Niwatei in Markham

The Mochi udon was so delicious, felt like I was in Japan!

Tucked away behind heisei mart, niwatei provides friendly, fresh japanese meal sets. Because it is more hidden, its less busier than cafe green tea across the neighborhood. I ordered the tempura cold soba and the portion of the cold soba noodles were generous, with a tasty but light and refreshing dipping sauce. Plenty of parking, accepts amex, and washrooms are behind the cashier of the supermarket. Highly recommend for your next visit to j-town!

Cheese Curry & Half Miso Ramen, feels it isn t miso soup, bland!

One of the best Ramen Highly recommended

Very small, not half but 1/3, I ordered half ramen and half curry, when the food arrive, my wife and my kids have the same comment, is that too small for both ramen and curry? I nearly eat here more than 1 year and I just order half ramen and half curry. However, this time I can t accept the size. I believe the reason is the shop gonna to be closed and they don t have enough ramen for the dishes. I hope you understand that what I want is just simple size but not bigger and obviously you don t. I hope you can focus on this issue as I really support you from the first day I came.

Good for quick bite. Food very simple but good.

Well season Karaage with comfort Udon . Yummy Kakiage-don & Half Udon. Will be back to try other dishes. Thanks for the wonderful meal

Definitely a tranquil place for authentic Japanese udon, ramen, curry, and street snacks, during the weekdays. Notice: the restaurant itself is inside a mini supermarket. The front counter is not staffed, but a staff member will come out to take your order when you ring the counter bell (so there is absolutely no rush to decide what to eat!) Generally, the orders come with complimentary water and side dishes. The Ultimate Curry Udon is delicious and can absolutely fulfill a big appetite!

Great food. Love their pork bone soup ramen, curry breaded pork rice and bento box.multi gran rice cooked just right . This is my 2.5 year old favorite place to dine in. Ppl are friendly and for kids, they give u children utensil and small bowl to eat. We come almost weekly. To avoid crowds, cone before noon as table seats r limited.

Good food!

A no frills foodcourt style eatery serving authentic Japanese fare. The portions are good and the prices are very reasonable. Love the half & half sets so you can try more dishes at once.

I come here for lunch whenever I go to the office, been here many times and never disappointed. I always order the sashimi set ($20+tax) which has soup, salad, tempura (shrimps and veggie), 5pcs of sashimi, and a bowl of rice. Place order at the counter and they will bring the set to your table, at the end you just bring the tray back. I like it here for their service and fast serving food, great for quick business lunch if you work in the area. Next time I will try their udon.

Casual dining experience. Order and pay at the cash register, and get a number if you are dining in. Someone will bring the trays out to your table. When youre done, put your tray in the marked trolley by the cash register. Food was fresh and delicious, in good, healthy portions.

Staffs are so nice but food just just average. $20 you can have half a curry rice and half a ramen *close at 3pm

Very authentic to Japan. We will definitely be back to try their many ramen options, cold soba and tempura in the future. This time we had the udon and vegetable tempura rice bowl.

Solid food always.

Authentic Japanese curry and ramen with reasonable pricing sitting inside J-town with other authentic Japanese shops such as bakery, sushi and daily essentials.

If you expect the ramen/food to be as intricate vs. popular ramen shops in the city you got the wrong place. Its about the atmosphere and home cooked meal kept simple, tasty and satisfying. Since its part of the grocery market, I enjoyed the convenience of getting my Japanese grocery and just hop over for a home cooked meal.

Real taste of Japan ramen. Love it! The price is very reasonable, will definitely come again!

A dish came to our table. But we found out it was a pork cutlet instead of chicken, so we notified the server immediately. Then the server took it away, and his supervisor came and said Next time, dont wave the dish over to your table. This is an act of laying the blame to the customers, but it never happened. We did not wave the dish over, it was simply a mistake by the server. We did not lay blame to the server (because human mistake is forgivable), but the superviors behaviour was unbelieveable. We do not expect this kind of attitude and manner in a Japanese restaurant. We tried to explain this to the supervisor afterward to give her a second chance to reflect, and she continued with the poor customer tone to explain and defend, and at times cutting over my dialogue and be aggressive. I dont post review often, but this incident was a reflection of my worst restaurant experience ever. We feel sorry that we will never return to Niwatei at J-Town. We do believe that this supervisor does not represent the Japanese excellent service culture.

Food was good, price is reasonable, service from the lady took our order was so terrible.

Nice, small Japanese restaurant

Authentic japanese food, no sushi but it has curry, ramen and the best Kitsune Udon in town. Only bad thing about it is that there are no servers, you pick up your food, take it to your table and when you are done you bring back the tray. But I still travel 1h+ every so often just to eat here again. The food is that good. In my experience, no other Japanese restaurant in Toronto has managed to get it quite right like this.

The woman cashier s service attitude is way AWFUL! She s too impatient to explain when asking a question about the menu! The wait for the food they made was way too long!

A little part of Japan in Toronto.

It was just ok - Our order was wrong. we asked for cold soba but the order was punched in as cold udon, and we didn t realize until we got the food. Oh well - I found hair in my curry. Oh well - Water smells like old tap water, as does the cold udon (I m guessing the udon was washed in it)

Loved this place. Its so hard finding decent udon in the midst of the ramen craze. I ordered the tempura udon and mochi udon. I liked that they ask you whether you want the tempura on the side or already in the udon (good for those of us who want maximum crispiness!). They give you a number and bring your order to you when theyre ready. Took about 15 minutes for us. Both udons came with 2 inari zushi, which was a pleasant surprise. You pay when ordering, so once youre done eating you take your tray/utensils back to a specific cart and thats that. Really loved the cozy atmosphere, especially after doing a bunch of grocery shopping. Niwatei is located at the back of Heisei Mart, so it can be hard to find - but its so worth it! They checked vaccine QR codes efficiently. Cant wait to try their other items, especially the zaru soba :)

A good home cooked meal

Price is ok, place is clean, but the staff is not quite friendly and the portion was not consistent and the ramen was not hot.

Still applying the discrimination policy. Staff very impolite. I am quite surprised.

Why this place isnt at least 4.5 is an injustice. Its deceptively simple. Home-style, comfort eating that just feels like a big warm welcoming hug after a long time away. Like going to see grandma. Go call your grandparents. They probably miss you. A lot. As for this restaurant: run here. dont walk. I was inundated with choice on the menu, and so just asked the owner for a surprise. I was blown away! Kakiage-don half and half. The shiitake might look simple, but they rehydrate them in a special mix. Its a flavour explosion. The vegetables: crispy to the last bite, even withstanding the sauce. Kakiage sauce: sweet! Its a classic dish that does not need to be upsold.

The Soba set was delicious! The portions looked small at first, but was actually quite filling. Decor and atmosphere is very chill. Parking: Moderate amounts of parking in a plaza. Wheelchair accessibility: This is wheelchair accessible

Pork Bone Ramen taste excellent!!!

A regular crockery store. Nothing much to see

I and my wife like to go around to try different foods, and today we found out that this JTOWN JAPANESE restaurant is worth to try, Food are above average, run by Japanese, and prices are very affordable, soft Music, quiet, just across from the Japanese market

Fast... tasty... affordable. Loved the soba

Amazing breakfasts!

Nice little space in J Town with OK food. A bit pricy for its food quality

Great proportions, tasty, simple and filling. The staff are efficient and friendly. They forgot an item and called me to let me know and made it up to me. Goes above and beyond. Love this place. Price is excellent too.

Great selection of products from Japan, ranging from wagyu, fish, bread and dry food products

Food isnt bad but prices could be a bit cheaper and theres something about the interior decor that always feels a bit off.

The food is good but for the price you pay for is completely underwhelming. I understand that its a business but when most of your menu is based off of cheaper foods; rice, noodles, curry, batter, etc. I would expect a better value for my meal. I ordered this shrimp curry dish on Sunday and it came with 2 pieces of shrimp tempura... Mind you they were rather skinny as well. After tax and tip (10%) this dish was about $14. Youre telling me that for $14 I get a decent sized portion of everything else except for the meat? Ridiculous. I might as well just go to the food court in the Japanese grocery store and save me $5 to get a similar amount.

The quality is getting poor.

It was ok, not enough server on the weekend. Seats are often available at this restaurant

We ordered a lunch set which includes Miso soup Soba Salad Two Breaded mackerel fish A bowl of rice, a mix of white and multi grain The meal was exceptionally scrumptious. Everything was made with dedication. The atmosphere is cosy and quiet. Last but not least, one of the owners who served us, was so cheerful and made us feel so welcomed. It was indeed a memorable and enjoyable experience. I would love to go back again.

Good flavours, ingredients said to be imported...but would have liked more sashimi in the sashimi box. Sabelfish was really good though. Found out after theres an amazing chirashi across the street, and wished that I got that instead.

Stopped by with my son for ramen. We picked the miso ramen extra large size. Note that there are half portions as well, but we went for the double soup and noodle option. Pork was very soft and tasty - note that you do not get double portions of pork with XL size. Noodles were springy and soup was flavourful and not overly salty (as some other places can be to cover cheaper ingredients). Soba, udon, and curry rice options here as well. Front of store sells Japanese chopsticks, bowls, cups, and pots. Well worth a visit even for just the kitchenware.

This could be a 3 or 4, depending on whether or not you like the recent change to a more cafeteria style. Value is likely going to be the main complaint, but the pricing seems fair to me. Its not expensive, but its not cheap. Weve tried a number of items on the menu, some arent quite as good, or as expected when compared to some other places. But on the whole, its still pretty authentic - especially if you cant tell because of the ownership. I feel like this is homemade food, possibly somewhat regional to where the owners are from. Id love to see the menu feature a few other high end items, especially because a certain meat store is right across the way. ;) Weve been back a few times, and will continue to go back - theyre one of the few places in the area that does a curry udon. Like many of the ramen places we went to in Japan, I feel like this style is probably stemming from a certain region - so try it, cause it might end up being your favourite in the area without having to travel to a chain ramen joint. Parkings pretty good, they take credit card, and the washrooms passable. Ambiance is interesting, mainly because half the store is also retail, allowing you to find some bowls and whatnot.

Coffee jelly and green tea crepes are delicious. Ramen and udon are nice.

Turned into a bizarre counter service type of place . Had to put away my own dishes.

Ok

God. It was first time Ive been there. Food was so perfect. I can never go to any other Japanese restaurant anymore. Would recommend to anyone. Especially if you really know what a good ramen is, try this place.

Cafeteria style. Food is good though.

Cedar festival

Food and service was good

Amazing food. I had the udon noodles with the karaage chicken. Super tasty

Tasted very good like I m in Japan and everything was fresh including sashimi. Portion for each set was small for the price. We couldn t be full after these set so we had to eat more food after all. For that price, we could get more portion of meat in other restaurants (Not in J-town). Nothing special has to be imported from Japan for these set so we thought they are overpriced.

Is it even Japanese? Seem like its now Chinese run with lower standards. Went there stayed 2 mins, immediately went out. Customer service in terms of staff s attitude and level of dirtiness made me leave but fortunately there is a good Japanese place next door. This place is so baka.

Pretty good ramen Tokayatsu

Very nice decorated restaurant. Delicious Japanese dishes and cheese curry!

$12 breakfast set

yes, i would call that truly japanese food

Small shop and restaurant combo. Pretty nice.

Watched all the changes over 20 yrs. But its time to say goodbye this time. Became self serve while increased the price to $20 a meal with rude service? Sayonara!!

Loved the Gyozas!

The ramen and curry rice were pretty good. Nothing mind blowing, but good value for the price.

Not very clean, but the food is ok

Update Dec 27, 2017 - 2 stars I havent been to Niwatei in a while and I think their quality has dropped quite a bit... That, or Ive just been spoiled with Michelin quality ramen. I ordered the Half Ramen and Takoyaki meal set ($12.98) and found it somewhat mediocre. The Tonkotsu Miso soup didnt have a very full bodied flavour and seemed a little watered down. The noodles, chashu and fishcakes didnt stand out either and I would have preferred more flavouring to the egg. The takoyaki had a lot of sauce on it but did not have the crisp shell or fragrant aroma I have come to expect from this street snack. It was also lacking some of the chewiness in the middle - probably because there wasnt enough octopus in the filling. While prices here are more affordable than Konjiki Ramen, I think I prefer to pay a little more for better quality when eating out. 2016: 4 stars I really like the soup broth here! The karaage is also delicious - extremely tender and juicy on the inside but nice and crispy on the outside.

Great! The coffee jelly here is one of my favourites!

Cake set is my favour. It first come first serve. Good value with coffee. Highly recommended.

Interesting atmosphere. Decent Japanese food

Great sushi drove 40 min just to go to our favorite sushi place

Food is not bad but not great. Price is not that worth it.

OK ramen place. The broth is too light and not very flavourful. The noodles seem generic. Kind of disappointing for the main ramen place in Jtown to be just mediocre. Its not bad. Just not great. I like the space though. Its attached to a retail side for lots of Japanese ware.

I ordered their chicken teriyaki dinner. Nothing special. Maybe their ramen is better.

The place was great. I loved the decor. I ordered the chicken teriyaki dinner set. The food was good but nothing special. I might go back and try their ramen after seeing them features on BlugTO

Liked their combos bc if the options but food itself is only okay.

Ramen by Niwatei used to be good. Not any more. Worse than those frozen ramen from supermarket, and the Cha Shu was like from T&T. What a disappointment

Serve local Japanese food. Quite okay if you go for a quite meal.

Nice and relax place to have lunch.

Good.

I have never tasted such terrible ramen. The beef on the side dish was so salty that I couldnt chew it. The natto didnt taste like spitting. The tofu and soy sauce were heavy and had no technical content. All the ramen had a hard texture and tasted not as good as instant noodles. The noodle soup is salty and smelly. The muscles in the noodle soup have not been blanched, and there is a lot of minced meat and scum that is difficult to swallow. This is true for all styles of noodles, and now they taste disgusting aftertaste. I never tasted this such horrible ramen noodles before. The beef in the front dish is too salty to bite. Natto has no taste, it such as someones spit. The broth is salty and smelly, the muscles in the broth are not blanched, and many of the foaming residue cannot be swallowed. This is true for all types of noodles, and its disgusting to taste now.

The service is extremely slow there.

Seems like they were short staffed. Waited some time to get our food. We didnt get water the first time and had to ask for more napkins. The servers were friendly enough but looked like they had too many tables to look after. I ordered the chicken curry and was a bit underwhelmed by the portion size. The curry tastes ok but it didnt have any potatoes and only had tiny bits of carrots in it. This was disappointing. Overall ok but probably wouldnt go out of my way to come here.

Good portion size. Taste good.

Great food. Great price.

So slow

Never had a Ramen soup so terrible. The Ramen is not even in a average level. The chicken Raman uses peeled off chicken leg and looks so badly. The soup is very salty. Even water is smelly. They probably use the same dish sponge to wash everything which including water battle.

Place for tea lovers...

(* *). .:*

Great portions with the half ramen / half curry combo. Also must try the coffee jello with ice cream.

Nice quiet place with good food, very nice dish wear

This is a great place for snacks and Raman. Friendly service as well.

I just visited this weekend and since the merge of Niwatei and Green Tea Lounge, they removed the beloved Weekend Combo (Ramen + Appetizer + Dessert) for around $13! Also, the boiled egg was fully cooked. I dont see why I would come here again, there are other ramen locations for better at this rate.

Ramen was mediocre, curry was ok

Nice Japanese curry, cozy environment, feels like Japan.

Delicious and authentic Japanese food. Nice decor. I recommend the katsu kare (curry).

Good experience over all. Nice and attentive waitresses. Good food. Price is good for a Japanese run Japanese restaurant.

Its a restaurant and grocery store mixed together. Open concept feels like a cafeteria Food comes out really quick and its an okay price. The staff are nice.

Service was a bit slow, but the food was really yummy! Had the miso ramen, agedashi tofu, as well as vegetable tempura and udon set. Was great for a quick dinner!

I love the food and service in here. Ann is super friendly, this place is always my choice for a comfort lunch when I really want some Japanese food

Fantastic soup, the ramen combos are great and the mystery desserts are always a tasty surprise!

Wait was super long !!! Food was alright

Extremely slow service on Sunday. The 2 waitresses did not seem to know what they were supposed to do. At time when there were at least 3 groups of customers waiting to be seated and there were empty tables that have not yet been cleaned up with empty dishes from previous customers who left at least 20 minutes ago. Still it didnt click on them to clean up those empty tables....it was frustrated to see such service. Ramen was bland nothing special...beef tataki was so well cooked beef that was stored in the fridge at least the night before....whereas in this dish the beef supposed to be rare.... My advice is not to waste your time at this restaurant

Great food and service.

Has potential, but very slow service. The food was good, lots of Ramen choices and toppings with good value. Took a long time for food to arrive, and had to constantly flag down waiters despite mostly empty restaurant.

Soba set....

The curry and pork katsu is okay, but with the increasing number of other places offering the same dish but better, its hard to reconsider this place. It was priced higher than Cafe Green Tea (connected to Heisei Mart), but unfortunately was not better. The saving grace was the Mango Soy ice cream (pretty expensive for what you get), which I think is from a Fumi Ice which can be purchased at Heisei, but its only a hunch.

We are regulars at this restaurant. We love the Ramen, the plates they offer as well as some of the appetizers (karaage, gyoza). Decent value for Ramen which is different than all the Sushi places around when you want Japanese food.

Japanese curry, and nice decor. Simple, good food.

AMAZING!!!!! The soup broth is so good. Little understaffed though.

Great little place with great ramen.