We went to Kintaro yesterday..what it was a nice surprise. We were greeted right away while we waited for a seat. After a small wait we were seated @ the bar and had a drink order taken. For lunch we both choose the Miso Ramen. You have a choice of light, medium or dark for fat content ( we both choose medium) and also, you are able to choose lean or fatty pork (we choose lean). The service was friendly fast and efficient, and they were BUSY! For $7.50. You get a HUGE bowl of ramen, filled with pork, (which was tender) corn, noodles bean sprouts and other veggies. It was a great value and sooooo good. Now I understand why there is always a line-up @ this place. I will definitely be going back

Let's get this out of the way: Kintaro has excellent noodles. They do a very authentic tonkotsu ramen and their miso ramen is the boldest, most flavourful broth I've tasted. Their latest offering, the spicy garlic ramen, is incredibly bold and the crushed garlic on top adds a real kick of flavour that's unforgettable. Not to mention the boiled egg, which is cooked to perfection. The cold ramen is a great blend of salty, sweet, and spiciness that's refreshing on a cold day. And everything is priced afforably, because you WILL be full. There is no doubt that you'll be full here.

Now there's the issue of space... I love it when there's no line and I get my soup right away, but that is a rare occurance and waiting in line for 15 minutes to eat my food just as fast can be a real bummer in both the winter and summer. The servers are in a real rush to get people in and hour and clear tables almost as soon as you put your spoon and chopsticks down. And then because the boiling soup stocks are kept out front and everything is cooked in an open kitchen, it gets very humid if you have to sit at the bar, especially in the winter when they don't have the dehumidifiers/air conditioners on. This is a very in-and-out type of place, which is good for some, but Motomachi Shokudo just a block away delivers food just as good for a similar price, and is way more comfortable, and typically less busy. I love the ramen at Kintaro, but it is really hard to sit in when I know Motomachi is just as good (aside from Kintaro's brilliant miso ramen), offers healthier options, doesn't reek of boiling pork bone, and is only a minute down the street. However, Kintaro remains the #2 in my heart. Benkei is too salty, and G-men is too boring with its flavours, and I have yet to try the recently-opened Santouka, next door to Guu. Undoubtably I will return to Kintaro when they bring back their cold ramen for the summer and start turning on their air conditioning to sort out the stuffy atmosphere.

The ramen and the soup base is very unique and tasty. Probably best in the city. BUT the line up is usually brutal, sitting is very limited and sometimes you have to share a table with strangers. i usually equate ramen with affordable cheap food, but this is not the case, b/c Each bowl of ramen is around 10 bux. In addition, can the bathroom be any smaller?

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.