ZUBU Ramen - Metrotown

3 people came to take orders and still forgot the dish we ordered, not much on the menu for main dishes. What we wanted to order wasn't available. They suggested to sign up for a discount and they forgot to add the discount on the bill. It was "if you want" to correct the bill. The only thing is that this place is beautiful, just go for drink and starters

I really enjoyed the ramen here, the noodles and the broth are really delicious with rich flavor. They have good deals and a points program which is nice to keep you coming back. The service is meh, a little bit slow and all over the place. I noticed others who came in after us were served first before we were which was a bit frustrating. Additionally the seats at the bar are not a vibe, I recommend changing the environment in that corner to make it better.

Honestly I’m so mad at myself for paying 20 dollars for a bowl of sticky rice and little else. Don’t get the veggie bowl

Edit:

It’s not like I’m coming back after this LOL I want my 20 dollars

I had another review for this location back when it was jinya ramen so I had to delete that and make a new review. I personally think Jinya was a better ramen place thi swas good and the lunch menu seems like an okay deal but I miss jinya as my preference is fusion ramen and this is more like traditional. I'm giving 3 stars as the lunch set was kinda of underwhelming we tried the Curry cheese fries and the shoyu butter peppers for the starters and honestly if the fries came with the shoyu butter sauce instead of ketchup THAT would be an awesome starter as the fries were a little too crispy and the cheese element was powder as well as the Curry but since we had the shoyu butter sauce from the peppers we drizzled that on the fries and it was really yummy then. The main I got was the tonkatsu ramen which is pretty standard for a ramen flavor and it was nice rich and creamy and the portion was a bit smaller than a lot of other ramen places I've been but for me that was better. The dessert is a mochi icecream ball I got the matcha and it was a little bitter I like things less sweet and I like matcha but this was not really for me. Overall I don't think the lunch special is worth it the appetizers it comes with and the dessert is not as good as other things on the menu from the looks of it. Oh and I had the peach soda to drink which was nice to have a more unique soda/juice option. Sorry I didn't get pictures of the appetizers XD

Very quick service and friendly staff. Restaurant follows Covid guidelines very well

Weird that people use the back door as a normal exit though. Usually restaurants have back door exclusively for fire emergencies. Maybe I am overthinking it

Food was good

Good atmosphere, very clean and the servers are really friendly and professional. Tonkotsu shiro is super good. Tasty food especially fried chicken and takoyaki. The takoyaki isn’t as good anymore as when I asked, the bus boy explained to me that they changed the recipe to remove the egg tartar as customers didn’t like it. Too bad. That Was the reason I ordered it.
Love the fatty pork tho.

Aburi cheesecake is excellent. Love it

Great restaurant! We were the first to get in there today and the staff were very helpful and quick. The food was equally pleasant and we definitely over indulged.

Super cool place to eat with very helpful staff! Also have really fancy tissues that inflate when dipped in water. Gotta check it out

Always love the service here! Elissa (Sorry if i misspelled) provided an amazing customer service. Definitely recommend!

There was a 30 minute wait to be seated, but the servers were really nice. The food was delicious, however, I found the ramen a little too oily for me. The teppan aburi chashu was dry as well. Would still visit again as I loved their fries and maybe try another ramen!

I never found the enter door, nobody help me to find it! It was Bad serve the waiter saw me outthere when I looked for the door and never help me!

This location used to be a jinya. I’m guessing they didn’t want to keep paying the franchise fees? Anyways, food is pretty good, but their karaage quality has gone down, and they now use the cheap style noodles that you find in say a food court ramen booth. Very disappointing. Other than that, the broths are amazing, and the cocktails are really good and very creative.

Pretty yummy ramen overall. However, I miss the Sprouting Up Ramen I used to eat at Jinya. A bit expensive but the servers are very friendly.

The food and service was great, but for the price it is not worth it. The serving was super small, the price should be 20% less for the quantity of food served

Ordered spicy chicken ramen, potato salad and strawberry mock tail. It was my first time here. I had a wonderful food and time.

They have a Waitress that is so she is probably Korean and i need to claim that I am not racist. She was not nice and her attitude was so mean to customers. I am not coming here longer.

Terrible service they served customers that came in 30min after us first. Food took 45min and dessert came in 30. How hard is it to cut a piece of cake?

The atmosphere of the restaurant is amazing, the staff were fantastic and the Ramen was stunning! Highly recommend this place!

This restaurant was a big surprise to me! I've always passed by, but never paid much attention to it. I'm glad I decided to check it out. I had an amazing lunch! Their pan-fried gyoza is probably the best gyoza I have ever had. I am usually not a big fan of ramen, but I truly enjoyed the Tonkotsu Kuto dish. The fatty option is super fatty though, so beware of that. For desert, the Aburi cheesecake was a success. It's not too sweet, it's on point. It is big enough for two people to share. I also tried the Mochi Ice Cream, which is also very good. The service was excellent. I totally recommend this place!

The servers are so kind and the food is delicious. The interior was clean, the bathroom was clean, and it was good. Overall, it was very good.

Food was excellent! I got the Kuro Ramen, delicious and full of flavour. I also split an order of the Crispy Chicken and it was juice while being crunchy. Excellent atmosphere and wonderful service. The positive vibe given by the host staff completed the dining experience. Well run restaurant with excellent food. I will for sure be visiting again!

Ample tables for dine in during covid. Tables are divided by tall plexi glass. Very busy after 6pm on top of online order deliveries. The ambience was clean and nice; ideal for visiting at night.

Had their special ramen "Zubu Zubu" ($17) combo up with the fried chicken and a side of rice. Enough for the two of us plus the 2 toddlers. Noodles were thick and dense, and the broth is rich. Generous portions of the noodles - reflected fairly in the price. Chashu slices were thinner, but still enough. Chicken was tender, juicy, and flavorful.

Customer service was excellent until they get really busy - understandably. There are also spaces for strollers and high chairs.

Parking available behind by Walmart/ Metrotown parkade.

After I walked in and told the waitress I was there for pick up. The lady immediately shouted "where's your bag? " with an upset tone. I was like "I'm sorry I didn't know I have to bring my own bag". She replied in an angry "make sure you bring a bag for pick up next time! ". It was unpleasant, especially there was no notes or request anywhere that I should bring my bag to pick up food I ordered and paid for. If you are concern for overspill, please offer containers that are sealed securely.

Addition to their rude staff, food totally not worth the price, too salty, and portions have been obviously shrunk and reduced in size. Felt ripped off for a $16-17 per portion ramen, nothing like their advertised picture. Felt scammed.

They certainly use a lot of MSG, gave me headache all night after I finished my Ramen.

I do not recommend this restaurant.

I will be honest. Really honest. My review is for mainly the foods experience:

Over rated.
It taste boring.
Nothing special.
Looks uninteresting.

I was expecting something amazing! Especially for the price value. It is kind high for what you get and it was not the size. I was thinking was there a budget cut some where? Where is the flavour? The plating look like a copy and paste. Then I noticed the staff in the kitchen are very young. They look like they don't have much cooking experience. This likely to contribute to the foods experience I received.

I know and been better place that serve the same style of foods (not going to promote them) in metro vancouver. The chef there have food /cooking experience which I can compare it when I am smelling, looking and tasting.

I noticed the Green tea and Mango Mochi ice cream taste and look the same at FreshCo (8 pieces for under $5). However, I just hope it was hand made and produce in store because was $4 each piece:/ Sorry. I am not complaining just point it out there.

The dark decor was perfect for the bar vibe.
Seating was nice. The bathroom washing hand water was only cold which is a concern due to Covid 19.

Overall, I don't like to leave any bad review. But just honest one.

As for the staff. I they were polite and attentive. I know they are trying to create a fun/ hip environment for the guests which was good:)

Excellent ramen bowls! The noodle has good bites to them, the pork is cooked perfectly and so tender, and the broth is rich without overwhelmingly fatty. This is where Jinya ramen used to be and they didn't change the interior at all, and they shouldn't cuz it's fine as is. They have larger menu on little bites so next time we come we definitely have to try their appies. The takoyaki we got was ok, the inside was rather room temp which indicates they're just one of those frozen takoyaki that you fry, not fresh. But we're extremely pleased with how good the ramen is so we'll come back and try the other nibbles next time

Not so great, Jinya was better, not sure they they changed to ZUBU Ramen but their noodles are basically plastic. Tonkatsu Soup was okay, the Chashu Rice Bowl looked like it was left overs.

I would express my deep appreciations to your waiter, AJ. I had my lunch in your restaurant on Mar 1st. To be honest, this is the first time, I went to a restaurant since pandemic. I hesitated to sit in the restaurant to have my lunch.
However, he cleaned the table for me and arranged me far far away from other customers.eventually, i was encouraged to sit and have a good lunch in your restaurant.
BTW, the noodle is so delicious and the service is so good.
I would like to rate the highest satisfactions to your fantastic staff and food.

Thanks again

What a Ramenzing experience! After Jinya, this place is my top fav whenever I want to have a delicious big bowl of crispy chicken ramen:) I am not a fan of pork broths so this place really offers some good chicken broth dishes.yum yum in my tum

The price is high but if you think about how much you will pay at the Cactus club, it's not that much different.

I was expecting much more. The noodles were not of high quality and the price was expensive for what was served

Not as good as Jinya and a bit over-priced. $17 for shrimp wonton noodle ramen with only two tiny wontons.

Visited this place twice and I quite like their food. Their ramen are creative so it's a bit more in the fusion side. It is definitely very tasty but I think it is pretty unhealthy. I tried out their dessert, london fog panna cotta and really enjoyed it. It wasn't too sweet.

I docked a point as they are usually very busy and their servers don't have the best attitude when you are greeted during busy times.

Former Jinya and better than. ZubuZubu Ramen and Takoyaki flavor, quaint service and professional Covid standards!

Thanks Zubu Metrotown.

Great service and ambience. The broth for the tonkotsu ramen is not impressive but good enough. Unexpectedly, the spicy vegan's soup is rich and creamy, much better than I thought. The alcohol tend to to a tad on the sweet side, each to their own preference.

The people working were super friendly and i really enjoyed my time there. I forgot who the server was but she was a short Asian girl and she was super bubbly. The skinny guy working was great too and I would come back for the great customer experience that we received. The food was good and their ramen combo was better than other places. I usually don't like ramen as they are pricey and I never get full but this location did. And the service was great!

Went there for dinner tonight. The service was prompt and good. Overall the ramen with the combo (salad with crispy chicken or chicken char shiu rice) was decent but they were pricier than other comparable ramen places in Burnaby.

Spicy vegan ramen broth was probably amongst the worst I’ve had, noodles were not far off from instant ramen. I did appreciate the large portion and the many pieces of tofu. Vegetable gyoza was presented in a hot skillet which really served no purpose other than to keep the dumplings at an inedibly hot temperature. The service was friendly but I felt our server was a little over intrusive, often putting her hands on the table and leaning forward towards us while talking. Her intentions were certainly good but it made us feel a little uncomfortable.

We'd last gone when it was a Jinya. Apparently the franchise owner has decided to try his own brand. So we decided to try it out.

We ordered the chicken ramen with the fried chicken and salad combo, and the tonkotsu kuro with gyoza, salad combo.

The salad was DELICIOUS.
I'm generally not one for house salads - I always seem to find the dressings overpowering.
I wasn't too enthused when it came out and appeared to be mostly cabbage based, but it was really tasty. I loved the balance of the dressing with the cabbage in the end, and found that it balanced really well.

The chicken karaage was crispy, juicy, and hot. It was very succulent, and an excellent choice by my friend.

The gyoza I found to be a little heavy on the green onion/cabbage, and didn't have as much juicy pork flavour as I like. The sauce they came with was spicier than a traditional gyoza sauce, which I wasn't a huge fan of, but they did go well together.

The ramen was delicious.
Add-ons like egg or corn are extra, - which the egg was delicious and very much worth it, a nice medium-hard boiled, with strong flavour to go with the ramen

I found that the broth was a little oily compared to other ramen I've had, so I couldn't drink the remaining broth as I normally do - but it was still very flavourful and had a nice balance otherwise.
They do allow you to choose regular or lean for your chashu, which my "lean" order was still pretty fatty, so I did wonder a little why it was offered, since pork belly tends to be pretty fatty regardless.

It was a little tricky to order given the menu is mobile, and wasn't super easy to read on my personal phone. But given COVID, it did make sense.

There was adequate spacing between tables/parties, contact tracing, and I believe they are offering pickup/takeout as well.

Overall, while I was disappointed that my regular ramen restaurant was no more, I was very impressed and pleasantly surprised by what has replaced it.

Terrible customer service, the hostess did not greet us and the first thing she said to us was if we scanned in the QR code at the front. It was our first time at this restaurant so we had no idea we needed to do that first. It would have been more positive and seamless if we were given instructions. Another mistake happened when our appetizers didn’t arrive, we waited but we still did not receive it until after we finished our ramens. I did make a complaint to the server and got an apology but it definitely didn’t seem like the restaurant cared to turn our negative experience into a positive one before we left. Food is mediocre, so I would not recommend this place for anything else.

If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be the spicy vegan ramen from Zubu. The noodles are great, the tofu is mysteriously perfect, the veggies are yummy, and the broth - can I just drink it from a mug? My favourite restaurant. Great dining experience, great decor and atmosphere, and the food is delightful.

Great service and recommendation from Aj! Never had a bad experience here may it be on food or service. Its great to have a ramen place thats been raised to another level of dining experience. Will never get tired of this place!

Very good ramen. Make sure to read what is included with the type you choose because not every one has the same. They also charge extra for a ramen egg, FYI. I don't mind paying extra but I still think it should ALWAYS be included! Their hand rolls are good too. I usually get the scallop or blue crab.

The food is amazing! I did read some mixed reviews about this place but from a food lover prospect this place is amazing. I tried their vegan spicy ramen and was exquisite. The service was great. Our server was very friendly and attentive. Will certainly come back to try out more items from the menu.

Edit: This review is for Jinya Ramen. I haven't eaten here since they changed to ZUBU Ramen.

Atmosphere is nice and servers are very friendly. Unfortunately the food was just fair me personally (vegetable ramen) and my boyfriend (spicy tonkotsu ramen), but my friend enjoyed her dish (black tonkotsu ramen). Prices are rather high in relation to food quality.

Seems like they just started so it's understandable. Suggestions which I hope will help them improve: Super glad they include vegetarian options but the amount of salad vegetables in the vegetable ramen could be toned down, the ramen was overflowing with salad and it just felt like eating a salad on top of noodles. I also think this dish could benefit from using vegetables typically used in Japanese cuisine rather than salad veggies, and maybe add some protein like tofu. Boyfriend said the spicy tonkotsu ramen felt like it was lacking something. Hopefully more taste tests & recipe refining could improve that in the future!

Very good new business. Small, curated menu. Friendly, kind staff (I am in a wheelchair). Custom rolls. A good, but small wine and beer list, which is helpful at Happy Hour. Old style pop music like Michael Jackson, George Michael tunes.

Karaage nice to see, in a neighbourhood of Taiwanese and Korean chicken joints (all fantastic in their styles). Thoughtful prep of simple house/side salads. Good selection of fish, like blue crab rolls.

They need some coffee for their small and interesting dessert list. And an end to Covid19! A good, independant bistro. Bravo.