01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Directly connected to Takebashi Station in basement level 1 of the Palaceside Building, Marutake "Iori" offers ni-hachi soba crafted from buckwheat sourced from Horokanai, Hokkaido, within a calm, modern Japanese interior. Milled on stone grinders, the noodles deliver a crisp bite and an effortless slide down the throat. Their fragrant character is set off by a mellow dipping broth combining Kagoshima honkarebushi with mackerel and frigate tuna flakes.
A perennial favorite is the ten seiro soba, which pairs chilled noodles with freshly fried tempura. Plump prawns and seasonal vegetables are cooked in cottonseed oil, emerging with a delicate, greaseless crunch that complements the cold soba cleanly. The meal winds down gently with warm sobayu—buckwheat cooking broth—brought over right as the last noodles disappear.
Lunchtime brings hearty set meals featuring egg tempura rice bowls or shirasu bowls, while the evening menu broadens into a variety of traditional soba-bar plates. Guests can sip regional sake or authentic shochu alongside treats like itawasa, sweet rolled omelette flavored with soba dashi, or thick Tochio fried tofu.
With comfortably spaced seating, it is just as welcoming for solo diners dropping by after a nearby museum exhibition as it is for an unpretentious drink after work.
