. Wanted asian and bam its less than a block away. I kinda like the décor. You’d think it’d be annoying to share a giant middle table (and it is if your neighbor likes to spread their elbows out) but I didn’t really mind since it was just the two of us. It almost felt like a japanese bar with the communal seating, wood décor, and warm lighting. Service wasn’t too bad. Nothing to complain or rave about. I got the Pork Belly with Scallion Udon Noodle Soup (forgot the japanese name) and my bf got the Spicy Bukkake Udon. Both were very good. Super flavorful that left your mouth watering for more. Udons tasted really good and I’m a big noodle soup gal. For dessert we got the Vegan Rice Cream which tasted really clean and even though I probably wouldn’t get it again it was great to try it out.
Only possible downside was that I wish the portions were a little bigger especially since our dishes were not on the cheap side.
I’ll definitely be back though because their selection of alcohol was really nice and I’d love to try the other things on the menu.

This place reminds me of a Korean drama called «Late Night Restaurant.» It’s very cozy with a feel-​good atmosphere. The staff is incredible, too — super nice and efficient. I ordered a lunch special called the Mama Ramen. It is by far the best ramen I’ve ever had. The broth was perfect, the pork belly was tender, and the noodles were cooked just right. The star of the entrée was the slow-​cooked egg. I love eggs, and this was the best (THE BEST) egg I’ve ever eaten. If I can have a bowl of just these eggs, I’d be the happiest girl in the world.

Nuestra llegada a NYC estuvo nublada por la amenaza de un huracán categoría 4 llamado Joaquín. El móndrigo guey con sus vientos azotadores y rompe paraguas no pudo evitar que saliéramos a dar el rol por Times Square y sus alrededores.
No obstante, al día siguiente amanecimos crudas y con la garganta irritada, razón por la cual pensamos que un Ramen curaría ambos pesares. Entre las opciones nos apareció un Samurai Mama que se jactaba de poseer sopas Udon originales y bien reputadas.
Desde la entrada puedes apreciar que le pusieron empeño en darte el feeling de estar en un lugar antiguo, amaderado y lleno de sabiduría ancestral. La mesa comunal bien podría ser usada para fiestas vikingas. Es tan grande y ancha que ni escuchas a los de enfrente.
Pedimos unas gyozas y tofú para compartir, y yo me aventuré a ordenar una sopa Udon caliente (porque hay opciones frías) con hierbas silvestres del Japón.
Las gyozas llegaron todas unidas en un rústico y pesado sartén, mientras que el tofú vino camuflado en un contenedor de cuadrito como para salsa. Su consistencia era entre jococoque y gelatina; estaba acompañado de aguacate espumoso y alga tsukudani que bien podría ser afrodisíaca, porque a mi prima le supo a ciruela y yo no pude dejar de comerla.
La sopa Udon parecía hecha para un comercial (impecablemente presentada). Los fideotes al dente; pachones, carnosos, llenadores. Entre las plantitas silvestres se asomaban unos honguitos muy lindos y crujientes; los tallitos verdes sabían entre bambú/​espárrago y col rizada; mientras que el cristalino consomé me hizo sudar cualquier pesar.
Al terminar de manjar ¿cuál cruda y qué gripe? Lo que sí pasó es que ambas queremos regresar porque además de suculento, el lugar tiene precios muy asequibles.
El único defectote es que no cuentan con wi fi para sus clientes…

A couple of friends and I came here for dinner sometime last year. We were lucky enough to get our own table on the side after a short wait so we didn’t have to share with other people. I really did like the interior set up, cute and cozy! We pretty much ordered udon all around, also a taco platter and the gyoza and yakko to share. For the udon, we had the option of hot or chilled. I personally preferred the hot, but the chilled version had some interesting broth pairing? I felt like the udon was pretty good and that was about it because the broth (hot) was a bit on the salty side. The pork belly wasn’t all that memorable either.
The gyoza was just alright, I’ve certainly had better! You know that crispy layer of goodness? It was just eh here. As for the yakko (chilled tofu), it went well with the toppings/​seasonings, but lacked in texture. I was hoping for some smooth tofu, but it just wasn’t there yet. I don’t know how we found this place, but I think one of our friends had suggested it. I don’t feel like this is authentic udon, but they’re unique in their own way. I don’t think I will be back considering the area has so many other options for lunch and dinner. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to try this place, but if you’re in the area and crave some udon, they’ll do.

I remember the time in Kamakura, Japan that had excellent udon. Broth was clean and refreshing.
Samurai mama has a very large selection of udon. The one we had was good. A bit salty since it was the dipping kind. I thought it was good.
The taco sushi platter looked good but judging by her face she wasn’t really impressed.
The charashi bowl I had was decent. Best charashi bowl still goes to Hibino.
The place is huge and despite the sign saying cash only, they do accept credit cards.
Go again? Nah… Maybe samurai papa.

Samurai Mama is an udon spot, which is an interesting detour from the current ramen and hand pulled noodles craze in NY.
First thing you’ll notice is that this place is big. More long than wide (heh) and they even have a waiting room in the back where you can order drinks while you wait for your table. It actually kinda feels like a sauna (thankfully not temperature-​wise) because there’s wood paneling and everyone’s sitting next to each other facing the same direction.
Anyway, I ordered some sort of ginger drink, which I think was mixed with beer. It came in a big pint glass, and was not good. But there was a lot of it, and I got drunk since I’d been day drinking.
Service was quick. For my udon, I went with the Pork Curry. The broth had a bit of tartness to it, but the curry flavor was pretty mild. I liked the pork portions, but the noodles were also great. Thick but not rubbery.
I also tried the Nikujil Kake udon, which was with pork belly. I liked that one a bit more. But both were good.
They also have a Bukkake Udon, but it sounded kind of messy.

Really delicious traditional japanese food ! The place is nice and trendy, service is careful and relaxed. Only defaults: no reservation (so you often have to wait) and cash only (see what I mean…)