Myoan — Falling for the coarse-ground soba of Kunimigaoka

Tucked into a residential neighborhood in Kunimigaoka, Sendai, Myoan is the kind of place worth making a little trip for when you want to slow down and enjoy good soba.

The restaurant sits in a quiet area a little outside the city center, with an understated exterior. Step through the noren curtain and you’ll find a calm Japanese-style interior with warm wooden details. It feels refined but relaxed, and I settled in almost as soon as I sat down.

I came for the signature inaka soba: rustic noodles made entirely from coarsely ground buckwheat, including the Hitachi Aki variety, milled by hand with a stone mill. Even before the first bite, their rustic appearance gave me something to look forward to.

The buckwheat aroma comes through gently at first, then develops as you chew, followed by a subtle sweetness. The slightly coarse texture is pleasing, too. You really get a sense of the buckwheat itself in every bite.

The noodles have the satisfying bite you’d expect from pure buckwheat soba, without feeling heavy. I kept reaching for another mouthful, and before I knew it, they were gone. My honest reaction was simply, “This is my kind of soba.”

The yuba, or tofu skin, was another highlight.

Smooth and tender, it had a delicate soybean sweetness. Between bites of the firmer soba, its gentle flavor was a lovely complement. I’d come for the noodles, but I’d happily return for the yuba as well.

The ice cream at the end was good, too.

Lightly sweet with a clean finish, it was easy to enjoy after the soba and left me feeling satisfied with the meal from beginning to end.

I visited at lunchtime on a weekend and waited about an hour for a table.

That’s a fairly long wait, so it’s worth leaving yourself plenty of time if you go on a weekend. This is somewhere I’d visit when I could relax over lunch without worrying about the next thing on my schedule.

Good soba, a peaceful setting, and yuba and dessert that were worth enjoying in their own right. Together, they made an ordinary lunch feel a little special.

After leaving, I still found myself thinking about how good those noodles were.

Myoan is a place I’d gladly make the trip to Kunimigaoka for again.