Ajisen Ramen

Starting to doubt Unilocal’s rating system. Some businesses that have 4 to 5 star ratings i find are not that great and chain stores like Ajisen seem to get a lot of hate and end up with a meagre 3 star review. Ajisen has the best broth and worthy of 5 stars. In fact I’ve been here prob around 50 times in total.
My favorite ramen is the assorted seafood ramen with corn and a dab of chili oil.
My favorite appetizers are garlic chicken wings and beef enoki roll.
The manager is great and the servers used to be rude but they were all replaced recently and are now all extremely polite.
Definitely would recommend this place… not that it needs it as its always busy during dinner.

2.5-Boasting York Regions Best awards on the wall, there was expected hype at this place… the only thing I found was disappointment with a touch of mediocrity. Ajisen is not bad, far from it but either those «awards» are either fake or someone has no taste buds.
I judge ramen by 2 main things… broth and noodles.
The tonkatsu broth was amazing. Light and refreshing with a very full taste. He Ajisan spicy pork ramen however was so oily I was surprised America hasn’t delivered a does of FREEDOM. There was a very nutty taste reminiscent of tantan with a varying levels of spice.
The noodles were disappointing. Imagine your first time with your bf and when u finally got down there all there was was a soft limp noodle. Basically my experience at Ajisan. The noodles were soggy. Lack of chew and bounce leading to a mediocre dish. Portion were small so I mean :/​
Toppings were poverty. Poverty as in I wanted my osap to help them out. Chashu was thin, chewy and very small in portions
Takoyaki was pretty good. Very nice batter to octopus ratio leaving small Foodgasms in the mouth.
Overall a potentially go to ramen spot if they get their noodles together

Had the Shoyu ramen with pork belly. Noodles were on the chewy side which I prefer. Broth was tasty but waaaaaaaay too salty for my liking. Price reasonable. Service good.

I never get cravings for ramen but my friends love it, so I kind of just tag along whenever they go. Thankfully ajisen offers more than just soup. That’s why I opted for a rice dish! I ordered the beef curry and I guess it was pretty good. No complaints. It wasn’t amazing but it was still tasty. However, my one friend that tried some of my curry thought it was amazing.
It comes with flanked beef and not cubed beef, like I thought it would be. This didn’t bother me that much though. It is a good serving and comes with a miso soup and pickled cucumbers (see my pic!). Overall pretty decent.

In all honesty, my boyfriend and I only came here because it was late at night and all the nearby ramen places were closed. Not that Ajisen ramen is bad, there are just better ramen places popping up all over York region and closer to me. I think they were better a few years ago when I first ate there but after this last visit, we probably won’t be back any time soon.
Food: 2 stars
My boyfriend complains that the portions are too small. He orders an extra side of noodles and it’s not much. I find that there is sufficient amount of noodles but… that’s pretty much most of what I’m going to fill up on. I ordered the tender pork ribs ramen and yes, the pork ribs are TENDER (oh so delicious), but it would be nice if there were some other toppings other than bean sprouts and some seaweed. I thought mine would come with an egg but nope. None of the above-​mentioned bothered me too much. What bugged me the most was that I found my ramen too salty. I felt so thirsty after my meal and honestly, my boyfriend nicknames me ‘camel’ because I’m rarely thirsty and I drink very little water in a day (REALLY bad for my overall health). So experiencing that sort of thirst after my meal really turned me off wanting to return.
Ambiance: 3 stars
Brightly lit with some booth seats. Comfortable seating area. The place is ok clean.
Service: 2.5 stars
Service was typical of Asian restaurants. They do their job. Really bugs me when they can’t even smile a little bit. Any time I ask anything of them, it makes me feel like I’m inconveniencing them.

Buzy during lunch on a weekday but got seated after a few minutes. Had the tender ribs ramen. It was delicious. Taste is unique than other ramen i’ve tasted. Will come back for more.

This used to be our go to place a long while back until we started to notice the portion sizes grow smaller and smaller. We stopped going for awhile, and only came back because its a Monday and every other ramen place in the area is closed. The owner is really nice, always gives us complimentary spring rolls. Not sure if he does that for others but its appreciated. The longer I sit here the more dissatisfied I become and remember why we stopped coming. The ramen is great but the service continues to be atrocious. I don’t blame the server, as she’s pretty much on her own. But she needs to take the time to get the order correct. We waited our whole meal for our appetizer… and when it came it wasn’t the right dish or the right quantity. Its good if you’re in the area but there are better places to go!

This is our new weekly lunch out.
Always friendly and the food is always great. Slowly making our way through each of the various dishes.

I love ramen. I frequented two restaurants often to get my fix. The first one recently changed ownership. It is now an all-​you-​can-​eat joint and it completely dropped ramen off its menu. The other one that was a five-​minute drive from my home has closed.
Today’s mission? To find a yummy ramen place to call my usual hangout when I crave it. I have found it!
I have dined at the Yonge Street location a few times. The one in Markham is the latest addition.
I went in at 3 pm, after my dentist appointment. It wasn’t busy, so I highly recommend dropping by during off-​peak hours. The lunch specials are good until 5:30 pm, which is great for someone like me who takes lunch late.
What was impressive was seeing gyoza in pan-​fried, deep-​fried, and boiled varieties. I went with the former. You get three for $ 1.99. It was the perfect appetizer.
I then ordered the number 5 item off the menu, which was corn with pork ramen. I am a huge corn fan. It came with mushrooms, half a soya hard-​boiled egg, three slices of pork, bean sprouts, and thin ramen noodles in a salted soup base.
The verdict? It was so delicious that I finished the soup base. I rarely do that! The portion size was perfect for me.
If you are a protein lover, you may want to order extra pork. I had gyoza as an appetizer, so I was good.
I saw a couple of customers ordering ramen to go. I will be giving that a try next time.
The washrooms aren’t in the best shape, which is the only reason why I am not giving this place a perfect rating.
I will be back for more yummy ramen goodness.

Really Amazing ramen!!! Perfect portion sizes! Awesome menu options. Super reasonable prices. Clean environment. The service is the only thing keeping me from rating this a five star, to get the servers attention you have to ask multiple times… But other than that the food is totally worth it! I’ll definitely make this my go to ramen place! Ps. The Spadina location is just as amazing !

Very tasty ramen, and udon noodles, will be back again. We were there around 4:30, and it got really busy after 5.
Only reason for 4 stars, back area where washrooms are (including washrooms) are quite dirty, but the front of the store and the kitchen (visible from the seating area) are okay.

I used to love coming here. However, the last 3 times in a row– the noodles were hard and quite raw. So, I always asked them to recook the noodles… That wasn’t too much of a problem but it was a real turn off.
So today day when my mom was craving noodles, my baby sister and I went with her.
Wow… They even pissed my mom off. She requested for them to make sure that the noodles were cooked more thoroughly so my baby sister could chew it.
We sat there for at least 25 minutes… those who came in at the same time as us and after us all had what they wanted. So why didn’t we have our ramen too?
While all this was happening, my sister was starting to feel extremely bored and almost falling asleep.
We asked for them to be alittle faster. After a while longer, my mom asked if they processed our ticket… And it didn’t seem that they did. I guess they were pissed that we asked for the noodles to be cooked alittle longer? I don’t know.
After a while longer they brought out two bowls and we were finally ready to eat.
These bowls weren’t for us. They went to a table who ordered 10 minutes ago. 10 minutes and they already got their food. We were pissed and asked the waitress what was going on. She told us to calm our shit and just gave us attitude as if we were the ones being unreasonable. We were fed up. Got up and on our way out– the waitress told the chef not to cook the noodles. They didn’t even start cooking the noodles yet?
never coming back*

AJISEN!!! I love their iconic Japanese Character doll of the shop.
First off, I would just like to say how lucky I am for just getting here before rush hour in the two times that I have came here. AWESOME. I got the Ajisen Ramen ($ 8.50), I love trying the «house noodles» every time I visit a noodle place to see what they recommend most. I also realize that house meals are most worth the value. The Ajisen ramen is comprised of green onions, half an egg, BBQ pork?, bean sprouts and of course, noodles.
My friend got the Pork Cutlet Ramen ($ 9.50), where the noodles is basically plain noodles with soup and green onions and a separate plate of pork cutlet. Although the pork cutlet was a small plate, it had a lot of texture and tasted delicious.
It tasted awesome while I was eating it, but I guess after I left, the MSG started kicking in. There was actually quite a bit of MSG in here, but nevertheless, it was still really tasty.
Beware of awfully long wait times!

Been here twice with my girlfriend, we both love Ramen. Don’t think I will be back here again as both times we have been here, an order of ours gets to our table stone cold.
The first time we had been here, our tea order was freezing cold. The second time, we had ordered spring rolls which were cold and looked as if it had been sitting out for a while as it was really greasy.
The waitresses are not attentive and just stand at the back. You have to stare or waive one down in order to be served.
We ordered the Japanese fried chicken as well which was good. We then ordered the volcano Ramen, which the broth tastes too powdery for my liking.

So this place I haven’t been for a couple years like maybe 7 or 8 years? Until recently when I went back and wow its amazing! It was probably amazing back then, but I was quite young and didn’t really realize how good this place is until recently.
My gf and I usually come here for lunch and I usually get the fried rice with green onions lunch combo and my gf usually gets the steak ramen and wow the steak is delicious. I’m happy she orders that because I get to steal some :) hope she doesn’t read this haha.
The parking is limited as it is in the same plaza as tnt. It can become super packed during lunch time as the lunch combos are a good price and the food is quite good!

I’ve been to this location three times, it seems as if everytime I come here to eat nothing has really changed.
The first thing I noticed when walking in was how loud the music was, it was to the point where I had to talk almost beside the servers ear as if I was at a night club or an Abercrombie store.
The portions are not worth the amount it costs. I ordered the Shoyu BBQ Pork Ramen, when it came it looked nothing like what it did on the menu and was lacking portions of meat, I then asked the waitress which order was given to me, just in case it could have been a mixed order. The waitress then called another lady which I’m guessing is the manager. She was all super defensive and telling me what I ordered and what it came with. All I wanted to know was if there was a mix up.
The ramen tasted mediocre. There was a heavy taste of MSG in the soup and the noodles were slightly undercooked. Not to mention when the waitress was putting the bowl on my table she dipped her whole thumb in the soup.
When asking for the bill, the waitress threw the card machine on my table and walked away.
I wouldn’t recommend coming to this location.

Ajisen Ramen has made a lasting impression for Torontonians looking to satisfy their ramen cravings.
This place is normally crowded, so it is best to come early if you would like a spot to try some authentic Japanese ramen.
There are a lot of ramen varieties to choose from, so it does become very difficult to choose a ramen to try. They also have other dishes like gyoza, curry, etc. The menu can be very extensive, but it is best to experiment your different tastes in ramen.
This location can use an interior upgrade as the same cushions still preside from the location’s opening when it first opened in 2004.
The service of the wait stuff was very good they were very accomodating to every request I had. Overall, Ajisen Ramen started the ramen trend that has been growing over the past few years.
So, come check out any Ajisen Ramen location if you are looking for something to warm you up, especially during the winter months.

My first taste of «ramen» in the GTA was Ajisen, some where along the lines of almost 10 years ago.
Today, this chain that originated from Japan still exists in the GTA. It may not be the greatest, but it does have a market that keeps it in business, despite what the ramen enthusiasts or purists will tell you.
My first time at Ajisen to the best of my collection was great, I thought I was in ramen soup heaven when I first had it.
But, somewhere, somehow, their Canadian operations over the years altered the recipe and now every time I find myself here by accident or because I got out voted by friends to come here, I always end up with a stomach ache a few hours later or the day after. The soup is now very greasy, as are the spaghetti-​like noodles used as ramen noodles. It always has been in the last 3 times I was here over the last 4 – 5 years. I can recall this exactly because nowhere else that serves ramen has made me sick.
Perhaps it’s my age that prevents my digestive system from breaking down the greasy soup and noodle from Ajisen, or maybe it’s the over abundance of MSG used. Perhaps in my youth, I could digest the grease fast enough that I did not get sick.
In any case, this particular location is definitely showing its age with the ripped cushions, cracking uneven floors, greasy tattered menus. They could use a renovation to «modernize» it a bit. Still, it’s a cozy noodle house, with attentive and quick service, still not exactly a true ramen noodle house though.
Over the years, they’ve expanded their menus to offer such additions from the Korean side with rice and bulgogi, kalbi, even chicken katsu. There’s also Tom Yum flavored broth. You get a little bit of everything that is Asian soup broth inspired at Ajisen.
Careful of the grease if you’re like me and can’t take it anymore.

Ajisen isn’t an ”authentic” japanese ramen joint but it’s as good as it gets in Markham/​Scarborough area. Especially its price point in comparison to famous ramen downtown like Santouka or Kento.
For under $ 11, you can get ramen with 6 to 7 different soup bases. The menu looks extensive but for the first time adventurers, let me break it down for you: pick a soup base, pick your protein. Done. It’s not complicated.
The noodle is lacking in texture and chewyness but the soup is definitely at par with many ramen joints downtown.
It’s good, cheap, and the only one in the area.

I gave this restaurant 4 stars because it’s at a convenient location when I am in Markham area. I love the tom yum soup and kimchi soup they are my favourite. The reason this restaurant doesn’t get a 5-​star is because of the service. There are these two usual workers who are always SOOOOOOO miserable looking. My husband gets upset everytime we go and these ladies have this look on their face as if you are their enemy, no facial emotion, no reply or acknowledgement of any kind when you give them your order. Yet I still keep going back, only because this is where I meet my mom once a week and I am starving by the time I get there and it’s the best thing in the area for ramen. Now if I was downtown, I would never pay a visit to this restaurant.
The owners are so friendly, the younger gentleman he must be the son, is always so friendly, smiley and welcoming who talks and checks in on the customers so he balances the poor service of the two miserable workers.