Hakata Choten — Restaurant in Paris

Review for Hakata Choten

Asian in Paris, France 🤔 Rating: ★★★★★

Here I thought that I would never be able to find an authentic Asian cuisine in Western countries but I’ve been wrong, not once, but twice in my trip around Europe. The first was a Thai restaurant in Vienna, the second is this ramen house situated in the city of Paris.

Don’t be fooled by the crammed interior! Even the small space is deliberately designed to look like the traditional Japanese ramen shophouses. Furthermore, the replication doesn’t end there.

The cooking methodology, the way to eat and the food itself follows an extremely strict expectation by the chef, who has won awards in Japan for his dumplings. They’re hand made and grilled to perfection- each bite oozes an almost soup-like texture, coupled with the fresh meat and gyoza skin. This simple combination is the reason people queue up to eat at this place, resulting in a bit of a wait sometimes!

The stringent expectations for the dumpling is also present in their ramen. The broth is thick, and the onsen egg is cooked to perfection! The hand made noodles is comfortably chewy, the kind where a single bite will sever the strands easily. Everything melded perfectly together which made the dinner, well, remarkably perfect!

Because of how compact the restaurant is, I would advise a party of about 1 to 4 people at most. Order your food quickly and enjoy it because it is also a little...

The second you enter the restaurant, the wannabe-Asian atmosphere of rue Sainte-Anne dissolves into the smells and noises of a true Japan caff. The staff welcomes you with this subtle mix of rigor and politeness that puts you at ease, and you reach out to one of the few spots available in the tiny restaurant. The menu is like the Hakata Choten itself: straightforward, concise, ritualistic, fairly cheap compared to the quality their offer. The first page of the menu details the rite of ramen-eating and the more you read, the more your appetite is begging. You order, and in a matter of minutes -just enough to let you drool over the scent of your neighbor's food-, arrives the Plate. Steamy, rich, slippery ramen and crunchy, light, juicy gyoza. There is a shortage of adjectives to describe the perfection I met at this table. It felt like an ideal first date - the kind where your companion is everything you had guessed and heard about them, and much, so much more. The kind you engage in a lifelong relationship with. Since then, I've tried everything on their menu, several times, and can affirm that everything is delicious. There is a story behind this restaurant and you can taste it in their cuisine and the respect of their craft. I'll come again and again and again until I fully understand what magic and dedication created the taste of the Hakata Choten. Thank you...

The reviews don’t match the service and quality you get. Went there yesterday with some friends and after waiting in the queue for 20min we finally got to sit. After sitting, the waitress rushed to take our order. When we finally got the food they couldn’t tell which plate was which and finally a few min after starting to eat, the waitress comes and asks to take the plates away as they needed to close while she tries to take my friend’s plate away..I mean if you accepted us, why will you want to take our plates away while we’re eating?? Plus, we were paying for it? Where’s the service? We found that very rude and awkward and we had to eat quickly so we could pay and leave as they had to close. If you’re closing and you knew why didn’t you say since the beginning? The ramen was good but not the best in town. The restaurant is not very clean as it looks very greasy and neither the waiters look clean which makes me question how’s the back (kitchen etc).. They definitely need to change the management and make a massive deep cleaning. For sure won’t be coming back and neither recommend anyone to go....