This is the 278th most frequent Japanese word.
蕎麦
Buckwheat noodles.
Here, '蕎麦' is used to refer to the food item, soba noodles.
夕食に温かい蕎麦を食べました。
I had warm soba noodles for dinner.
In this sentence, '蕎麦' refers to the buckwheat plant that is used to make soba noodles.
この地域では多くの蕎麦畑があります。
There are many soba fields in this area.
Here, '蕎麦' introduces the type of restaurant, specifically one that serves soba noodles.