Down a side street off Isezaki Mall, Bon’s white noren (shop curtain) blowing softly in the breeze beckons diners in search of washoku. Inside, it has the appearance of a sushi shop, but after perusing the menu you’ll notice there is much more to it. Bon offers a wide variety of beautifully presented, traditional Japanese food with a focus on soba noodles as shime (an end of the meal dish).
Owner Hiroki Yamawaki aims to win fans over to the delights of soba. He continuously employs seasonal ingredients. Items like bonito, horse mackerel, eggplant and corn find their way onto the menu in the summer. On the day of my visit I enjoyed Pickled Mackerel (¥650) and Corn Tempura (¥800). Yamawaki’s creativity and attention to detail are apparent in his dishes. I was especially impressed with his Soba-no-Mi Potato Salad (¥500). Parched soba grains are mixed in lending the potato salad a crunchy texture and light soba flavor.
As one would expect for this type of restaurant, sake is the highlight of the drink menu. Drier varieties tend to pair well with soba. Like the cuisine, the sake offered changes seasonally to match the dishes. The drink is commonly served in the traditional ichigo (a 180ml vessel, ¥700~), but you can request half-sized pours allowing you to enjoy a wider range of the menu.
Even after trying many other dishes, I still found room for the nihachi soba (made with 20% wheat flour and 80% buckwheat) due to its soft, slippery texture. Note that the quantity of soba that Yamawaki makes each day is limited, so on busy days expect it to sell out before closing.
After the Tohoku earthquake, Yamawaki moved to Fukushima Prefecture to assist a friend who was opening a restaurant. While polishing his cooking and soba-making skills for 4 years there, he grew fond of the area and its residents. Because of this Yamawaki offers much food and sake from Tohoku.
Bon is a non-smoking establishment. It seats about 40 split between tables and a long counter. It will celebrate its 1st anniversary in October–the perfect season to stop by for shin-soba (made from freshly harvested buckwheat).
