Soan MITATE is a buckwheat noodle (soba) restaurant in Azabu-juban, a fierce battleground for soba restaurants, run by Yamayuki, a popular tuna broker. Owner Chef Koki Miura wields his skills focused on the three pillars of soba, Champagne, and Yamayuki tuna.
Miura grew up watching his father run a popular kappo restaurant in Toyama Prefecture. And after graduating from high school, he dived into a career in the culinary arts.
He apprenticed at Kyoaji in Shimbashi for seven years. A soba-lover since childhood, he later trained at Kanda Owariya Honten. After studying tempura at Ginza Onodera, he opened Soan MITATE, a part of Yamayuki Group, as its owner in 2022.
The name “Mitate” comes from the Japanese words for three freshly done soba processes required for good soba: freshly ground flour, freshly made noodles, and freshly boiled noodles. To this he has added the “Mi” from his surname Miura. The omakase chef’s choice (weekday) course starts with appetizer, followed by buckwheat flour galette, seasonal soba, a hassun-like soba assortment, nibbles, and soba noodles to finish the main course. In total, there are about 11 dishes including a sweet dessert.
All the noodles are made from carefully selected 100% buckwheat flour. The seasonal soba served first is thickly cut from buckwheat 80% a variety native to Fukui Prefecture and 20% from Toyama Prefecture. The use of Japanese walnut imparts a profound fragrance, which matches well with the changing soba made with flavorful, seasonal ingredients. The finishing soba is prepared fresh at just the right timing for guests to enjoy. The buckwheat flour changed for each dish with 80% Toyo Musume from Toyama and 20% a variety native to Fukui. Guests can choose to enjoy it either warm or cold. The renowned Miura-style dashi broth is made from dried tuna and Rausu kombu kelp, which are lavishly used to bring out the umami.
The signature dish of Mitate, buckwheat flour galette, is topped with the sweetness of Yamayuki’s scraped tuna, the saltiness of caviar, and the bite of wasabi, which marry with the aroma of soba noodles to create an exquisite taste. Soba sashimi is another unique specialty of Soan MITATE. Please enjoy the exquisite pairing of both menus with Champagne.
The wine cellar is fully stocked with French wines including Champagnes under the supervision of Nobuo Ichimura, former chef-sommelier of Quintessence. Sommelière Eri Hisamatsu does the serving. Also on offer is a selection of sake from all over Japan, with a focus on Masuizumi from the Masuda Shuzo in Miura’s hometown of Toyama. The interior is playful, with antique furniture and chairs, a stained-glass door, and a handle that modeled after a tuna tail. There is an L-shaped counter (9 seats) and one table (4-6 people), making it ideal for families, friends, couples, and various other occasions. The restaurant is also often used for entertaining overseas guests, who are invited to slurp soba noodles and feel the Japanese sense of style.
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* The availability of this webpage does not guarantee that the restaurant presented provides services in English, unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that English services may also depend on staff availability at the restaurant.
Access
8-minute walk from Azabu-juban Station (Exit 7) on the Toei Oedo Line / 7-minute walk from Azabu-juban Station (Exit 4) on the Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line
