Hotei

Although it is officially Spring, it sure doesn’t feel like it. The past few days have felt colder than ever. So what tastes best on a cold winter day? Udon! We’ve been on the hunt for our go-to udon spot; trying places all over the city. Saturday we might have found the one. Hotei, in the Inner Sunset, is an authentic Japanese restaurant with 15 types of noodle dishes. You choose the dish, the noodles and viola…a bowl of steaming broth filled with deliciousness arrives to warm you up before you venture out into the cold, again. If you aren’t in the mood for noodles, don’t worry, there are plenty of other Japanese dishes to sample.

Luckily we snagged the last 2 seater table upon arrival so no wait on a Saturday night…fabulous! We sat down in this no-frills, quaint little restaurant, sipping our green tea, contemplating all the options on the menu. I chose the Sansai with soba noodles, a variety of mushrooms and carrots. Reid chose the Niku with udon noodles, sliced beef and fresh vegetables. And since we were there, we might as well try a roll, right? We picked the 49er: salmon, lemon, avocado, tobiko and shiso. Everything was so yummy. I slurped my way to the bottom of the bowl. Needless to say, Reid did the same. He can’t wait to go back. He loves udon more than me so he was in heaven. He even perused the menu again Sunday morning, preparing for our next visit. I think Hotei just found some new regulars.

Hotei, 1290 Ninth Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122.