Initially I went into the plaza because I wanted something from Nakamura bakery, but it was closed so I defaulted to this place. I had pretty high expectations because I thought "well everything else in J Town is so good, cause it's authentically Japanese, why shouldn't this one!" They also posted a newspaper article regarding their ramen which got me excited! To be honest my only other ramen experience is Ajisen, and I thought this "authentic" place must be waaay better. I was kind of wrong. They had a very limited menu, especially compared to Ajisen, and the soup base was kind of bland. Some may argue that maybe this is b/c they have no msg (not sure if they do), but personally I think broth can be flavourful with or without msg. I ordered the ramen with miso soup base which came with half an egg, 2 slices of chasu, and some corn and beansprouts. I was excited to see that the egg is cooked just right (medium rare, kind of hard to find in a restaurant), but i bit into it and it was flavourless =(. I prefer the soy egg from Ajisen. I somewhat salvaged the egg when I submerged it in the soup though. Also the noodle quality of the ramen looked very instant noodle-like. It had a good texture, but I still prefer Ajisen. Overall I think this restaurant was a miss, despite a really good atmosphere and a friendly waitstaff. I know some of you might be appalled that I am a fan of the Ajisen franchise as opposed to the rustic and little ramen shop, but for a similar price Ajisen offers me more food, and more flavour in comparison. I also question the authenticity of Niwatei's ramen, 'cause I heard that Japanese ramens are supposed to be a bit thicker, but hey I can't really make a call on it since I've never been to Japan. Lesson of the day: Just b/c it's Japanese people making Japanese food, doesn't mean it'll be really good!! Note: I know I mentioned Ajisen alot, but I swear I'm not affiliated! It's just the only ramen place I've ever had, and I like to compare b/w similar experiences in my reviews. =) read more

I learned of this place's existence through this website so Thank You Yelp for this one. While its not the best ramen I've had in the GTA, just knowing that I've got another ramen option raises my level of joy one notch. It isn't difficult to rate this place, it's better than Ajisen for sure but not better than Kenzo. As always I had the tonkotsu ramen because fat = tasty. The chashu pork slices were a bit of a disappoinment. After hours of simmering, I'd expect the pork to be ultra tender, almost falling apart as you raise it with your chopstick. This was slightly tougher, so in that aspect, it's worse than every other ramen I've ever had in my life. However, as any ramen lover would know, its all about the broth, and although I found it a bit salty, it definitely filled my tonkotsu ramen craving that day. For that, this place is A-OK. read more

The hubby and I decided to come here for a Friday night date. We've tried to come 2 other times but every time previously, it was closed! So this time, I called them to make sure that they were actually open before driving all the way there. When we got to J Town, we were absolutely confused as to where the restaurant was. Apparently, it's moved and now shares the same space as Green Tea Cafe. It really is not clear where the restaurant is now and they should really improve the signage. Regardless, we finally found it and the wait staff were very friendly and attentive. My husband and I both ordered ramen sets. I ordered the miso ramen with a mini curry and red bean ice cream. The hubby ordered shio ramen with mini seasoned beef and rice and red bean ice cream. What we liked the most about the ramen was the texture of the noodles - it had the perfect amount of chewiness to it. The soup base was ok...we kind of thought the soup base tasted strange compared to what we've tried in the past...not bad...but also not great. The pork in both our ramens were surprisingly very tender - not extremely flavourful but certainly tender. The mini curry was good - typical Japanese curry and rice. The seasoned beef and rice was a bit too salty but had good flavour. Overall, we thought Niwatei was ok. We still like the ramen places downtown better but it's not bad for uptown. read more

It's a nice small little place. They have good ramen combos and the curry rice set is decent. The restaurant is a little confusing because it was connected with another one and the waiter asked us which restaurant and we weren't sure when we walked in. read more

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We were brought here by my god daughter and her husband. The goal was ramen. Of course, everyone but me chose ramen and I chose udon. They made the better choice. Each broth was hot and full flavored. The bowls are big enough and the servings are ample. The ramen noodles had a wonderful flavor. While my dish was adequate, the ramen dishes were excellent. Every one was happy. The service is good, prompt and friendly. This place is not fancy, but the ramen is well worth the trip. read more

One of the better ramen places I've had in the GTA. As with many of the other reviewers, I had the Tonkotsu ramen, but also added Spicy Miso to it. The broth was delicious and completely satisfied my ramen craving that night. My friend had the normal Miso based ramen and it was pretty good. If you are coming here for the first time, I definitely recommend the Tonkotsu ramen. The service was very friendly, but it did take a little longer than expected to get our meals. Otherwise, this place is one of the best ramen places in the Scarborough/Markham area. read more

I think this place is good if you don't want to line up downtown for the new Ramen shops popping up downtown. Otherwise, this place is good to get my Ramen fix. The cha-siew pork they give is nothing special, and only 3 slices of it usually gets me hungry very quickly. read more

I'm surprised at all the luke warm reviews for Niwatei. I had the chashu ramen and it was excellent. Loads of tender pork and the broth was wonderful. Really umami and not too salty at all. It's a basic atmosphere, but that's fine. And the staff was friendly. I also had cold barley tea which was okay, but then I knew that I probably wouldn't be over the moon about it. The only reason I tried it was that I've never seen it on a menu before and it was something different. My only complaint would be that my appetizer, gyoza, arrived right near the end of the meal. Shouldn't an appetizer come *before* the main course? Pretty basic. But the waitress was apologetic and kept us informed. So that's something. Really, though, I would totally recommend a trip to Niwatei. Someone here wrote that there's not much parking. There's LOADS of parking. And a visit to the J-Town Mall with it's strange odds and ends (Vanilla Pocky, Tomato Pretz, etc.) is always fun. Worth a visit! read more

COME ON guys. The ramen at Niwatei is just not serious. When you think about Japanese food you think about sushi and ramen. It is sad that Jtown cannot bother to offer you above average sushi or ramen. Putting the sushi situation aside, Niwatei's ramen was definitely not up to par with the likes of Raijin, Sansotei or Santouka. Nowhere near. In fact, I suspect their ramen is made from the frozen ramen packs they sell at the supermarket across from them. A ramen restaurant uses a lot of water, seeps the broth and uses fresh broth and pork bones and so forth. Niwatei's ramen is like something you can make at home so they are not serious about their art. In the meantime, the restaurant has combined into one with Green Tea Lounge and presents one big menu. By the way, the watery bland ramen (yes they added too much water) is available in full or half size. Fortunately, the chicken karaage was delicious and juicy. Hint for all ramen newbies: good ramen is not made from dried or frozen packs, takes hours to prepare and made in large batches according to particular noodles or broth (fish, pork or chicken stock....) and you can usually sit at the bar and see the chefs in action (and I don't mean hydrating dried/frozen noodles). Waitress was a sincere girl and quite nice about everything. Polite service is always nice. The on-site dishware shop sells ramen bowls with the Niwatei logo, but the ramen is not served in bowls with the logo! Finally, whoever said they wear traditional Japanese dress or uniform must have not visited recently. They stopped doing that. read more

I love this place. Its quiet and the food and service is really good. I think the owners are Japanese and they really know how to make great Ramen. I lived in japan for 2 years, and have been disappointed with the quality of Japanese noodle places here in Toronto. This is as authentic a place as you can find without flying over to japan to find it. Just remember to slurp your noodles loud to get the full experience :P read more

Nice clean place with exceptional service. Food is great and tonkatsu needs to be tried. Also tried the takoyaki and it was good too.

I love this place. I come here once a week. I always order the same thing. Salad, +tonkotsu ramen set with spicy miso on the side, beef with rice and the coffee jelo. Been such a loyal customer they gave me a VIPER card for 10% off every time I come. yohooo read more

What a great experience! Small homely noodle house tucked away from the busy streets of Steeles. Friendly and attentive staff, quick food and service. I disagree with some of the reviewers from before - I think Niwatei is superior to Kenzo. The broth is richer without being too heavy or greasy. The consistency of noodles more springy. The meat (cha-su) were tastier and also larger and thicker pieces than Kenzo. Small bonus are the options of ordering a la carte ramen, or combining with a set (lots of options for the sets: I think choose 1 or 6 side dishes, and choose 1 of 4-5 desserts). I'm not a huge dessert or gyoza fan (except for one place in Vancouver) so that is not a big thing for me. The quality of the ramen makes it or breaks it for me! Will be back. Too bad it's so far out of downtown! read more

I generally only care about the food. Things like atmosphere matter maybe just a little. With that said, I think Niwatei is just an OK restaurant. This stuff is expensive. It seems that any restaurant that can establish itself as authentically Japanese (as opposed to Chinese) will be able to charge a ridiculous premium. This sentence is very true for the whole J-Town. Things are outrageously expensive and this seems solely because the place is run by Japanese people (and that their products are imported from Japan of course). The food tastes ok. I think Ramen is one of the most over-glorified foods out there. I've tried other Ramen places like Ajisen and Kenzo and I think the quality is not noticeably better than either of these places, despite being owned by Japanese. The portion they serve is definitely not worth the price tag. Your ramen only comes with 2 slices of pork. If you want more,they charge you a whooping $2.5 for just 2 more pieces. It's not like the pieces are large either. This is Canada...when you add tips and tax, it's quite a bit. They have non-ramen things like curry (made with powder of course) and desert. These are even more overpriced than their ramen. I had Ramen in Japan and I really don't understand the ramen hype in Toronto. New ramen places have popped up in moderate numbers this year. I think it's good business. Ramen is not particularly costly to make, yet it fetches a good price. I've been to Ramen places in Japan where they literally mass produce the soup and noodles and just scoop it out for you once you buy a ticket from the machine. The only reason to try out all these Ramen places is to join the chic cultural bandwagon. So unless you're dying to be served by Japanese waitresses (they are not that cute by the way), I don't think it's a place you should frequently visit. I'd go once just so you can experience one of the few Japanese restaurants owned by Japanese people. You're basically paying a premium to be served by real Japanese people. Think about that for a minute. read more

Located in the back corner of J-Town plaza, this restaurant shares space with another restaurant which, makes it a little hard to find. At first it was hard to decide what to get-curry or ramen- but then I noticed that you can get a combo deal. This was the best option for me. I got the small tonkatsu ramen with a small curry and a scoop of green tea ice cream. Yummy. The wait staff is friendly and the food came out quickly. read more

When it comes to Japanese ramen places in uptown, this is the best place. A little hard to find as it's hidden inside with another restaurant. I had their tonkatsu ramen, and the soup was so good. Definitely authentic. read more

You get pretty good bang for your buck with the ramen combo sets but I don't think their ramen is all that special (I had Tonkotsu). It's okay, but not fantastic. The gyozas are a bit oily and the dessert was just a sponge cake. read more

Came here with a few friends yesterday for dinner. I was here 2 years ago and now this place moved. It's combined with Green Tea Lounge. Initially I was confused when I walked inside because 2 restaurants were operating there. I ordered the Shio Ramen. It doesn't taste as good as before, the broth is bland, the noodles tasted like instant noodles. I rather go to Ajisai next time. Would not recommend this place! read more

Niwatei - Japanese Near Me - Markham, Ontario

The tonkatsu ramen and gyoza are my go to order here. Make sure to order the gyoza right away, especially if you want them as an appetizer. If you're new to ramen, I personally recommend miso broth over the soy sauce or plain broth. Some might say the restaurant is "cozy" but I find it a bit cramped. I prefer the booth seating at the Green Tea Cafe "next door" but that's another story... read more

This is my go to place for ramen in Markham/Scarborough. I have yet to find a better one in the area! It's a quiet place that shares it's space with another restaurant. The service is exceptional 95% of the time. I like their combo sets...you can choose and appetizer, ramen, and a dessert. The broth is flavourful enough...not overpowering or excessively salty, and the noodles have a nice, almost chewy, texture. Kind of like "al dente"if talking in pasta terms...not overcooked/soggy. read more

It was my first time at this ramen place and I was pretty excited since I've been craving ramen for a while. The ramen was ok, but very bland, so I had to put in a lot of spice to really taste anything and the gyoza tasted kinda funny, but it could have been my taste buds acting up on me. The noodles itself were delish though. It did satisfy my craving which was a plus, and if I were in the area i'd come back just to satisfy my craving. read more

I came here accidently wanting to try the sushi restaurant directly across from Niwatei but because it was closed, I hopped a restaurant over. As soon as I entered the restaurant, I was seated promptly and took a good look at the menu. I ended up ordering the tonkatsu ramen combo which comes with an appetizer and dessert - I got the curry rice and jello w/ fruits. Everything was pretty good. Yummy curry! As for the ramen, the broth was quite bland but the noodles were soft and crunchy - still the soup could have used a pinch more of salt and chasu slices could have been better. Verdict, good ramen that's soothing and is good to eat on a cold day. its very fast/filling and under $10! read more

Just went there for lunch today, had the tonkatsu ramen with the kaarage (fried chicken) and green tea - came to $18.98 for one person. Very thirsty right now (broth was very salty and lots of MSG) and in my ramen there were only 2 small pieces of chasu (pork). Would definitely not go there again. read more

I decided to try out this place while I was in the area, however it was a disappointment for me. Ordered a tonkotsu ramen set. The soup was flavorful but had a lot of MSG. The portion also did not justify its price (a lot of noodles, but only 2 small pieces of pork, half an egg, and very few other toppings). The mini curry and red bean ice cream was good though. read more

I love Niwatei. I'm not a ramen aficianado but I love to eat and I love the ramen at niwatei. I could eat it all the time. the service is always really friendly too which is very nice! I've been to Niwatei three times in about 7 months, it's kind of out of the way for me but whenever I'm near there and need food I go. any way, I really like it. I find the restaurant to be clean and modern decor and there is an open kitchen plus the food comes really quick! Now I really want to go to Niwatei. read more

Went here for dinner the other night. Arrived around 5pm....hardly anybody there. The waitress was super friendly and the service was pretty fast. I ordered the set menu which was choice between 3 ramens (shoyu, miso and i forget the third....) half a dozen sides (3pc gyoza, mini curry rice, rice with veggies, etc) and a bunch of desserts (red bean ice cream, green tea ice cream, fruit salad, etc). I ordered the shoyu ramen, rice and veggies ( i had my 1yr old boy with me, so this was perfect!) and green tea ice cream for dessert. The ramen came out quickly... It looked pretty good...with bamboo shoots, fish cake, charshu pork, green onions and a hard boiled egg. The broth tasted like water which pretty much ruined the entire bowl of soup. The noodles were good but i couldn't get over how bad the broth was. The rice and veggies were ok....the rice ismixed with soy sauce and the only veggie that was in there were chinese mushrooms. Again, pretty tasteless. The ice cream was pretty typical....but unfortunately, that was the best course. Anyways, the meal was $12.95 plus tax. Not really worth it.... They need to figure out a better broth or even a better shoyu. This place would never fly in Japan. read more