Fresh soba noodles star at soon-to-open Japantown restaurant

A new soba place is set to open in Japantown next month, offering a fresh take on an uncommon Japanese culinary tradition. In mid-November, the team behind Hinodeya Ramen Bar — a 140-year-old Japanese chain with 13 locations worldwide, four of which are in San Francisco — will debut a new restaurant called Sora Soba Dining. 

It will be located inside the Kinokuniya mall at 1731 Buchanan St., right next to Hinodeya’s Japantown outpost. But while Hinodeya is known for bold, flavorful dashi broths, Sora Soba Dining will make its mark with a lighter touch, focusing on handmade soba noodles and other dishes rooted in washoku cuisine, a centuries-old cooking tradition that emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients and a harmonious blend of flavors, textures, and presentation. 

Sora Soba’s noodles will be made using traditional stone-ground buckwheat flour, sourced from a historic Japanese mill. The shop’s menu will feature a variety of hot and cold soba dishes, seasonal tempura, and small plates. Among its signature dishes will be duck soup soba, pairing cold soba noodles with an aromatic duck dipping broth. Other standouts will include kamo nanban soba, a hot dish topped with seared duck loin and grilled green onions. 

In addition, the menu will feature kushiten, or skewers of seasonal vegetables and fish tempura fried in a blend of soybean and sesame oils, and lard to cement its crispiness. The shop will serve a selection of café-style desserts and drinks, including hojicha and matcha lattes, tofu soft serve, and agepan, a Japanese-style fried bread. 

Sora Soba will join the ranks of Japantown’s Sobakatsu, a tiny, 10-seat fresh soba eatery that opened in July 2024. The restaurant, which also offers freshly made soba, drew long lines during its early months, and remains one of the city’s best destinations for the Japanese noodle dish.