Ramen Ichinen — Restaurant in Calgary

So glad to have this little gem in Calgary so close to my workplace.

Having had ramen in both Vancouver and Toronto (as well as Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), I think Ichinen has become my favourite ramen restaurant in Canada, and definitely top of my list globally.

Broth Excellent broth, very rich yet not exactly overpowering or burdening. I can’t say the same for the uninitiated. The best part is that the broth can be very rich one day but slightly less so the next. You could say that it’s not consistent (probably barely noticeable to most) but to me it’s assurance of the broth being made fresh daily (my assumption). The consistency may be more dependent on the type of bones/cuts available on that particular day. I would much prefer to be able to taste the season and the quality of the bones than eating the "exact" same bowl of ramen every time.

Noodles The noodles are perfect too. They say it’s handmade and it sure tastes/feels like it (good firmness and elasticity). You have the option to pick between thin or thick noodles. They also offer extra portion of noodles for free!

Chashu & Toppings The chashu (slices of pork) is the biggest winner for me. Ichinen’s chashu is probably the biggest differentiator that surpasses other ramen in Canada. It is cooked to perfect tenderness and flavour. The best part is the grilling/charring of the chashu, to a level of that I experienced in Japan (AFURI in Tokyo to be more specific). The char just gives it another layer of flavour, commonly missing in other ramen, giving it an extra kick while it falls apart in your mouth.

There are two choices for the chashu, lean or fatty. I would recommend getting the fatty one for maximum flavour. The last piece of customization for your bowl of ramen is the additional topping between negi (scallion/spring onion) or spring mix salad. I would recommend getting negi to achieve the best combination of flavours but feel free to go for the spring mix if you’re feeling guilty that day.

Vegetarian? Ichinen offers a vegetarian ramen, which is reminiscent of the vegetarian ramen I had at AFURI, though the broth is completely different. AFURI offered a very sweet clear vegetable broth, where has Ichinen a thick creamy yam based (I think) broth, lacking the sweetness and umami of seasonal vegetables. Nevertheless, it is still an excellent bowl of ramen as an alternative for the guilty days or for the vegetarian/vegan folks

Other notes: -Excellent customer service, friendly and informative staff, always quick with menus/water/cleanups/payment -Spotless clean interior/tables/chairs -Spacious and clean washroom -Quiet jazzy music -I have dined here probably 8+ times in the last 5 months, review primarily based on the their original tonkotsu and...

We are travelling to Canada from California craving for noodles. found this place on Google map. Photos looks great and high rating brought us here. Small restaurant with not Japanese style of decor which I don't care just want the noodles. They are way way under staffed. By the time we arrived 3 people were in front of us(2+1). After standing there for 5 minutes without anyone telling us anything no greeting another couple came in. Then I realized only 1 lady serves the entire restaurant and maybe one cook (a young gentleman bright out food every time ). She offer 5 people (1+2+2) share table which I didn't desire after a long exhausting day visiting Banff so we waited another 20 minutes for table. finally it's our turn I ordered 2 red Ramon with extra spicy and a fry chicken. Since they menu says they usually serve in thin noodles I alway take what they suggest or what they good at. Food actually came out quick. But the noodles are thinner than I thought which is fine. We can eat noodles from all country all culture everyday. Our whole family is noodles family 😂😂. But the broth is so thick is literally like stew. Maybe they forgot to add water. And the broth is SO SO SO SO SO SO SALTY!!! I mean so salty. The chicken is wonderfully done but also super salty! We have to wait for another 15 minutes for her finally had to chance to bring us our drink which I finished within a minute. We could not finish the noodles unfortunately(we don't usually leave food in the plate to be respectful to the restaurant )

I am Asian and from San Francisco area so Ramen is nothing new to us. Due to the high rating from other diner I am very confused with the food quality. Maybe I got the broth so salty cause I ask for extra spicy? Broth was so thick like mud, and so much salt add to it I was drinking water till this morning. Maybe people eat more salt here I am not sure. But anyway food is no way near 4 star rating. Service is very slow due to there's only 1 lady to serve the entire dining room that night. But she was very polite...

Great hole-in-the-wall ramen place. A simple, not at all fancy place that seems very authentic and unpretentious compared to some of the bigger places I have been to in Toronto and Vancouver. More like the neighbourhood ramen-ya you find in small towns or neighbourhoods, off the tourist routes in Japan. The ramen itself (I had the classic tonkotsu) had a nice pork broth that was neither too weak nor too heavy, and the house-made noodles had a good chew to them. The cha sui (roast pork) was exceptionally good, and was some of the best I have had outside Japan. The lunch special deals (which included free extra noodles) made things very affordable, with lots of side dishes that looked good (though I was too full after the ramen to order any). The staff were friendly and attentive, but inobtrusive in a manner typical of real Japanese restaurants that is not often seen at Canadian imitations. All in all a great experience and highly recommended.

I came back a couple of days later with my wife and the experience was once again great. We came for lunch again and tried the katsudon and gomae sides, both of which were great. We also tried the red tonkotsu ramen (with spicy miso paste) and the gyokai ramen, the latter a style we had never had before which mixes pork tonkotsu broth with a fish-bashed broth (stronger than typical dashi) which gives it a smokey flavour that is tasty but not overpowering. The friendly and helpful waitress suggested we add some of the spicy miso to the gyokai ramen and the result was great. Taking the quality of the food and service, the authentic style, and the uniqueness of the gyokai ramen into account Ramen Ichinen is now our favourite ramen place in Canada and on par with some of the best we've had in Japan. It is too bad we so rarely come out to Calgary. When we do we...