Santouka Ramen

So, apparently, I've made it my life mission recently to find the best ramen in Toronto. Which is why when Steph suggested we go to Santouka last night, I jumped at the chance to try one of the most hyped ramen places in the city right now.

Pan-fried pork gyoza

Simmered pork with rice

We started with an order of the gyoza, which are served with vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil. A lot of ramen places serve mediocre gyoza, but these ones were actually quite good: tender, juicy pork in soft wrappers that are perfectly pan-fried to give it just the right amount of crisp. For my main, I decided to get one of the combos. There are four to choose from, but I opted for the simmered pork bowl combo, which comes with simmered pork on rice, half a hard-boiled egg with Japanese pickles, and your choice of ramen. I'm really glad I picked this one, because the pork on rice proved to be extremely addictive. I reckon I could eat it everyday of my life and not get sick of it, actually. The rice is fluffy and perfectly sticky, drizzled with a touch of sweet soy sauce, and then topped with slightly smoky simmered pork, sprouts, and green onions. So simple, but so delicious.

Shio ramen

The noodles

As for the ramen, I opted for the Shio ramen, which is their classic salt broth. It is in the broth that makes Santouka shine. It is perfectly milky, almost creamy, and just flavourful enough without being too salty. It's the kind of broth that you have to drink every drop because to leave any behind would almost be blasphemous. And I like that the broth is rich but mild enough that it doesn't compete with the flavours of the other ingredients in the bowl. I would go so far as to say that this broth is the best ramen broth I've had in the city so far, more so than even Kinton, which I love. The noodles are good in that firm, springy way that I actually found very similar to Kinton's, though I do prefer the fatty pork belly at Kinton to the version at Santouka. I will note, though, that I appreciate the variety of toppings at Santouka, all of which offered a nice textural contrast to each other; my ramen came with a slice of kamaboko, crisp baby bamboo shoots, a handful of seaweed, green onions, and a little Japanese pickled plum, which is a nice touch.

The wait was surprisingly short, though we did get there at 9:00 on a Wednesday night, which isn't exactly peak hours. Still, it definitely beats waiting 45 minutes for a table at Kinton. The service was nice and cheerful, and our server was polite, informative, and efficient. The space itself is clean, sleek, and streamlined, but still small and cozy; just what you'd expect at a new Japanese ramen restaurant. All in all, a fantastic foodie experience. I think I'd actually pick Santouka over Kinton (and Kenzo and Ajisen) for ramen in the city right now. I just need to try Sansotei now to complete my research on Toronto's holy trinity of ramen.


Santouka Ramen
91 Dundas East
Toronto, ON M5B 1E1
(647) 748-1717