Meiji Seimen
A Costa Mesa noodle house whose official site promotes a lobster-and-kakiage tempura pairing, giving tempura an explicit place in the experience.
How we calculate this
We combine ratings from independent platforms and weight each source by how many ratings back its score.
- Google Maps4.7765 ratingsCounted
- Yelp4.51,744 reviewsCounted
= 4.6 / 5 · 2 independent sources, each weighted by how many ratings back it.
Our own Taster score is never mixed in.
Public platform ratings, shown as of when we last checked, kept separate from our own Taster score.
What diners are saying
Selected diner feedback from public sources, attributed summaries, not verbatim quotes or our own review.
At this from-scratch Costa Mesa noodle shop, diners love the chewy homemade udon and soba in a light Kansai-style dashi, plus generous karaage; tempura (chicken, squid, shrimp and a kakiage special) is a genuine, well-liked supporting part of the menu, and the tempura on the cold zaru soba is called hot and crunchy. The room is tiny with a short wait at peak.
Why it matters
A strong noodle-and-tempura lead without pretending it is an exclusive tempura counter. Seasonal dishes should be confirmed directly before a visit.
Dishes highlighted in the coverage we read, not a promise of today’s menu, and not our own picks.
Listed on sources checked today; live operation was not phone-verified.
In the press
What critics and reporters have written, attributed summaries, not our own review.
A January 2019 diner report liked Meiji’s noodles but found the broth somewhat sweet and described a long wait on that visit. The writer did not supply a tempura-specific tasting assessment, so this belongs only in dated general dining context.
One 2019 report of a January 1 meal; not evidence of current wait times or tempura quality.
ContextA 2017 OC Weekly review hails Meiji Seimen as one of Orange County’s few from-scratch udon specialists, spanning a dozen classic styles; it is a noodle review, not a tempura one.
Historical (2017) single-venue review; udon focus.
ContextLocation & visit
1113 Baker St Suite E, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · Costa Mesa, California
How ratings work
Diner ratings. We show each platform's public rating as of the date we recorded it, on a 5-point scale, with a link to the current rating. Our tempura rating is our own firsthand tempura score, always kept separate and never blended in.
Diner consensus. We combine independent platforms into one score, weighting each by how many ratings back it. Platforms that share the same reviews are counted once, and the consensus only appears with two or more independent sources.
Independence. How we rate and recommend is never affected by any advertising, partnership or sponsorship. Ratings and reviews remain the property of the platforms they come from.