東京油組総本店渋谷

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya

Delicious Dry Ramen

Operating Hours

11:00 to 05:00 (Mon-Sat)

11:00 to 22:00 (Sun)

Budget

￥

Abura Soba (油そば) is one of the big ramen trends of the 2020s in Japan, with the Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten chain (sometimes also just called Tokyo Abura Soba) leading the charge. This dish looks deceptively simple, like a bowl of ramen that forgot the soup. But once you mix, it and slurp down your first mouthful of noodles, the umami (旨味, Savoriness) hits you straight away. Even though this chain has spread far and wide across Japan, you'll find long snaking queues of students and salaryman lining up for their bowl of abura soba at all of their branches.

The menu in the shop is simple, there's only one dish, abura soba, with the main choice being the size of the noodles (regular, large, or double), all at the same price. There's also a spicy option for those who want to challenge their spice tolerance, be warned that this isn't your usual Japanese spice level. Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten is a great way to fill your stomach up after a long day of work or exploring. The shop's mantra is "When it comes to an abura soba where the noodles are delicious, it has to be Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten!".

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya's Unique Points (こだわり, Kodawari)

Since Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten started from a noodle factory, the quality of the noodles they serve is particularly significant. Apart from using the skills passed down through generations, the highest quality Japanese flour is used in order to give a deep flavour and chewy texture to the noodles.

In order to bring out the flavour of the noodles, a tare (たれ, Sauce) was developed using a secret recipe that's high in umami (旨味, Savoriness). In order to achieve the desired richness and the fragrance of the tare to pair well with the noodles, a long process of trial and error was done to arrive at the final recipe. A tare that Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten claims to have no equal (唯一無二, yuitsu muni).

One of the beauties of abura soba, is how each bowl can be customized to the tastes of each customer simply through the mixing of vinegar and chili oil. Even the act of adding more vinegar or chili oil midway through changes the flavour, and prevents the flavour from becoming stale. Furthermore, a variety of specially side dishes include cut onions, spring onions with sesame seeds, and other specialties were made in order to pair well with the noodles. With each pairing revealing a new version of the dish.

Lastly, despite the name "oil-based ramen" sounding particularly unhealthy, it is actually the opposite. In fact, abura soba has only two-thirds the calories of a regular ramen, and only half the salt of a regular ramen. After all, a lot of the "unhealthiness" of ramen actually comes from the broth, which is done away for this dish.

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya Review and Thoughts

Recommended

Let's be very honest, a lot of abura soba shops consist of very similar components, ingredients, and styles. So when it comes down to it, the only real way that it can stand out is really the tare (たれ, Sauce) sauce which is the defining taste of the dish. Would we say that Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten's abura soba is mind-blowingly better than every other one we've eaten? Not really, but it's a really solid and delicious bowl of noodles, and definitely one of the consistently better ones that we've had.

Most foreign tourists have also probably never even heard of, let alone tried, abura soba, and so Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten is as good a place as any to try out what a classic good one tastes like. The menu is simple enough not to confuse first-timers, and when there's a queue of Japanese lining up outside, you know it's gotta be good.

There's a good reason why abura soba has been the trend these few years, because of how simple and rich the dish tastes, it's very satisfying each time you eat it. So you'll probably notice a lot of salaryman, university or high school students in the queue.

It's definitely not a light dish though, so if you're not a big eater, you might want to be a bit more wary of the noodle portions when ordering it. Some people might also get a bit weary of the richness while eating the dish, so mixing it up with chili oil and vinegar is really important to introduce a variation in taste.

By and large, Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten is an easy recommendation for most people, it's also a really quick and simple meal, meaning that the queue goes by really fast. If you're not in the mood to wait 1 hour in the queue of a super popular shop, then how about you eat as a local here.

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya's Story

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten was born from a noodle factory that has been in operation since 1940s. In order to have more people enjoy the deliciousness of freshly made noodles, they decided to serve up the noodles without soup in the form of abura soba (油そば). The noodles are made with the skills of artisans that have been passed down through time, giving rise to the noodles which have a nice chewy texture, mixed together with a secret-recipe tare (たれ, Sauce) to make the ultimate bowl of noodles.

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya Menu Recommendations

油そば (並)

Abura Soba (Regular)

¥880

The classic Abura Soba with no frills, coming topped with some chashu (チャシュウ, Chashū, Roasted Pork), nori (のり, Seaweed), negi (葱, Spring Onion), and menma (メンマ, Fermented bamboo shoots). It comes in three noodle sizes: Regular (並盛り, nami-mori) at 160g, Large (大盛り, ō-mori) at 240g, and Double (W盛り, dāburu-mori) at 320g. Unless you're a really big eater, Regular is more than enough for most people.

辛味噌油そば (並)

Karamiso Abura Soba (Regular)

¥980

For those seeking a spicy challenge, you can try the spicy miso (味噌) abura soba. The spiciness actually goes pretty well with the abura soba, and uses an in-house blend of spicy miso. This dish also comes in three noodle sizes, the same as a regular abura soba.

Recommended Spots in Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya

東京油組総本店渋谷

Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten Shibuya

Abura Soba (油そば) is one of the big ramen trends of the 2020s in Japan, with the Tokyo Aburagumi Sohonten chain (sometimes also just called Tokyo Abura Soba) leading the charge. This dish looks deceptively simple, like a bowl of ramen that forgot the soup. But once you mix, it and slurp down your first mouthful of noodles, the umami (旨味, Savoriness) hits you straight away. Even though this chain has spread far and wide across Japan, you'll find long snaking queues of students and salaryman lining up for their bowl of abura soba at all of their branches.

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