Finally got around to trying to place after it's initial soft opening. Hakata is probably my best bet for ramen in North York.
Pros:
Very good ramen
Good service
Cons:
Parking can be tough to find
I came to Hakata during it's soft opening weekend. My thoughts at the time was that the ramen was just so so and the portions were rather small because of the bowls they were using. They have since rectified both and I'm very happy for it.
Let's get right into the ramen shall we. Hakata only does tonkotsu ramen. They have a couple of varieties of it but they won't have your usual miso, shio, shoyu types you may see at other places. That being said, they do a very good job at it. The broth was very rich and not to salty at the end. You have your choice between traditional thin noodles are thicker wavy noodles. If you ask me, go with the thicker noodles. You get two slices of chasiu pork with every order unless you get the chasiu lovers ramen which come with 7!! The chasiu is thinly sliced so if you like your chasiu, you might want to order more of it. We also ordered a karaage side dish which was very wonderfully done. It was crispy on the outside and very tender on the inside.
The service here was very good. There was only one waitress when we came in on a saturday afternoon which was quite strange if you ask me. However, the kitchen staff also were helping out and service was quite quick. The staff were all pretty nice and friendly. Going to ramen places with out little one can be quite tough but it was a very good experience and I will have no qualms about coming back with her in the future.
Being on Yonge Street, the parking can be quite tricky. If all the spots are taken on Yonge Street, it can be quite difficult to find parking. I have been told before there's parking in the back but there are only a couple of spots at most and some of them say reserved for the H mart next door. We drove around a couple times before a spot opened on the street.
All in all, Hakata is my go to place for Ramen in North York. The downtown ramen shops are still my fav, but having one near where I am helps as well.