Kazo Ramen offers a comforting journey through steaming bowls and fragrant broths in the Mile End, a vibrant Montreal neighborhood known for its diverse culture. Guests encounter a casual setting where skillful noodles meet balanced flavors, inviting lingering meals after a day of exploring the streets. The dining experience emphasizes warmth, accessibility, and bold, satisfying textures that pair well with the neighborhood's creative energy and friendly street scene.
Reviewers describe Kazo Ramen as a cozy, affordable spot with a range of flavorful broths and toppings that stand out, from creamy tonkotsu to yuzu and spicy tantan varieties. Many praise the broth and pork, with comments about quick service and welcoming staff. The decor with anime posters adds to the vibe. Some criticisms include occasional noodle quality issues or a few dishes that miss the mark, such as an okonomiyaki that falls short. The space is small, which can mean crowds and wait times during peak hours, though takeout packaging helps keep broth from sogginess. Overall, Kazo Ramen comes across as one of the better ramen options in Montreal, delivering strong flavors, a casual atmosphere, and a reason to return. Vegetarian ramen is noted as flavorful by several reviewers.
The food was very good & the service was excellent. The portion was very fair for the price & I love that they package the broth separately for takeout orders so nothing gets soggy on your way home.
The only complaint we had was that most of the pork was cut incorrectly (with the grain instead of against the grain) which made it impossible to chew & therefore completely inedible. A few small pieces were properly cut so we could tell that it would've been much more enjoyable If it were properly cut.
Decided try this place on a cold & rainy evening as we were walking in Mont-Royal. I was surprised by the cute decor! The space is on the smaller side, which makes it very cozy. The food itself is also really good. We tried the Yuzu ramen & the Spicy Paitan Pork ramen. The Yuzu is very light & refreshing, meanwhile the Spicy Paitan is warm & hearty. I would highly recommend both as they are very unique & hard to find in Montreal.
Such a quaint little place with a uniquely Japanese atmosphere, manga & anime on the walls, it just feels right. Also, the food! Wow! Best ramen I've ever had, also added pork to the dish & omg, best decision ever! Make sure you do that! The pork is so well seasoned & juicy & delicious!!! Definitely a must stop if you want that wonderful, comforting ramen.
TL;DR good, better than typical Kinton, flavorful not too salty, noodles good texture. Parking sucks.
Saw the high rating, decided to try it out. Tried various items & they are all better than your typical Kinton ramen.
The karaage was juicy & not extremely salty, fairly crispy. The dipping sauce was a tiny bit to the sour side. Pork creamy tonkotsu, the kids loved it.
Pork spicy Paitan, very flavorful, not salty, they give you a fairly thick piece of pork belly, nicely charred up. But if you are into spicy food like me, consider asking them to make it extra spicy, because mine was like a 1 out of 10 on my spicy scale.
Could use a little bit more noodles & the broth temperature wasn't high enough.
Tiny restaurant with delicious ramen. I tried the spicy paitan ramen with pork. The broth was very rich & flavorful & the noodles were well cooked. The donburi & the creamy tonkotsu ramen were also pretty good.
The place is very small with just a few tables, but the vibe is fun with a lot of anime stuff on the wall.
This ramen restaurant advertised itself as a "Japanese ramen restaurant," so as a Japanese couple, we were really looking forward to visiting. However, we were surprised to find that the taste was quite different from authentic Japanese ramen. If I were to think of it as a different type of noodle dish, it was enjoyable, but it was a bit disappointing to imagine people perceiving this as Japanese ramen. We ordered tonkotsu ramen & shoyu ramen. The first bite of the shoyu ramen immediately stood out because the soy sauce flavor was completely different-it seemed to use a more fragrant soy sauce, possibly Chinese-style. It was a unique taste I've never experienced before in my life. The pork topping on the ramen looked very crispy, thick, & appetizing, but the flavor was dominated by salt, pepper, & oil, which made it difficult for us to finish even though there were only two slices of chashu. The soup also had a noticeable oily layer on the surface, & we found it to be overly greasy. Instead of the rich tonkotsu flavor we know & love, the soup had more of a sesame-like aroma than tonkotsu depth. Overall, we probably won't return to this restaurant. My wife, who absolutely loves ramen, left some behind for the first time ever, which really surprised me. For those looking for authentic Japanese ramen here in Montreal, I'd recommend trying other places. If you're open to trying an Asian-inspired noodle dish with adjusted flavors, this might still be worth a visit. We've only tried two ramen bowls, so perhaps exploring their donburi or other side dishes could lead to a different experience. *On a note unrelated to the ramen, the Japanese anime merchandise, posters, & decorations inside the restaurant were very eye-catching. As an anime fan, I was initially drawn to the store because of them. However, upon closer inspection, I realized that many of the posters & decorations seemed to be printed images sourced from the internet rather than actual merchandise. Of course, I can't confirm whether these are official goods or not-this is just my personal impression-but it was a little disappointing. That said, there were a lot of figures on display, & I did enjoy looking at those.
