KINTON RAMEN 1

Spicy pork ramen is so so so dope. So good. Noodles are not super fresh tasting but good enough. Broth is aces tho

When talking about ramen in downtown area, I always recommend Kinto Ramen to my friend. I’m a big fan of their thick noodle and classic pork broth.
I’ve been to this location several times and everytime I enjoyed the ramen as well as the friendly service there. But today I wanna mention a bad service experience there. I went there with my friend. A tall young guy served us. Each of us order a ramen and after discussion we decide a to add an appetizer tako wasabi (very fresh tasty wasabi flavour tako. It’s actually very good if there is nothing happens next)
Couple of minutes later, the tako came and our ramen right after. We started to have our ramen, and the server brought a hot chicken karage which we did not order. I thought he may be give it to the wrong table and I told the server immediately.
The guy become so rude. He said I’m 100% sure you order this. Huh…I’m also 100%sure I did not order the karage. I tried to explain that the order were decided by both of us. One appetizer is enough and we don’t want to waste food. So there is no possibility two appetizers are ordered by us. My friend also said we didn’t order. Then he argued impatiently I don’t understand you… excuse me, is this the way how you serve the guest? At last he took the karage away with a very unpleasant face.
I felt very upset and this definitely affected the whole dinning experience. Seriously I’m not the kind of person who is very critical to the service. I enjoyed the ramen there and I don’t expect to much about the service in a ramen place. I don’t mind paying $ 5.9 for the appetizer but the server’s way of pushing me makes it unacceptable to us.
Anyways the ramen there is highly recommended hopefully you will be served by the girls

I’ve been coming to this location for a few years already — recommended by my sister and I can definitely say I fell in love. My favourite ramen is their spicy garlic! It has such good flavours, the pork shoulder is always cooked right and I really like their apps. I’ve been to other ramen places and always ordered a spicy ramen of some sort but they’re never as good.

Best Kinton location. Fast, friendly service. Ramen is always great & I’ve never left disappointed. It can get busy most evenings & weekends. Even if it does, the line up moves fairly quickly.

Had the original pork Ramen with pork belly and thick noodles. Was pretty darn good. Broth has decent pork flavour without being too oily. noodles were firm (which I like) but everyone has a different preference. I will say one thing. The egg was PERFECT. Great flavour, and cooked (partially cooked that is) perfectly. I could do without the pork belly I think I prefer the shoulder — its just more substantial IMHO. But a pretty good Ramen for sure. To me I think I prefer the Tonkotsu black ramen at Sansotei… but not by much.

Good service and good ramen. They have a good menu that lets you choose combos at a good price.

Don’t get why people rave so much about the pork shoulder and the ramen but here was my disappointing experience at Kinton which i would liken to biting into a delicious looking red apple only to find it rotten and wormy.
My friend and I entered Kinton after a long and hard workout, we were starving and were looking forward to it as I had read the reviews and one of my close friends had also strongly reccomended it. We ordered the tonkotsu (classic) and the miso broth ramen with thick noodles and pork shoulder. I even ordered extra meat as my friend said the meat was «so good».
All this raving made it that when we got our ramen and tasted I wasn’t even sure that we were eating at the same place that everyone was talking about! The broth tasted watered down, not even with broth but with literal water and the lard added to it made it unpleasant. It was not luxurious and smooth savory broth but sad, thin and pale very much like my gran.
The noodles kind of stuck together and lacked a chew, they were a bit soggy. Finally was the centrepiece of the meal, the pork shoulder. Everyone talks about how tender and delicious it was, those people have palates made out of lead. It was dry and burnt, period.
Overall a disappointing experience and I paid 20 dollars with tips for this bowl of sadness ¹⁄₅ stars for food + another because I really like the authentic look of the place and the friendly Japanese servers but if someone made me choose death by shooting or another bowl of Kinton I’d choose the bullet.

I have been to quite a few Ramen spots after I discovered the wonderful world of Ramen 3 years ago… Kinton is by far my favorite.
I love their spiced egg… I could eat so many of these… and the pork belly… and the chicken… and garlic. Omg. So good.
The seating is a little limited and uncomfortable. However, in my opinion worth it.

One of my go-​to ramen places in Toronto. Conveniently located outside the U of T St. George campus, it’s a great spot for students to grab a bite between/​after classes.
The store is small and the seating is the typical long counters with high chairs. I’d prefer not sitting next to strangers but it’s not bad enough that I’d remove stars for the way their store is set up.
Prices are reasonable, basically the same as any other ramen place in the GTA. The ramen itself is pretty awesome; portions are big and very delectable — different options for soup bases, noodle types, etc.
Definitely would recommend this to anyone (U of T kids I’m looking at you) who’s looking for some blessed ramen at an affordable price (that’s near campus too).

Had the fried tofu, squid balls and fried chicken for appetizers. Love the fried chicken. Cooked to perfection. Ramen was tasty and came hot. You get to pick how you would like the Ramen and garnishing. Service was quick and friendly. We did go really early on a Saturday night. Had to catch a show downtown. Lovely décor and ambience. We sat at the very front on a cold day but the heating was excellent. Had the sesame soya desert. …to die for! Highly recommend.

Great place to have a bite after checking out Turner at AGO on New Year’s Day.
Takoyaki and original pork and spicy garlic ramen. The original pork ramen had a nice rich broth. The spicy garlic broth was rather bland. It might have been better if I ordered the rich vs light broth? The noodles were perfectly cooked springy firm al dente noodley goodness…
The takoyaki balls were crispy delicious deep fried balls of goodness with bento flakes. Only wish there was more octopus in them vs the two bits in each one.
Service was friendly although a bit slow but could have been a result of being short staffed on the holiday.

Perhaps my second (or third) Ramen experience ever (aside from oodles of Mr. Noodles over the years) and I gotta say, I love this stuff. Until now, I’ve only had the preset Ramen orders and due to my inexperience with the cuisine that was a gift in and of itself. I have total food FOMO (fear of missing out) so no matter what I order normally, I’m always looking at other peoples orders thinking — «Shit, I totally F’d up here, I shoulda got THAT!»
Dining at Kinton only makes that FOMO worse, because now, I’m not only choosing my meal, but choosing every ingredient combination that goes into it. Thank god that the flavour options come with standard ingredients or I think I might cry from indecisiveness.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1 (Broth): Pork or Chicken. I’ve only had Pork based Ramen before (loved it) so I thought Chicken might be a nice change.
Step 2 (Flavour): Depending on which broth you choose you have 4 options with different ingredients making up each. Original, Shoyu, Miso or Spicy. I went with the Spicy Jalapeño flavour which comes dressed with Jalapeño paste, white onions, scallions and nori
Step 3 (Soup): Light, Regular or Rich. I’m a little uncertain on how this differs from the broth so I went with Regular using the Goldilocks Rationale (Not too much, not too little, juuuusstt right).
Step 4 (Noodles): Thick or Thin. The thick is recommended for pork based meals and the thin is reccomended for Chicken. I said, «Screw that I want thick noodles» — not messing around here.
Step 5 (Meat): This is where you can add additional meat to your order (or a different meat entirely for about $ 2.50). Pro-​tip — just order the Extra Pork or Extra Chicken at the beginning and you get 3x the amount of a regular serving for only $ 4! But unless you’re a vegetarian… order some extra meat on that beast!
Step 6 (Toppings): Choose from 10 additional toppings to add, beware that some of these toppings come standard in the flavour bases mentioned above, so no need to pay for them again. Toppings range from $ 1-​$ 3.50 each, I went with the Seasoned Egg for $ 1.50! #Winning!
My good Unilocal buddy Jimmy B had gone the spicy Pork route and ordered additional meat and I was mighty jealous when my meal arrived and it looked like Lipton cup of soup with boiled chicken and a few slices of Jalapeño on top… then I took my first taste.
Wow, Dayum, Shiiit, OMG, **drooooooool**.
No matter how you say it, I judged this dish by appearances and once again was foiled. I really wish I wasn’t so shallow because this isn’t the first time a flavour explosion has gone off in my mouth and the back of my head gets blown off. It was amazing, in fact it was UN-​Beliv-​able! My only issue was that there wasn’t enough. The broth was spicy and hot, the chicken amazingly seasoned and cooked, the toppings and noodles perfection.
Warning, if you order a spicy dish, beware, as the paste tends to settle at the bottom and your last few mouthfuls of broth may just leave you gasping for breath (yeah, THAT hot). So be sure to mix as you go.
Not sure what more I can say, wait times and parking are a bit of a hassle during busy times and the seats aren’t the most comfortable, but once you’re slurping on your ramen, nothing else matters!
Eatcrest Out!

So this is my second time here at Kinton Ramen 1 and I came here with my boy Kris U. While I waited I tried some of their Hogtown Ale which was only $ 3 a Tallboy (Sunday — Thursday). Hogtown in brewed in the city of TDot or what most of us would now call the 6ix. Surprisingly it was decent beer, very light and easy to drink. I finished it pretty quickly and was still feeling thirsty. I had to relax because it was only noon, don’t want people to think I am an alcoholic or anything. When it was time to order I had my mind set on the Extra Pork Shoulder Ramen in Spicy Garlic Broth w/​Thick Noodles. I devoured it and man I would say I made a great choice. The pork shoulder was tender, the noodles were perfect in firmness, and that broth was good to the last drop. Speaking of last drop, when you finish your bowl of Ramen to the last drop you can get a stamp which marks your accomplishment of each and every bowl. They have milestones at 10, 30, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 bowls and rewards with each of those milestones. Realistically who in their right mind would eat 1000 bowls of Ramen? That is basically once everyday for 3 years. Like common I love Ramen, but I don’t know if I could hit the 1000 Kinton Bowler. The service is always great. They greet you, and when they are busy and cant get right to you they acknowledge you and they have seen you. They are pretty quick in service too. I almost thought I was in a fast food restaurant because the Ramen came out in less than 5 minutes. Overall this is the best Ramen place I’ve been to so far and I’d make my way back here for my Ramen fix, and I’d suggest everyone to do the same. Until next time, JimStar Out!

I absolutely love the Kinton restaurants but considering that this was the location that my friends always talked about, I thought I’d go give a try. I went with a group of my friends, a group of 7. We got a table at the back almost immediately which is amazing. I love their modern design even though their restaurant is small. They have a stool-​bar style of seatings so I hope you like to get comfortable with strangers! They’ll sit right next to ya~ I love the overall environment of the place, the traditional callings from the servers and kitchen staff. Mind you, the kitchen is open concept. They have their traditional outfits which are amazing. I’ve only had their ramen (which I LOVE) I have yet to try their appetizers.
Kinton offers a «Kinton Ramen» card which provides you with a stamp each time you COMPLETELY finish your bowl of ramen, yes, including the broth.
Their menu is simple. You pick your soup base (as well as the thickness of the soup), noodles, pork or chicken (or both for an additional cost) and additional toppings if needed. I do recommend their regular broth because anything beyond that is pretty much super thick (I dont personally like thick soups but if you do, by all means)
Definitely a place to go back to.

Came here at 10 pm on a Friday night. Lucky for us there was no wait at all. We ordered the takoyaki, chopped pork rice, and two ramens. The takoyaki was average. The rice with chopped Pork was somewhat dry and plain. Ramen-​wise, the noodles were very chewy, but they didn’t have much of a taste. The broth was tasty but extremely oily. Pork belly was however on the salty side.
Our food arrived promptly, and service was good. Our bill came up to $ 50, which I guess was reasonable given the amount of food (plus two drinks) we ordered.

It was okay, some highlight components but wouldn’t go back. Service was top notch.
I ordered the pork ramen combo w rich soup, thin noodle, w gyoza on the side. The gyoza was DELICIOUS. I don’t know what japanese cusine was like before mayonnaise was invented but I’m sure glad it’s part of it now.
The ramen overall was meh, I’ve had better. The egg topping was extra, everything was standard. I got the pork shoulder and they torched it right in front of me. It was pretty good! Otherwise I descovered the rich soup was VERY rich, like with chunks of fat in it. It was a lot a lot a lot of food. I had an overall pleasant experience but I do like the Hokkaido place down on dundas better.

First time trying Kinton after a long ramen withdrawal. The menu has several steps to build your own ramen. I decided to go with the original pork shoulder ramen in a light broth. The meat was a bit dry but the noodles were good and the broth was indeed light, a bit too light on the umami. Egg was cooked perfectly with that gooey runny yolk. Also ordered some appetizers. The spicy karage had a nice kick to it. Meat was juicy with a nice crispy exterior. The dumplings were decent. We were seated right in front of the open kitchen so we watched the whole ramen making process as we ate. Nice friendly atmosphere and the washrooms are really clean and elegant. Would come back and get the pork belly next time.

Hm noodle textile is very good. Pork shoulder a bit over cooked, may be by the burner. The egg white is tender and the yolk running except it is cold. The soup I ordered thick comes with lot of lard bits, really heavy.
Though it is good, I still prefer Sansotei on Dundas

I think maybe 3 years ago, this would have gotten a 4 from me. There are just too many ramen shops around town now. But I will point out that the food here is good. I do come here pretty regularly. There’s just something different about the place that I can’t put my finger on it (from how it was 3 years ago). The atmosphere, the vibe, just seems different walking into it now than from before.
Oh and also, the menu used to be constructed so that I could walk in and say pork belly, spicy garlic broth, rich or regular (a three step process). Now it’s a 6 or 7 step process. I don’t know how I feel about this paradox of choice. I’m an eater not a thinker.
But anyway, I consider ramen soul food for some reason (anything in broth/​soup is soul food to me =). And so I can always go and eat a bowl or ramen. And that’s probably why I do eat here regularly. I like their spicy garlic soup the most (and in fact, I’m sure I haven’t had any of the other soup)…I don’t like change. If it works and if it makes me happy, I stick with it. It’s not spicy, by the way. It is pretty good though. One down side to spicy garlic is that no one wants to come near me after I eat here, but it’s worth it!
The shop is some what small (I find it interesting that other reviewers have said it’s pretty large). It’s a long shop, and has a bench table up front near the door. Then two areas of bar seatings. And then I think maybe two or three small tables in the back? (If that many). If you can visualize that, you can probably see that it’s not particularly big… ANyway, the point of this is that depending on the time of the day (for example, lunch time), you might have to wait to get a seat, especially if you are with a group.

Got the pork ramen with chicken breast, light broth, thick noodles (specially requested to be more al dente than usual), and grated garlic.
Chicken the most tender I’ve ever had, but a little too salty. Overall broth is a little too salty. Egg was perfectly creamy.
Homemade lemonade not that great. Wouldn’t get it next time.

*The restaurant is spacious with bar seats and a big communal table at the back. If you are sitting at the bar, you can see the entire ramen making actions.
*The broth here tends to be oily even if you choose the light option. Noodles are a bit hard, and it can be considered as undercooked for some people
*Just like Guu Izakaya, the atmosphere here is very loud and you will have to shout over your partner while talking
–Karaage (Special fried chicken) — $ 5.8:
For $ 6 there was only 4 pieces of karaage, which for me it’s overpriced. Other than that, the karaage is pretty good with a thin and crispy batter, while the inside was juicy and tender. The sauce was a spicy ketchup sauce, instead of the usual mayonnaise, and it was quite delicious! The sauce wasn’t too spicy, and I love ketchup so anything with ketchup is guuuuuuud!
–Takoyaki — $ 4.5:
Not my favourite. The takoyaki was very soft and doughy with one tiny piece of octopus inside.
–Spicy Jalapeño chicken ramen — $ 11.90:
It is definitely one of the most spiciest ramen I have had in Toronto so far, and the heat from the Jalapeño didn’t give a burning sensation, it was more of a kick and lingers for a few seconds in your mouth. With that said, the broth was too oily and salty for me. The chicken was tender and cooked just right, but it was cold… Not lukewarm, just icy cold.
–Spicy Garlic Pork Ramen — $ 10.9:
My fried ordered the spicy garlic ramen but I have had it before. That round yellow ball in the middle is freshly grated garlic and I usually mix it into the broth. Despite the color, the ramen wasn’t as spicy as the jalapeño ramen, and I found the fresh garlic to be quite strong and overpowered the broth’s flavor.

I’m not a big fan of ramen, but my friends wanted to come so I decided to give it a try. I had the vegetarian ramen (of course) and I found it to be really salty. The fried tofu was exceptionally good.
The waiters were all super nice always asking how we’re doing and the washrooms were so clean! It even had mouthwash in there! Clean washrooms are the way to my heart. The only downside was that I had to travel downstairs to use it.

Read as 3.5
Came here on a Friday night and not surprisingly, it was packed. We were really lucky to get two seats right in front of the «kitchen area» though, and we got to see all their cooking literally right in front of our eyes!
We each had a ramen and the noodles/​toppings were all very delicious. My main issue was that the soup base/​broth was more salty than I would have liked. Service was good overall, and for such a busy night, I was impressed with how quickly everything got accomplished honestly.
The atmosphere can get a bit hectic and crazy at times though, the restaurant itself gets fairly warm inside too, and you’re squished into such a small space with barely any room for coats/​personal belongings at any rate.
Overall, I’d come back here for the food, but I’d be more inclined to check out nearby places first.