Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Been coming here for yeeeears one of my fav Ramen in Van. Kara-miso really hits the spot during winter season. But it ain't cheap.

Good food, MSG yes but not too much. The price is good too. Friendly staff. Will visit again.

The veggie ramen was good, though it was definitely helped by the added garlic I ordered! A more flavourful broth would be ideal, but I understand that’s not what the focus of this place is.

Would have given 2.5 stars if I could. Not terrible, but there is much better ramen around.

The spicy dandan noodles that are not found in other restaurants are worth a try and the portions are generous.

I've had some great ramen in my life. This is not one of those times.
Came with a few local friends as we were in town, and none of the 4 of us could finish. There is just something.off. The vegetarian ramen was a real let down and very unappealing - we had to dig for the noodles under a mountain of vegetables.
Perhaps we came on an off day? But either way, it's very expensive for the quality we received.

I will say that this place seems very authentic. The staff were super nice and looked to have really good work ethic. We got a miso based ramen and it was pretty good. We usually have shoyu most places but I love anything spicy so we tried something new. Great flavor, good broth. Not super spicy so if you want a little bit of spice this bowl would be nice to try. Hopefully will be back to try other things.

Also enjoyed the matcha beer. Not too shabby.

There are basically four flavors of ramen. You can choose salt, soy sauce, miso, and spicy, and you can choose fat or lean meat slices.
The attitude of the service staff is quite good! Fried dumplings are also quite delicious!

Ordered a large bowl of kara-miso ramen for to-go, it says double portion of meat but what i got was literally 2 thin small piece of pork slice.what a dis appointment!

Santouka is probably my favorite ramen spot in the city. Even though it’s a chain, chains can be amazing and the quality really Carrie’s through all locations. I typically order their special and get an order of gyoza. The pork jowl is one of the best parts of meat and they way it’s made here is spectacular.

#1 for me in the city - still the same - always satisfied- shio large - firm noodle - still the BEST 1-17-23 - 5-4-23 updated ***still the best***

Excellent service provided by professional and friendly staff. The Ramen are in the top tier of the city restaurants, very tasty with a great selection. Thank you.

So far the best in Vancouver; but I couldn't find any good one tbh.
Good staff and service.

The place is super small and you have to wait outside however this is the best ramen and soup I’ve had in Canada.

Broth was delicious and worth every penny! We took the shio ramen and it was the best ramen I've had in Canada!

Tasty hot ramen, cold beer, attentive wait staff in a busy location - favourite ramen in the city!

Amazing Ramen. Service was fast, friendly and the broth was amazing. Highly recommended, the wait was about 35 minutes on a Monday night.

Ramen was delicious but gyoza tasted burned (and arrived 20 minutes late. They had forgotten our order). Staff were helpful but service was slow.

The ramen here is fantastic, I loved the texture of the noodles and the spicy broth is to die for. It goes very well with the rice side dish too!

Solid bowl of Ramen.

I think overall good service, and tasty Ramen. Atmosphere is cozy, but a bit cold if you're sitting near the door. More attention to keeping the door closed in the winter is appreciated so that you're not sitting in the cold.

Fast and friendly service.
One of the best bowls of ramen I've ever had.
Would recommend 10/10!

Love trying new ramen places so we decided to go to ramen santouka on Robson.

I had their toroniku (limited quantity pork cheek) in their kara-miso soup. The pork cheek is super tender and melts in your mouth. Soup is very flavourful and has a good spicy burn in the back of your throat hotness which I really enjoyed. We also had their miso ramen combo with grilled salmon gohan. A solid deal (who doesn’t like that?) so it was a bonus to get some well-seasoned and delicious salmon with your ramen….

Hmm… salmon ramen. Spelt very differently but sounds the same? !?

Definitely a great ramen place if you haven’t been here before!

I didn't like the food, but it's just not my taste. It has cute decor inside. The space is tiny so tables are closed to each other.

Thanks for providing Vancouver's West End with some awesome Ramen, including a plant-based option! I would love your restaurant even more if you offered takeout with Reusables.com - a zero-waste packaging service for food to-go!

The Ramen was so delicious, never had Ramen that tasted so authentic. Also the waitress are Japanese which made it easier to perfect mine. Do not tip as it is rude in Japanese culture!

Just got some ramen takeout for lunch in a park. The ramen smells really good, couldn't wait to have it. However, we couldn't find any utensils in the bag when we were ready to eat.
3 stars for the food, hopefully your staffs can be more careful next time.

The vegetarian ramen was quite large and filling, but I found it to be bland and a bit overpriced. It could be better with the addition of some more spices but tasted wholly of just regular vegetable broth. Also this was sadly the only vegetarian/vegan ramen available. There’s plenty of great vegetarian ramen I’ve had in the area and I would probably not come here for it again. The wait was also quite a long wait even though there were several tables open, but were just not getting cleaned. Quite disappointed as I was excited to try this place

Ramen was good (though the broth is quite heavy on grease/lard) but server seemed coldhearted (just took the order and gave the bill without saying much).

One of the best ramen spot in Vancouver, im surprised how delicious shiyo ramen is when it looks plain to me. I like their kara miso too, sooo good. We get the combo which is a good deal. They have nice hot teas too. I like their gyoza as well. Tamago needs to be improved, i like the tamago of marutma ramen than santouka, nevertheless Santouka should be one of the go to for ramen cravings. Noodles and broth are perfectly delicious! Service is quick and good!

Ramen was very tasty and rich. Some of us upgraded our bowls to Large size and the only regret is that it is too much. But we had to finish it because it's too good to waste. Awesome place for ramen!

We loved this place. Flew in from Ontario and were craving a delicious bowl of Ramen. Hokkaido did not disappoint. It was crazy busy but we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a seat inside. The service was super fast and the food was mouth watering. Lots of choices and everything was 10/10. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for some yummy eats!

My favorite Ramen restaurant! Spicy miso ramen is my go-to! It is not that spicy but still better to have miso ramen with some spiciness!

Santouka has been one of my favourite ramen spots in the city for a long time and for good reason too!

The combos.

It truly is the best of both worlds for folks like me that crave variety. You can choose from four kinds of pork broth ramen bowls (Shio, Shoyu, Miso, and Kara-Miso) and mini rice bowls (Negi Meshi, Ikura Gohan, Grilled Salmon Gohan, and Chashu Gohan) at differing price points, though all are served with half of a hard boiled egg and edamame. At Santouka, you also have the option to adjust the texture and amount of your noodles, as well as the amount of lard and salt.

I ordered the Kara-Miso and Ikura Gohan combo ($19.80) for my most recent visit.

The Kara-Miso is seasoned with hot spices (though I personally don't find it spicy at all) and fermented soy bean paste, giving it its fiery orange colour and umami flavour. The noodles have some chew and springiness, providing great mouthfeel as you slurp them up with the flavourful soup base. The pork cha-shu is slow-simmered with just the right amount of fat to keep it from being too tough or dry. I've had the Kara-Miso many a time and it is always consistently delicious. I suppose if there was any room for improvement, it'd be that the hard boiled egg should be marinated and soft-boiled instead.

As for the Ikura Gohan, it is most definitely worth the extra dollar or so. The ikura provides little bursts of sweet, salty goodness to flavour each bite of rice. The omelette itself is light and lends some added texture against the ikura.

During COVID times, Santouka's changes include plastic dividers between tables and at the communal table, masked employees, and a reduced capacity for patrons. Though it is a small place, I felt safe dining in with these precautions and the ventilation. If you're hoping to avoid a lineup for dinner, I would suggest coming in a few minutes before 6pm.

Server got the drinks mixed up on receipts, couldn’t understand my request to correct it, entered 20% tip without showing or informing us, presented the machine with the tap screen that doesn’t display any amount.

The food itself was just okay, ramen-wise nothing special. Broth was too salty and soda had too much syrup in it.

Overall the experience was typical of an overhyped restaurant. Won’t be back because of the shameless cash-grab.

Had this many times, finally writing review on this. This is the only place I would go for Ramen. You can’t beat the texture, and flavour of the noodles they have. Reasonably priced. Fast and good service, why go anywhere else.