Winter is a great time to warm up with a big bowl of udon noodle soup. This Japanese soup includes thick wheat flour noodles and is often served hot, but can also be served cold. Manhattan’s chefs get creative and toss in some innovative ingredients, but udon soups often include veggies, meats, or fish. Manhattan has a wide variety of udon places to choose from. It’s an ideal meal on a cold winter day.

Raku

This sleek Japanese eatery specializes in udon and other Japanese bites.  Both hot and cold udon are offered. Hot bowls include yasai kakiage udon—a vegetable tempura dish, and gyunan udon, which features washugyu beef and Tokyo negi. Cold offerings are served with Inaniwa udon. Bowls include hiyashi udon served with a dipping sauce, and lime udon, which is filled with healthy veggies such as asparagus, okra, corn, and tomato. A Soho location will be unveiled soon. 212-228-1324, 42 E. 6th St., rakunyc.com

Donguri

Beyond Donguri’s extensive menu of appetizers like housemade soybean tofu are its refreshing salads, sashimi, and tempura. The menu, which includes seasonal specials, entrees, and donburi (rice bowl dish), also offers the Inaniwa udon noodle soup—one of the top ramens in Japan. There’s also a green tea buckwheat soba noodle soup on the menu.  212-737-5656, 309 E. 83rd St., donguriny.com

TsuruTonTan Udon Noodle Brasserie

Photo: Dining Innovation, New York 

Union Square’sTsuruTonTan offers handmade udon, which is made fresh in-house daily. The words “TsuruTonTan” have significance to those who speak or understand Japanese. The sound “Tsuru” is synonymous with slurping noodles while“Ton” is the sound made when kneading and shaping udon, and “Tan” represents the sound of cutting udon. The restaurant’s master udon makers use a carefully selected blend of flour that hails from Japan, a unique mix of savory kombu kelp, and aromatic bonito from specific regions in Japan, as well as locally grown vegetables and meats, and craft soy sauces. Signature dishes include duck udon, wagyu sukiyaki udon, uni crème udon, and beyond. 212-989-1000, 21 E. 16th St., tsurutontan.com

Udon West

This ultra-casual Japanese noodle house serves up a wide variety of udon with optional extra toppings. Warm up on a winter night with the shrimp and vegetable tempera udon or get creative and customize your own. Choose from a long list of toppings, which include marinated beef, curry, pork ginger, Korean spicy cabbage, fried bean curd, and more. Chilled udon is also on the menu. 212-922-9677, 150 E. 46th St., udon46.qcweb.jp

Samurai Mama

Samurai Mama’s udon noodles are freshly made in-house and the tasty soups are carefully prepared during a two-day process. The delectable broth is made of konbu seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, flying fish, saba mackerel, katsuo bonito, and maguro tuna. All ingredients are imported from Japan. Chilled and hot udon are on the menu. Indulge in the chilled ume oroshi udon, made with plum, shiso, and daikon radish or the hot nikujil kake udon with braised pork belly and scallion. Williamsburg’s Brooklyn’s Samurai Mama uses kaiki water, which is chemical free, filled with revitalizing energy, and has a natural mineral balance. 718-599-6161, 205 Grand St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, samuraimama.com