Finding allergy safe restaurants in a new city can be hard! That is why I document my travels for others to help reduce anxiety and increase excitement about your trip! Here is a complete overview of my experience at Marugame Udon in Waikiki.
Marugame Udon has an allergen menu on their website that lists whether items contain: Wheat, Egg, Milk, Peanut, Sesame, Tree Nut, Fish, Shellfish, Soy, MSC, Gluten, Beef, Pork, Chicken and whether items are Vegan! This allergy menu can be found here!
Marugame Udon is a popular spot for both lunch and dinner, moreso dinner! We arrived around 4:30 and the line was already out the door and forming down the street. If you don’t want to wait, consider ordering from their outside mobile order stand. Be advised, this stand is for takeout only and if you order from there, you cannot bring your food inside.
Despite the appearance of the line, it moved rather quickly. I was happy to see that the item I had picked out online, the Beef Udon was posted on signage at the restaurant in multiple places!
I ordered the Beef Udon very clearly at the counter. Although the workers were kind, the pace was very rushed and I did not feel confident that they could confirm the presence of my allergies in different menu options. I chose the Beef Udon as it had limited ingredients, and did not have a name that could be easily confused with another dish that contained my allergens.
From what I saw, the kitchen was very clean, and most utensils were not used for other items. For example, different broths or ingredients to top the udon.
As you order, grab a black tray, and a white dish if you want to grab any of the prepared tempura!
At this curve you will pick up your food just before the tempura. There are sometimes backups in the line so the udon is not given directly to the person who ordered it. In this case, ask the person scooping out the toppings to confirm that your chosen menu item is the one on the counter. I saw two people almost take each other’s and many of the udons can look similar to those unfamiliar with the menu like myself.
The tempura was separated for the most part, but I saw a few items like a shrimp tempura that had fallen into a neighboring tray. If you have cross contamination allergies I would highly discourage you from getting anything from this area. (My husband really enjoyed his and picked out a few!) Place the tempura onto your white plate, you do not need to take separate plates for different tempura types unless you want to.
After grabbing your tempura you will come to the register. Here you order your drinks. My husband really liked the Calamansi-Ade! He said it was sweet and refreshing, perfect for a hot day! When you get to the register things can move quick, so quick that my husband and I did not realize that we had been charged for an extra udon until after we were done eating. Make sure you check your bill ASAP.
After you pay, you will receive a number if you ordered food that was not ready yet and can sit down. Although seating is limited, it is tightly controlled with an attendant making sure that no one sits down before they order their food and pay. This ensures that things move at a steady pace and everyone gets a seat. Even with the line, every single person got a seat and they will make sure that a party of two for instance doesn’t hog a large booth that could seat six.
Any food that was not ready when you paid will be brought to your table quickly, and they will take your number back. My Beef Udon was delicious! I got the regular size and was unable to finish my meal. I have a dairy, peanut, and treenut allergy and had zero reaction after finishing my meal. I enjoyed Marugame Udon so much that I returned again!
Read more about what what I ate while in Waikiki here!
Do you have any allergy friendly go-to restaurants in Hawaii? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading! 🙂