Noren - Montréal

Noren is a charming small restaurant that serves a variety of Japanese street food dishes. I visited on a Thursday afternoon to try their weekly special, reimen, which is cold ramen with ham, cucumber, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, and tomato. In addition to reimen, they also offer takoyaki, okonomiyaki, desserts, and drinks. I appreciated the retro gaming system in the corner. The ramen was light and perfect for summer, with the marinated shiitake mushrooms and sprinkle of sesame seeds adding a nice touch. I always enjoy discovering new spots, especially those that specialize in a few delicious offerings. I would give Noren 3.5 stars.

A friend of mine kept raving about this place, so we decided to take a little stroll in the Plateau to find Noren. It's a small but well-designed and organized restaurant. A large chalkboard on the wall listed the two staples of the menu, takoyaki and okonomiyaki, along with the daily specials and drinks. We ordered everything - the classic takoyaki with sauce, the pork okonomiyaki, and the special banbanji (cold chicken udon). The place was packed, so we had to wait for 20 minutes. We took advantage of the time by exploring the nearby park. When we returned, we amused ourselves with the Nintendo Famicom console that was in the corner of the restaurant. It would be great if all restaurants had gaming consoles to make waiting more enjoyable! We opted for takeout, and our food was neatly packaged. The takoyaki was piping hot and absolutely delicious, even though some lacked octopus. The katsuobushi, sauce, and other toppings enhanced the soft dough's flavor. The okonomiyaki was also outstanding - filled with crunchy cabbage, less overpowering than other places like Imadake. The pancake's surface was perfectly browned, and the toppings were excellent. The pink marinated ginger added a nice kick. However, the banbanji was the least impressive dish, with simpler and more subtle flavors, which were overshadowed by the other two dishes. As someone who regularly cooks udon at home, it was a bit underwhelming. Hopefully, next time the special will be soba! I highly recommend trying the takoyaki and okonomiyaki at Noren!

I was surprised how tiny the place was. Maybe 10 seats top. No tables only counters. But still very cozy. The food though... wow it was amazing! I never tasted anything like it. We took everything. So the takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and the plate of the week. Everything was so tasty and authentic. The waiter was very friendly. And super cute. We look forward to trying it again.

Takoyaki was an interesting experience. While there was an elegant seafood and soy flavor profile, the balls were generally dominated by batter. I was not impressed. $8 for what amounted to 6 octopus fritters would be OK if there were more substantial meat. I'll have to come back and grab the okonomiyaki and try that. This particular dish did not impress me.

Overpriced for what it is, unfortunately. I went there for lunchtime during a weekday with a friend. After seeing the multiple good reviews on Yelp, I decided to give this restaurant a try. The decor itself is nice and cute, considering it is small and you can actually see your food being cooked (somehow) if you are sitting at their bar. As for the food, while the taste itself was decent, I found I could've gotten more for my money. I ordered their special of the week, which was a bowl of rice with chicken egg. I also ordered okonomiyaki and takoyaki to share. The bowl of rice itself was kinda bland in flavor, without not many flavors in my mouth. As for the okonomiyaki and the takoyaki, I previously visited Japan, so my expectations were fairly high. The taste of those dishes was decent, but definitely not as good as I expected. One of the things that attracted me to this place is that I heard they run out quickly, and did not want to miss out on my chance to taste their offerings. I must say while I was not overly disapointed, I was not impressed neither.