Article content

The Citizen’s restaurant critic, Peter Hum, has put years of work into this list of Ottawa-area ramen purveyors, taste-testing and reviewing each spot along the way. We’ve compiled every ramen review we’ve published over the last few years in one spot, to help you decide where to go when it’s ramen time.

This roundup post is based on the past six years of reporting and reviews. Information here may not be up to date. We’ve listed the publication date, so we are all on the same page, plus the original links so you can read the full article.

Article content

Article content

Kinton Ramen

2-216 Elgin St., 613-565-8138, kintonramen.com

Sept. 28, 2023:

Kinton Ramen, which opened on Elgin Street in mid-June, is a franchised location of the Toronto-based ramen brand that kicked off in 2012 and has proliferated to include more than 30 ramen shops in Canada and the U.S. Chicken, pork and beef ramen all had superior broths, springy noodles and praise-worthy meats. The beef ramen — a rarity on ramen shop menus — featured a toothsome slab of brisket.

READ MORE: Dining Out: Kinton Ramen, Kimonos Ottawa and Takedon offer quick, likeable Japanese favourites

Kimonos Ramen & Poke

3987 Riverside Dr., Unit 7, 613-739-5888, restokimonos.com

Sept. 28, 2023:

Kimonos, which is well-placed for Ottawa’s south-end suburbanites, made us ramen that was middle-of-the-pack for Ottawa. Meats in soups were good, but eggs could have been better, which is to say more seasoned and with softer yolks. At least Kimonos’ bowls of soup are very customizable with respect to their broths, noodles, and add-ons, which may please more particular eaters.

READ MORE: Dining Out: Kinton Ramen, Kimonos Ottawa and Takedon offer quick, likeable Japanese favourites

Article content

Jinsei Ramen 

300 Laurier Ave. W., 2nd Floor #235, 613-563-1111

Clam shio ramen at Jinsei Ramen

May 4, 2023:

Opened in mid-March 2023 by the mother-and-daughter team of Angela and Stella Lee, Jinsei Ramen hit the ground running with bowls of ramen that smacked of authenticity. Small wonder, since Angela has cooking accreditation from her native Korea and studied ramen-making in Japan. The clam shio ramen is unique to Ottawa, and three renditions of tonkotsu ramen, the porky, creamy style of ramen that prevails in Ottawa, are excellent.

READ MORE: Dining Out: Jinsei Ramen’s bowls of Japanese soup rank among Ottawa’s best

Ramen Isshin

775 Bank St., 613-421-6600, ramenisshin.com

March 16, 2022:

Don’t hold the fact that Ramen Isshin is a Toronto-based chain against it. The eight-year-old company has refined its processes so that none of more than a dozen ramen dishes disappointed, while some wowed us with their depth of flavour and on-point toppings. Tops was a chicken ramen blessed with a profoundly tasty and lucidly chicken-y broth and just-cooked breast meat. “Who needs pork-based ramen?” I thought.

Article content

READ MORE: Dining Out: Three Ottawa ramen newcomers impress with rich, flavourful soups

Paper Tiger Noodle Bar

1091 Bank St., 613-521-2125, papertiger.ca

March 16, 2022:

Paper Tiger Noodle Bar opened in Old Ottawa South in early January 2022, a bricks-and-mortar sequel to the pop-ups that chef Charley Nelson, formerly the sous-chef at Flora Hall Brewing, staged around town since February 2020.

As Nelson told me, he makes fusion fare inspired by ramen and other Asian dishes. “I try not to do anything traditional,” he said. “I’m not trying to appropriate culture. I’m just trying to make food that I really, really love.”

The signature soup here is “beast” ramen, named after “beast” broth, which is a continually replenished, ever-evolving staple. The pork, beef and chicken bones that the kitchen generates go into a stockpot, generating a complex, savoury treat akin to a shoyu (soy sauce-based) broth, but with its own depth and mystery.

READ MORE: Dining Out: Three Ottawa ramen newcomers impress with rich, flavourful soups

J:unique Kitchen

381 Cooper St., 613-234-8877, juniquekitchen.com

Article content

Tonkotsu ramen soup and J:unique Kitchen

Jan. 9, 2019:

While J:unique Kitchen, which opened in late 2018, specializes in sushi, it serves commendable ramen made with care. We liked the cleanness of its broth, the springiness of its noodles, and the generosity of well-prepared garnishes such as sweetly cooked shiitakes.

READ MORE: Dining Out: J:Unique Kitchen brings Vancouver-style sushi, flaming rolls to Centretown

Sansotei

153 Bank St, 613-695-1718
1537 Merivale Rd., 613-695-1216

Tonkotsu ramen at Sansotei
 
Jan. 25, 2019:

Ottawa’s ramen wars ignited for real after the Toronto-based ramen chain Sansotei opened a spot in Centretown in the spring of 2016 and drew daily queues out the door. A Nepean location followed. The successes at these locations sparked other eateries to follow suit with renditions of creamy, porky tonkotsu. The pork-based bowls here are well-made if not stellar.

READ MORE: Dining Out: Your master guide to the best and worst ramen in Ottawa (2019)

Editor’s note: This round-up post is based on the past five years of reporting and reviews. Information here may not always be current. Click through to each article to see the date of publication. 

Where else should Peter Hum go for ramen? Leave a suggestion in the comment section below or send a suggestion to: [email protected]

Want to stay in the know about what’s happening in Ottawa? Sign up for the Ottawa Citizen’s arts and life newsletter — Ottawa, Out of Office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital.

Article content