Buta ramen — Restaurant in Halifax

This place wasn't my first choice, but I'm some glad my other options didn't pan out. I tried calling other establishments in the area, and I was either met with silence or a rude person answering the phone. This place? The customer service was sweet right off the bat. My hotel is only a short walking distance, so my spouse and I ventured over for a late supper/date night.

When we entered the establishment, our server greeted us warmly and brought us over to our table immediately. I managed to get my coat off and be seated before water was brought out along with menus. As I've said previously, the service was impeccable and sweet. We chose our appetizers, main course, and drinks. We did not wait long before food was brought out. We ordered ebi fry and karaage for our apps. My main course was the tantanmen ramen, and my spouse chose the tonkotsu. We each ordered a beer to go with our dishes.

I absolutely loved and devoured my dish. The appetizers were perfect, and my food was delicious. Our sweet server checked in with us routinely to see how we were doing, and I appreciated that a lot. I must admit, we probably looked a bit silly trying to eat with chopsticks (since it was mostly our first time), but no one batted an eye. It was a struggle for me, but I was determined to learn quickly, and I ate my whole meal just fine. The broth was spicy (but not too spicy for me), the pork was delicious, and I loved the veggies. The tastes blended quite well together. The varying textures and tastes made it comfortable and delightful for my sensitive palate. The atmosphere was cozy for the two of us, and there was plenty of room for solos, duos, or groups to enjoy eating there. I loved the setup of the room and the music they played quietly in the background. The lighting made it a nice, cozy atmosphere for the two of us to enjoy our sweet date.

This spot will definitely be a must for us to return to when we come back and visit. From the service to the food, you can't go wrong. If you love ramen, you'll love this place. I'm so happy we went here on a...

VERY RUDE staff! We came in with 4 people. Two of us brought some lobster roll takeouts bought from other restaurants and the rest ordered 2 bowl of ramen and some side dishes. While we were waiting for the ramen, my friends who brought lobster rolls started eating the rolls. One of the staff came and said “Outside foods are not allowed here”. Okay we understand, but the staff act like a high school teacher yelling at her students who didn’t pass the exam. Then she turned her back to us and walked away. We were like “WTF? Do we owe you money or did we rob the restaurant?” My friends stopped eating and closed the container lid right away to be respectful. One of my other friend then walked to the counter trying to communicate. My friend asked her “Did you just mention we cannot eat outside foods?” The staff said “Yes” with the most unfriendly tone. Then my friend said “So what should we do, we have to leave ?”. The staff said “sure” and cancelled our orders right away, without even looking at my friend. LOL, I wouldn’t be surprised if she just say get out. The staff showed no willing of communication, she made us feel like we are making the most unforgivable mistake (even there is no sign of the rule). The whole story could have ended up in a nicer way if she communicated with us properly. I have had ramens in more than 100+ ramen restaurant and this one is by far the worst. This staff should...

I had heard a lot of good things about Buta Ramen from friends, so I was really looking forward to trying it. I finally visited on May 2nd during lunchtime with a friend. The restaurant wasn’t busy, and there was one young female server working in the dining area. I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and was served a bowl with fairly thick, wavy noodles.

The broth was rich and flavorful, the tamago was perfectly cooked, and the chashu was thick and tasty. However, as someone who prefers the thinner noodles typical of Hakata-style ramen, I found it difficult to enjoy the combination of these thick noodles with the tonkotsu broth. While I understand Buta Ramen may be more of a fusion-style place, I was very disappointed to hear from another friend that customers used to be able to choose their noodles—because during my visit, we were not given any option at all.

Additionally, the atmosphere was not very pleasant. There was someone—possibly a friend of the server or just a customer—engaging in loud small talk, which made the restaurant feel quite noisy. Despite the fact that both my friend and I left a lot of food uneaten, the staff simply asked if we were done and cleared the bowls without any interest in why we didn’t finish our meals.

While there were definitely some positives, overall, the experience didn’t live up to the expectations I had based on...