IPPUDO 蕎麦 COMBO WATANABE : Ippudo's First & Only Soba Shop in Japan

Do you know that Ippudo sells soba as well? Not as part of its menu but as an independent outlet in Tokyo. Opened in 2012, it is also Ippudo's first and only soba outlet in Japan. I first heard about this place through myfoodsirens (Thank you Kaelyn) and after doing some research, I decided to give this a try.

Punkish Hole-in-the-Wall
What differs Ippudo Soba from the usual soba shop is that it sells only Tsuke-soba, meaning soba served with dipping sauce. This sounds highly appealing since I  like Tsukemen and Soba. 
While its Bakuchi Soba is the highly recommended on the menu, I opted for the Tan-tan Soba (820 yen) as it was reviewed on enrocket news to be the most delicious out of all (bakuchi/spicy meat/tan-tan/atsumori-tamago/green curry/ negi-chashu/motsu-tsuke)

Surprisingly, the texture of the soba from a ramen-ya does not vary much from the authentic soba shops. The tan-tan tsuke sauce is a blend of Tonkotsu broth and sesame dressing but it seemed slightly watered down.  it was nowhere spicy (as expected) so I resorted to add my good old friend, Togarashi powder, into the sauce again. #nochillipadi
Yummy chunk of meat 
Nonetheless, the taste coming from the heap of minced meat was robust. If you have a penchant for strong-flavoured food, this tan-tan soba would be a wonderful bowl. 
Do remember to tell the staff that you are having soba so that you can proceed straightaway into the soba area should there be a queue outside the door. This is because the queue is likely to be for the ramen instead of the soba, even though the soba is as outstanding as the ramen.
look out for this and take the staircase to the basement
 
Ippudo Soba Watanabe (Since 2012)
『蕎麦COMBO WATANABE』
B1, 3-8-37, Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan (map)
Tel: 03-5772-1521
Nearest station: Tokyo Metro Subway Omotesando
Mon-Sat 11:00-23:00  
Sun/Holiday11:00-22:00

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