It's very honest. Not a place to stay and spend time chilling and talking, but to eat and be welcomed with the friendly staff. The food has an authentic Japanese homemade flavour that brought me back to my grandma's food. Simple and fresh ingredients. I'm going there all the time during my stay in Banff. read more

I normally don't review on Yelp but felt I had to after seeing the previous poster Vicky L.'s false comments. I was dining there when she walked in with an attitude trying to get a seat. I read the reviews beforehand and clearly previous reviewers state that they don't have many tables and reservations are required. What do you expect strolling in at 8:30PM with tables full? NO, nobody was finishing their meals, we all were in the middle of our meals. Then she goes to threaten to post negative reviews if she doesn't get her way and I found them here the next day. Absurd! The food was good, fast and staff efficient. There are about 10x2 person tables and prices are better than anywhere else. Hours of operation clearly marked closing at 9PM. Go here! read more

This was the first place we ate while visiting Banff. We were hungry, and a lot of places had 1 hour long waits to get seats. So, my friends and I stopped by here to get some quick food to-go. I got the Tan-Tan Ramen, and it was GOOD. The restaurant seems authentic as it is run by japanese people and you can tell that they care about the food they make. The restaurant itself is very small and can only seat about 12 people. But since my friends and I to-go'd the food, the seating did not matter to us. The food was very good and that was all that mattered to us. I definitely recommend checking this place out, the food is very good! read more

Good Tan Tan ramen, the broth is hot and not thick. Gyoza was good but stingy on the ponzu sauce. What got me really mad was they won't allow outside food into the restaurant. I have a 6 year old child who's a picky eater, ramen is the last thing on earth he would have ordered so I went to get McDonald next door for him but they owner made a big deal about bringing it into her place. I hope she gets pregnant with a picky eater child and see if her rule still valid then read more

I usually stop by here for a quick and affordable lunch when i'm in Banff. The restaurant is pretty small so it fills up quickly but the good thing is customers don't linger here when they are done. So it doesn't take too long to get a spot or if you don't feel like waiting you can always get it to go. I usually get the udon here because eating a bowl of tasty noodle soup is comforting especially when its cold in the mountains. The curry rice dishes are good as well and so is the beef don. The corquette is tasty here so I usually order a couple on the side as an appy. read more

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Ordered some ramen, disappointed. It was very blah! Not what I expected. Service was rude, didn't knowledge us till I asked to see the menu. I'm guessing the selection in Banff for ramen is not that big, but i would suggest you pass on this place. Coming from LA, ramen standards are set high, but i really wished i had gone somewhere else. Prices are pretty high for what you get. read more

Very small but popular with Asian locals. Very tasty food. Good selection of authentically prepared dishes. Very reasonable prices and quick, friendly service. read more

I was waiting in line for a while, and waitress told me that they can't serve anymore dish tonight. It was only 8:30PM. Why can't they tell customer in advance instead of waiting for 10 mins? read more

Wow this place is tiny!!! I'd recommend coming at least 5-10 minutes before opening to secure a seat right away as soon as they open their door. There were maybe 6 tables for 2 here if I can recall. The ramen wasn't anything special but the noodles were made quite well. I felt like they were missing the hard boiled egg, seaweed and some other regular items I'm used to getting with Japanese ramen dishes. The feel of the place definitely feels like a ramen joint in the heart of Tokyo. If you've never been; the joints are tiny tiny tiny with barely any tables. They're meant to be quick in and out places with people lined up outside waiting to get a table. There are better places in calgary but as for banff it definitely is a place you should hit up if you're in the mood for something soupy after a day of snowboarding. read more

I had the tan tan ramen and the flavor was delicious. Just the right amount of spice. My husband had the miso ramen and he said it was wonderful. He's a pretty tough critic. We have amazing food coming from Hawaii and found this tiny restaurant here in Banff and will definitely be coming back before he head home. read more

There is no reservation. So plan ahead! For example, if your planning to eat around 6:30 with 5 people, go into the restaurant and get a sheet from them saying to come back after 30min then for sure you can get a table. It's a really popular but small restaurant so be well prepared! Food is pretty good, not only it has ramen but also Katsu, salads and stuff. Water etc is self-serve but nothing too inconvenience. read more

Tried to get Bbq pork ramen with miso based broth. This is the first ramen place I have ever been to that doesn't let the customer switch the broth... All they have to do is pour a different soup into the bowl? With service like this, they cant earn more than 3* from me, but the bbq pork ramen was subpar ok broth pork quality meh. The best part was being full afterwards. read more

I really don't know why this place gets great reviews, maybe I ordered the wrong thing? I got the bbq pork ramen and it honestly tasted like glorified instant ramen. My friend wanted something with vegetables and ramen and they had something similar for udon, and we asked whether we could add vegetables and they refused, even though I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to do that (Suginoya did it the day before). I mean maybe I'm being harsh. I just got back from Japan, but even still, there are better ramen places in North America, and this place just did not cut it, especially considering the number of Japanese tourists and other Japanese restaurants. read more

A quick intro: Real Japanese people cook the food and runs the restaurant. Restaurant is small, max capacity is 18 people. The restaurant get vert busy so during sinner time, you have to get a small slip of paper that tells you when to come back. The typical wait-time is 15-20mins. You must order the food and pay first. Then they bring you the food. The food gets served very quickly. As for the food, we tried the tan-tan ramen, beef don and katsu curry. Tan-tan ramen was delicious. I'm from Toronto so we have many ramen places that are extremely popular. Compared to those, this is different. It's made with peanut so it has a special nutty flavour. I never drink the soup but this time I did. If you like spicy ramen, you should try this. Katsu curry was standard in flavour. Katsu is cooked perfectly and curry is good too. Beef don is not recommended. Beef was too dry and chewy. Perhaps chicken or katsu don would be better. read more

We searched for a local Ramen noodle place in Banff after a long day of being tourists in the cold Banff air. We had to be given a "waiting ticket" because it is a very small place, with only about three people on staff and extremely crowded. Although turnaround was fairly quick, we didn't feel too rushed. The food was okay, they don't have much of a Ramen noodle selection and minimal sushi throughout the day. No Vegetarian options besides the California roll and one more thing on the menu. All the Ramen dishes were made with either pork or chicken broth and no tofu substitutions were allowed. read more

If there were a 3.5 for Yelp this would be my actual rating. A 3 star rating will do. One of the better tan tan ramen I have tried that is a good balance of peanut and soup base (it's more in the soupy side) because the other ones we've tried have WAY too much peanut sauce or was too thick/rich. Service is good. There aren't a lot of tables so there's a good chance you will have to take a waiting card from the front register they will hand you a card with a seating time to come back ; you'll likely need to wait to dine in during the busy hours. The BBQ ramen was decent. read more

This is a surprising but great hole in the wall Japanese restaurant in Banff offering well known standard Japanese fare that well prepared. We came here twice, once for dinner and then for lunch. The restaurant gets busy but they take booking at the door and reserve a time to return. Over our two meals we had the katsu don, beef don, shout ramen and tan tan ramen. You order at the cashier, grab you water and utensils and the entrees are delivered to your table. If you want service and comfort this is not the place but if you want a good Japanese meal at reasonable prices you arrived at the right place. You can kaedama or order extra noodles with your ramen but the servings are generous and filling. read more

I stopped here for dinner with my mom the first night we were in Banff. She had the beef over rice and I ordered the spicy Tan Tan ramen, which (take note) is truly pretty spicy! It's a very small restaurant but the staff is very nice. It's also not AS overpriced, which is a huge plus. If you're looking for some halfway decent Asian food at a lower price, this is the place to go! Keep in mind though that the Tan Tan ramen doesn't have much meat at all - just some ground bits of pork. read more

Really good food for a good price as well. could use a bigger place as this resto could only seat maybe less than 20? and it's really tight.

A comforting hot bowl of delicious Japanese Noodle soup from Chaya hits the spot on a cold day. There is often a bit of a wait because they are very popular and it is a little place. No pretention here, it is all about the food. I have gone many times (a dozen perhaps over the last four years or so) and every time they nailed it. I am over due for a visit. It is great to have a reliable place of comfort like this. I have not found a comparable Japanese Noodle place in Calgary yet, though I have tried. Any suggestions? :-) read more

We were looking for something easy and good in Banff and we found it. This place is a great little noodle bar, very authentic and reasonably priced in a very expensive town. It was packed with people who clearly eat there all the time so we knew we had picked a good place. I had the wonton soup and my husband had the teriyaki chicken. We were very happy with our food!! read more

Very small hole in the wall but delicious food if you can figure out how to get a seat. Come early and get your name on the list and then walk around town. You can also do take out which might be the better route. The ramen was delicious and had a hearty broth! Once you get your seat you have to go to the counter to order so don't waste your time sitting and waiting to be served. I will go back! read more

The food was bomb as fuck, I would come again because I want that curry udon in my mouth 24/7

Chaya is run by real Japanese workers and the food is fairly authentic. With that said, I didn't think the food was extraordinary but it hit the spot and the price was right. The restaurant has 9 tables total that seats two people so if you're planning on coming in a big party, you're going to have to wait a long time to have enough tables to combine for everyone in your party. My advice is that if you're planning on eating here with a large party, go someplace else. read more

Visiting the area and found this place. Food was delicious. Place is small and fills up fast. Got there when it opened and they ran out of places to sit quick. They do have a waiting list once all the place fills up. To order, you go up to the counter to order what you want and they will bring the order to you. read more

On our recent trip to Banff we came here twice for a quick dinner. This place is authentic in terms of both ambiance and food. My son loved the tan tan men which is pretty spicy. I also had the chicken teriyaki don, which was a solid choice. One slight negative is the price. Every entree is around $10 (Canadian), so its a bit expensive for what you get. But still definitely a solid choice if you are craving ramen or donburi dishes (and you can avoid the "tourist trap" restaurants which are all over this area....) read more

Spicy tan tan and Curry udon are both very good. BBQ pork ramen and beef don are also good. Very small noodle house, really hard to find table for party of more than 2. Got there at 5:20pm and got a table for 4 at 5:40pm. Groups came in after that were told the wait can be more than 1hr. read more

Tan tan ramen is average, not much to say about this still like toto ramen in NYC better

Standard noodle soup. I wouldn't even consider this as ramen, its more like instant noodles at an exorbitant price. Had the soba with assorted veg which was okay, pretty satisfying considering that I haven't had noodle soup for awhile. This is not an authentic ramen place so don't expect quality broth or ramen noodles. However, if you're looking to have some noodle soup, I guess this is kind of the only option in Banff. Maybe order something else like their katsu don which may taste better as I've seen many people order that. Overall, pretty sub standard eatery that serves simple japanese food. read more

We had tan tan noods from the farmers market stand for breakfast. Super tasty!! Everyone was nice and the food was good quality.

Great hole in the wall Japanese place. The ramen there is really good and would definitely come back again. The place is pretty small and popular so be warned you may have to wait for a table but if you are really craving some good Japanese good in banff it's worth checking out read more

The ramen is amazing here. The reason I give three stars is that I don't like the service. We need to get the napkin, the chopsticks and water by ourselves, but we have to pay the tip before we get any service. read more

wait time: 3/5 if you go in around 11:30-2 (lunch) and 5:30-7:30 (dinner), it will be packed due to the restaurant only having around 6 tables. so there will be a long wait time depending on how many people are ahead of you. tip: definitely recommend going at not a popular hour, but if you do plan on eating at a regular time, go to Chaya 1 hour before to reserve a table. service: 5/5 hostesses are very friendly food wait time: 5/5 the food comes out surprisingly quickly! it was like ??? 5-8 minutes LOL food: 5/5 although the wait time is horrendous at busy hours, the food really makes up for it! I've been here 4 times & have tried the tan-tan ramen (10/10), BBQ pork ramen (8/10), shoyu ramen (7/10), katsu don (9.5/10), and the gyoza (9/10 & the pork taste is very present and very tasty ). read more

Chaya - left to right: BBQ Pork Ramen, Tan-tan ramen, Katsu Don - Ramen Near Me - Banff, Alberta

Beef wudon noodle is good, beef rice is good too! It's good for Asia noodle style, But the restaurant is too small, you have to get a number to waiting for half hour, or just take some order away. read more

This restaurant is famous for its Udon and Ramen. If you wanna try it, you must do a reservation. Because the restaurant is too small. They even don't have warm water or hot tea. It's like a self-service restaurant. Fortunately the foods are okay. PASS read more

We were here for a few days for a hiking trip and was really craving something warm like soup. Being big fans of ramen, we decided to give this place a try. First of all, this place is very small so don't come if you have a big group and be prepare to wait if you're going during dinner. Although the ramen that we ordered did satisfy our soup craving, the portion was very small and the broth lacked the flavor that we were use to back home. We ordered the Tan-Tan Ramen and the BBQ Pork Ramen and both were about average. read more

The food was fine, but it's hard to be seated without reservation. Their Ramen was good if you don't mind its spicy.

I went there last week and had their kakiage udon. It was alright. The thing that really pissed me off about this place is the blatantly racist management. They only accept reservations for Japanese people and when estimating the wait for a table, grossly overestimate to drive off foreign (non-Japanese) customers in favor of Japanese people. 2/10, food was alright but is racist as hell. I'm not sure about service as I am not Japanese, but my group was made to order and pay first at the counter before receiving our food. Honestly, I like this system more as it allows for instant self-service and faster serving of orders. Water and condiments are self-serve. read more

Perhaps you will live with the poor service and so-so food because it is one of the very few Japanese restaurants in Banff downtown. We went in the first night and the lady at the cashier told us no available tables for the rest of the night. She told us that they don't take reservation and that everybody must wait an hour to be seated - If we expect to eat at 7, we should arrive at 6 to wait for a table. Definitely there are many different ways to convey the same message with sounding snobbish but anyhow we came back the 2nd night. We ordered the Tan Tan Ramen and curry udon - both with very little meat and super blend flavor. There are tons of good American restaurants in Banff and I'd say to take advantage of that rather than paying more than its worth mediocre Japanese food. read more

I have to give a worst review, except their noodle tastes just like instant noodle, services are the worst I ever seen. It was just after noon, I with family booked a table and they asked us to come back after half an hour since it was crowded. My kids were tired and thirsty at that time, so I brought them to McDonald just next door, and bought them 2 cups of apple juice. After half an hour, we back to the Chaya, sit down and get ready to order food. Suddenly a staff just rush out and said in a very bossy way: No outside drinks in the restaurant. Kids were afraid of sunshine outside, and actually only couple more sips left, so I tried to explain to the staff just let them finish quickly. Unexpectedly, the staff insisted again and wanna the kids drink outside, and pointed to a sign on the window. (actually the sign says: no outside food, and someone added very small words below: and drinks). I was very pissed off since I never met staff so so so mean to kids. I brought up my voice and shout at the staff: my kids won't go outside, they stay and drink here. The voice brought their manager, after the explanation from her staff, the manager didn't say anything to either of us or the staff, just indicate the staff to go back to work. Actually at that time, my kids already finished their juice. Never encounter this kind situation in big city like Vancouver, I will never again to visit such a mean restaurant. read more