Child and Dog-friendly Restaurant - Ukiyo, Eaux-Vives
We have been having a good streak of impromptu plans over the last couple of weekends, and this turned out to be another winning plan!
It was a lovely sunny Sunday, and after having met some Vizsla friends for a nice walk in Vessy, we decided we would go out for lunch.
As we set out from home without a plan, we decided to head towards Eaux-Vives then I suddenly remembered that Ukiyo, one of the only Japanese restaurants serving Udon noodles in Geneva turns their tatami space at their Eaux-Vives branch into a play area for children on a Sunday so we marched down to be the first arrivals at 12.30pm.
Kai made a bee-line for the (shoe-free) play space, which had lots of toys and a slide. He was lucky enough to have a couple of other children there of similar age that he could play with. It meant we could enjoy our pre-meal drinks and edamame whilst he played before the udon noodles arrived.
As we arrived early, we nabbed the closest table for 4 to the play area, which was good as we could stay seated whilst supervising Kai. There was also a perfect space for Luka to curl up behind us while we had our meal. Space for Luka is something I have to consider when going to certain restaurants, as he’s a 30kg dog, so he takes up some real estate! Luckily most of the time he’s very calm and doesn’t move around a lot once we are seated, we just need to make sure he has a cozy corner to curl up in.
Luka present in body, but wishing he was curled up on the sofa sleeping!
There were many other families coming, attracted by the child-friendliness of this restaurant, which is a relief since you can be a bit more relaxed about your children making noise!
I would say that the play space is more appropriate (of course, depending on other children who are present there at the time) for 2.5 years or so and up, as Kai and another boy were having a great time whizzing around but I would have been a bit wary of putting smaller children into the mix there as the space is only about 4 metres by 2 metres. If you have a younger child, then you would need to accompany them to ensure their safety as there’s also a small drop from the tatami area to the rest of the restaurant.
Being Japanese, this is a restaurant I have been frequenting for some time. What I would recommend is their Udon noodles, which is made in-house by their Japanese chef. It’s really very good, almost as good as the legendary Kunitoraya in Paris which has made its fame since opening its satellite restaurant outside of Japan. Their tempura is also very authentic. A light, crispy batter, every time! So no need to fly all the way to Japan if you want to get a fix of good Udon in Geneva.
I haven’t tried their ramen noodles, to be honest, since the Japanese owner himself told me that their best dishes are the udon noodles and tempura. Plus, there are some other places in Geneva that specialise in Ramen, if you want to eat that.
Today I had their curry udon, which comes in a Japanese curry udon sauce, with a chicken-katsu (friend chicken in panko batter) on top. Delicious!!
In case you are not familiar with Japanese noodles, there are lots of different types of noodles (Ramen, Soba, Udon, Sōmen being the main ones with many variations of each), most served in a broth. In Japan, restaurants/noodle bars tend to specialise in one type of noodle, and in some places, they further specialise in one type of broth (of the soup that the noodles come in, particularly in regional noodle bars). At Ukiyo, they serve Ramen noodles and Udon noodles. Both are wheat noodles, Ramen is a thinner noodle and Udon is white and each noodle is thicker, coming in a clear broth (unless you order the curry Udon)
Generally you can get lots of different types of accompaniments which would all be something to be enjoyed by the whole family. You can get chicken kara-age, which is the Japanese version of fried chicken. It is always a big hit with our whole family, adults and children (and dog) alike! Then there’s also gyoza, which typically is served with ramen noodles; a type of steam-fried dumpling. It has minced pork or chicken (or veggies for the vegetarian version) with some cabbage and Japanese onion. A full meal in a little parcel! Their kimchi (a Korean, fermented spicy veggies dish) is home-made here and also very tasty. Yes, the Japanese eat a lot of Korean and Chinese dishes and have adopted them as part of their daily meals.
Ukiyo does have one high-chair available, though it is quite big and takes up some space. Depending on which table you are seated at, it may not be convenient. You may wish to bring a portable high-chair with you. When we remember to bring it, we use this which we have always been very happy with when travelling.
The children enjoyed edamame and chicken kara-age before slurping away some Udon noodles. It was a big hit with both! I thoroughly recommend this restaurant for a casual Sunday lunch or dinner with the whole family.
Fun factor for child: 5/5 - Have fun playing while you wait for food, then enjoy a delicious Japanese meal!
Fun factor for dog: 1/5 - Not Luka’s idea of a fun way to spend a couple of hours, but at least he can have some fried chicken scraps!
Pram-friendly: yes, they can be parked by the payment counter, depending on where you are sitting.
Water Access for dogs: No
Potable water: Yes. They brought out water for Luka without us even asking, such great service!
Baby changing facilities: No. Shame, since they are well catered to children in all other aspects.
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