Hokkaido Ramen Santouka — Restaurant in Vancouver

Like the sushi joints that proliferated the Vancouver dining scene years ago, the same trend appears to have happened with ramen houses. In addition to independent ramen restaurants, popular chains, such as Hokkaido Ramen Santouka which originated in Japan back in the 80’s, have made Vancouver their home.

During my mid-week visit, this particular location of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka on West Broadway was busy (as expected). Unlike some other ramen spots, there’s nowhere to put down your name on a list… you just have to wait to see the waitress. As I was a single diner, I was able to snag a seat at the bar but I had to wait a bit in line due to the number of people ahead of me. From my vantage point, I could see them furiously making ramen as well as the countless numbers of characteristic blue bowls that Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is known for.

I picked the Super Combo ($21.90) which seemed a bit expensive but I figured it was a good deal because, in addition to the bowl of Shio Ramen, it came with a bowl of Ikura & Grilled Salmon Don as well as a Japanese Melon Soda with Ice Cream… and ever since our trip to Japan, I’ve been craving that wonderful green elixir of melon soda.

The ramen came with half of an egg, pickled radish, menma, wood ear mushrooms, green onions, two slices of chashu, a slice of fish cake, and topped with a red pickled plum. Unlike some ramen places, there is no option of add extra noodles at the end of your meal or to customize the type of noodle and how it’s prepared. The best part of my meal (aside from the melon soda) was the rich and creamy shio broth – not overly salty and perfect for slurping down.

What could have been better was the egg (which wasn’t really creamy and tender) and the chashu (which was thickly cut but not the least bit tender). The rice bowl had a nice amount of ikura (salmon roe) but took a back seat to the shio broth.

Was the ramen good? Yes, but I was disappointed by the chashu… there are better (and worse) in Vancouver. But I would come back in a heartbeat for...

I have been their regular customer for really long time. The service is usually okay and I have no complaints. However tonight Jan 31 was an exception. Dined in with my girlfriend at around 7pm and ordered two ramen with a diet coke. The waitress was really nice to us, but we told her that the diet coke in the glass bottle (opened in advance) which she brought to our table tasted just like water with ice, no carbonation (gas) at all. It seemed like the bottle was left opened for a long time before serving it to us. She then talked to her manager and there was a guy came to our table and asked if he could "have a look" the bottle, then he shook it without our permission to see if it had gas or not. He shook the bottle strong enough that we could see bubbles in it. He also talked loudly and argued with us that diet coke from the glass bottle is different from the can in terms of the carbonation density. Who the hell could still continue to drink like that? It was a terrible action from the guy. We said won't drink it anymore and we had to eat our ramen and not arguing about the stupid coke. We received no apologies from him. It was absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable attitude from the waiter (or maybe he was the manager, the bad one). At the end my girlfriend didn't finish her diet coke and left with 10% tip. My advice is that make sure you tell them to bring unopened bottles so that you didn't have to have a bad experience like we did tonight. My girlfriend and I will never come back or recommend anyone to come here. I know that they have so many customers and they are busy, but they will need to change their customer service if they want more customers. There are lots more ramen restaurants out there with...

Santouka is my favorite ramen restaurant. My go to meal at any ramen place is usually miso ramen and gyozas. I raved about Santouka to my friend that I was introducing to last Sunday.

Their broth is always rich with collagen and fat but without the greasiness. Their noodles are not too thin or thick and always al dente... except that night. They were overcooked and too soft so I was a little embarrassed and disappointed for my friend's first experience there. We complained and tried to return them but were told it was because we ordered larges so it sat longer in our bowls of soup and cooked more... which did not make sense to us as our first bites were overcooked. Everything else about the soup, the pork, the toppings was on point. We just wanted new noodles. After some back and forth with our server and the kitchen, the manager stepped in and apologized and replaced the orders. This time the noodles were perfectly tender with a little chew! The gyozas were tasty, slightly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

Santouka has good distancing and hygiene protocols for covid19. You put your name on a list and wait outside until a table is ready for you. The staff wear masks and there is sanitizer at the entrance. You read the menu that's posted outside and place your order at the door when you enter. The tables are spaced more than 6 feet apart.

Our server was friendly but I know his hands were tied trying to sort out the noodle issue with the kitchen for us. He did what he could.

Thank you Santouka for redeeming what could have been a disappointing meal for a regular and a first timer! Sunday itself was four stars but considering all the other great meals I've had I still rate you five stars. We will...