Ganko Ittetsu Ramen
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What I Ate and Drank During My 3-Day Trip to Boston
RodgerRodger
3490
Boston Asian Food Guide
KathleenKathleen
1160
[4/5] I’ve been coming here for quite some time. I first heard about this place in an article from Eater Boston ranking the top ramen shops in the area. After trying out a few places, I was getting disappointed but kept on trucking trying to find my go-to ramen joint. Does Ganko Ittetsu deliver? Well, you’ve stumbled across the best review. Read more below. Food (65%) Taste to price 4/5 Quality to price 4/5 Portion to price 4/5 Average = 4 Service (20%) Friendliness 4/5 Promptness 4/5 Average = 4 Cleanliness (15%) Bathroom n/a Dining area 4/5 Kitchen area 4/5 Average = 4 Overall Score = [F(.65)]+[S(.20)]+C(.15)] = [2.6]+[0.8]+[0.6] = 4 The Pluses... + Simple, easy MENU to follow. It’s literally a piece of paper printed on both sides. Nothing fancy or gimmicky. Just 6 types of ramen soups, sides, and a beer section. They don’t waste time trying to sell anything else, they know exactly what they are. I like it! + Clean, nice, modern interior and AMBIANCE. + I only come here for the GANKARA MISO RAMEN. I don’t even need to try the other soups. This one is nicely spiced and rich in pork flavor. The egg is perfectly cooked, and the egg noodle texture has the right amount of chew for my liking. + For a tiny place, they are very efficient with handling the WAIT TIME. You can join the wait list on Yelp, check in, and walk around the area. They’ll text you when the table is ready. Fortunately there’s lots of window shopping and people watching in the area to kill time. + The wait team works really well together. Speedy, responsive, and harmonious like synchronized swimmers :) The Negs... - No major negatives here. If I had to knit pick it would be that the broth can be salty but I found this to be true at 95% of ramen places I’ve been to. - Parking can be difficult. There’s public parking in the back and street parking but these fill out quick especially during weekends. - This place is small. Anticipate sitting close to strangers and moderate wait times. In Conclusion... Yep, all it took was one visit to Ganko Ittetsu and I was hooked. Ganko Ittetsu Ramen, imo, is one of Boston’s best ramen shop. It’s no surprise why people keep coming back here including myself. They offer a very solid experience: delicious ramen, ambiance, service, and speediness. They know exactly what they are and they don’t try to be anything else. I’ve been coming here for years so I’d say it’s worth a stop. #ChowYouLater
Richard UngRichard Ung
10
This place is inside the Arcade Building, so you might never know this place was there unless you were curious what was inside the building. They did not seat me until I was ready to order, so I stood outside looking at the menu to make a decision before they let me in. That seemed a little weird to me, but it did allow me to place my order as soon as I was ready without waiting for someone to come by my table. This restaurant was also on both sides of the arcade. They seated me on the side with the waitstaff outside. There were a few bar seats and tables on this side. I ate the Gankara Miso, which was ramen with cha-shu (braised pork), tan-tan pork (sweet ground pork), aji-tama (egg), bean sprouts, nappa-cabbage, wakame (seaweed), scallions, and sesame seeds. It was definitely on the spicy side, but it was a flavorful spice, not the kind that burned my mouth or nasal passages. The broth is definitely pretty spicy. Without drinking the broth, the ramen and everything else was not too spicy. The cha-shu looked dry, but it was fine tender once dipped in the broth. I've never had tan-tan pork, but it was very interesting and a sweet contrast to the rest of the savory and spicy dish. The aji-tama and the rest of the toppings were all great. I also ordered the Kara-Age, which is Japanese fried chicken made with soy marinated chicken thigh meat. I ordered the original, instead of extra crunchy, and chose garlic ponzu for my sauce. It wasn't my favorite karaage because the chicken pieces were all very chewy. I also thought original would be a little bit crunchy, but it seemed like it was more like very light panko breading on top, which was barely crispy. It wasn't what I expected, but I'd try the extra crispy next time and maybe the chicken meat will also be less chewy. This arrived several minutes after the ramen had arrived. Service was great once I was seated. My water was refilled regularly. The restroom is part of the Arcade Building and not public, so you'd have to ask for a key from them and return the key.
Andrew HuangAndrew Huang
00
*CAUTION EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE OWNER* The OWNER aggressively approached my car “claiming I took his parking spot.” (He was in the middle of the road blocking everyone from getting around) also there are no assigned spaces. He then honked at me and approached my car aggressively . Banging at the window of my car which is my own personal property, he kept aggressively asking “Are you going to do the right thing?? Huh…” and “You better watch out.” My two year old daughter was in the back seat and told me she was afraid . I was afraid. He would not leave the side of my car or the back of it. I kept telling him I had a two year old, she’s scared , I’m scared. again told him the spot was not his, he was not signaling for anything and he was in the middle of the road seemingly double parked. I again told him he scared me and my two year old. He did not care. I was preparing to call the police because I felt so afraid but he walked away from my car door before I could. I was trembling and shaking and my daughter again told me she was scared. s he exited the vehicle he told me essentially “Karma wilI get you and it will be good to me because I did the right thing” I went in to complain and turns out this guy says he’s the OWNER. He aggressively approached me AGAIN outside the restaurant. His tone was arrogant and attempting to intimidate me. He was quite honestly out of control and was smiling, seemingly getting some type of thrill of trying to bully and intimidate me. I’m shocked by this behavior from the owner of a business, representing himself in public and in the company vehicle. A grown man trying to intimidate me, and especially around my two year old daughter. He offered no apology, no empathy and was further aggressive in how he dealt with the situation. I feel terrible for any one in this man’s life who has to deal with him on a daily basis because he is out of control and has no respect for women or children. There are plenty of ramen places in Brookline, why go to one associated with an aggressive driver and aggressive person. Below you can see the photo of him yelling at me , again in front of my daughter. If this is how the owner of a business presents themself in public, it’s scary to think of what else may go on. He also had extremely bad breath I could smell as he was yelling at me, I wouldn’t want to eat any food prepared by this man.
Nina BlanchetteNina Blanchette
00
I heard several good things about this ramen place and had to try it out for myself. I went twice, first time was on a Friday night. First timers, please be aware that their Yelp waitlist function does not work. I knew it might have been packed, therefore, I was constantly checking Yelp starting at 3pm on that Friday. As the time goes by, it keep saying “No wait time”, I was very suspicious of this and kept refreshing every 5 mins. Our group of 4 showed up at 6pm and of course, there were four parties in front of us. We put our names down with the waitress at the front and waited for 30 minutes for a table of 5. We were waiting on the fifth person and unfortunately, was not able to be seated because we didn’t have our full party of five. This is not their fault, it was restaurant policy; I understand. Therefore, our party left. Second time, went with my husband on a Friday afternoon for lunch. Again, the seats were filled but we got seated within 5 minutes. The waitress at the front, check-in kiosk took our orders before we were seated. We ordered the pork gyoza, Gantetsu Shoyu, and Shoyu 1910. Honestly, I was underwhelmed with the ramen here. My husband had the Shoyu 1910, the broth was definitely more flavorful than my Gantetsu Shoyu, where the broth was mostly fat. I understand that the Gantetsu Shoyu has a thicker base but it was thick, fatty, and the flavor was flat and undeveloped. The pork gyoza did not impress neither my husband and I. My husband pan fries better gyoza from frozen. My husband expresses that his Shoyu 1910 was good, but did not live up to the hype. Happy that we gave this place a try based on the reviews, but there is better food in Brookline.
Miaka HuynhMiaka Huynh
10
Nearby Attractions Of Ganko Ittetsu Ramen
Coolidge Corner Theatre
T.J. Maxx
Courtyard Boston Brookline
Brookline Booksmith
Stop & Shop
Alexander Salon & Spa
Arcadian Hotel
Sky Salon
The Butcherie
Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli
Coolidge Corner Theatre
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T.J. Maxx
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Courtyard Boston Brookline
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Brookline Booksmith
4.8
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Nearby Restaurants Of Ganko Ittetsu Ramen
Zaftigs Delicatessen
FuGaKyu Japanese Cuisine
Paris Creperie
Mirchi Nation-Indian Kitchen
Kupel's Bakery
Clear Flour Bread
KUNGFU KITCHEN
Shan-E-Panjab
T Anthony's Pizzeria
Rod D by Sitti Thai Cuisine
Zaftigs Delicatessen
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(1.1K)Click for details
FuGaKyu Japanese Cuisine
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Paris Creperie
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Mirchi Nation-Indian Kitchen
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Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
318 Harvard St #3, Brookline, MA 02446
Map
Phone
(617) 730-8100
Call
Website
gankoramen.com
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.5
(935 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Three kinds of wok-cooked, Sapporo-style ramen soups make up the menu at this compact noodle shop.
attractions: Coolidge Corner Theatre, T.J. Maxx, Courtyard Boston Brookline, Brookline Booksmith, Stop & Shop, Alexander Salon & Spa, Arcadian Hotel, Sky Salon, The Butcherie, Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli, restaurants: Zaftigs Delicatessen, FuGaKyu Japanese Cuisine, Paris Creperie, Mirchi Nation-Indian Kitchen, Kupel's Bakery, Clear Flour Bread, KUNGFU KITCHEN, Shan-E-Panjab, T Anthony's Pizzeria, Rod D by Sitti Thai Cuisine
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