Saturday
Kingyo
51B Winchester, at Parliament, 647-748-2121, kingyotoronto.ca This laid-back Cabbagetown izakaya proves you don’t need the full-bore frat-boy party vibe of Guu and the like to have a good time. Where else can you enjoy shareable plates that are as much fun for the tongue as they are for the eye while a kitschy Japanese sci-fi movie unspools over the bar? Best: rice-paper-wrapped salad rolls stuffed with barbecued chashu pork, cucumber and lettuce splashed with house-made teriyaki sauce and sweet kewpie mayo tataki-style seared albacore tuna dressed with ponzu jelly and deep-fried garlic chips cold al dente ramen noodles tossed with salty cod roe, barbecued pork, bitter radicchio and strips of both seaweed and scrambled egg hamachi yellowtail carpaccio over organic mesclun, slivered red radish and daikon sprouts in a sesame-wasabi vinaigrette. Complete dinners for $40 per person, including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average main $11. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 to 11:30 pm. Reservations recommended. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Ryoji
690 College, at Montrose, 416-533-8083, ryojiofcanada.com, @RyojiToronto While they don’t put tacos in their ramen, this Okinawa-based chain does the next best thing by offering a side of taco rice – sushi rice topped with salsa, iceberg lettuce and grated cheese – with its mein. Those put off by the austerity of some local soup kitchens will appreciate the downright swanky digs. Best: from the ramen lineup, lighter than usual shoyu dressed with pork belly chashu, spinach and scallion milky tonkotsu with extra chashu and perfectly timed yolky eggs vegetarian mushroom and seaweed broth with deep-fried garlic and pesto oil, all available with soft, regular, hard or extra-hard noodles tapas-style starters like tuna sashimi over starfruit and watercress salad in spicy chili vinaigrette retro fried chicken with creamy KFC-style coleslaw zucchini fritters dusted in garlic powder. Complete dinners for $30 per person (lunches $25), including tax, tip and a domestic beer. Average main $10. Open Saturday 5 pm to 2 am. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Teppan Kenta
24 Wellesley W, at St Nicholas, 647-345-0905, teppankenta.com Ex-Guu chef Kenta Taniguchi trades his gong for a teppanyaki griddle at this difficult-to-find izakaya (hint: it’s around the back of the condo and across from Northbound Leather). And while the snackable carte and bare-bones room might look like you-know-Guu, it’s noticeably less noisy. Best: to start, old-school guacamole made tableside double-fried chicken wings splashed with mirin and lemon juice blood-red slices of barely seared Angus strip loin brushed with sweet soy sauce ebi cheese, an offbeat mix of home fries, fava beans and grilled shrimp in molten mozzarella cheese sauce Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki omelettes layered with shrimp, squid, pork belly and dried bonito flakes that literally dance on the surface cheesy chan-pote potato pizza with “spicy fish innards” to finish (what else?), French toast. Complete dinners for $35 per person, including tax, tip and an imported beer. Average main $8. Open for dinner Saturday 5 pm to midnight. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Sunday
Kinton Ramen
51 Baldwin, at Beverley, 647-748-8900, kintonramen.com, @KintonRamen And you thought getting into Guu was difficult! This Baldwin Village spinoff of the relentlessly popular Church Street izakaya shifts the focus from tapas-like bar snacks to massive bowls of Japanese noodles, to the point of obsession. Little wonder lines form outside the 30-seat sweatbox half an hour before it opens. And be prepared to get stuffed: leaving anything other than an empty bowl is considered bad form. Bonus: mouthwash in the washrooms. You’ll need it! Best: to start, deep-fried boneless chicken wings in hot sauce fiery cabbage kimchee dense deep-fried tofu in Kewpie mayo the only mains, meal-in-one bowls of soup based on four “secret” layered broths – shio (salty), miso (soybean paste), shoyu (soy sauce) and spicy (lighter fluid) – swimming with astonishingly firm fresh noodles, caramelized roast pork shoulder or fatty belly and various toppings, including soft-boiled eggs steeped in sake, seaweed and raw grated garlic for the unconventional, ramen topped with Swiss cheese, frozen corn and Thai basil in miso broth spiked with butter. Complete meals for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a lemonade. Average main $10. Open for lunch Sunday 11:30 am to 3 pm, dinner 5 to 10:30 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
Momofuku Noodle Bar
190 University, at Adelaide W, 647-253-8000, momofuku.com/toronto, @momofuku For those who’ve experienced celebu-chef David Chang’s original storefront on Manhattan’s funky Lower East Side, the imported version in the super-luxe Shangri-La Hotel will come as something of a disappointment. Sure, the new joint’s bigger – making for shorter lineups, and there almost always is one – but the space itself looks like a Spring Rolls franchise from 10 years ago. The menu is also much shorter and includes none of Chang’s sensational Milk Bar desserts. To get those, you have to pony up the big bucks at his Daisho or Shoto upstairs. Best: in whatever random order the kitchen sends out, Chang’s signature ramen, toothsome of noodle, intense of bacon-infused pork broth, dressed with very soft-poached egg, sweetly roasted pork belly and shredded shoulder al dente vegetarian mein in ginger-scallion sauce toasted rice cakes with sesame seeds in spicy sweet ‘n’ sour Red Dragon sauce atomic kimchi stew with more Chang-style pig but while they’re tasty enough, his pork-stuffed steamed buns smeared with hoisin pale next to those of the Banh Mi Boys. Complete meals for $35 per person, including tax, tip and a Steam Whistle. Average main $15. Open for lunch Sunday 11:30 am to 3 pm, dinner 5 to 11 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Santouka
91 Dundas E, at Church, 647-748-1717, santouka.co.jp/en Hogtown’s infatuation with all things ramen continues apace at the local outlet of this Hokkaido-based franchise close to Yonge-Dundas Square. Although there’s almost always a lineup, efficient servers get most customers in and out in 45 minutes. Don’t do sodium? They’ll lower the salt! Smallish portions and somewhat higher prices compared to the competition reduce the rating. Best: your choice of milky salt-based shio, rich shoyu lashed with soy sauce or more mellow miso broth with al dente house-made noodles, chashu pork, slivered scallion ‘n’ seaweed, a few strips of bamboo shoots and the thinnest slice of kamboko fish cake possible, the generally standard-equipment slow-cooked egg an additional buck-60 sides of fatty braised toroniku pork jowl perfunctory ground pork gyoza dumplings. Complete meals for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a mug of green tea. Average main $12. Open Sunday 11 am to 11 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement, communal seating. Rating: NNN
