Ramen Isshin — Restaurant in Toronto

If there was a quintessential well-rounded ramen shop, I'd argue that Ramen Isshin is that ramen shop. They have a pretty decent ramen menu, but oddly enough, there wasn't a strong contender for the best type of ramen that they specialize in - they're all just really good apparently. I got the Roasted Garlic Shoyu while my friend got the Spicy Red Miso. The Garlic Shoyu came with bamboo shoots, nori, an egg, cha shu, a good helping of green onions and thin noodles that really paired up with everything. All the ingredients that paired up really well, but the star of the show was the broth and roasted garlic oil. For a shoyu, this was surprisingly not too soy saucy, but was well balanced by a richer tonkotsu base. This made for a smooth blend of broth that I was happy to slurp down, complimented with the garlic oil that really added a third dimension to the flavour profile.

In contrast to the shoyu that blended everything into a nice bowl, the spicy red miso really packed a punch with flavour. While not too spicy, it still had a punch with the house made chili oil while still leaving a distinct impression with their red miso blend. Due to the sharper profile of this broth, it went really well with the cleaner toppings like bean sprouts, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, chives and green onions. The cha shu and thicker noodles rounded everything else up. Overall, if the rest of the menu can create unique blends of ramen and broth such as the two we ordered, I think Ramen Isshin could be one of the top contenders for Best Ramen in Toronto. If you're dining with picky eaters who like different styles of ramen, Ramen Isshin may be the place to go.

Rating: Presentation: 2/2 Taste: 5/5 Texture: 2/2 Quantity/Quality: 2.5/3 Cleanliness: 2/2 Atmosphere: 3/3 Staff:...

Very busy spot but it’s worth the wait. We put our name and number down upon arriving, we went for a walk, and they texted us about 20 minutes later that a table was ready.

As it was so busy, we were placed on the side tables where you face the wall. It’s very tight and a little uncomfortable as there’s constantly people brushing past your chair. They try to cram in as many customers in as possible.

The takoyaki is simply delicious - the skin is a good thickness (some places make it too thick) and there is a decent sized octopus (a lot of places cheap out by putting too much batter and the tiniest pieces of octopus).

The red miso soup has a great flavour and is huge.

The chicken karaage rice was pretty good but the chicken could have more of a crunch to it.

The hojicha shaved ice exceeded my expectations! It was so creamy and had the right level of sweetness, I savoured every bite. The shaved ice didn’t taste nor have the texture of other shaved ice (which usually just tastes like chopped up ice!), it was cut such that it looked like coconut flakes. The walnuts on top gave it extra crunch. So delicious. I got the mini one and it was the perfect size, and only $5.80 (before tax and tip)!

The wait time for the food wasn’t too bad and there is sufficient staff to not feel ignored, and they were attentive with topping up water.

The waiters and waitresses were smiley and friendly. The yelling when someone leaves (not when arriving!) gave an authentic casual Japanese restaurant feel, but it was far too loud and constant, it was giving us a headache. Maybe they can tone down the loudness of their shouting.

Overall, there is a lot of atmosphere in the restaurant and food is good, but be prepared for a long wait for an...

Have heard a lot of my friends raving about this place so I've been wanting to go for a while. I have to say that Ramen Isshin definitely lived up to the hype! I can see why even a professional NBA player like Yuta Watanabe chose to eat here!

My friend and I did not place a reservation beforehand, so we had to enter a queue before we were seated and fortunately didn't have to wait too long before we got a table, which was quite surprising for a Friday night!

Service was super quick, and the staff were very attentive to our needs, checking in every so often to see how we were doing.

I ordered the white Sesame shio, while my friend ordered the small ķarage don. I personally am not a big fan of soup broth, but I couldn't get enough of this Raven's broth. The flavours of the white Sesame shio were all really well-balanced, it had a slight nuttiness from the sesame seeds, was not too salty, and the level of umami was just right. You could tell they used fresh quality ingredients in their ramen too. I tried a bit of my friend's karaage and throughly enjoyed it as well. The outside was nice and crispy, while not too oily, while the chicken inside was soft, fresh and juicy. The mix of toppings and sauces that were sprinked and drizzled on top also complimented the pieces of karaage, and the flavours all went really well together.

The price is what you'd expect from a ramen restaurant in downtown Toronto, but is a great value for the quality you get.

Although one thing to note, is that the space is a bit tight so I wouldn't recommend bringing a big group here. I would say eating with 2-3 other people...