Token Ramen-Hibachi-Boba Tea — Restaurant in Riverview

It's so great to see another Token Ramen location open up in Riverview. This one is located on Stelling Drive, off of 301. It's in a brand new plaza that faces away from the main road. You'll have to make the turn on Stelling from 301, and then make a left turn into the plaza parking lot. I didn't see any other entrance. There may be another way to get to it from the neighborhood behind it. There's plenty of parking. The restaurant is modern & attractive. There are 2 kiosk stations to the right as you first walk in. These are for takeout orders. There's a host to the left that will seat you if you're dining in. The seating is comfortable, and there are cooking shows displayed on the screens over the counter. The staff is friendly and helpful.

The food is like any other Token Ramen. I'm a big fan of their Black Garlic Ramen. I order it every time I go to the Riverview location on Providence Rd. The difference is that this location has ramen on their special lunch menu. I was so happy to see that. It's a great price. I went with the Tonkotsu Ramen and added an additional seasoned egg along with a side of black garlic oil. Believe it or not, the lunch ramen ended up being a little under the regular menu price of the BG Ramen even with the additional items. It was also just as tasty as always. Token Ramen still makes the best seasoned egg of all the ramen shops in Tampa Bay. I can never pass up getting an additional one. The same goes with that black garlic oil. I poured it all into my bowl of ramen. You can never have enough of it. I love how it mingles all together with the perfectly cooked noodles. It's an addiction.

So, the reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because they were out of my first 2 boba tea choices. I know it's because they just opened. I wanted to get the pistachio milk tea that I saw online. They didn't have it because it was whited out on the menu. My 2nd option was the ginger milk strike. They didn't have it. I ended up getting the Chai milk strike. It was great! The menu selection was good, but not as big as the other location that I frequent the most. I'm sure that the menu will grow as the restaurant grows. I'm guessing that there isn't a Kung Fu Tea at this location since I didn't see the logo anywhere. But hey, everything that I had was very good.

I definitely want to go back for the ramen lunch special (for as long as they have it). I can't tell you about any of the other food because I can never pass on the ramen. I do want to try the Korean Style Beef Ramen one day. It's under their specialty ramens. Will I be back? Absolutely!! I can't wait to...

There is a reason why this place is so so packed ALL the time. That's because they cook with the blessings of the GODS. Their food is just so top-tier. I started off with their Takoyaki and it is probably one of the best I have tasted thus far - their ramen is delicious and rich (their Miso is my favorite), their ingredients are fresh and filled to the brim with flavor (that soy sauce egg - chef's kiss!). Their fried rice is also on another level! I could talk about their food all day! They just add so much depth to their flavors! And you definitely get your money's worth!

Regarding the ambiance: The venue is relatively new and it shows! The decor is nice and it truly feels like a hole-in-the wall without really looking like one? (It definitely feels like an upscale Asian restaurant). The music is not too loud - the TV noises are well balanced, and the vibes are nice! Service? I have to hand it to the wonderful ladies holding down the fort on the busiest times! They are running around taking clients, clearing tables, sitting guests, taking orders, bringing orders to table, taking checks and payments, taking and packing online orders - yet they always provide a smile and genuinely seem happy to see you (even though if I was in their shoes - I'd probably tell you to go home and try to eat ramen another day). The only thing i am dinging the service for is that for big parties - the wait is very long - and instead of bringing smaller tables together - they opt to wait for that one big table to free up (resulting in almost an hour wait - which would have been the same amount of time it would have taken us to order, eat and pay). So if you are coming with more than 4 people - maybe call ahead. We were dumb and didn't - but we would have appreciated some flexibility since there were multiple tables free and people who came after us were seated before us.

Overall - I recommend ordering take-out during their busiest hours and if you find a nice spot in time where they are slowing down - take advantage and snag a seat (it truly is worth it!) - plus the down-time won't last long.

10/10 food - 9/10 service - 10/10 Ambiance. Come get some...

All of the ramen is usually good and it was. I ordered food around noon for pickup mind you they open at 11am. I ordered an orange chicken rice bowl (fried rice) and a kids pineapple chicken with noodles. The chicken was completely inedible. I got the chicken for the kids and it was so hard they could not eat it (at all) they could not even bite into it, it was so hard. Never have I ever experienced eating dried up chicken like this. If I had lived closer I would of returned it. The dryest chicken I have ever encountered in my life. AND it was soaking in sauce and the meat inside was STILL dried and shriveled up inside. It was like TRYING to chew and swallow soggy toothpicks. I felt so bad for the kids they could not even chew their food and I don't blame them for not wanting to eat it. I didn't want my money to go to waste so I tried so hard to eat it (I'm not a picky eater). How I was able to eat part of this was to chew it and spit out all the stringy hard meat. It even injured part of my gums and it's now swollen, really unbelievable. I gave up and trashed the chicken. Kid you not the worse chicken I've ever had! Tell me how the orange chicken and the pineapple chicken tasted and looked exactly the same. One had pineapples and the other broccoli and BOTH dried up and hard inside. I can't even compare the texture to any actual food that is edible, beef jerky would be considered soft next to this. I guess the closest consistency would be chewing straw (what cows eat) which I have never done but seems comparable to how it felt trying to chew it. Imagine trying to swallow shredded plastic straws seems actually more accurate. And the fried rice was dried up and not fresh (do they double deep fry it like the chicken?) It feels like this could be the same food from the night before, how is freshly made food at the beginning of the day this bad? Only stick to the ramen and boba the only thing this location is good at. Maybe at the Brandon location the food is better? Maybe the food for takeout is lower quality? Panda express is wayyyy better which is sad to say. Don't make the same mistake I did, only...