Two of came in for a noodle bowl on a rainy and cold day. We ordered two Ramen bowls; a Spicy Chicken Karaakge Ramen and a Tofu Ramen. They were extremely yummy and were just perfect in portion size and temperature. They came quickly from when we ordered from a very warm and friendly server. Top notch and highly recommend. read more

Japa Bowl - Tofu Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

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The udon noodle soups are absolutely delicious! I just wish there were more non spicy vegetarian and seafood options here. My boyfriend tried the Chicken Karaage Udon noodles and he said it was good. I loved my Chicken Udon noodle soup with no chicken and eggs instead. The 2 eggs were so delicious! I wonder what type of eggs they were. Udon noodles are awesome because they are thick and fun to slurp up. The broth was so yummy I swallowed everything. read more

Japa Bowl - Chicken Udon noodles with no chicken and eggs instead - Japanese Near Me - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

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Not many places to choose from on YELP in Saskatoon. We gave this place a shot. WOW!!!! Being half Japanese my self, I'm very picky when it comes to the foods mom used to make that I grew up on. Japa Bowl did not disappoint at all!! Quaint little restaurant with a decent vibe. Started with Gyoza and the Seaweed Salad - good. Hard to do those wrong. For the entree we both had the Spicy Beef Rice, EXCELLENT!! The perfect blend of sweet and spicy. It was so good, we ordered a second one!!!!!! Will probably regret that later lol! Highly recommend the Japa Bowl for a quiet evening and fantastic food!!!! read more

Japa Bowl - Spicy Beef Rice - Japanese Near Me - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

We love this place. They serve Japanese home cooking which is a rare find - you can get sushi anywhere, but other than having Japanese friends or going to Japan, homestyle cooking is hard to find. The food here reminds us of the home cooked meals we had in Tokyo while visiting friends. The husband and wife who run this restaurant come from southern Japan, and have brought their family cooking to Broadway Avenue. There is a bit of a Korean cross over, Japan and Korea have a long messy history, but this also means their cuisines have crossed and intermingled. Small Plates: Every now and then they make a variety of small dishes that they send out as a complimentary taste indulgence. This might be marinated shitake mushrooms, deep fried pork skin in a sweet and tangy sauce, tiny slaty deep fried fish. One of the benefits of being a regular is getting to experience these when they're available. Shichimi: We love it on everything. A common Japanese spice with a mix of up to 7 peppers. Just ask for it. Spicy food in Japan isn't "hot" its more tangy - you'll find that holds true to everything here. Tonkatsu: Tonkatsu is taken very seriously in Japan, in fact there are whole restaurants that specialize in it. Think pork cutlets deep fried in a light batter until crispy, served with a tangy sauce made specifically for this dish. If you've never had this, it's a must! Chicken In Heaven: This is their version of a Korean dish with his wife's special tangy sauce. This is coated deep fried skin-on chicken, in a sweet and spicy sauce. The sauce isn't very hot, so if you like a real kick to it make sure you ask when you order! Ebi Mayo: Shrimp quickly deep fried in a light batter with a mild wasabi mayo over top. A simple and tasty treat. Flying Tofo: Kids love this dish & its great for grown ups too. Tofu deep fried in a light batter with a tangy mayo and a sweet Japanese bbq sauce drizzled over top. Beef Fried Rice: Super tasty thinly sliced beef in a a rich and slightly sweet sauce. Served with a touch of glass noodle and some veggies over rice. We used to make this at home, glad we dont' have to anymore. Yaki Undo: Thick Japanese noodle, fried with thinly sliced beef in yakisoba sauce - like a sweet thick version of Worcestershire mixed with a touch of oyster sauce. The noodles are chew, firm & silky. Mixed with veg. Rice Pockets: Sweet & salty tofu pouches stuffed with sushi rice and fried. Unique and truly marvelous! Chili BBQ pork or chicken rice: Tangy dark meat chicken or fatty pork slices in tangy sauce. Simple and delightful. Bulgogi: A Korean dish, served in a Japanese style. It's a mix of thinly sliced beef marinated in a particular sauce with a gentle citric, mixed with glass noodles and vegetables. Such a richly flavourful indulgence. Also great with Shichimi! One of our favs. Sockeye Don Sushi: Great quality smoked salmon is drizzled with a mild wasabi aoli, sitting over beautifully cooked sushi rice. Marinated onions and a bit of leafy veg. Sushi rice is often cooked with a combination of sake, rice vinegar and mirin. Wakame - This is a traditional seaweed salad, something you may have run into at sushi restaurants as well. They have a wonderfully fresh and tasty one, with great texture. We particularly love the sesame flavours in this dish. This is a classic you are sure to enjoy. They make 50 bowls of soup per day, once sold out there's no more prepaired, as the broth is made froms cratch. Chicken Miso Ramen: These are Japanese noodle bowl soups, they're wildly popular in Japan, but also in Toronto and Vancouver. We tried their Miso Ramen, a Hokkaido style of soup. Hokkaido is the Northern most island of Japan, so the chicken broth is nice and rich. Miso is a paste made from soy beans, it has a sweet-salty-savoury quality to it that we find most delicious. They use the straight style of ramen noodle, with bite sized chunks of chicken thighs, some carrots, spinach and onions. The broth is clearly made from scratch, we make our won ramen broth at home and we know there's a huge amount of care and attention that needs to go into making it. Chicken Udon: Udon noodles are really thick and have a chewy silky texture. It is essentially a very rich bowl that is essentially a very rich chicken soup with lots of chunks of dark chicken meat. Their usual vegetable medley of spinach, carrots and onions can be found here too. Sprinkle on loads of the Shichimi pepper spice (just ask your waiter). Tonka Curry: Not on the menu but we special order it in advance during slow hours. A lot of people don't realize curry is a big thing in Japanese culture, in fact its one of the most popular foods in their households. Japa bowl does a marvelous job of it. Japanese style curry has fewer spices, allowing for a focus on the pure flavor of curry. This is served with Tonkatsu, a very tender pork cutlet coated with panko and deepfried to a golden crisp deliciousness. read more

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The reek of Old Deep Frier Grease is the first thing you smell, and it will take at least 2 washes to get the stink out of your clothes after eating here. Japa bowl touts itself as a good place for appetizers and drinks, and it is not. The appetizers are few and very common, and small in size. The unfriendly wait staff couldn't tell the difference between the green teas on their menu, and I hope you like beer because that's pretty much the only type of drink they have. If you want to pay a lot for ramen or udon noodles, you're in the right place, but I make better noodles for myself at home, I don't need the imagined status that this tiny place must be running on, as I cannot tell how or why they're still open. Maybe it's a "front" for a different business as that's the only reason I can see it being open for this long. read more

I had been living in Regina for 2 months after relocating there for work and had been craving ramen for quite a while. So when I got an assignment in Saskatoon, one of the first things I did was to find a decent ramen place. Enter Café Japa Bowl. It's located on Broadway Avenue amongst a cluster of other restaurants, bakeries and cafes (that sell coffee, not ramen :P). The place has a family-run feel to it and the hosts are very friendly. I got the pork ramen and got a seaweed salad on the side. The ramen left a lot to be desired, even though I was appreciative to have finally had some. The portion size was good, its served boiling hot and they garnish it well, but the broth is too sweet and not spicy enough. The salad was standard. Decent place and excellent atmosphere, but the ramen could be better. read more

I feel like I need to balance these other strangely positive reviews a little by saying: No. Just no. EDIT - I've been corrected: this is a Japanese-run establishment, which makes it even more disappointing. I was actually so excited that we were *finally* getting a ramen joint in this city. So I was incredibly disappointed when my ramen looked more like a Mr. Noodle with some hastily chopped carrots, onions, and boiled chicken thighs. I mean, it tasted fine. It wasn't unpalatable. But for 14 dollars?! I paid $16 for a Momofuku ramen in downtown Manhattan that had a complex home-made beef broth, delicately marinated pork chashu, enoki mushrooms, braised shitakes, and pickled vegetables! I'm all for supporting mom and pop startups, but it also grinds my gears when mediocre asian food is overpriced and peddled to an audience that just doesn't know any better...ESPECIALLY after having had marvelous wonderful ramen for a fraction of the price served by similar mom and pop folk who actually know what their doing. I will consider trying something else here, given the sparsity of good asian food here. But I will not touch their ramen again. read more

Japa Bowl definitely fills a gap in the market on Broadway ave. in Saskatoon, aka the trendy area. Amidst a plethora of pubs and small eateries, Japa Bowl really stands out. Atmosphere: upon entering we were greeted by not by a server/hostess, but a husband and wife. This is a family owned business and there are only 6-7 tables in the entire restaurant. The husband serves the tables and I believe his wife works in the back as a chef. The ambience is very home-style and it almost felt like I was sitting in someone else's home with the quaint little placemats on each table. After being quickly seated, I was pleasantly surprised at the expansive menu. There's a list of japanese tapas/ share plates you can get, but also donburi/noodle/ramen you can order as well if you're more into ordering your own dish. Iced water was served with a wedge of lemon, a nice refreshing choice. our picks: Beef Yakiudon (4.5/5) A bit on the sweeter side for me, but the udon noodles were perfectly cooked and had a nice bounce to them. It came with shredded carrot, onion, and spinach. The onion soaked up the sake-mirin soy sauce and gave the dish some great texture. The "kobe" style beef slices were well done, but still very soft smooth-it didn't have the toughness of well-done beef as I would expect. It was a great carb dish to share. Ebi Mayo (5/5) This was an amazing dish. It came with four prawns deep fried and drizzled with a japanese mayo as well as a wasabi mayo- duo. very unique taste! it starts off as sweet and then you get quite the kick from the wasabi mayo. The batter was light and crisp and did not weigh down the dish, and the prawns were still hot when served, and had a nice snap to them- perfectly deep fried. I liked the added side of mixed greens was served with this dish to make it lighter. Chicken Heaven (4/5) Deep fried chicken pieces drizzles with a sweet korean style (gochujang?) sauce with sliced green onions on top. This was a slightly heavier dish and for $15, it comes with a lot of chicken! The spicy sauce had a good depth of flavour to it and the sliced green onion gave it that extra edge. It goes great on its own as a snack or some sort of carb dish. The batter was a bit too heavy for me near the end and some pieces were more chicken skin than chicken meat. Japanese-style coffee (4/5) Iced coffee with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle. I'm not an expert on coffee by any means, but this had a nice depth to it, and had a slightly sweet finish. The whipped cream was a nice treat- not too sure the caramel drizzle was necessary as the coffee was already sweetened; but that certainly makes it fancy. I am definitely coming back to this restaurant to try more of their dishes, especially during exam season. They don't deliver and they only do take-out and eat-in but I'm all for supporting small businesses. The japanese couple open their doors 7 days a week with no break- crazy hard working! read more

Food is fantastic. Had the Spicy Beef rice bowl and seaweed salad. Very friendly staff. Highly recommended this place.

OMG....very nice presentation and amazing customer service!!! Sooo good!! Looks like Yelp helped us pick another great restaurant! read more

Japa Bowl - Bibamboo amazing flavours!! - Japanese Near Me - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Tried both the chicken ramen, and beef udon; they were great! :3 Actually surprisingly traditional, not like the loads of other ghetto Japanese food places in the other parts of the city, this place is actually pretty good! x3 They were even playing Back number! x33 read more

This WONDERFUL RESTAURANT is an amazing AUTHENTIC Japanese cuisine place to eat and NOW HAS A TWIN SISTER RESTAURANT!! As far as we know this is the first of its kind in Canada! It is a Yakiniku grilled meat. Just ate here now and it is AMAZING!! Cook your desired food on the induction cooktop right on your table. Huge place and set up for functions so bring large groups! Beautifully set up restaurant. This one IS A MUST GO! read more

Oh man. As annoying as it is to pay sixteen clams for ramen, the food here is worth it. I had the smoked salmon don (divine!) and I also tried the chicken udon and the pork ramen. That is a tasty set of dishes, my friends. The pork is absolutely mouth-watering and the spicy mayo on the salmon was a tongue pleaser. A round of edamame and some tempura and I was in a Thanksgiving-level food coma. Cannot recommend enough. The place only loses a bit on the decor. It's dark and undistinguished... But with food like that, easily forgiven. You gotta eat here. read more

Their online and in house menu said they have vegetarian ramen. They do not have vegetarian ramen. It's just water, silken tofu and egg noodles in a bowl. Leaves to flavour. As a vegetarian I can only comment on two of the dishes there. This is one. The other is rice with some kind of fried tofu. It was pretty great. They offer an edamame snack at the start of the meal which was also fantastic. My friend also reports that the chicken dish was good but I can't vouch for that. They were kind enough to help me garnish my bowl of leaves and water with salt and pepper, which did not help. I requested for some miso paste and whatever powders were available on the table. I have no idea what they were but at the end of it, the dish was passable. Perhaps the next time I'm in town you can all request for me and enjoy a tasty vegetarian ramen. They offer complimentary water which is impressively close to temperature of ice, while remaining liquid. A kind young man popped by our table offering us more multiples times. Overall, as a vegetarian and a ramen lover, 0 stars. But as one understanding of the nature of ramen, 2 stars. Ambience is a total 0. Size of restaurant is also a 0. So is the comfort of chairs and tables. Hospitality, sweetness and kindness of staff is 10 stars out of 5. Overall, because I suck at math, 3/5 stars. read more

Sooo good! I love this tiny place. Great atmosphere with small tables, candles, Japanese music playing, and a clean minimalist interior. Amazing food, and the owners are great. And they're open late. read more

Delicious. Will come back and bring friends. The broth is more flavorful and less salty than most, the pork belly is moist, and the attention to detail excellent. Gentle music also plays in the background of the restaurant. What a gem. read more

Very small and comfy japanese restaurant. The one staff member that I have seen (which I would assume is also the owner) is very welcoming and friendly. Menu is very small and concise, with about 4-5 items for every catagory. Being one of the only ramen places in town, its hard to compare its quality to other places. But on its own merit, the food is decent, with fairly moderate portions. The bbq ramen bowl is quite tasty, but something about the broth tasted odd. The price point is certainly high for what you get, $15+ for just a bowl of ramen is quite expensive when there are cheaper alternatives in the city. All in all the food is good but could certainly go down in price. read more

Pretty good Japanese option in the area! Ramen and appetizers were good, aside from the edamame which tasted over-cooked. Great service, I would return! read more

Not an ordinary Japanese restaurant! Great variety of Donburi and Ramen dishes. I love its food and the unique atmosphere of the restaurant. It also offers a variety of drinks. Great place for Japanese food. read more

Great experience. We tried the boiled gyoza and it was amazing... also the spicy bbq beef ramen & beef rice bowl. I thought the ramen would be a salty spice but it was sweet, which threw me off. But all in all it was a good supper. read more

My wife and I just enjoyed a terrific lunch. We stumbled upon this place and how lucky were we. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but what a find! We will be back! read more

I ordered the Tonkatsu, it is good, a little twist to the traditional version, cause they used spicy mayonnaise on top. Me and my bf enjoyed the food there. The only thing is the interior and the atmosphere in the restaurant can be improved. read more

Awesome place for a nice quick dinner in Saskatoon. Ive never had a bad meal here and i've been more than a few times. The Chicken Karaage in particular is one of the best ive ever had, and their sesame pork belly appetizer is by far my favorite. Would recommend them to anyone in Saskatoon. Delicious, fresh and the owners are always kind and gracious. read more