Where to eat ramen and Japanese food in Winnipeg

Winnipeg's Japanese food scene isn't concentrated on one strip. It runs from Pembina Highway in the south to Waterloo Street in River Heights to Corydon Avenue in Little Italy, and it has grown well past the sushi-and-teriyaki combo plates of a decade ago. Ramen counters, izakayas, and long-running family restaurants each cover different ground. Here's a starting point.

Ramen

• Cho Ichi Ramen (1151 Pembina Highway). A dedicated ramen shop known for a slow-cooked tonkotsu broth and house-made noodles; it has built a following among people who compare it to ramen they've had in Japan.
• Yujiro Japanese Restaurant (River Heights). A sushi restaurant that has served the neighbourhood for more than two decades. Ramen was added to the lunch menu later and became popular enough to influence the wave of ramen shops that followed it in the city.

Izakaya and small plates

• Gaijin Izakaya (Regent Avenue West). An izakaya built around shared small plates, chicken karaage, and specialty rolls, with a sake and Japanese beer list to go with them.
• Edokko Japanese Food (Waterloo Street). Rolls and ramen through lunch, with sashimi from Japanese, Canadian, and North Sea waters taking over the dinner menu.

Sushi on Corydon Avenue

• Wako Sushi Café and Sushi Ya. Both sit on Corydon Avenue, a strip better known for its Italian restaurants; they're the neighbourhood's own sushi counters, worth knowing about if a night on Corydon calls for something other than pasta.

A practical note

Several of these are small, independently run kitchens, and lunch-only ramen service can sell out before dinner. Hours and menus shift more often at a restaurant this size than at a chain, so check the restaurant's own site or call ahead before building a trip around a specific dish.