In a case of “when one door closes, another opens,” Zaru — the Mills 50 udon noodle house by James Beard Award-nominated restaurateurs Johnny and Jimmy Tung — came about only after Top Chef Season 3 winner Hung Huynh passed on opening Bang Bang Noodle Co. in that very space. Huynh’s departure to Catch Hospitality Group in New York City allowed the Tungs to double up on the services of William Shen, the talented chef they’ve tapped for the high-concept, Euro-Japanese restaurant Sorekara (debuting early next year in Baldwin Park), for Zaru as well. Shen’s highly trained kitchen skills, and the alliances he’s forged with farmers, purveyors and artisans in Japan, help “carry on the 500-year-old noodle-making tradition in the heart of the city,” says Johnny Tung.

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This alluring, 25-seat, Make Studios-designed paean to the squircle-shaped squiggler offers eight different noodle options (four cold and four hot) ranging in price from $11 to $20, with 15 assorted add-ons to customize your slurp. It was a little daunting deciphering the menu when I first visited Zaru two months ago — servers assumed I knew my kake from my yamakake, so it took a little prodding to get some advice. When guidance was given, however, we lost ourselves in translations of zensai, or appetizers, of yaki gyoza ($9), fried dumplings filled with pork, cabbage and scallions, and yaki nasu ($7), aka miso-grilled eggplant.

We were at a loss for words after every superb bite of tatsuta-age ($8) fried chicken, and at how quickly we polished off a bowl filled with cubes of chicken chashu ($8) slapped with racy togarashi, briny pollock roe and bracing shiso.

All this and we hadn’t yet slurped a single udon noodle. At Zaru, they’re done Sanuki style — that is, they’re thick, chewy, bouncy and made from wheat imported from Kagawa Prefecture in Japan, the birthplace of udon. Most float in a dashi broth, like the nori udon ($15), tinged green with the addition of toasted seaweed and ginger. All noodle bowls come with a complimentary side of aromatics (sesame/scallion/ginger), tempura crumbles (for crunch) and candied kombu (a palate refresher), but add-ons aren’t just encouraged, they’re practically necessary. On top of that list are tempura, be it in shrimp ($3), chicken ($3), maitake ($3), shishito pepper ($2) or sweet potato ($2) form. Unlike ramen broths that are oily and umami-rich, their udon counterparts are a lot lighter, and the delicate crackle of tempura plays into the soup’s subtleties.

That’s not to say they’re dull — on the contrary. Additions like soft and tangy umeboshi (pickled plum), silky onsen egg and viscid yamakake (grated yam) run the textural spectrum and add dimension to the broth. Marinated ikura and pollock roe lend a salty pop and go well with any of the cold udon dishes like the zaru udon. The noodles are served on the eponymous zaru, or bamboo tray, along with a cup of tsuyu made from a concentrated dashi, mirin and soy sauce. I tossed the aromatics along with some fresh-grated wasabi into the tsuyu and dunked the udon. Alternating bites of chicken and shishito tempura, followed by the occasional chew of umeboshi, revealed the complex range of feels and flavors. On another visit, I gobbled kake udon ($11), a hot soup of dashi-based simplicity. Hot nikutama udon ($18) with sliced beef and onsen egg is one of Zaru’s most popular menu items, and it’s easy to see why.

Beef, of the A5 wagyu variety, was also enjoyed in tataki ($19) form. Cuts of the zabuton (chuck), served with wasabi, fried garlic and a vinegary gelée made from bonito flakes and soy, had us seriously considering ordering another plate of this newest menu addition. Another recent addition: ikura onsen ($11) with marinated salmon roe dotting an onsen egg with scallions and crispy garlic. Mix it all up and it makes an ideal start to your meal. For a fitting ending, the warabi mochi ($6) — soft rice cakes dipped into Okinawa black sugar and spooned with a little red bean paste — seems as carefully curated an element in the restaurant as the micro-thin glassware, Japandi furnishings and aughts-era hip-hop.

And folks really seem to be taking to it. Lines are common and wait times can near two hours. On my last visit, I got there at 5 p.m. and within 10 minutes, the place was packed. But don’t let it deter you. If you love udon like I do, Zaru is a place you’ll want to zero in on.

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This article appears in Holiday Guide 2023.

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Zaru in Mills 50 adheres to the ancient tradition of udon and Orlando’s noodle-loving crowds go wild

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