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Sumo Ramen

Had dinner at Sumo Ramen (1107 St Laurent) and really enjoyed the "Volcano Ramen" - with miso broth. It has spicy marinated pork, seaweed, sprouts, corn and enoki mushrooms. Super comforting for the cold fall weather. Nothing better than warm soup!

Has anyone eaten here, any thoughts, as the ramen restos are few and far between in Montreal? It seems pretty new to Chinatown, and do you think it's authentic Japanese ramen?

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    1. I'm not sure about being authentic Japanese ramen, but it did seem homemade. The staff were very friendly and enthusiastic about how they made the noodles themselves. And the noodles were good! Just chewy enough and great with the miso soup, which I was also told is homemade. As good as their base was, I felt like their toppings left something to be desired. I asked for the most popular and was given the one with Japanese barbeque pork, which had bit too much fat for my taste and a little flavourless. My enoki mushrooms were raw and I couldn't eat them. The place was packed though and other seem to like it... maybe their other offerings are better.

      1. I had the traditional miso and it was quite good! The broth was very tasty and the noodles were yummy.
        However, I wasn't too crazy about the mushrooms, and I was looking for the slices of fish cake (big pink swirl in the middle) which were nowhere to be found...
        But it's a good place if you're looking for a ramen fix.

        6 Replies
        1. re: dhronin27

          Not every bowl of ramen is topped with kamaboko (the fish cake with the tomato swirl). Will have to try out a bowl; it at least sounds better than Ramen-ya.

          1. re: wattacetti

            I'm guesing it's at least more authentic than Ramen-ya. .

            1. re: BLM

              Found Sumo to be dismally worse than Ramen-ya.
              and neither is anywhere near authentic. Ask any japanese person. They'll say "yeah well... when I need my fix I'll do it but it's not ramen really"

              Cela dit, go to Maison du Nord, the place you all love the pork sandwich at (had it, found it to be dog food in an under-cooked nan-type bread. uhh?) and ask them to make you a beef noodle soup. *that's* a soup, and a worthy ancestor of japanese ramen.

              1. re: bopuc

                I agree with you, as I decided to try out Sumo Ramen for first time two days ago. I much prefer Ramen-ya over Sumo(Ramen-ya, much more better tasting at least).

                1. re: bopuc

                  Well I am born and raised in Japan and I happened to disagree with your assertion about authenticity of the restaurant. I went to Sumo Ramen today and I was blown away. Sure it is not Ippodo or any other high end ramen restaurant you find in Japan, but we're talking about North America, so it is not fair to compare the Sumo Ramen to the ones in Japan to begin with (which I am assuming your Japanese friend is comparing it to).

                  I am a Japanese and I just came back from 2 month in Tokyo. I enjoyed my Sumo Ramen experience very much today. boy was I impressed. I also happened to have been to the Ramenya in upper main, but sorry, all I remember was I was utterly disappointed at the ramen.. it was not bad, it did not blow me away. I was left feeling disappointed maybe because the name ramen-ya hinted that they are going to give really authentic ramen.

                  My personal choice between the two would be Sumo Ramen based on the variety of ramens they offer and the flavor of the soup and details to their dishes and I just happen to be more familiar or accostomed to the way the ramen tasted at Sumo Ramen. I'm sorry I just don't trust they are that into ramen when they offer sushi on the side, granted that probably was the way to ensure their business success (good for them).

                  As a Japanese, I wish well for a place like Sumo Ramen, as they are more likely to spend time creating or innovating a dish that would bring more fun to my ramen experience in this wonderful town. Great to have competition and my vote is not settled in one place or the other, I just want an awesome bowl of ramen noodle and gyoza. For the moment my fav is Sumo Ramen.

                  If anyone cares, the following improvement will make Sumo Ramen the fearless ramen king in Montreal or in North America. They just began to have something like that in NY (Setagaya, Ippodo), and I believe MTL deserves to have equally awesome place (that is within my travel distance). With the following incorporated, I think Sumo Ramen can proudly say that it is the only authentic Japanese Ramen shop in Montreal. LOL.

                  - soy sauce, vinegar and hot oil at every table for customers who would like to make their own gyoza dipping sauce.
                  - porc on top of the ramen could be lot more fattier and it would be perfect if it can be lightly blackened on the surface like in Tokyo
                  - I would love to see a ramen with gyofun (ground dried fish) or katsuobushi (bonito frake), which is becoming sooo popular in Japan
                  - Tsukemen (noodle served in a separate bowl and a dipping sauce) would be also awesome
                  - Use of Korean bread crumb (larger frakes), not western bred crumb (almost like corn meal) for fried shrimp and scallop would make it even more authentic

                  1. re: chiyodamachimontreal

                    I agree with you that after reading all the positive reviews for Ramen-ya on this board, I was sorely disappointed by what I got. This was after a monthlong visit to Japan which made a ramen convert out of me. Your review gives me hope that there may well be somewhat authentic ramen in this city after all. I will have to try Sumo Ramen sometime soon.

          2. I had the Traditional miso too. It was the ebst I've found in Montreal. But they were busy.

            1. Sarah M. really liked it. Her article in today's Gazette;

              1 Reply
              1. re: porker

                More of a luckwarm review to Sumo Ramen by Sarah M in my eyes.