A note on the words: miso-nikomi udon is Nagoya’s speciality — firm udon noodles simmered directly in a dark miso broth, served bubbling in a clay pot. Hatcho miso is the long-aged, almost black soybean miso behind that broth; dote-ni is beef innards simmered in miso; and the otoshi is the small starter every izakaya serves. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Misonikomin on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
This time, off to Hongo to eat miso-nikomi udon! I had been hunting for somewhere in Tokyo that does it properly, and found a shop called “Sake and Miso-nikomi: Misonikomin”.
A shop whose whole concept is miso-nikomi udon plus drinks! Now that is an idea!!
I turned up around 7pm with no reservation, and the place was already full. Hmm — drinks plus a simmering hotpot means tables do not turn over quickly, and I nearly gave up, but decided to wait a little. Some tables were in full drinking-party mode, but a counter seat — that might come free!
While we waited, three more parties lined up behind us. After about twenty minutes, at last, the counter!
Worth the wait!
First, beer! The magic drink that gets tastier for every minute you were made to wait!
Delicious!!
The otoshi is a simple, honest potato salad. Good.
For the first snack: the dote-ni!
Billed as “dote-ni slowly simmered in three misos”, this is the signboard dish of the evening drinking menu! A blend of Hatcho miso, white miso and red miso, simmered long and slow until the miso has soaked to the core of every piece. The sticky depth of the miso against the falling-apart tenderness of the innards — irresistible. The perfect opening snack!
The secret of the mochi-like texture: sesame and kuzu starch. Springy, elastic, silk-smooth on the tongue. One bite and the toastiness of the sesame, its natural sweetness, and the aroma of the house dashi bloom softly.
Pork and cabbage stir-fried in a Hatcho miso sauce — in other words, a very promising-looking twice-cooked pork (that is what this is, surely!).
The dense Hatcho miso sauce clings to the savour of the pork and the snap of the cabbage. The deep, fermented richness peculiar to Hatcho miso set against the sweetness of the pork fat — this is good. I may try making hui guo rou with Hatcho miso at home.
And here it is: miso-nikomi udon, Misonikomin style!
First, the bubbling visual and that slightly tangy miso aroma — wonderful!
Miso-nikomi udon is defined by its firm, aggressively chewy noodles. The broth is Hatcho miso-based, blended with several misos and simmered. The toppings are the classic set: chicken thigh, egg, long onion, fried tofu, kamaboko fish cake.
Ladle a little at a time into the small bowl and eat: the thick noodles carry up plenty of the dense miso broth, and its deep richness spreads through the mouth. Break the egg yolk into it and the saltiness of the miso turns mellow, the gentle savour of the fried tofu joining in. The juicy heft of the chicken thigh and the sweetness of the long onion are the accents. And this broth — this soup! A flavour that quietly restores the stomach. You will want to drink it to the last drop.
This would fix a hangover, without question!
Mmm — delicious! People were probably still queueing outside, so we finished up neatly and slipped out.
I only know a handful of places in Tokyo serving real miso-nikomi udon. Among them, Misonikomin’s pairing of the dish with drinks strikes me as a genuinely great concept. Can you book? If you walk in unannounced you may wait a little, but each party’s stay is not that long (with exceptions!), so I would say the wait is worth taking.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Misonikomin (udon / Hongo-sanchome Station, Suidobashi Station, Yushima Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
