I like to think of Kantstrasse as my canteen - I can stroll there on my lunch break and then take my pick. What will it be today: Northern Chinese dumplings? Vegetarian soup noodles? Roast duck buns? Recently, we even found a restaurant called Udagawa serving good Japanese home cooking, as well as very fresh sushi. We had dinner there first, sitting in the back with a Chinese family, a couple on a rushed date and two girls in town for Fashion Week. A young man deftly fried tempura and katsu-don in the front of the restaurant, turning the pieces with two huge chopsticks, while in the back a sushi chef worked silently behind a curtained door. The second time we went for lunch and sat at a sunny front table looking out onto Kantstrasse, warming up like two cats on a couch.
Udagawa is listed as being an "Imbiss" and that's sort of the vibe you get when you're there. You place your order at the counter and then wait for it to be delivered (at dinnertime) or for someone to call you when your order is ready (at lunch).
But the food has nothing to do with Imbiss food. It's fresh, home-cooked and delicious. (If you're looking for Imbiss prices, too, you're in the wrong place, but I think that they're absolutely fair given the quality of what is being served.) The menu is pretty extensive: there are sushi platters, several different udon soups, a lot of cooked plates of meat or fish and tempura. There's nothing goofy going on here, no crazy rolls with fifty different kinds of fish crammed into them and no Pan-Asian silliness either (ahem, Kuchi). Just simple, homestyle food. My favorite.
The glazed mackerel over rice we had one night was delicious, the tempura at lunch was light and crispy, and the sushi is always pristine and fresh. (A nice touch were those tiny little shrimp with the heads and tails still on - they were sweet as can be.) It's a great little place to have in the neighborhood.
Udagawa
Kantstrasse 118/119
10625 Berlin
(030) 312 3014
