It was raining, and we had been in it all day. Soggy socks and a drenched jacket, the result of traipsing around without an umbrella. So when lunch rolled around, we were within walking distance of Denman Street, and thought ramen would be the cure. Something comforting to help warm us up. With all the options in this “noodle corridor”, choosing is hard. My guest narrowed it down by refusing to visit any restaurant that was empty at 2pm this Sunday afternoon. I restricted our pool further, not wanting to wait for a table. So what cinched it for us, and had us stopping at “Motomachi Shokudo” was their menu. The menu opened and laid out, outside their restaurant showcasing their black charcoal ramen.
To my dismay, the chashu was piled atop a pile of bean sprouts. It wasn’t as egregious as the towering mountain that you get at places like Gojiro, but honestly, if I wanted to eat bean sprouts, I’d be going for pho.
I’ll start with the broth. The miso flavour was present, but accentuated with a slight smokiness from the charcoal. It wasn’t particularly overpowering, and the smokiness was a nice addition, but it didn’t really blow me out of the water.
The chashu was probably the one of the highlights in the ramen bowl. Like the appetizer dish, the slices were thin enough that it wouldn’t weigh me down on the walk back to work, but still heavy enough to feel like a substantial meal. I think the chashu had been seared a bit before being served to give it a bit of crispiness and texture, which I appreciated.
Motomachi Shokudo is consistently one of our favorite ramen places in town. The texture of the ramen is fantastic, the broth is sufficiently rich, and everything is beautifully presented. The dining room itself is tiny - don't expect to be able to get a large group in.
New owner and new menu. The previous owner retired and the head chef became the owner. I was here last time, I ordered their signature bamboo-charcoal dark miso ramen and I remember the noodles were too soft and the soup was lukewarm... This time I ordered Shio Ramen and I was impressed! It was the best shio ramen I had in town and everything was perfect! Highly recommended! I’ll try the spicy shio ramen next time!
Not easy to find but worth it. Very small place. Food was great. I had the charcoal ramen that was delicious. The food and ambiance were very authentic.
Its nice to try new tings like the bamboo-charcoal miso ramen. Nice thick soup, kinda rich but still delectable and very healthy for you coz bone broth and charcoal are considered superfoods nowadays. Chasu was ok and the egg was perfectly cooked.
I tried their Bamboo Charcoal Miso Ramen and thought it was interesting but didn't really taste that different from a typical miso ramen. The portion was a bit lacking and the extra chashu I ordered was lean and slightly burnt.
This is by far my favorite ramen place in Vancouver, and there are a lot of them!! I always love their cold ramen when they have it, super innovative with a nice touch of authenticity. Usually however I get the charcoal ramen with extra chasu. The charcoal part is hard to get over but once you do... you will be amazed!!! Their chasu is unbeatable, super soft and flaky and the fat just melts, heh like it should. Worth the wait and if you get their early you can usually get in. Super small restauarant so advise to not take large parties!! They don't allow takeout, but you wouldn't want to ruin the experience anyways!
Greatfoodmediocrecompany
+3.5
Motomachi Shokudo Ramen, not a name that rolls off the tongue thats for sure. A friend made a quick stop in Vancouver a couple days before he went back home to the Yukon and had a hankering for some ramen. Why not I thought, it was a cold rainy day, I could go for some soup! After driving downtown Vancouver and looking for parking for far too long, we finally decided to park and “hike” to Denman through the rainstorm. The first ramen restaurant we went to, Kintaro Ramen, was pretty busy. The line up that went out the door. Unfortunately we didn’t have the desire to wetter so we decided to walk down the block to Motomachi Shokudo.
The Ramen was flavorful. This is one of the best ramen in Vancouver. The Onsen tamago was done perfectly. What is better than a hot bowl of Ramen on a cold winter day.
While there’s plenty of ramen options in the neighbourhood, for me Motomachi stands out as a favourite.
The ramen is excellent here - good options, quality ingredients, and decent portions.
Intimate space, friendly staff, quick service, good ambiance. Seating is kind of uncomfortable so I wouldn’t come here for a lengthy meal, but great for a quick bite solo or with a couple of friends - tables are small.
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We came here as the lineup outside Kintaro Ramen was a bit long for our liking and our kids were super hungry. Plenty of seating available here so were worried about how good it would be. There was no need to worry.
We found the quality of the Ramen broth to be excellent (rich and plenty of depth in the flavor with the right amount of umami) and the noodles in particular to be even slightly superior to the ones at Kintaro. The Gyozas (both spicy and regular) were very tasty and perfectly cooked with just a slight char and crispness to them. The flavor of the filling in the Gyozas were also slightly better than Kintaro, in my oppinion. Surprisingly!
They ended up running out of soup while we were there and we only had the choice of the Tonkotsu broth. Which as I wrote, was excellent. This is a testament I suppose to the quality of their Ramen.
Though I love the Garlic and Spicy Ramen at Kintaro and the overall quality of their food, I would not hesitate to return to Motomachi Shokudo for sure. We had an excellent experience here.
It’s very authentic and not too complicated! I love that the chair is so unique! I also love the fact you can hang your jacket on the wall and not worrying where to put them!
Services are very nice, they are very efficient and kind!
I ordered Shoyu chicken chashu and gyoya there! So delicious!
Delicious! The ramen broth is lighter and they have the black miso flavour! The pork kakuni was also tasty.
Would go again, perfect date spot for the winter!
Motomachi Shokudo has been a staple for me for a long time. The ramens are flavorable and the team is welcoming and cooperative Super friendly and attentive service made my experience very pleasant. Highly recommended.
This place is amazing. It has a very traditional/authentic Japanese feel. Indoor is small but cozy, which really adds to the experience. The staff was friendly and courteous. I had their shoyu ramen and it was absolutely delicious. I found it lot better than other higher end ramen places in Vancouver that are famous. Totally recommend to try this place out in the west end.
I used to come here a lot. I used to love their Spicy Miso Ramen which included chicken, corn, lotus root, sugar snap peas etc... Then later on they changed owners and tweaked that fantastic Ramen!!!
Now I don't say is as good anymore. But it's still on my top 3 Ramen shops that I like in Vancouver.
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