Kuma Noodles Japan

Very little selection by expected it as it's a ramen place. I had order the miso ramen and it was so flavourful and good. However it tastes like any other miso ramen at other restaurants. No special twists. Nonetheless, I love the vibe here and of course the food. Reasonable pricing too!

I ordered soy noodles and I think it is delicious. I was very full on that. However, the actual price is different from the online menu on Yelp, maybe it is time to change it

I love their ramen, especially the one with Kimchi on it! Its got to be one of the best in Victoria. They also serve fast and its well-priced as well! Also, seeing the crew on the kitchen working on the food makes the vibe so eastern.

Kuma is a small ramen joint tucked away in a strip mall. If you're a party of one and arrive during peak hours as I did, you will likely be seated at the bar. The bar features an assortment of manga, collectibles, and other knick knacks for your viewing pleasure. If you're seated near the cashier as well, be prepared to be in close quarters with not only your neighbor, but with staff passing by every so often.

Having looked at their online menu in advance, I was prepared to order a ramen with fried rice combo. The prices have since increased, but are still quite reasonable by Victoria standards.

SOY RAMEN ($10.50): The ramen noodles were thin and cooked al dente. It retained the flavor of the rich soy broth (which I elevated with some additional seasoning and chili oil), and had some extra crunch from the bean sprouts and green onion. The ramen was also served with three slices of BBQ pork, all of which had a good fat-to-meat ratio. The biggest issue was the hard boiled egg, which was a stark contrast to the marinated soft boiled egg that is typical of most ramen joints. Kuma's egg was not only cold (which leaves much to be desired against the hot broth), but it was also overcooked, as evident by the grey rim around the yolk.

FRIED RICE (SMALL) ($3.50): Is it weird to prefer the fried rice over the ramen at a restaurant that specializes in ramen? The fried rice was executed extremely well: hot, peppery, and not oily whatsoever. Though there was also BBQ pork, veggies, and green onion, the rice sure let those ingredients know who was boss. Note that the fried rice here is now served as an add-on rather than as a combo. It is also offered in both small and regular ($5.00) sizes.

As far as service goes, I had a bit of a mixed bag experience in that it was either too quick or too slow. I was asked for my order not long after being seated and again after asking for a few more minutes. Understandably, there was a lineup forming, so the servers wanted a higher turnover of seats. However, they were also understaffed that day, so when one server was on the floor, the other server was busy at cash. Another thing I noticed (albeit after my friend pointed it out from her experience) was how coveted napkins seem here. You have to personally request for them from the servers as the napkins are only available at the cash register.

To close, is it the best ramen I've ever had? Not quite, but I will likely be back again because it was a nice break from studying. If you opt for the fried rice add-on like me, a food coma may be in your near future.

Nice little Japanese restaurant. We had the ramen and gyoza both of which were great. Great service as well. Would definitely recommend if you're in the area!

Small location, very friendly staff. There aren't a lot of tables so seating might be challenging depending on the time of day. The hostess helped answer all of our questions.

We ordered miso ramen and beef with rice. The beef was tender and had a great flavor to it. Soup, rice and sauce were all yummy. The miso ramen stock was very flavorful with just a touch of heat to it. The pork was tender and delicious, I just wish there was more of it.

Overall: great service and food for a very reasonable price. Highly recommended!

Delicious! I absolutely love ramen and rice bowls, so a few people recommended that I come check out Kuma. Right by my old house and now that I know how good it is, I can't believe I didn't go here more when I lived in the area. It's relatively inexpensive for some delicious Japanese food, made by a very active and vocal kitchen team that greets everyone who walks in together, and thanks them as they leave. The servers are attentive and kind, but not overbearing. A wonderful balance, in my opinion.

Now, I have to say, I didn't actually have any ramen this time through. I got the steak and egg rice bowl (which comes with miso soup) and it was thoroughly delicious. I definitely want to go back and try their ramen but this time through, I have no complaints. The miso soup was quite good and complemented the meal extremely well but the rice bowl was most certainly what stole my heart.

This probably goes without saying but for those who aren't aware, you NEED to know how to use chopsticks here, lol! It's a true Japanese restaurant and the utensils that you're able to get are chopsticks, chopsticks, and more chopsticks. Practice up before coming and then mow down on some delicious food. Hope you enjoy!

I love this place! I used to live in Japan and this is the most authentic tasting and authentic environment too. Best Japanese noodles in Victoria definitely.

Former employee here. I would like to say that it is the worst place in town the owner treats his employees like garbage. Made confrontations in front of customers. High prices for nothing.
If u plan to work here, don't. Never do it cuz u will definitely regret. That's why they are always hiring
If u want to eat, don't either. Not authentic Japanese ramen at all and the owner will stare at u like u are some thief or else.

I'd wanted to come to this place for a while as it seemed to boast the least expensive Japanese ramen I could find online in Victoria. For my first visit here, I opted for the standard shoyu ramen. First, the good - the broth, chicken-based, is great. It's full of chicken flavour that's been fully brought out, but without being overwhelmingly salty like a lot of tonkotsu/pork bone-based ramen broth can sometimes be. A subtle hint of spice adds some depth as well. The noodles have a soft, almost silken texture to them, but not quite like it's been sitting and soaking up broth. Really very nice (al dente purists may cry foul though). It was also served at a good, hot temperature (although the boiled egg, obviously pre-made, was a little cool in parts). The chashu is very tasty: so flavourful and a good tender blend of fat and meat, but the pieces themselves are rather small. Now for the not so good. The service is incredibly slow. I waited about 30 minutes for this after ordering it. The place was reasonably busy, to be fair, (clearly people come here for a reason) but ramen should be fast, high turnover food. While I'm no chef or restauranteur, from what I observed of the kitchen staff moving around, it looked somewhat chaotic. The servers were friendly enough, but seemed somewhat lost and disorganized as well. Finally, at just under $11 before tax, the price is lower than what you might find in Downtown Victoria, and comparable to some of the ramen places in Vancouver. So all in all, this was a good, reasonably authentic dining experience, one I'm glad I sought out, but distractingly marred by the slow service. Kuma still gets a recommendation. Just be sure to come when you're not in a hurry.

To start, the name of the place is Kuma Noodles Japan. Whoever categorized this on Yelp as a Chinese restaurant was horribly misguided.

I wouldn't go as far as to declare myself a ramen snob, but I've had my fair share in San Francisco, Japan, and New York. Kuma definitely surpassed my expectations. Don't be fooled by the unassuming signage and decor, or the sparse three (now four) reviews on Yelp. Oh, and the workers are actually Japanese and speak Japanese.

I dined with six friends, and we all had ramen. I opted for the combination miso ramen (with three slices of chashu, sprouts, scallions, nori, and half of an egg) and fried rice (vegetarian). The soup is chicken based and the noodles are straight. Remember this if you're used to pork-based tonkotsu broth; they're not the same style.

The ramen was great. The noodles were cooked well, the brother was sufficiently complex, the noodle-soup ratio was on point, the size was ample, and the chashu was of good quality (fatty and salty). If I want to be really picky, the only thing I was disappointed by was the egg. It was only half of an egg (rather than two halves), it was hard boiled (rather than onsen-style with a semi-solid, viscous center), and the egg was chilled, which is inconsistent with the hot temperature of the rest of the dish.

The ramen and (fried) rice combo isn't worth it in my opinion. Just stick with ramen if that's what you want. The extra carbs are unnecessary and not worth the extra bucks.

I'll definitely stop by again. Next time I want to try out some of the rice dishes: oyako don, katsu, and curry.