Tansen Izakaya Edmonton — Restaurant in Greater Strathcona

September 11, 2024: 4-5 Their system seems to have improved based on my last visit. Ramen still tastes great :)

March 15, 2024: 5-4 Adjusted rating due to issues with service. Their service felt hectic with a chef hosting the guests and left me rather confused.

Visited for their everyday $5 ramen (11:30am-4:00pm).

On a positive note, it seems like they have improved their chashu.

I also had the opportunity to try their takoyaki. It is 5 pieces for $7. I found it rather bland and was lukewarm. I would like to see the dish dressed with more sauce and have bigger chunks of octopus inside.

Ramen ranking: Black Goma Red

November 24, 2023: 4-5 Tried some new items today.

Had the Chicken Fried Udon, Spicy Salmon Oshi Sushi, Black Ramen

The udon was a miss - bland and tasteless, very little pieces of chicken.

Black ramen remains one of my favorite ramens here; however, the chashu was once again tough to eat. The noodles tasted very good.

The sushi was pretty good. Creamy and smoky, but the rice to salmon ratio was too high.

June 16, 2023: Back again!

Tried the black today to finish trying all 3 ramens. I have to say that the food today was a lot saltier than last time. (Free chicken wings)

Let's talk about the good first. Chashu, much better than last time - it was succulent and tender.

I still feel that the soup lacks flavor. However, it still tastes good with the oils and comes out piping hot.

The noodles tasted great once again. Bouncy, with a great texture.

Service today 10/10. Thanks for asking me about my food on multiple occasions. 🙂

June 10, 2023: 4* Today I tried the following-

First reviewing only the broth of the ramen- Red ramen: Personally, I would like this more if the kimchi flavor was stronger. I would improve this dish by somehow incorporating kimchi to this bowl instead of having only kimchi paste

Goma ramen: This ramen was really good! The flavors of this ramen were robust and comforting - perfect for the upcoming winter months. I really liked the overall creaminess of the broth

Review of the components in the ramen- For me, I would have liked the ramen to be a bit more firm. It would be interesting to explore a way to cook noodles to the customer's liking. Lastly, the chashu was definitely on the dry side.

Chicken heart skewer: I think there was an underwhelming amount of hearts. It was also difficult to taste anything but "grill" flavors.

Pork belly skewer: The pork belly was tough to chew. Perhaps cooking time can be reduced. Overall, the taste and size of the pork belly skewer is good.

All in all, I think Tansen Izakaya is going to be a strong competitor on Whyte Ave, ranking as one of the best Japanese restaurants in terms of price and taste. Although some of the other reviews have said the portion sizes of the ramen is small - of which I do agree - all I can say is that it's a $10 ramen.

The bright and well designed interior, as well as having a team of attentative staff is an...

Been here twice, really good time both times. A bit of a wait, but wasn't too bad and it was worth the wait. Food was great, can't go wrong with $5 ramen. Personally really loved it, all three flavors were great and my favorite was the Goma. Broth is really flavourful and you get a good amount of noodles. The egg was cooked perfectly, a jammy center egg is perfect for ramen. I personally felt really full from the one bowl alone.

We also got some sushi, takoyaki, and edamame. Presentation of all dishes were amazing. All good prices with good portions. We were also given some sushi on the house due to the wait, we were surprised and grateful. It tasted amazing. Not sure if he was the owner or manager of some kind, but he treated everyone well.

Atmosphere and music were great. Service/waistaff was only so-so though. Had to wait for drinks for the second visit for quite awhile after we got food, even after asking two different staff members. For our first visit, a bill was taped on the table and they would cross off what was put down on the table. We looked at the bill and all the items listed, it was around $42, so I assumed it was that amount we will have to pay for. My partner ended up paying $70+, $90+ with tip. He was confused and it was also on him that he didn't ask about the payment amount, but halfway through our ride back home we calculated what we had ordered and we did get around $42. There was no way of asking about it after, we were already halfway home and the server never gave us the bill, or asked if we wanted the bill. Something must have happened on her end, but we overpaid quite a bit, there was 2 of us then. Second visit we had 5 altogether. Only paid around $100, and ordered more that time, so something happened the first visit. This is no way to bash the restaurant, but I would just say to be cautious and check you have the right bill just in case. Although it can happen to anyone anywhere, we were just too dumb to ask why the bill was so...

Tansen izakaya

Janpanese uni Hokkaido Uni is really good, not as fishy, good presentation. Shiso leaf wasn't as fresh as it left a bitter after taste.

Tansen special Beautiful presentation, for one piece is a bit pricey

Scallop: Was okay, not as flavorful nor was it the freshest

69 Platter Chicken skin Really good, crunchy, and not too oily.

Zuchinni Sesame sauce on the zuchinni is a win win Pork skewer: Pork pretty good, juicy and not to overcooked, it was really salty though

Chicken karage: Okay, not as crunchy, not much flavour, not as juicy

Chicken thigh: Juicy and flavorful Chicken, tender and chewy

Squid Really slimey texture that tasted like it's frozen, not much flavor,

Beef: was just okay, a bit raw tasting

Octopus: Is okay, not as flavorful but not as crunchy

Deluxe Sashimi 42.00 Salmon Tasty salmon a bit chewy, not as fresh though. Scallop Was okay, soft and chewy

Tuna: Was okay, not as fatty, plain, not chewy

Service was poor as our server didn't refill our waters at all. The server didn't know the specials. We celebrated our friends birthday and the server wasn't informed of us already having a cake inside their fridge. Server pretty much dumped the cake in the box, plates and cutlery with candles still in box along with a dirty knife. Had to assemble cake and ask for a rewash of the knife from another server. Server never checked in with us throughout the meal. I understand it was busy, but atleast check in with us once.

The food was mediocre at best. This is our second time here and the food is inconsistent. The squid was good last time, but it tasted like frozen mush.

Second time back here and can confirm again will...