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Kenzo Japanese Noodle House
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
19 reviews for Kenzo Japanese Noodle House
19 reviews in English
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Review from Edwin A.
My first exposure to ramen was the dry msg ladden instant noodle packages.. Mr. Noodle and I go wayy back :) but later in my school days I discovered it wasn't just that. Ramen can eat like a meal. It was the best low cost staple a student can have to save money.
Much later in life did I find out that there are entire shops dedicated to this soup craft. Even a movie which I got a kick out of called Ramen Girl, starring Brittany Murphy delved into this art of making soup.
Ok when I'm hungry, soup isn't the first thing that comes to mind. So rarely when I do go out to eat do I choose soup. I have to either have a craving to eat soup (rarely) or I feel like I'm coming down with a cold (likely).
Off the top of my head I've only been to a few places; Takebashi in Commerce Gate in Markham, Ajisen Ramen on Spadina and on Yonge St. North York, Cattle Cafe in Richmond, BC and now Kenzo in North York.
The biggest difference I find between the places is the quality of the noodle and ingredients. The broth at all places were are all pretty good and tasted as described.
Alright enough background and onto my experience at Kenzo..
When I got there I was fortunate to find parking in the front of the shop (from reading some reviews it's hard to park). I sat at a small round table for two and looked at this well worn paper menu. Not feeling experimental that day, I ordered the Basic Ramen. It's called Sho-Yo Ramen - Super Noodles with Japanese Soy Sauce.
About 6 minutes later it was brought out to me -- steaming, presented on a black wooden tray.
Yes it's a bowl of soup, but it isn't no frills though - it comes with fresh seaweed, a slice of turnip, half an egg, and few pieces beef. On the side some ginger and pickle.
Also brought to the table is red and white pepper. My favorite is the red hemp pepper.
My take,
Look - the broth is salt flavoured soup, with a hint of soy.. a good neutral stock. the yellow egg based noodles are just slightly bigger than the wavy noodles ones has in an instant noodle package.
Aroma - breathe in the salt and seaweed, you can readily exfoliate your face with the steam. :)
Taste - noodles cooked with the right amount of chewiness, it soaks the flavours of the soup base nicely, beef was ample, it was very tender in the soup, the half egg cooked about right and not over done.
It was an excellent bowl of ramen.
The interior of the restaurant -- a kind of narrow hallway feeling, the dark wood interior doesn't help, there's some Japanese beer paraphernalia about.. Half the restaurant are booths, half open tables. At the rear of the restaurant where the kitchen is located there's a huge counter the servers use to prepare the ramen.
Anyways, I'd come back here if I'm in the mood for soup again. The basic ramen was excellent. Next time I'd try something else perhaps with the miso based stock. -
Review from Baby E.
4/13/2012 1 Check-in Here
Pretty decent for Toronto. The menu online threw me off as there are alot more choice on the menu. Overall pretty good but short wait time. There is parking as well. I had the shio which wasnt too salty just right.
The miso is a little too salty though. -
Review from John Y.
Toronto, ON
4/13/2012
Went here today for lunch. I really liked their service, it was simply great. Food was excellent, and met my apatite. Thanks Kenzo!!
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Review from Kat K.
I'd say this is the place to go for Ramen time.
Extremely hard to find parking in the front, but if you go to the back of the plaza there normally is enough parking and it's easier to exit once you finish eating.
This place specializes in Ramen, I usually prefer their Sho-yu and Miso ramen combo with their gyoza.
Along with their Osaka Takoyaki, yummm, better than the takoyaki stand @ T & T middlefield.
This location is closed on Tuesdays.Listed in: 30 days of Yelping, Noodling in Toronto
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Review from Lynn C.
10/9/2011
I always get my hair done at the Salon next door and once in a while, when I'm starving, I'd end up eating here after with a friend or get takeout from here. I've never loved anything here prior so I eventually just stopped coming here. One time I got the chicken Katsu takeout and it was so bland that I never came back again.
Recently I've discovered Kenzo Ramen downtown and when the next time I had my hair done I noticed the place next door is also Kenzo, I thought it must be the same North York location everyone is talking about, so I gave this place another try yesterday.
Now, according to the Kenzo Ramen website, this North York location does not exist. I'm quite confused because the menu I saw yesterday was quite similar to the locations downtown (slightly less items). I ordered the King of Kings (Netsu ramen with 5 extra toppings) and it was just as good as the ones I have had in the downtown locations. So is it, or is it not the same chain/franchise? I have no idea. The food is just as great though. The best part is probably their chasu, which seems to be freshly grilled to perfection. There are grill parks on the round pieces of pork.
My main concern for this place is their lack of employees. There are only two servers, one of whom seems to be the owner and only hangs out by the kitchen to collect and distribute money for delivery, leaving one girl to get order, serve food, and clean up. Needless to say, the wait was long. Even at 2:30pm in the afternoon, we had to sit around for 30 minutes before we got seats. Thankfully the food was worth the wait. -
Review from Alex T.
Toronto, ON
7/2/2011
If you're a fan of Japanese ramen (or at least know what it's supposed to taste like), Kenzo is probably your best bet in Toronto. This review focuses only on the North York location. I've been to the other Kenzos and have been disappointed with what I had there.
I always cringe when I hear people touting Ajisan as "good ramen".. Couldn't be farther from the truth. The noodles there are closer to spaghetti if you ask me. I was introduced to Kenzo 2/3 years ago and have been converting fellow ramen lovers from Ajisan since.
Pros:
As authentic as you can get for Japanese ramen
Miles ahead of other ramen places
Portions are very good
TAKOYAKI
Cons:
Wait times for food can be long
Parking is not so friendly out front, use the back when u can
Like I said, Kenzo is pretty much as close as it gets to authentic ramen in Toronto. The noodles are made by the owners themselves. Yes, they are Korean but they know what they're doing. The noodles always come out at the right consistency and the broth, though not as excellent as when Kenzo first started out, is still very good.
King of Kings is where it's at. You can't go wrong there. You can get it regular (which is akready a little spicy to start) or spicy. They really kick it up a notch when you order it spicy. I'm from Taiwan and I found their spicy to be pretty spicy. I also recommend the Tonkotsu and the Ji Su Men. There are many other types of ramen I've yet to try, but I'm sure others can attest to those for me. The ladies in the back really pay good attention to detail. Your ramen looks very close to the pictures in the menu you ordered from.
Lastly, everyone must have the Takoyaki. I always judge a Japanese place by how they make their Takoyaki. If a place is willing to put the time and effort into Takoyaki then it's a safe bet they're putting in the same for everything else. The Takoyaki is some of best in town as well. I always get an order or two when coming here. It does take some time, but well worth it.
So all in all, a very good place that all fans of ramen should try. It isn't Japan, but as good as it gets for now. I can't say the same for the other locations, but the North York location is a sure bet if you ask me. -
Review from Sherry T.
Markham, ON
12/10/2010
Kenzo! I finally have been to Kenzo noodle, and also in one week went to two different location , one on Yonge, other one on Bloor. I like the one on Yonge better.
we had king of king ramen. the ramen was so yummy and spicy. the "chasu" (BBQ pork) and noodle are tender and chewy. specially the grilled mark chasu ,not too dry and gave u a miso soup flavour.
The dumpling was juicy and the skin very thin. Overall good value for the quality.
The store is small, maybe 10 to 13 tables but I feel its good Japanese family restaurant even though its owned by Korean people.
Don't park at the front... suggest you park at the back... less traffic. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
11/5/2010 5 photos
An Asian men approaches me so I call out "King of Kings". He ask what I would like to drink and suggests Tea, sure. As I sit looking at the small but Ramen-esque decor of Ramen Specials on the walls and Introduction of Ramen origins.
I face a cute setting of Table for 2, which I like to say is the Chef's Table. The person facing the Kitchen will get to see the action and the Noodles coming out, while the person facing the Entrance will see who is going to the Washroom next. As they head down the stairs which is what the men did after placing my order.
The 2 mid to elder ladies prepped my meal and served it up with a smile. I oversaw the elder women prepare the side Pickled dish and it looked simply BEAUTIFUL, work of Art like she made it just for me piece-by-piece.
King of Kings($9.95) had a Spice Broth with 4 Yummy Chasu, some Dried Seaweed, Tasty Marinaded Egg, Marinaded Bamboo Shoots, Fish Cake Slice and what I would like to call Manchu Wok style Chop Suey underneath intertwined with the Ramen Noodles.
Ramen Noodles are the straight version and was cooked nicely with just a slight bit of chewiness. It's a bit smaller in diameter than Ajisen or Instant Noodles so I would say it's inbetween those and Wonton Noodles. It was good but I like curly Konnichiwa version Noodle better.
In terms of the Toppings, I was impressed with the Chasu with nice fat-to-lean ratio and wasn't dry like some other places. It even looked visually appealing. The Chop Suey even had some Ground Meat bits inside that was seasoned well and delicious.
At 4:30 pm, the 2 women and 1 men sat down at the kitchen counter and was having their meal. The women came over and asked me how the meal was and I said it was "Delicious". A perfect pre-dinner snack. I will be back for Tonkotsu, my standard Ramen flavour...Listed in: Oishii, Pull my Noodles - Korea +…
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Review from edwin h.
2/27/2011 3 Check-ins Here
A local joint which I visit regularly, Kenzo serves up decent bowls of ramen - perfect for a quick lunch or dinner on a cold winter day. Portion size is generous, noodles are tender without being mushy and the broth is savoury.
Much like it's other location on Dundas, Kenzo is very busy and so it's best to go at slightly off peak times to avoid the wait for tables. (oh, there is parking in the back)
The menu sticks pretty closely to what it does best and is better for it. You will find a few different kinds of ramen broth along with the requisite gyoza, tacoyaki and tonkatsu. None of which fail in any particular regard but I must say that the gyoza at the Dundas location is much juicier and tastier than the ones offered here.
The side of spicy pickled daikon is a nice touch to cleanse the palate and cut some of the grease. -
Review from Wendy C.
11/26/2010
Good for a quick ramen fix. One of the better ramen places in GTA.
The "house special" ramen is the one that comes in milky pork-bone broth. Strangely it is not on the menu, but there is a picture of a huge bowl on the wall so just point and ask. It comes with slices of tender chasu, marinated egg, and some veggie. Quite tasty.
I've tried a few versions of their "hot ramen" too. Pretty good.
Very small place, less than 10 tables.
Korean staff and chef. This woman server is always in a rush, not rude or anything, but she's too busy to give you a smile. -
Review from Joe H.
After coming from New York and being dissapointed by ramen there, I was hankering for some good old fasioned Toronto ramen. I followed Jennifer.K's ramen list was was pretty much set to go.
Upon seeing the restaurant, you'll notice really bad parking out front, well it's not exactly easy to park there. Park in the back, there's ample parking there.
The menu isn't really that big, I mean there's basic ramen, hot ramen, "ramen delicacies" and some appetizers. If you're having trouble finding out what things are, it's kinda neat that they have banners on the wall that tell you about the history of ramen as well as what's in it and what it is.
I ordered the King of Kings ramen. I mean, how could I not have? The name says it all! We also ordered the miso ramen as well as the gyoza. They also asked me how spicy I wanted the ramen. Honestly, I didn't even really understand her, so I just said "Yes". I later found out that she just made it "regular spicy". One tip... look at the specials before you order on the wall, you may end up saving some money.
The ramen here is awesome! A cool thing about the bowl was that it was packed with stuff. However, the miso ramen didn't exactly have as much toppings ontop of it. The broth was excellent. The king of kings one was a spicy "salt broth" and was pretty spicy, perfect in my opinion and was nice and well rounded. The miso broth (which I sampled) was really good as well. I would could have gone with either one and been happy.
The noodles (which is the most important part) were done very well. I think the worst thing you could do is undercook or overcook the noodles, but these came out great, nice and chewy and soft.
One thing that I wasn't really a big fan of is the chashu on the king of kings ramen. It was kinda cool that they had char marks on them, but I actually found them kinda tough. It may have been because it was really lean, or grilled before-hand but it definately could have been more tender.
The gyoza was... alright. I mean, I've had better. They're man fried kinda like "wo teep" chinese dumplings but are kinda neat because they're nice and tinyfor a perfect two bites.
They don't take reservations so defeinatly come early if you have a big party. We came here on sunday afternoon and waited for about 10 minutes.
I would definately put this place on the top 5 ramen places I've been to. If you ever have a urge for ramen, go here and give it a shot.Listed in: Quest for Ramen!
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Review from Calvin S.
Markham, ON
3/3/2011
King of Kings is where it's at if you love spicy food. Unfortunately I can't take spicy food, so I went with the Miso ramen. Had Tonkotsu a few times as well.
The ramen is definitely one of, if not, the best I've ever tasted. Well maybe it's because I've failed to find a good place that offers proper Japanese ramen, but this place certainly does. Ajisen doesn't even come close to the quality here. The soup, on the other hand, I like Ajisen better. More taste in their soup (although more MSG as well).
The specialty is definitely the Tacoyaki. The octopus...the CHEESE...ohhhhh soooooo good. Although you should expect a wait for those, since they can only do at most 2 at once, and from what I see it's very popular.
Great, now I'm hungry. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
12/4/2010 13 photos
Slurp Slurp Slurp! I love Kenzo Ramen! Now I know where to get my Ramen fix when I am Uptown!
Small storefront in a strip plaza we almost miss it even when we are walking along Yonge Street.
King of King Ramen oh so tasty! I found the broth here is more spicy and have more kick than the one down at Dundas. Love the grilled marks on the tender chasu. The noodle here is ok, for texture and chewy wise not as good as Konnichiwa.
I love their Gyoza here! If like me have nightmares after eating those frozen, then deep fried packaged like Gyoza that served in a lot of places.. what they made here are so good!! The skin is light and thin, closed to transparent! Size wise they are a little smaller than the ones downtown though.
Service here is nice and friendly. I doubt this place will get too busy compare to the downtown locations.
Free parking at the back... try not to park in the front, because you will have a hard time trying to back out to Yonge Street during rush hour!
BTW, this Kenzo gives customers free tea.
They accepts VISA and Mastercard.Listed in: You can get EVERYTHING you…, Cheap/Fast Date!, Ramen in Toronto!
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Review from Camille K.
North York, ON
8/31/2008 ROTD 8/22/2009
Kenzo has pretty good Ramen. It`s no Momofuku so if you hate that place, maybe you`ll love it here and vice versa. However, the service is pretty terrible. The place is usually way too busy for one waitress (even though it is quite small) and she (usually a she) is always super stressed. Super stressed = rude.
I usually order the King of Kings and it's generally pretty good. Since the King of Kings is in the menu, I never have a problem getting it. But if you try to order a small dish or appetizer, the waitress usually gives some convoluted story about how magnetic forces aren't aligned and how it isn't available. There aren't too many Ramen places in Toronto so when I need a fix, I go here.
In the restaurant, Kenzo has a review from The Toronto Star posted on the wall. What is quite funny is that the review isn't very flattering. It says that the wait is long and broth is bland. I guess the owner of Kenzo takes the approach of "bad news is better than no news".
http://www.thestar.com... -
Review from Michael N.
NORTH YORK, ON
7/24/2011
Seriously one of the only places in town that makes ramen the real way. They make their own noodles and their Shoyu ramen is fantastic.
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Review from Joanne W.
5/1/2010 2 photos
I found this place using Urbanspoon on my BlackBerry. My friend and I decided to try it out.
The place was slightly tiny, so it was hard to get a nice seat away from the other people in the place.
My friend and I ordered the Miso Ramen. It was actually much bigger than expected! It wasn't bad, but I think I've been too use to Ajisen Ramen. We ordered a side of Takoyaki (with squid) as well - that was quite delicious. Side dishes included kimchi and some daikon.
Service was good, but not very quick.
If you plan to park, park in the back! -
Review from Erwin M.
4/1/2010
I know of only 2 Japanese ramen places in the GTA. Kenzo and Ajisen. I'd say Kenzo is definitely much better than Ajisen. It's not the best but it's not bad. I had a craving for tonkostu Ramen and this place made my day. I've had tonkotsu Ramen in Japan which was really awesome and obviously this aint as good. But after eating it you don't crave for it as much anymore.
I only order 3 types: tonkotsu, satporo and the king. All of them very satisfying in their own unique way.
if anyone knows of another ramen place I'd love to try it. -
Review from Wil L.
Mississauga, ON
11/30/2010
I frequent this restaurant and it is very consistant. Probably the best place for Ramen in T.O. Turnover at the restaurant is slow, so be prepared to wait during peak dinner hours. Tokaiyoki is on par with what I had off the streets of Tokyo, but they don't have it available everyday.
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Review from J J.
Richmond Hill, ON
12/31/2011
food okay, service horrible. waited over half an hour to get food at 2:00 in the afternoon
