Ramen Tokiya — Restaurant in Osaka

It's worth lining up for. No questions about it.

Upon going to a very highly rated location nearby, we discovered a long line of people. Perhaps a hundred men or more. Surely no bowl of noodles would be worth a two hour wait, we thought, so we chose to go to Tokiya instead. Even this joint demanded a wait time of 30 minutes. Fine, but this had better be good.

It is.

I ordered the spicy special. What I received was a symphony of flavours, all working together in harmony on this piece. The soup was rich with great flavour. But with the addition of the slightly tangy spice, it wasn't heavy at all. It was also a bit thick so that it would cling to the noodles better.

The noodles were on the thicker side and had perfect bite to it. The pork in the soup was fatty pork belly cooked until very tender. The topping piece of chashu was broiled and deliciously charred. The sprouts were very pungent, but the right palate cleanser to the fat and strong flavours of the other items. The finishing rice in coconut cream, mixed with some of the dipping soup, was a fantastic experience on its own.

I am so glad to have had the chance to visit Tokiya. The powerful but well-balanced noodles will not disappoint. To round off the story: if this place with a 30 minute wait time can make me question whether or not it is my favourite meal of all time, I'm not sure if any place with a two hour wait can actually be worth four times...

A place for quick eats as seats are limited, but queue clears quite quick, as the service was very organised: 1. Staff ask how many pax, and if u ok with counter seats 2. Decide on ur order based on menu in the queue, 3. Upon indication by staff, pay for ur order using the machine inside, and staff will tear part of ur meal coupon, 4. Go back to the queue outside. 5. Wait for staff to bring u in when seats are available. Shortly after seated, ur orders will be given to u. Noodles are springy and cold. The pork dipping sauce is served piping hot, but i find the sauce a tad too salty if I dipped the entire strands of noodles in, so I only dipped partially and the sauce coated noodles tasted just nice. Pork slice grilled just nice with slight charred taste, really delicious; onsen eggs simmered deliciously, dipping sauce has pork pieces too & lots of shallots. The set also comes with a mouthful of rice which will only be served after u finish ur noodles, rice is filled with a small amt of clear sauce, u supposed to pour in ur preferred amt of dipping sauce and mixed thoroughly - absolutely umami goodness - a great ending to the meal. Recommended...

Got here around 8pm on a weekday, there were about 10 people ahead of me in line. There is a sign explaining that a staff member will greet you when it’s your turn to order from the machine, so that when you’re seated you they can take your ticket right away. I was second in line when I was asked to order.

The machine refused to accept my 5000 yen bills but no problem, the staff was very understanding and exchanged my bill for five 1000 yen bills.

I ordered the pork tsukemen. The broth was delicious with great mouthfeel, and the chunks of pork were also hot and tasty. It was just slightly salty for my taste, but still one of the better tsukemens I’ve had. At the end of the meal you can ask for dashi gohan to finish off the soup, and the mixed soup and rice combination was heavenly.

Really efficient shop with incredibly friendly and helpful staff,...