Token Ramen and Sushi — Restaurant in Orlando

This place is on the cusp of greatness and I write this review from a place of love and construction.

Should you eat here or try this place out? -Absolutely. Try it once and see for yourself.

Is it a good value? Depends on your preferences. Lunch is a great deal, but it is limited in timeframe so if you are on the fence for trying this place out - do it on lunch. -$3 for extra noodles is insane value. $5.50 for extra broth though? Yikes! The broth that comes with the bowl of ramen is a bit of a stretch, so if you get extra noodles, be wary that you’ll probably run out of broth. With inflation at the pace that it is at, this restaurant is riding a fine line between being worth it, and being overpriced. How to solve the crazy add-on prices? Make a Soup-er size that comes with extra noodles, broth, and maybe an extra topping. $8.50 for extra noodles and broth on $11-$15 ramen isn’t worth it at all.

The ramen: I enjoyed the ramen, but I feel like it’s very mid-tier in terms of flavor. It’s amazing because it’s the only ramen place within reasonable distance, but overall I enjoyed Hanamizuki or Jinya ramen much more. If I had to drive more than 15 minutes or so, I probably would just make the drive elsewhere. The char on the pork was great though!

Do you like spicy? If you do, this place may not be for you. There is no on-table spice you can add (typically there is at other ramen restaurants) but it is not included at this restaurant. So, you are at the mercy of paying almost $2 extra for a small bit of chili oil, or having only mildly spicy ramen. How to solve? Put ichimi powder on the table, or have it as an option. $1.50 for the chili oil is criminal.

Aesthetically this place is beautiful. The vibe is nice! Staff was also nice, but needs more time to get more familiar with the menu - completely understandable considering it’s a soft opening.

I will say, if I had $15 in my pocket - I’m gonna grab some Olive Garden endless soup salad breadsticks instead. This place would be my preference if it was between this and Pho however.

This place may have a great market for to-go and delivery orders because there’s really zero benefit from eating inside the restaurant itself. That’s as long as the to-go and delivery orders aren’t artificially inflated price wise, and shrinkflated food wise.

Parking is a bit annoying, but that’s a Lake Nona issue.

Overall, this place is good because it has no real competition within a reasonable distance. Not worth the drive if longer than 20+ minutes. Definitely a lunch or delivery only place for me!

Food - 3/5 Value - Lunch 4/5, Dinner 2/5

I’ll edit the review if...

Do yourself a favor and SKIP this place. Just another overpriced Lake Nona eatery. I was excited to come here, as I’ve been to the Mills location in downtown Orlando previously and if you have ever been to Token Ramen, you know the fun inviting atmosphere and what to expect from the menu. This location however, is nothing compared to the downtown location, nor is the ambiance. Considering this Lake Nona location is located next to a Meson Sandwiches, Little Greek, Tijuana Flats, Natures Table (all of which are quick service restaurants) it beats me as to why they decided to make this place a SIT DOWN restaurant with servers, meanwhile the downtown location is quick service…oh yeah, forgot it’s Lake Nona - they are forcing you not only into higher prices, but also tip. The decor is honestly much more appealing than the food itself. Ordered a Shrimp rice bowl and a Pineapple Chicken rice bowl; I had called before visiting and was told they have lunch specials today specifically (on Sunday). However, upon arrival, the menu clearly says WEEKDAYS ONLY, to which our server also confirmed was the case. To my dismay, I proceeded to order anyway. What a disappointment, the rice bowls had 90% rice, for $14 & $15, you are literally paying for rice, a few broccoli and half an egg. No flavor whatsoever on the shrimp bowl, pineapple chicken was decent but NOTHING compared to Bento’s. If you must come here, stick to the Ramen. If you bear the Token Ramen name, you should stick to the service, food, quality and bubbly atmosphere that you would come to expect from the other locations. I felt like I was sitting inside...

A restaurant to take your worst enemy to.

The ramen was absolutely devastating, but an excellent example that great advertising can sell about anything. The price of that ramen did not match the quality at all. I would rate this below instant ramen quality in terms of the broth and noodles. I got the Korean beef ramen with chicken broth. I’ve had several ramens in the Orlando area that use chicken broth and the flavor is absolutely phenomenal. Using chicken broth is not an excuse for a lack of flavor in this soup which was the excuse the server used for us. We tried sending the soup back and according to her we were quite fortunate because despite the small tasting we ate of the soup we technically weren’t allowed to send it back according to the manager. I work in food service in a Japanese restaurant for several years and I have never said this to a customer. As a customer -though it is rare for me to send anything back - I have never received this response. Not liking the food is a reasonable excuse to not want to pay for it especially if it’s obvious that we’re not trying to take advantage of free food. I think we spent more time being lectured by the server about how not liking the food is not an excuse then the amount of time I received any service. While we did enjoy our sushi, the poor response by our server was disincentivizing to order anything else.

I’m happy to say we won’t be returning. If you plan on taking someone you care about to this place, I would strongly advise against this and upon further review the entire chain if you care about the taste of your food. Take the drive to...