Hana Ramen — Restaurant in Toronto

I have had my share of ramen, although I cannot say I am a connoisseur by any means but I know what a good bowl of ramen is. I saw so many positive reviews so I decided to check this place out. I would say the staff is beyond a 5 star rating! They're absolutely fabulous. Super friendly and helpful courteous and polite. For that reason I felt bad even writing a bad review. Also because I know how the restaurant industry is already in a unfavorable position, I really contemplated to give a bad review but I think as a ramen lover and a consumer you need to know about the honest truth.

For starters, the ramen was below average both bowls of ramen we ordered were very bland. Tonkotsu bone broth should be rich and have a degree of density. But the soup base at Hana ramen was very 'watered down' and lacked the rich bone broth taste. The soup was definitely not what I would expect to find for soup that has been simmered for 10 plus hrs. It tasted like water with msg. It was also not hot enough, that is definitely a must for a good bowl of ramen. The noodles were nothing to write home about not quite soggy but lacked the 'chewiness' I sought after in a good bowl of ramen. The char siu was ok again lacked flavor. I don't understand how some reviewers said it was 'the best ramen' they had in Tdot? It's a head scratcher. The broth is the essence of a good bowl of ramen. What was found here was a pool of msg filled broth that made me crave 2 cans of coke after the meal. I was very thirsty after drinking the soup.

We also ordered fried chicken and chicken wings. That arrived after we had finished the ramen. We were ok with that as mistakes can happen but when it came it was very cold which indicated to me it was sitting somewhere for a while. In all honesty I don't think taste wise it would have been much better fresh off the fryer as both items lacked flavor and tasted bland and dry but it would have been much more appreciated if it was not sitting around for such a long time and actually came as an appetizer rather then a dessert. Also when I asked for spicy powder that every ramen place I ever have been to had, they provided hot sauce and what looked like 'Chilli oil' that you would find at a Chinese restaurant. It was somewhat odd and out of place. But I appreciated the staff for providing that for me.

Needless to say I was not very impressed with the meal but I will give full marks for the service... However there is great area of opportunity for Hana ramen to improve on their culinary skills. Based on the ramen itself I honestly can say it will not earn my returned visit.

In response to the owner: I appreciate your response. I was literally craving to drink an entire 6 pack of soda because I was so thirsty after the ramen. I apologize but your broth tasted extremely flavorless and if it was brewed for 12 hrs I wonder if only water was boiling with salt? As it was bland watery, lacking depth in a good ramen broth. Btw this is the same comment I heard another 5 star reviewer saying about the 12 hr brewed broth? Wow what a coincidence lol. I've had many good bowls of ramen from well know Japanese chains I know what an authentic bowl of ramen tastes like. Just not having Japanese style Chilli powder says a lot of things about authenticity and the 'Chinese style Chilli oil' lat yau? Also speaks loudly about authenticity. The cooked food was cold dry and tasteless which was disappointing, the only good part of my meal was the green tea. I'm not sure why there are so many 5 star reviews in all honesty it doesn't even look believable, very confused about that. But hey to each their own I suppose. Unfortunately I won't be returning as I was very disappointed with my meal. I wish you best of luck and pls pardon my honest but truthful opinion and...

🤢🤢🤮🤮 I don't have anything positive to say about my experience here, despite how excited and optimistic I was given the mainly positive reviews. Firstly, their seating arrangements are not the greatest as we were seated in a heavily trafficked spot crunched together with other people dining in. Secondly, their server reconfirmed our very simple order 4 separate times, making us feel like we were doing something wrong. Thirdly, the food was just not good at all. Again, I was so hopeful given the positive reviews and ignored the negative ones, but they were absolutely right. The broth for my ramen was ?fishy? And had little to no flavor. The noodles tasted almost instant-like and overcooked. Their chicken karaage was very oily and tasted like the oil they used to fry it in was old. Their chicken dumplings were not good at all, and the worcestershire sauce that they pair it with and claim is soy sauce is really offputting. The Gyu Don dish tasted like they threw the beef in the dishwasher and washed away any and all of the flavor it could possibly have. It was flavorless yet still gross tasting. Also, if you're wondering, they do not serve sushi anymore. After reading the responses to the negative reviews, I find it kind of creepy how the person responding always seems to make it so that they know exactly who is leaving the review, by always mentioning their surveillance footage and the number of guests they came in/age group of guests, etc. (Almost like a scare tactic?) Anyway. I'll never be coming back here. This place is definitely on my black list. I do not recommend it.

edit in response to owner You are more than welcome for my honest and critical review from my indeed, unique account which is public to everyone, not just you. Again, you are using scare tactics for whatever reason you deem necessary. I'm very glad you've mentioned the police as the crime being committed is the compost you are marketing as food and selling to your customers to consume only for them to end up with food poisoning. Have the day you and your...

Do not recommend. I don't get the high star reviews.

Wife and I had ramen there for dinner. It took maybe two minutes before the server noticed us waiting for a table. We wanted to believe that maybe they were low on servers this night or just an inexperienced server.

When we were placed, it was maybe another ten minutes before someone even came to our side of the restaurant, and since there were other groups there, we had to wait for others to get water, order dessert etc. before we could order.

Since we did not want any issues with our order, we were very clear with what we wanted: A spicy pork ramen and Chicken Shoyu with Black Garlic oil on the side. The food came about 15-20 minutes later, and it was just Pork Shoyu, not spicy. That got taken away after we pointed out the incorrect dish was served and we got our appetizer. Then when the food came, the spicy Pork came without the seasoned egg, and the garlic oil came already added to the Chicken Shoyu.

The noodles were little better than pack ramen noodles and the spicy pork broth was almost like the spiciest cracker I ever had- very spicy but with no actual flavor.

Admittedly the toppings and meat tasted good. The only redeeming quality of the meal. Our server also never checked on us even though most people had left.

Wish my experience was better but I see no reason to come back. I want to give the benefit of the doubt to the server as she seemed flustered and inexperienced, but clearly something has changed at the restaurant itself as the food is not praiseworthy.

There are other Ramen places around that we have not had these issues with.

The washrooms have Japanese style toilets if you're into...