When it was still open, my favourites were Kaizen Warrior, Spicy Negi, and Yuzu Shio Chicken. They are all super flavourful and soul-fulfilling. All their dishes are unique and creative, which means they are either a hit or a miss for me. For example, I hear reviewers who liked the Meat Lover-- I don't. I have a very low opinion of it but others seem to like that one. On the other hand, some didn't enjoy Kaizen Warrior, which I am not sure why as it is super flavourful. Perhaps, it was just poorly made that day by the cooks or it just didn't fit them. The only valid criticism is that the broth can be too salty for some. I am fine with that as I don't eat there frequently. So, try them out and keep an open mind if you happen to not like your bowl. Such a shame it closed. read more

Crafty Ramen - Top is The Kaizen Warrior - Pork, Bottom is Spicy Negi - Chicken - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

I would definitely come back. The ramen place is to die for, the broth is so flavorful and delicious. The noodles are made on spot, and are perfectly cooked. My husband ordered this cold noodle dish which he liked it a lot. Also, the cheeseburger gyoza were interesting. I wasn't a fan, but my husband enjoyed it. The food arrived very fast after ordering. We ordered and got the food within 10 minutes. They even have frozen version sold in their restaurant and in stores. I also believe they have a warehouse where they make the noodles, I haven't been there. read more

Crafty Ramen - Chicken sesame ramen - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

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Very new ramen joint in dtk. Parking is street only unless you park behind Gilt, walk across the street and enter this ramen establishment. Friday night, 6pm. It's cold, the wind is harsh and all we want is hot soup. You walk into the restaurant and first thing I noticed was a line of 2 at the cash. I stood there for a few minutes with no acknowledgement and quickly realized that you must order and pay at the front first before sitting and waiting for my food. The menu is adorned all over the wall with a good selection of ramen, appetizers and drinks. I ordered the meat lovers ramen, thinking that it was their signature dish with a pork and duck broth. Marinaded eggs are another $1.50 if you want it. Ordered a calpico and a side of gyoza. Gyoza - crispy outside. Came with 4 pieces for $5. Pork and cabbage filling. Extremely salty. I pretty much submerged this dumping into the vinegar sauce they had to attempt to balance out the salt Ramen: Meats were good. Pieces of chicken breast weren't dry. Chasu was well done. The piece of pork belly was melt in your mouth. The duck... was ok. Salty. Noodles - over cooked wonton noodles. They're not ramen noodles that you expect. They're very much the wonton egg noodles you get in a wonton soup. Disappointed. Soup base: thick, salty, flavourless. I was hoping for layers of flavour if not just a pork broth... The egg... was it worth $1.50? No. It looked like how a ramen egg should look. The yolk was runny but cooked. The outside marinaded in soy. The problem? Biting into it felt like eating a soft brick of salt. It's been about 2 hours since dinner and I'm still chugging water. Unfortunately this did not hit the spot for me. Sad to say, this will not be a return back for me. Plus side, if this makes your taste buds dance, they have a stamp card :) buy 10 bowls and get gyoza for free I believe I saw. Happy eating yelpies! read more

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Tried a new ramen spot but was a bit disappointed. The kaizen warrior was alright but the big city smoke was way too salty. Portions are okay but the flavours need some improvement. I hate to leave negative reviews but I am always honest with my experiences read more

Crafty Ramen - a bowl of ramen and noodles - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

Tl;Dr If you're a halfway decent cook, just grab yourself a kit and make it yourself at home Whoever put together the recipe knows their flavours, I'll give them that. But the overall execution was subpar. I got the Seeker, and my chashu was dry, my added on marinated egg was cold since there was a puddle of soup (not nearly enough to warm up the egg), the bamboo shoots and woodears lacked any serious flavour and was just there for texture, and my noodles were clumpy. Plus, the creamy red bean craft pop I got at the end of my meal was not at all creamy - the texture was super rough and it melted all over my shirt. All in all, while it has a cute industrial chic vibe and the patio was lovely, the service was slow and the results disappointing. I'll pass going here again for sit down. read more

After hearing such amazing things I had to try Crafty Ramen for myself! They have a great Instagram presence, so it was easy to find out more about the location, including that they've now extended their current hours until 10 pm. Being my first time there, I was overwhelmed with how many different ramen dishes they had! I asked the employee working there what he recommended of a shortlist of 3 options. He didn't really offer any helpful feedback and said it was a matter of taste. So I opted for the spicy vegan bowl from the "refreshing and spicy" section(I think $15.50). I was told that the marinated eggs are the best, so I added one to my bowl (I think $1.25). My boyfriend had ordered just before me and I was really surprised when his ramen came out so much earlier than mine. Unfortunately by the time my ramen arrived his broth had cooled down quite a lot. I have to say that relative to most other ramen spots in KW, Crafty Ramen's portions are slightly smaller. The flavour is 100% there though. The broth was rich and delicious. Not very spicy which I found to be disappointing. Even though it is veggie-based, it had a great depth of flavour. I absolutely loved the mushrooms. I didn't think the sun-dried tomatoes made a lot of sense though. The one thing I noticed was that the noodles themselves were chewier than I'm used to. If you go to the bathroom there's cute signs about the restaurant and it's owners which I loved to see. Overall, it was a good experience. If you want to spend more for a good quality ramen, this is the place. However, I doubt it's going to replace my go-to spot. read more

Crafty Ramen - a bowl of ramen with meat and vegetables - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

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Had takeout today for the first time. I tried the Tokyo Tofu which was a great vegan option. Broth was flavourful but could have been spicier (I only chose one shot of spice). Noodles were average. The meat eaters in my party were less impressed. However, they said the marinated eggs were great and are a must add. Overall a great vegan choice! read more

Crafty Ramen - Tokyo Tofu and Gryphon 2 Eggs - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

Who doesn't miss going out to eat! Came here before quarantine happened as I was craving some ramen! Their noodles are made in-house, very fresh ingredients, and the broth is very nice! Highly recommend the thick broths (spicy)! They also serve beer!!! read more

Crafty Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

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Delicious ramen. Staff was super friendly explaining the menu if you had any questions. Ramen was made fast to order but was a bit too salty for my likings. Restaurant was clean and I loved the vibe and atmosphere of the restaurant. read more

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Consistently good and tasty ramen! The service is excellent and I really enjoy stopping by when visiting Kitchener

Amazing Food and Service! Great staff, chefs are super organized, diligent in their craft and presentation on their plates, and fun to watch if you're at the bar. Great tasting Ramen and Dumplings and the Hot Sauce is made in house with great taste and very spicy (which I love) Small but great environment as well! I Will definitely be returning! read more

We missed having great ramen ever since the start of the pandemic. Luckily, we stumbled upon the delivery service and decided to give it a try. After trying our first six dishes, we decided to increase the frequency of the service. The ramen portions are generous, flavorful, with high quality ingredients. They've done a great job of packaging up the authentic ramen experience and made it easy to enjoy in the comfort of our home. Good job Crafty Ramen! read more

the mushroom，the meat，the gyoza are all tasted sour...Can't believe it, worst experience ever in loo read more

Crafty Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

Dined here twice. Once for lunch and another for dinner. Ordering food: you order your food as you walk in, and then pay at the counter. Then, after paying your bill, you can seat yourself and wait for your meal. I didn't find this process to be difficult - it was rather easy. If you are dining with a group, they will take your entire groups order first, and then if you'd like to pay separately, you can do so. It seems like payment is done after the entire group order is taken, so that the staff can deliver the entire group's meal at the same time/together. Food: I really enjoyed the ramen. If you like meat, I suggest their "Meat Lovers" (Pork jowl kakuni, pork chashu & pulled shoulder, chicken breast, green onion, pickled shiitake and burnt sesame oil in rich pork&duck broth) . My friend thoroughly enjoyed eating this dish on two occassions. I've tried "The Seeker" (power chashu, green onions, beni shoga, shredded nori, crispy oil, rich shio pork, duck broth and iwashi powder) as well as "Miso Rich and Corny" (Bean sprouts, buttered roasted corn, menma, rich miso pork & duck or veggie broth, with your choice of pork chashu or sesame tofu). I personally liked "The Seeker" more. The broth was delightful and the amount of meat they give you is SOLID! It was not cheap slices of meat with fat all over it - it was the good stuff. I also always add in a marinated soft boil egg (extra $). I really like their ramen menu - it's quite creative and offers quite a variety of ramen bowl options. I wouldn't say it is "traditional" ramen, but it's delicious nonetheless! Prices: They're a tad higher than other ramen places I've eaten in the city and it is a bit strange that the boil egg is extra. That said, their marinated soft boil egg is more flavourful compared to other ramen restaurants I've been to. Service: During lunch, people came around to clear the tables. During dinner, I was checked in on twice to see if our meal was good, which was nice and unexpected. Definitely will come here more often and I have to say - it's my favourite place to get ramen now. read more

There wasn't close to enough broth and even what we did get was Luke warm. Not Ok, after leaving, the most unfortunate problem was both of us feeing pretty, stomach ill. I hate writing bad reviews and normally never ever do, but this just wasn't a good experience, especially considering the cost exceeds that of many great GTA options. read more

Crafty Ramen - Clean, smooth ordering while maintains social distancing protocols. Seemingly, good variety of ramen and other bite sized treats - Ramen Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

Visited Crafty Ramen with a group of friends. My experience here was abysmal - everything from the service, wait time, to the food was terrible. When you first step into the restaurant, you have to order at the front and pay before being shown to a seat. This in itself is totally fine, but the really strange thing was that they wouldn't allow each of us to pay separately as soon as we ordered. They made us all order on one bill, then had us cycle back to the first person who ordered, and from there they would separate the bill and let each of us pay one at a time. This was a really inefficient way of doing things, considering how crowded and busy the place already was. The lady explaining the payment process and taking our orders was also pretty unfriendly. Once we finally got a table after a 30 minute wait (understandable since we were a bigger group and the place was busy), we then had to wait another whole hour and 20 minutes to get our food. No one checked in on us during the wait and no one apologized for it once the food finally did arrive. I ordered The Seeker which cost $14.30 plus $1.25 for an added marinated egg. The cost is pretty comparable to other ramen restaurants that you can find in the GTA so I was expecting at least a somewhat similar level of quality. I was very wrong - the broth was extremely one-note and just tasted like bonito flakes (dried fish). The noodles were thin and overcooked. While the portion of pork chashu was impressive (4 pieces instead of the usual 2 that you get at other places), the texture was really chewy and dry. The only thing they had going for them was the egg, which had a good flavour and yolk texture but was just a bit too salty. The only way anyone could enjoy this place is if they've never had Japanese ramen at a restaurant before. And even then, the extreme wait times and meh prices make it a deal breaker. If you want real ramen, stay away from Crafty Ramen - you can get a more authentic experience at literally any other ramen chain. read more

I am dumbfounded by the bad reviews of this place. I loved their location in Guelph and am thrilled to now have one close to home. I've eating at dozens of different ramen joints, the world over, and I think Crafty hold its own in that list. I haven't had a bad bowl of ramen in 3 visits there. Anyway, check it out for yourself and I think you'll be pleased. read more

I was super excited that Crafty Ramen was now opening a new location in Kitchener. I dined at their Guelph location and thought it was amazing. I decided to try the new location but made the mistake of ordering take out. It came in a much smaller bowl than a usual ramen bowl so when I opened it (10 minutes later) it was a bowl of soggy noodles with no broth. Too salty and I was soooo...disappointed with my expensive bowl of slop!Next time I will at least try eating in the restaurant. read more