Most Vancouver ramen fans will probably agree that the top 3 ramenya are Benkei Ramen, Kintaro Ramen Noodle, and Motomachi Shokudo. There is no official Vancouver “ramen zone” or “ramen central,” but by concidence or by design, all three ramenya are located within a block of each other, near the corner of Robson and Denman Sts in Vancouver’s West End. (There’s even a Gyoza King a couple of blocks SE on Robson, which has an unspecified “ramen comma udon” on their menu.)

If you’re in Vancouver for the Olympics, Robson and Denman are a bit far from all the Olympic excitement happening on Howe, Granville, and Seymour, but even from the GE Ice Plaza/Robson Square, it only takes about a 30 min walk to satisfy your ramen craving.

And what’s this I spy…about half a block from and across the street Benkei’s Robson’s location…
santouka ramen vancouver
Yes, it looks like Santouka Ramen will be jumping into the fray with their first Vancouver location! Vancouverites will soon be able to judge for themselves whether or not this popular ramen chain is worthy of all the hype they seem to generate wherever they go.

santouka ramen vancouver
No word yet on when they’re going to be open, but it looks like they already have an interested customer looking in. I also couldn’t resist taking a peek. It doesn’t look like much is set up yet, so it might be a while before the Denman/Robson ramen central gets a 4th choice.

6 thoughts on “vancouver ramen zone”

  1. I was at the invitation opening on February 25th and had Shio Ramen and it was fantastic!! The hype that Santouka creates is well deserved. I can’t wait to head downtown and have some of the other menu items!!

  2. @Mike: lucky you! I gotta ask: all the Santoukas down here are in food courts and they give you the crappy little plastic spoons instead of proper soup spoons. What are the spoons like at this one?

  3. I guarantee you that Santouka is better than Benkei. Well, actually every person’s ramen preference is different, but quite frankly, if you have their toroniku (pork cheek) ramen, you’ll have tasted paradise. Benkei was fine as I ate it, but their Akaoni gave me harsh cramps afterward.

    Even though ramen experts trash Q-Go on Broadway, I actually rather like it. Light broth, chewy noodles, enough veggies on their ramen to make a whole salad.

    1. @Yuki: I totally agree, but I still think Santouka is overrated, with the exception of their toroniku. That’s good stuff. And I just like the feel of Benkei. It’s really homey.

      I don’t think I was a aware of Q-Go when I was up there. I’ll put it on my list to try next time. Thanks!

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