So many new ramen places have opened but my favourite is still Kintaro!

There's a line up most of the time but it's because they're so yummy! And the place is tiny but everyone usually eats and goes so the line moves along fairly quickly.

Good ramen! Fast food! Great price! How can you say no?

Some might complain it's a bit stuffy but for some reason I like how small and crowded the place is.. it gives the place a different vibe.. like japan's skytrain!

You HAVE TO try it if you still haven't!!

Kintaro is a Japanese ramen noodle shop. Best known for it's consistent noodle texture and broth. From my experience, its the best ramen you can eat in Vancouver away from Japan. If you like the typical shoyu or miso ramen, that is quick, hot and tasty - I highly recommend this joint. I have also tried their gyozas here and they are not bad, but not special, just your typical Japanese dumpling.

Ambiance is almost like a wonton house, not exceptionally clean but not dirty. If you get a seat by the bar, you can see the cooks at work boiling the noodles and getting the broth ready. Highly recommended if you are a ramen lover.

I find it hilarious that Kintaro is constantly reviewed as the best place for ramen in Vancouver. Kintaro definitely doesn't live up to the public opinion of "best ramen in Vancouver." I guess a muddy glass of swap water is still water when you're dying of thirst in the desert.

I've been here a couple of times now and I've never been impressed at all.

The service is what it is for a busy ramen shop, so I can't really say that it's bad, but I can't really say that it's good either. Too bad Dine Here doesn't have a "neutral" or "no comment" option. At least this is the only thing that it has in common with an authentic ramen shop in Japan.

Just for laughs, I've always mixed up my order varying the "fatty-ness" of the soup and pork. Every single time, I've gotten the same bowl of ramen. So offering up the "option to choose" is really moot point.

People rave praises about the miso ramen here and that's another laugh. Miso can kill the delicate nuances of a soup, but they can also cover up any faults as well. I think the miso ramen here falls into the latter category since the shio and shoyu ramen here are pretty bad. Pretty bad is when I can make a better bowl of ramen at home using one of those raw/frozen ramen packs that can be bought in a Japanese food store.

If you want to raise the bar and your own standards and have a bowl of "real" GOOD ramen, there are better places down the street or around the corner on Robson.

I went to Kintaro while I was in Vancouver in December. I lived in Japan and haven't had REAL Ramen since I moved back to Canada. The Ramen was great, the aroma in the restaurant was as I remember in Japan, and the service was Japanese style...Quick and to the point. Love the place, I would recomend it to anybody. I even bought a Kintaro T-shirt.

I've been a faithful customer for many years. I was away for a month and my gf told me there's something OFF with the taste of Kintaro. She said it might be due to a new chef. So I went with her one night and the chef we wanted was cooking. Let's give it a try. We went in and ordered our favorite. I had the cheese ramen and my gf had the Shio ramen. Both were disappointing when compared to before. The favor of the soup is not as strong as before which is the reason we went there. I think the chef in Japan will be very disappointed with this "best Ramen in Vancouver".

I would start going to the one on Robson Street across from Safeway. It's more expensive though.

Food: It tastes pretty good. It is authentic and doesn't taste like Chinese ramen if you know what I mean. The texture of the noodles is very good. It's al dente like Italians say about their pasta. There's 3 big thick pieces of pork in the bowl. Meat is very tender. Unlike other cheapskate restaurants in this city, Kintaro is very generous when it comes to portion and toppings. The only thing I notice is that the broth can be greasier than ramen from other Japanese restaurants in major US cities. I always thought Japanese food is not greasy, at least that's what Japanese food is like in major US cities. Nevertheless, it's still yummy.

Service: They are polite. Service is fast enough.

Value: I only rated 3 because the seating situation is so bad. You will know why when you read the following.

Ambiance: Ugh! The store is very cramped. You either sit at the bar or share table with bunch of strangers. Talking about awkward. You better pray you don't sit next to some nosy jerks eavesdropping your conversation or rude weirdos staring at you like they never know what etiquette means.

Because the store is so small. They can only accommodate a few customers. As soon as you put down chopsticks, they give you a check hinting you to pay and leave ASAP. You certainly have to leave right away because there are bunch of customers standing there waiting. Sitting there for more than 2 minutes after putting down chopsticks will make you the public enemy. LOL!

I am never that kind of person who likes to hang out in the restaurant. I finish my meal and I leave. But being rushed and hurried to leave is kind of abusive. I don't think sitting there for extra 5 minutes after you finish you meal is asking too much. Frankly, I don't think anybody wants to sit in a dirty restaurant for too long. But you need to digest your food and drink some water or tea by sitting there for just a few minutes more, don't you?

The store is kind of dirty. It's cramped. And you have to share tables. That really makes dining experience unpleasant. It doesn't have the best location anyway. Kintaro Ramen is already famous. I don't see why they can't move to somewhere bigger and more comfortable. They can get a bigger room at the same price or cheaper since this location is not exactly a hot spot.

Will I come back?
If I am in the area and I don't have to wait in line.

Is it worthy waiting in line?
Not really. It tastes good but it's not so freaking good to makes you think it's crack. It's not "addictive" good. And the seating situation is very abusive. I would not line up and bend over backward for that.

Unlike major US cities with a lot of Japanese living there, Vancouver doesn't have big Japanese population and many Japanese restaurants operated by Japanese. In other words, there's not a lot of competition for Kintaro. It can easily rank as top 3 ramen in Vancouver.

still no challengers to the throne. soup base and noodles are still the best, period. the lean pork was never really that good and they could learn from how the chinese make their pork but be that as it may, does not detract much from the excellent taste of this bowl of ramen. service was friendly and efficient.

My husband and I came in just around 6 pm on Sat. The place was packed - one of the waitress came over and gave us a menu so that she could place our order in line already. Luckily we got seated in 5 min. and after another 5 min., our order started to come in.

Gyoza: average Japanese gyoza - tastes just like back home. Garlicky and crisp bottom.

Ramen: my choice - Miso (middle richness and lean pork)
my hubby's - Cheese! (middle richness and lean pork)
Ohhhhhh it was authentic. Great broth. You can't duplicate this at home. The broth was Tonkotsu-based, I believe, and very rich to me who grew up in Kansai (West mainland Japan). Lots of noodles, pork, and veg. Much more satisfying than ramen I had elsewhere (incl. in Japan). For Cheese Ramen, he liked it, but perhaps for novelty only. We both enjoyed broth a lot but didn't finish because it was just too rich.

By the time we finish, the line-up outside was long. The bill came to $23. Will definitely return.

I've been here quite a number of times and find the ramen very delicious. The pork broth is nice and tasty with a strong taste. The amount of ramen in each bowl is just right. Not too little. I like the choices they give in terms of what type of soup you want: rich, medium, or light. The first time I came here, I tried the rich. Little did I know that it was really rich with fat on the surface of the soup. So since then, I've been ordering light, which is perfect. The service is solid, in that the waitresses always come and check if you still need some more ice water. But you do get the feeling that they are trying to hurry you up a bit. Understandable, since the place is quite small and there seems to be a line-up most of the time. I think that they do need to get rid of that big table by the window, because not a lot of people likes to share a table with strangers, watching each other eat, and don't know where to look. I enjoy sitting by the 'bar' stools where I could watch the chefs make noodles. It feels like those authentic ramen places in Japan.

This place is packed, even late at night. Line-ups go out the door, so there's usually a 10-15 minute wait period until you get a table. There are 2 other ramen places nearby so based on the popularity, this must be the best. I've tried the shio and shoyu ramen, and shio definitely wins as my favourite. The boiled egg is so tasty...I really wonder what they marinate it in. I've had medium and fatty broth. I wouldn't get fatty broth every again because I was surprised at the amount of floating fat balls I had. In one spoonful of soup, there'd be about 15 fat blobs floating. There isn't much ramen in each bowl, but something about it makes it so filling. I don't know if it's because it's made of egg. I can usually only eat 1/2-3/4 of my bowl. The pork is excellent..probably the best pork I've eaten. The fatty pork is rich and tastes the best. Definitely recommend the place, but don't go there so often unless you want clogged arteries.