KINTON RAMEN YONGE X RICHMOND Review

Kinton Ramen – From Ramen Star to Franchise Flop

We ordered Kinton Ramen for lunch via UberEats on Dec 16th, 2024, and honestly, I wish we hadn’t. This is a brand that once set the bar for Japanese ramen in Canada after opening in 2012. Now? They’ve fallen off the wagon, likely distracted by their franchising ambitions. There are literally dozens of them in Toronto alone with this express location being probably the worst.

The result: a sad, soulless bowl of soup that barely deserved to be called ramen.
The “Pork Shoyu Ramen” was a disaster. The broth tasted powder-based, overly salty, and utterly lifeless. I’m talking murky brown water with strange, unidentifiable ingredients bobbing around—fake seaweed, limp (fake) bamboo shoots, and two slivers of pork that looked like they were being punished. The scallions were the only thing that tasted remotely fresh, but even they couldn’t save the soup from itself.

No one at lunch finished their ramen. Even those who ordered the udon noodle soup left half or more untouched. That says a lot. And my experience? Bloating, heartburn, and a lingering regret that no amount of antacids could fix. For a bowl of ramen, I can handle a little discomfort—if it’s worth it. But this wasn’t.

Kinton, what gives? Quality control has clearly taken a nosedive. Your competition, Kibo Sushi House’s ramen doesn’t leave me wrecked, and guess what? It actually tastes excellent. Maybe revisit your roots, and get some quality control going on before you start losing all your customers who have actual taste buds.