Koya duo to launch Koya Ko on Hackney’s Broadway Market

Koya Ko is expected to open in early September and is billed as a more casual ‘little sister’ to the Japanese noodle brand’s existing Soho and City sites.

Inspired by the fast-paced dining of the train station noodle bars found in Japan, the venue will seek to reflect Koya's roots as an intimate, no reservations udon bar. 

Koya Ko will also seek to bring Japan’s tachi-gui (standing while dining) culture to the well-known street food market, offering a standing counter for up to eight guests to enjoy a quick bowl of udon on the move. 

There will also be 15 seated covers indoors dining and 25 covers outdoors. All dishes will be available to take away.

Koya Ko will offer a 'fun, revamped' take on Koya’s most popular udon and donburi dishes which have been developed by chef Oda exclusively for Broadway Market, using the 'best of seasonal produce from predominantly UK suppliers'. 

The first Koya, co-founded by John Devitt, Shuko Oda and Junya Yamasaki, launched on Soho’s Frith Street in 2010, bringing a traditional Japanese udon bar to the West End.

There are now two Koya restaurants - Koya Soho and Koya City - the latter of which launched at Bloomberg Arcade in December 2017.