Matsuhisa’s New Ubon Serves Oodles and Oodles of Noodles

A few doors down from Hard Rock Cafe in the Beverly Center, Nobu Matsuhisa has opened a second restaurant in Los Angeles, this one a noodle restaurant called Ubon (which is, of course, Nobu spelled backward). It’s a smart move. Now everybody who can’t get into Matsuhisa (in Beverly Hills) or afford to gobble up his eccentric Japanese-Peruvian creations on a regular basis can eat here. It’s sort of a Nobu Next Door for L.A. (That’s the name of the more casual restaurant, no reservations, he recently opened next to his wildly popular New York restaurant, Nobu.)

If you love soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles, or udon, the fat slippery wheat flour noodles, you’ll be in noodle heaven here. Matsuhisa is using the same top-notch ingredients he uses at Matsuhisa, which means the freshest seafood, free-range chickens and organic tofu and vegetables. At Ubon, though, a bowl of plain handmade udon in fish broth is just $5.50--$7.50 if you add free-range chicken, and $15 with seafood, shrimp tempura and shiitake.

At lunch, two friends and I started with the lacy vegetable tempura, delicious Japanese eggplant marinated in sweet miso paste and a sumptuous softshell crab spring roll. We wanted to try some of the more unconventional dishes, too, such as his mixed ceviche of firm white fish doused in lime juice and presented with fine slices of red onion, chile and beautiful little gold, red and green tomatoes.

Halfway down the menu, I spy the squid pasta from Matsuhisa’s menu. It’s actually squid cut to look like pasta, tossed with fresh asparagus and shiitake mushrooms in his signature garlic sauce. But the truly comforting dish is my bowl of boiling broth brimming with fat, toothy udon noodles, fish cake, chicken, shiitake and an egg.

It’s enough to persuade this reluctant shopper to head for the mall, if I can reward myself with a bowl of soba or udon. I might even try a couple of oyster shooters, too. And go back for more. Shopping, that is.

BE THERE

Ubon, Ground Floor, Beverly Center, 8530 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 854-1115. Open for lunch and dinner daily. Appetizers $3 to $12; noodle dishes $5.50 to $15; specials $7 to $14. No reservations. Valet and parking in Beverly Center lot.