We did research in advance of our trip to Tofino in August and were looking forward to trying Kuma based on the reviews, however, we were quite disappointed.The restaurant was understaffed and they were turning away groups larger than 2 around 7pm. Luckily, my husband and I got a table after about a 40 minute wait. I ordered the shio ramen which was very disappointing - flavourless chicken broth and noodles that tasted like instant noodle quality. Even the porchetta was tough to eat. At least my husband’s negitori donburi (pictured) was decent.
andrew harks
Kuma Tofino, oh boy this place is delicious it absolutely notched it’s way to #2 on my Ramen list.The service was friendly and quick, the flavours were wonderful in the food and the cocktails as well.There were a few small issues we had with this location though. We wanted to get take-out the night before after having a big day of surfing which appeared to be available on Kuma’s website (so note they also mention that they add a 15% auto gratuity to all take out orders). However when we tried to call their businesses phone number it continuously went straight to voicemail without a ring. Next was we travelled 5km by Onewheel to the restaurant to physically make a take-out order upon which we were told they are not doing take-out which was a huge bummer which left us scrambling to find another place that was open and doing take-out which wasn’t easy. The last thing was that we came again the next evening for dine-in and got on a wait list that was approximately an hour long which was fine but when I asked the host if he would take my phone number in case something came available earlier he said no. We didn’t feel very accommodated and while deciding what to do we witnessed a new customer come up with one less in their party and was told that their wait would only be 5 minutes. Had we known that splitting our group would have made things faster we would have happily done that.Overall 1 star at the door, 5 stars if you can get past the door, 0 stars take-out.
Kyle Budz
Decent food. Be prepared to eat at 4:00 otherwise you’ll be on a wait list…and may not get in. It’s a nice looking restaurant with fancy pictures of for online but it wasn’t spectacular. Service was okay. Ramen was okay. Drinks were okay. Bathroom was very nice.
Nina T
With all the good reviews online, I was pretty excited to try this out. Unfortunately, we did not have a good experience.Service:Our night started out bad with their weird waiting system. They asked us to come back at 6pm and when we finally came back we had to wait 40 minutes until we were seated. One of their servers felt bad and said they’ll give us a free brownie on the house (which we never got either, I didn’t bother asking for it anymore too since everyone in our party just wanted to leave).Food:If you’ve never tried ramen before, maybe you’ll like this place. But otherwise, I would not recommend coming here to try their ramen. After trying their ramen, we were even talking about how we should have just eaten the nongshim ramen we had in our cabin for dinner instead.The only thing worth trying is their chicken karaage. If you’re forced to eat here, ask if you can have their chicken karaage rice bowl (it’s not on their menu but I think you can try asking for it anyway). They were out of stock of some of their menu items by 7pm when we were there so probably best to ask before being seated too.Overall, I think there are way more better restaurants in Tofino that you can try than this one.
Ken Huang
Agree with some of the comments. Had to wait an hour to get seated which is okay. But the food itself is very mediocre. Shio ramen is pretty much grocery store chicken broth plus instant noodle. Chicken curry is also has this instant curry taste in it. This place is way overpriced and overhyped for its food quality.
Ugur Kocak
If you’re planning to come here because of the hype or for an authentic Japanese meal, you will be disappointed. Not only is the “walk-in only” reservation system very off-putting but the food is extremely bland. The ramen broth has no flavor to it whatsoever. The donburi tastes like paper except the tuna. The only silver lining for this restaurant is the really good cocktails and sake they serve. Very upsetting.
Sreeparna Vappala
We had to wait at least 40 minutes to get our food after placing the order. The food tasted so bland and the staff were not friendly.
M H
Had the Vegetarian Ramen and Eggplant Karaage. Overall I would say the main part of the dishes were well done and flavourful - the eggplant was seasoned and cooked really well. However some of the sides in the dishes (ex. mushrooms, pickles) themselves didn't do much to compliment the main flavours. The mushrooms were super bitter. Service was decent, and efficient.
R Choi
Great appetizers. Weak ramen.Chicken karaage and bear tuna were awesome. Tonkotsu ramen was bland and soggy. If you were used to Vancouver-level of ramen, do not get ramen here.
Riley June
They were very busy tonight but the server did a great job of letting me know the wait time and finding me a spot. The tuna rice bowl was amazing, as well as their assortment of cocktails. It's a small spot in a tiny town with lots of tourists, so you might not always get a table immediately, but it's worth the wait.
Japanese comfort food. That's the catch phrase of the business and they deliver. From right when you get seated to when you leave. It's a lovely experience throughout. The waiters are kind & friendly and the food was excellent. I had a rice bowl and I ate every bit of food, wishing there were more. In conclusion I would definitely eat at Kuma again.
Brittany Pickard
We just ordered take out and it was the best Ramen I have ever had. You must try the Tonkotsu Ramen, You will not be disappointed. Amazing place to eat, you must try it!!!
Stephanie Barker
Cool noodle restaurant with a good menu. They have vegan and vegetarian options. Friendly service. I only wish the noodle broth was less salty as it was hard to finish. Some people might not mind it but it would be nice to have a 'low sodium' option available.
Laura Strickland
food was delicious and staff were awesome and friendly.
Gabrielle Sylvestre
This restaurant is so so so good! The staff is also extremely kind and caring (more then anywhere else). Great quality... under rated restaurant... we liked it so much! We’ll be back before leaving Tofino!!
We did research in advance of our trip to Tofino in August and were looking forward to trying Kuma based on the reviews, however, we were quite disappointed.The restaurant was understaffed and they were turning away groups larger than 2 around 7pm. Luckily, my husband and I got a table after about a 40 minute wait. I ordered the shio ramen which was very disappointing - flavourless chicken broth and noodles that tasted like instant noodle quality. Even the porchetta was tough to eat. At least my husband’s negitori donburi (pictured) was decent.
Kuma Tofino, oh boy this place is delicious it absolutely notched it’s way to #2 on my Ramen list.The service was friendly and quick, the flavours were wonderful in the food and the cocktails as well.There were a few small issues we had with this location though. We wanted to get take-out the night before after having a big day of surfing which appeared to be available on Kuma’s website (so note they also mention that they add a 15% auto gratuity to all take out orders). However when we tried to call their businesses phone number it continuously went straight to voicemail without a ring. Next was we travelled 5km by Onewheel to the restaurant to physically make a take-out order upon which we were told they are not doing take-out which was a huge bummer which left us scrambling to find another place that was open and doing take-out which wasn’t easy. The last thing was that we came again the next evening for dine-in and got on a wait list that was approximately an hour long which was fine but when I asked the host if he would take my phone number in case something came available earlier he said no. We didn’t feel very accommodated and while deciding what to do we witnessed a new customer come up with one less in their party and was told that their wait would only be 5 minutes. Had we known that splitting our group would have made things faster we would have happily done that.Overall 1 star at the door, 5 stars if you can get past the door, 0 stars take-out.
Decent food. Be prepared to eat at 4:00 otherwise you’ll be on a wait list…and may not get in. It’s a nice looking restaurant with fancy pictures of for online but it wasn’t spectacular. Service was okay. Ramen was okay. Drinks were okay. Bathroom was very nice.
With all the good reviews online, I was pretty excited to try this out. Unfortunately, we did not have a good experience.Service:Our night started out bad with their weird waiting system. They asked us to come back at 6pm and when we finally came back we had to wait 40 minutes until we were seated. One of their servers felt bad and said they’ll give us a free brownie on the house (which we never got either, I didn’t bother asking for it anymore too since everyone in our party just wanted to leave).Food:If you’ve never tried ramen before, maybe you’ll like this place. But otherwise, I would not recommend coming here to try their ramen. After trying their ramen, we were even talking about how we should have just eaten the nongshim ramen we had in our cabin for dinner instead.The only thing worth trying is their chicken karaage. If you’re forced to eat here, ask if you can have their chicken karaage rice bowl (it’s not on their menu but I think you can try asking for it anyway). They were out of stock of some of their menu items by 7pm when we were there so probably best to ask before being seated too.Overall, I think there are way more better restaurants in Tofino that you can try than this one.
Agree with some of the comments. Had to wait an hour to get seated which is okay. But the food itself is very mediocre. Shio ramen is pretty much grocery store chicken broth plus instant noodle. Chicken curry is also has this instant curry taste in it. This place is way overpriced and overhyped for its food quality.
If you’re planning to come here because of the hype or for an authentic Japanese meal, you will be disappointed. Not only is the “walk-in only” reservation system very off-putting but the food is extremely bland. The ramen broth has no flavor to it whatsoever. The donburi tastes like paper except the tuna. The only silver lining for this restaurant is the really good cocktails and sake they serve. Very upsetting.
We had to wait at least 40 minutes to get our food after placing the order. The food tasted so bland and the staff were not friendly.
Had the Vegetarian Ramen and Eggplant Karaage. Overall I would say the main part of the dishes were well done and flavourful - the eggplant was seasoned and cooked really well. However some of the sides in the dishes (ex. mushrooms, pickles) themselves didn't do much to compliment the main flavours. The mushrooms were super bitter. Service was decent, and efficient.
Great appetizers. Weak ramen.Chicken karaage and bear tuna were awesome. Tonkotsu ramen was bland and soggy. If you were used to Vancouver-level of ramen, do not get ramen here.
They were very busy tonight but the server did a great job of letting me know the wait time and finding me a spot. The tuna rice bowl was amazing, as well as their assortment of cocktails. It's a small spot in a tiny town with lots of tourists, so you might not always get a table immediately, but it's worth the wait.
Restaurantji Recommends
Japanese comfort food. That's the catch phrase of the business and they deliver. From right when you get seated to when you leave. It's a lovely experience throughout. The waiters are kind & friendly and the food was excellent. I had a rice bowl and I ate every bit of food, wishing there were more. In conclusion I would definitely eat at Kuma again.
We just ordered take out and it was the best Ramen I have ever had. You must try the Tonkotsu Ramen, You will not be disappointed. Amazing place to eat, you must try it!!!
Cool noodle restaurant with a good menu. They have vegan and vegetarian options. Friendly service. I only wish the noodle broth was less salty as it was hard to finish. Some people might not mind it but it would be nice to have a 'low sodium' option available.
food was delicious and staff were awesome and friendly.
This restaurant is so so so good! The staff is also extremely kind and caring (more then anywhere else). Great quality... under rated restaurant... we liked it so much! We’ll be back before leaving Tofino!!
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