Mifune Don

Dad and I were starving and thought we’d go here since it was packed. Disappointed.
Service was good. And fairly quick.
My Dad had the Curry Katsu and I had the Tempura Udon. Both were just alright. Both super bland and not very tasty.
We were super disappointed and don’t suggest this place at all.
Meh.

²⁄₅ for food. ⁵⁄₅ for service.
I got the …
1. Tempura udon ($ 9.50): comes with battered fried tempura and vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato, and broccoli). It’s just like any other udon. Not the best, not the worst.
2. Zaru soba ($ 7.20): served with a dipping sauce, cold soba served on lacquered tray. Again, not the best, not the worst. It’s not that great.
3. Okonomiyaki — beef & egg ($ 9.80): comes with beef, squid, and vegetables. It was pretty cheesy tasting and didn’t exceed my expectation. It wasn’t very good. I expected a lot because this place is apparently known for their okonomiyaki’s. It was my first time trying this, and it ruined my first experience…
Overall, food isn’t very good. Service is good though. Our server kept refilling our waters without us having to ask. Very friendly.

BF was an okonomiyaki virgin. Obviously, I have to pop that cherry. The few places I’ve tried before aren’t going to cut it. So based on recommendation, I decided to gamble it all on Mifune don.
This review is solely for their modanyaki (Okonomiyaki with pork, squid, vegetables layered with soba and katsuoboshi). We didn’t try anything else since we came around closing time. It took awhile for it to come out (about 20mins). It comes on a hot plate, generously topped with okonomiyaki sauce and the katsuoboshi squirming from the steam.
The size was about 9 inches in diameter or bigger.
The texture was pretty darn amazing. The crunchy cabbage, crispy soba, chewy pork and squid, and the solid non-​soggy dough keep teasing our mouth. The pancake can stand up againts and yet work with the sauce and seasoning. The sauce was a tad too sweet for bf, but a drizzle of the sesame chili oil on it made he moan in pleasure. This was the best okonomiyaki I had in San Francisco so far. Glad we didn’t order two. One was already very fulfilling. Cherry popping mission has been accomplished!
The service was great. The kind waitress made sure we take our time eating even though it’s past closing time.

Horrible service. That’s not it. Found hair and bug in the noodles. Never refill ur drink. The waitresses have poker face, never smile or saying thank you. Worst experience ever! Will never come back.

The food was really good and reasonly priced. It was the first restaurant I tried at Japantown. Considering there is only one waitress, the service was really good. She did not get any orders wrong even when the whole restaurant was filled. Not only is the serving staff amazing, but the kitchen was really quick too. My friend and I did not have to wait long for our food to come out.

Fabulous Japanese Cuisine. Love their donburi. Ramen dishes and table cooking menu are superb.
The waitresses are knowledgeable, professionals and great workers.
Very popular restaurant among Japantown loyal customers !

I come here almost every time I stop by japan town! I love the okonomiyaki and ramen here especially. It’s also pretty inexpensive! :D

Last days of spring break and my son suggested trying something new in Jtown.
His idea of something new is a restaurant we had not tried. I tried to explain that there’s a reason for it… but decided to let go of the contol with hopes of being surprised.
Promptly and pleasantly greeted. Waitress efficient, friendly and welcoming.
The okonomiyaki was small, oily, nothing like the plastic one in the window. Curry katsu was dry, thin, blistered open like a flat calamari ring. I’ve never seen this before. Oil on crust tasted old. I tried to eat the salad instead but the poor dressing allowed 2 bites. I dug for clean salad leaves underneath and dipped it in the curry. I tried to find something to est. A small gush of water in my mouth from the small cluster of leaves. Not drained well… and when.
I had stomach trouble… 2 times… I’m convjnced it was the salad because we sampled each other’s orders, except the salad.
I had wished that the food would match the pretty plastic samples at the window.
Last time here for us and our dishes cost more than the other better prepared restaurants in the mall.
Floors dirty. How much csn it cost to have this small cleaned?

Despite having the Michelin acclaim at the storefront, Mifune Don was disappointing mediocre. In terms of SF price range, the food is priced reasonably with each entrée costing around $ 10 or less, but that is the only good thing about this small Japanese café-​esque restaurant. My choice of oyako don (chicken and egg rice) was okay but the ramen cannot get any more average. While this plays a good backup for the more popular sushi restaurant across from the floor, Mifune Don is not a place you should go out of your way to try.

Mifune Don notes:
Tea:
Hot, green tea, not much flavor, because of the current drought – tea is given upon request
Water:
Good water. Expected for SF
San sai udon and ikura donburi:
— Soup has strong soy flavor; clean light flavor but gets to be salty after eating it straight for awhile (but thats why you get tea or water)
— Udon has a nice chew factor
— Nice vegetables – I do not know what they are (aside from DELICIOUS) – in broth
— Thin fish cake slices
— Ikura (fish eggs) have a pleasant flavor, clearly fresh
— Rice is well seasoned and sushi vinegar is not overpowering.
— Ginger on top of Ikura. I like ginger may not be for all
— Comes with cabbage
Wakame Udon:
— Soup has strong soy flavor; clean light flavor but gets to be salty after eating it straight for awhile (but thats why you get tea or water)
— Seaweed is nice and soft (no hard pieces) and there is a lot (which is good)
— Udon has good texture; still soft but not too soft (a bit firm) that it rubs off on the chopsticks
— 2 pieces of fish cake; nice thin slices with good fish flavor

If you come here for the Okonomiyaki only and you will be fine. This is what they are known for and they do it pretty well. The other menu items were very average.
I would recommend avoiding the sushi. The sushi nigiri I had here was not very good, thin little slivers on huge hunks of rice. The fish to rice ratio was lower than any sushi I have ever had.

Ordered the lunch special there, which was great! Udon was awesome, the best one that I have ever tried. Unagi don was so so but still good. Worth every penny. Highly recommend!

I came here to grab a bite after walking around the mall area. I ordered the combo of ramen with gyoza for $ 12.95. The food came out in 10 minutes. I really enjoyed the ramen noodles, which were homemade. The broth was very fast. The pork slices were thick and a bit fatty.
Overall, food was reasonably priced. Service was great considering there was only 1 waitress for the whole restaurant. I would come back again.

My boyfriend and I were craving udon and stopped by this little gem in the Japan Center! There’s many Mifune Don in this mall, but the one that I’m giving five stars to is the very small one that closes early.
SERVICE: Exceptionally great! There was only one waitress there at the time we went (around 8pm) with only an hour left till their closing time. She was so nice and friendly the whole time.
FOOD: I’m from Seattle and I might be a little bias that U: DON in Seattle is the best, but the combination of the udon, chicken, pork, tempura was too exciting to pass! I got the Nabeyaki Udon. It was so good! But for $ 11.80, it was pretty worth. My boyfriend got the Sukiyaki Udon and it was very delicious! I love their broth. Lastly, we ordered the infamous okonomiyaki! This is a MUST get. We ordered the pork and egg was very satisfied. Pretty pricey though… but worth the try.
We will definitely be back for more Udon in the future. This is the place to go for Udon and Okonomiyaki.

I’ve always wanted to dine somewhere alone and I picked today to do so. I’m glad I did. Because this was the perfect place; cozy, relatively quite and had a nice atmosphere to it (the music they were playing is very calming and I loved it.)
I rarely leave comments but this place deserve a good comment. The waitress suggested the spicy tuna and it turned out really really good. She was friendly and kept filling my tea cup.
If you’re reading this: thank you for today! I needed this.

I’ve always wanted to dine somewhere alone and I picked today to do so. I’m glad I did. Because this was the perfect place; cozy, relatively quite and had a nice atmosphere to it (the music they were playing is very calming and I loved it.)
I rarely leave comments but this place deserves a good comment. The waitress suggested the spicy tuna and it turned out really really good. She was friendly and kept filling my tea cup.
If you’re reading this: thank you for today! I needed this.

4 stars because good service. I request to change the chicken to beef. She said yes and still gave me same price.
The food is so so. But at least this restaurant of Mifun is better than the other two the Japan town.

This is not my first time here. I have always love getting dinner here whenever I’m in Japantown. Japantown has many places for udon fix but this one is so far my favorite one. Below this restaurant is Daiso– so if you come earlier for dinner you may walk around downstairs to digest a little.
I usually get their udon with tempera. The udon here is authentic and cooked just right with the broth not too salty. The server here named Sara is also very sweet and she’s on top of her game! She constantly check back with our table and she served the whole restaurant! Shout out to her for being the hostess and only server here.
I will recommend this place for anyone who likes udon. Prices are also not that high which is great compare to other places in San Francisco.

This past weekend we stayed in Japantown at Hotel Kabuki to celebrate my sig other’s birthday. The hotel is conveniently located across from the J-​town restaurant/​shopping plaza and this cute little place was just a stone’s throw away.
We went here for lunch twice in a row because their Green Tea cold soba and beef/​egg donburi was really good. The green tea cold soba was perfect for a hot summer day as it is refreshing and simple. The beef and egg donburi was cooked perfectly and the sauce was savory and not too salty.
We didn’t have to wait too long each time (just a few minutes to be seated) and our food came out within 10 minutes. Would love to go back and try other items!

I stopped in here for a quick bite while cruising around Japantown. Tucked away in the upper level of an indoor shopping center, it was hard to find, but easy to get a table for one once I did.
I have to eat small meals more often now that I’m eight months pregnant, so this was perfect. I had a small house salad with a ginger and miso dressing that was very good. I also had the edamame, which was perhaps not as fresh as I had hoped, but still good. I also had a California roll. Since I can’t eat raw fish right now but have really been on a sushi kick, I think I’ve had more Cali rolls in the last few months than I had cumulative in my life before being pregnant. The roll was very good, almost melting in your mouth.
I would totally go back here, and I think why I couldn’t give it five stars is I needed the atmosphere to be just a little bit more relaxing. I think when in Japantown, I’m trying to find more of Yasujirō Ozu, and this has all the makings of a Tokyo Story feel, but just needs softer lighting and a bit less clutter and stuff on the walls. That’s just me though.

As some of my friends already know, I’ve never been a fan of any of the Mifune restaurants that I’ve tried in Japantown, nor have I ever understood why there are so many. Perhaps the tourists passing through like them well enough, nothing I’ve tried has been very good. Generic, overpriced food? Pass.
If there were a Mifune I could have gotten on board with, it would have been Mifune Don. Compared to the original Mifune, the menu here is a bit more interesting, with okonomiyaki, sukiyaki, and AYCE shabu offered on top of the usual suspects (ramen, udon, donbouri, and sushi rolls). However, not wanting to pay regular prices for anything, my friend and I decided to check out their lunch specials after doing some shopping at Nijiya.
Offered daily (I think), Mifune Don’s lunch deals are pretty decent for the money — one of four different udon/​ramen/​soba dishes and a choice of eight different «sides» ($ 12.85 or $ 13.95, depending on your side). For myself, I opted to go with the ZARU SOBA and NIKU DON ($ 12.85). The presentation was nice, and the portions were fair, but neither stood out in any particular way. The taste of the Zaru Soba was fine, though the noodles were a little gummy. As for the Niku Don, it was similarly underwhelming; while the flavor was okay, it could have been stronger. Plus, the beef was a little tough.
Even though I really don’t think any Mifune restaurant is worthwhile, Mifune Don might be the best bet, if only because the others I’ve tried seem worse. Plus, at least this one can offer table top cooking options (though there are better alternatives nearby). Otherwise, there are too many other options to explore. Especially if you’re a tourist…
TWO AND A HALF STARS rounded down.

Doing my check in at Waraku, discovered i had a previous poor experience there so passed on them.
Mifune Don had rave clippings decades old posted on their corkboard in front. think the clippings refer to another Mifune located elsewhere in japantown.
pfferings: okonomiyak, ramen, udon, donburi…
eats: Modonyaki (12.80)
–savory japanese pancake stuffed with pork, cabbage, seafood, etc.
–topped by a layer of fried noodles (yakisoda, it was thin) covered with brown sauce.
–slight burning on the bottom.
–first time eating this, not wowed. food fresh, meat dry.
temaki:
–8ish booths inside, 2 tables outside
–inside some senior citizens dining, outside working guys.
–friendly service

Mifune Don is located within Japan town amongst the other variety of Japanese restaurants. To be honest, my boyfriend and I chose to dine here because we were so indecisive about where we wanted to eat and it was the closest one to us when we gave up on deciding. We were seated right away, right in front of the kitchen. I did not like this at all because it became so hot. My goodness, I think this is why my experience was not as good as it would have been.
The customer service was rather slow. I had to flag down a waitress the whole time we were there. I ordered the katsu curry, which I surprisingly enjoyed since I never had japanese curry before. The rice smothered in the curry really hit the spot and the katsu pork was basic. Nothing special. It came with a side of salad as well; however, I would have enjoyed my meal more if I was not so irritated by the heat and the waitresses.
There is nothing more to say about this restaurant. It was not a bad experience, but it was not a good experience either. It was meh.

This was one of my favorite meals while visiting SF. We were the first customers seated at 11am (they get props for opening when they do; other places in Japan town didn’t open until 11:30 or later for lunch). I ordered the lunch special of chashu ramen and gyoza for $ 12.95. Coming from the east coast where a bowl of overly decorative ramen will cost $ 13+ on its own, this is a great deal.
My ramen hit the spot. It wasn’t anything fancy, just your typical fish cakes, chashu, and beansprouts inside, but it’s all I needed. I’d had fancy spancy ramen earlier in my SF trip, and while it was also good, it didn’t satisfy me the way this ramen did. My husband ordered croquette curry despite knowing he shouldn’t double carb, but he didn’t regret it. The curry was slightly sweeter than he was used to, but otherwise still delicious.