If you want to break away from the (restaurant) chain and enjoy some unique dining experiences, your best bet is finding a city’s hole-in-the-wall joints. If New York City is where you’re heading, there are plenty of unique and memorable places to grab a meal. One you shouldn’t miss stands out among the city’s best hole-in-the-wall restaurants: a little spot called Don Udon.
A hole-in-the-wall is characterized as being small, out-of-the-way, and not particularly flashy. What these places lack in prime location and aesthetic splash, though, they make up for in cuisine, prioritizing substance over style with food that is often some of the best you’ll find. To begin, you’ll need to know what a hole-in-the-wall restaurant really is and how to spot one. In a nutshell, it’s a dive bistro that’s been in business a while, is always busy, and usually has food that rocks, which is why it stays in business despite a sometimes less-than-stellar appearance.
Don Udon is an unassuming little restaurant located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Nothing about the exterior particularly cries, “An exquisite feast awaits inside” — but one certainly does. Diners have been raving about the restaurant ever since it opened in 2024, lauding its traditional vibe, inexpensive price tag (for New York City, anyway), and, most of all, the food. Perfectly textured udon noodles, exquisite broth, and a true Japanese dining experience are some of the highlights reported by visitors.
Like a true hole-in-the-wall, Don Udon can be difficult to get into. The restaurant only has 13 interior seats, and it doesn’t accept reservations or takeout ordering, so your meal may need to come with a side of patience. But, word on the internet is your wait will be well rewarded.
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Unremarkable exterior, crowd-drawing food
A bowl of udon and a small bowl of curry on a counter inside Don Udon – jonathanchoi1 / Instagram
It’s an interesting phenomenon that a restaurant that looks so run-of-the-mill can end up becoming famous. At the restaurant’s opening, a brown exterior with no decoration to speak of was all that greeted approaching diners. The only things hinting at what type of cuisine was served within were some small Japanese characters on the building above the front windows and one tiny sign with a cartoon man and the word “udon” on the fence near the entrance.
After a few months in business, a bit of décor finally adorned the front — a striped awning and some hanging Japanese lanterns beneath it. But, still, nothing flashy that would attract much attention or make one think anything particularly special was happening inside. Yet all it takes is a few people trying a place and discovering the food is amazing, and suddenly word gets out and there are lines around the block, no matter what the place looks like.
Despite its unremarkable aesthetic, Don Udon serves up high-quality cuisine made with fresh ingredients and genuine Japanese flair. No matter what you order, you’ll be getting a traditional international dining experience, but some favorites for frequent diners include the Niku Udon, Ikura Don, Gyu Don, and the Kake Udon combo. And remember, slurping is part of Japanese etiquette. In fact, it shows the host that you’re enjoying your meal. So, with Don Udon’s impeccably chewy noodles and out-of-this-world broth, be prepared to hear — and do — some slurping at this popular dining spot.
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Read the original article on Food Republic.