BOKU (Yonge St.)

Boku is in a convenient location on the corner of Yonge St and Breadalbane St. Inside is a cozy Japanese themed bad and eatery with nice decor, good music and plenty of seating. The cleanliness of this establishment is always top tier. I had the chicken katsu-curry and it was delicious. I tried three different drinks on their menu and they were all made very well and tasted incredible. I had the pleasure of being served by Kyle, he was a fast server who made my experience at Boku even better. He recommended me drinks to try and I was happy with his choices. He always made sure my water was topped up and checked on my frequently, He made good conversation as well. Overall I’d recommended Boku to anyone who wants to try you’ll enjoy your experience here and if Kyle is your server it will be even better.

Overall, I had a good experience here. The restaurant is conveniently located within walking distance of Wellesley Station, which makes it an easy spot to get to. It wasn’t too busy on a Monday evening, so we were seated right away without any wait. Service was decent, but there’s room for improvement. For instance, we ordered the premium sake flight, but it was placed on the table without any explanation of what each glass contained. There were also no descriptions on the menu, which left us guessing. A little more engagement from the staff about the dishes and drinks would enhance the overall experience. As for the food, it exceeded my expectations. The Tuna Tataki had a nice kick of spice and a good crunch, which I really enjoyed. That said, the presentation could use some work - it was served in a broth-like sauce that made the plate look a bit soupy. The Unagi Don was hearty and satisfying, with flavorful eel coated in a rich BBQ sauce. I also tried a few cocktails, which were well-balanced and quite tasty. They complemented the food nicely and showed some thought in the drink menu. All in all, this spot was better than I expected, especially in terms of food and drinks. With a bit more attention to service details, it could be an even stronger dining experience.

Everything was delicious! Appreciated the weekday specials. Prices were fair and portions were good. Attentive and knowledgeable staff. Would definitely come back again.

The first third of my soup (Miso Ramen ($16 + $2 Nitamago egg)) was heaven but the flavors became murky at the bottom for some reason. It became more onion forward and the other flavors took a back seat; it became very earthy and a bit off-putting. The atmosphere is quite pleasing to the eye; I personally love the aesthetic of the colourful and delicate umbrellas and hardwood. It gets quite cold in the winter with the opening and closing of the front door.

Great atmosphere, good service. One good thing to add is to bring the food together to the table. You only have one server on the floor so he looked super busy. Overall nice decor.

The place is clean with super kind servers!!! The curry was a good portion, left me full but not painfully boated. The chicken karagee was so juicy, and the curry was delicious. Not too salty, also not too sweet. The tuna was AMAZING, loved the little kick of wasabi in it. I would highly suggest this place for any hangout or cute first date :)

Best atmosphere. Service was amazing. Not your traditional ramen restraunt. You can get sake flight. Variety of ramen other then traditional ramen. They gave me recommendation on the ramen I wanted.

There are so many good options that I didn't know what to get! I went for the tuna and it was kinda of a small portion but still pretty good. They have great lunch combos and a really good variety of combinations that manages to not be overwhelming which is always appreciated. There are also cocktails and mocktails that complete the experience. Service was also very friendly and fast, will definitely come back to try other dishes🍴

It was okay. My wife and I needed an option that was nearby and quite fast, so it met that need. My lunch special was the fried pork cutlet and rice. No complaints, and everything was fairly standard. My wife's Ramen was okay, but wasn't the best.

One of the many restaurants along Yonge street, but nicely decorated and spacious. I had the pork ramen which was okay, but not to the same level as other ramen shops in the city. The noodles seemed to be slightly undercooked and didn't have a lot of ingredients. Also the broth lacked depth and flavor. Pork slices were tender but not very flavorful. Service was nice and attentive.

My friend and I step in for a quick dinner, we ordered the Ocean Udon, Japanese Poutine and the Coconut Shrimp with Calamari. Ocean Udon: Tastes as it is named, portion is quite small not as fulfilling. Japanese Poutine: Overall quite dry, not much sauce (gravy) and the slow cooked beef was really dry without much taste. Coconut Shrimp Calamari: We did not quite enjoy this as it wasn't in house made (tasted like it was bought frozen and deep fried). We enjoyed the salad it came with though. Service was quite slow as there was not many cooks or servers to prepare the orders quick. We were seated immediately when we walked in around 8 pm. Food took about 30 mins or so to get to our table after we ordered. The decoration and the ambiance of the restaurant was quite pleasing, loved the seating and the umbrellas!

I made a reservation at BOKU to celebrate my birthday, but honestly, it was a complete letdown. It took over twenty minutes just to get our drinks. We ordered a few appetizers, and I asked for a spicy tuna roll, but they told us they had no tuna--which was pretty surprising for a Japanese restaurant. Then, our server came back and suggested we order our main courses because they'd take a while. When the entrees finally came out, they arrived before our appetizers. So strange! The place was clearly short-staffed; it seemed like only one server was covering the entire restaurant. I ordered ramen, which never showed up, but it still ended up on the bill. They did take it off after we mentioned it, but at that point, I was over it. I wouldn't come back here. It was such a letdown after having high hopes. BOKU, do better--hire more staff to make sure everything runs smoothly. The whole dinner just left me feeling annoyed.

Came here with my friends on a Saturday night and I asked the server for a recommendation. He suggested the chicken curry and that's what I went with. It tasted more salty than flavourful to me and I thought it was just okay. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the server was nice. My friends enjoyed their poke bowl and ramen.

Went here for a little ambiance. Was a reasonably priced meal for 2. Service was nice, and cannot stress enough go for lunch.

2.5/5 Came here on a whim after finding out how long of a wait Raijin was. Upon entering, I did like the decor of the place but I became skeptical when they were advertising that customers would get free items if they left a 5-star review on Google. Kara-age 3/5 It was good. Nothing special but it felt pretty expensive for each piece to be more than $2. Gyoza 3/5 I never get deep-fried dumplings because I've always been used to pan-fried dumplings in Japan and because deep-frid dumplings are either 1) too hard on the outside 2) not enough filling 3) dough is too thick. But this one was surprisingly nice. I wouldn't order it again, since it comes to $2 per piece after taxes and tip. Smoked Duck Ramen 2/5 I've never seen duck ramen when I lived in Japan so this piqued my interest. When it first came to the table, I was very excited. But when I took a sip of the broth, it lacked in flavor A LOT. And as I kept eating, it just didn't hit the spot for me at all. The noodles were okay (although I really did appreciate that they made it slightly undercooked for me, as that is what I usually get at ramen places). The egg was basically boiled egg. The inside wasn't soft enough and there was barely any flavor. However, the thinly sliced smoked duck was quite tasty. Overall, the service was okay, and the food was subpar. I was also seated on the counter seat and had a great time listening to the manager (?) getting annoyed and lecturing the staff.

Food was served incredibly quickly and was very filling. Waitress was very kind and always checked up on us despite having multiple tables to work with. Cute environment with calming lighting and seating. We ordered their bibimbap, miso ramen, and karaage. Wish the beef in the bibimbap wasn't dry, but everything else was delicious.

I was at Boku on Dec 8 -2024 , I didn't realize till I got home but I lost my mens solid gold bracelet . I called the manager Artem and told him what happened . He told me they found a bracelet , but how does he know it was mine . I told him I happened to have 2 links from it from a previous repair The good news is , it was mine and I got my 40 year old bracelet back thanks to the honesty of that restaurant PS the food was great ! Thank you to Artem and his staff ! Merry Christmas ! -- Gary

great ambience inside this restaurant and the interior decorations were absolutely stunning. the portion size for the ramen was perfect not too filling where you feel bloated. the flavor of the broth was just okay though. the karaage was good, nothing too crazy in my opinion. but my friend really liked the pork baos. fast and friendly service, would come back to try other things on their menu when i'm in the area.

I went to Boku for lunch with my colleague few weeks ago, I really like the cute umbrellas as decorations. My colleague had a sushi roll. I end up having smoked duck breast, raman, the soup base was flavourful and salty the way I like it, the bowl looks small, but at least it filled me up, may not be enough for a big guy though. I also ordered takoyaki, I always order at least once from every Japanese restaurant. There were five pieces so can't split evenly between the two of us. The server was friendly and attentive, our food also came out pretty fast

For the price, the food was mediocre. Kind of tasteless. The one standout item was the yuzu sour, which was fantastic. Staff was friendly,

Visited Boku for lunch with a friend and had a fairly good experience! We were greeted upon arrival and the spot wasn't busy. We tried their miso ramen, gyoza, and poke bowl - all were very delicious! I ordered the poke bowl which was very yummy - wish it was bigger though as I found the portion to be quite small. I really liked how simple the ingredients were - they all came very well together. My friend's ramen took a lot of time to come out so they gave us gyoza on the house - the outside with crispy/crunchy and very flavourful! Such a beautiful spot - wonderful decorations and interior. The staff were very pleasant too!

I came here with a friend after seeing a photo of a bowl of ramen from this place on Instagram. It was on our restaurant bucket list and I'm glad we finally had the chance to try it out! The interior was really spacious and the lighting was really warm and cozy. I really liked the Japanese umbrellas that were placed throughout the ceiling and walls. It was really pretty overall. For food, we ordered the avocado fries and karaage as starters. The avocado fries were okay, I wouldn't order them again. I think they just need some sort of dipping sauce to balance out the high fat flavor of avocado + bread crumbs. However, the karaage was really really good. For the main dish, I tried the black garlic ramen and it was amazing!! The fragrance and the flavor was super rich. It was just a little too salty for me, but overall it was great! I think this place is a little more on the pricier side for ramen, but it's worth trying out at least once!

Really distinct flavours that come at quite the cost. Stopped by for lunch and got: - Creamy Udon: One of their signature dishes, and I get why. The udon itself is thick and chewy, and the lobster sauce is chef's-kiss super creamy. Really liked this dish, except for it was on the small side for how much it cost. - Pork Belly Bao: Another signature dish. The bao was soft yet firm, the pork belly was braised well, and the XO sauce was tasty. But oof that was expensive for a small dish. - Unagi Don: Good quality unagi, sauce on the saltier side of sweet-salty, beautifully plated. But again, small serving for the price. Place was nicely decorated and seems like a spot where you could spend hours in. Service was friendly and accommodating. Overall, Boku has really tasty offerings which are worth a try, as long as you bring your wallet along with your discerning tastebuds.

I always get duck if it's on the menu and this one didn't disappoint! Super flavourful and rich broth. It was also a nice portion size, I didn't feel bloated after eating and drinking the soup, and it got me through a night out

We came here with a party of 7 for my friend's birthday. There were only 1-2 other tables being serviced not including ours. The service, they were nice and personable but not the most attentive. They redid (creamy udon) 3 dishes for us because it was really salty. We each tasted a noodle and it wasn't great. I probably wouldn't come back to this place unless it was one of their promos, everything food wise on the menu was average $18-22 which I think for the value isn't worth it. - Beef Baos ($12~) - Creamy udon x3 ($22~) - Katsu Curry x2 ($19~) - Pork belly skewers ($12~) - Saba Miso ($17~) - 2 cocktails ($16-18 each) (All prices are inaccurate because the menus available online aren't updated) They offered a free slice of cheesecake for the birthday girl which was sweet. The gratuity of 18% was included but some of us tipped more because we felt bad for complaining so much about the dishes and sending them back.

Best drink I had in all of Toronto, food was also amazing! Great job was definitely impressed. I'm from the States next time I visit I will definitely be back. Wish I could get that drink recipe to make at home.

Japanese poutine The poutine here was really tasty. However, I think it's best if two people share it. The portion is not big but the sour cream and yakitori sauce make it a heavy meal. It's pretty salty so make sure you get a piece of the green onion with each bite to cut through the saltiness (pulled duck, fries, +sour cream). I will say, the sour cream had an interesting garlic taste but it unfortunately contributed to the heavy flavour. I definitely plan on going back to try more of their menu items but an overall thought for now is, the menu is interesting but the price point seems a bit high!

I'm always a fan of Izakaya food and recently stopped by at this new Boku location. I've actually never been to the original location in the Distillery so I was pretty excited to try them out. They are holding a Grand Opening special with 50% off many of their items like ramen, karage, takoyaki and dumplings. Certain things like sushi aren't available yet. My friend and I got their miso tonkotsu ramen, black garlic tonkotsu ramen, and a few appetizers. Everything tasted pretty good and well packaged but obviously it's not as fresh as it would have been dining in. I highly recommend the black garlic tonkotsu ramen! The broth was super tasty with the thick noodles. I would definitely go back to try some other menu items when they're available. Prices are a little steep without the discount ($17 for bowl of ramen).

Have you seen a restaurant this pretty? After seeing many pretty shots of this spot and its food from foodies, I had to check this place out. ------- The Breakdown: I had... Chicken Karaage | 9/10 | $13 - crunchy and flavourful inside and out. I wish it was more flavourful but it was well made. The sauce they give you went well with the Karaage too. Pork Belly Bao | 9.5/10 | $12 - on the expensive side but a nice way to treat yourself once in a while. My fave menu item. The pork was soo flavourful and tender while the outer part of the bao is sweet. I'd definitely go back for this one. Follow @debeats_ for more beautiful restaurants in Toronto/North York!

its one of those places that are all about the aesthetic and is trying too much. got the smoked duck ramen which was a bit flavourless except the duck was salty. giving it 1 extra star cuz the service was nice n accommodating for a birthday

I walked by this a couple times and went to check it out. Small place and new. Service was nice but beer was warm (gross). We ordered snacks, nothing crazy: Chicken Karage, Beef Baos and Pork Belly Skewers. I would say that I would wish the Chicken Karage was more flavourful and crispy. It like it was sitting out for a bit or that the oil wasn't hot enough. I really enjoyed the bao. I'd go back to check it out again for the curry and ramen.

A sister restaurant to the Touhenboku on Queen St, this place is just as good for their vegan mushroom ramen, with a more classy ambience + bar service. Definitely recommend for a hot bowl of ramen on a cold night!

It was our first visit and we ordered the avocado fries, scallop crudo, pork belly bao, salmon tartare, the black garlic ramen and three different cocktails. The food tasted fresh and flavourful. We had never tasted something like avocado fries before and were positively surprised. It was crunchy on the outside and obviously very soft on the inside. The ramen was also good and can compete with restaurants that mainly sell ramen which surprised me. The cocktails deserve some attention, too. The ones we had were great especially the ume matcha and the gallapagos. Very flavourful and well spiced. Service was good when we were there. Interior was nice and the washroom was clean as well. We will be going back. Wondering why I didn't award 5 stars? It's not easy to impress me.

This place is my go-to for creamy udon and ramen. It never fails to disappoint with its amazing customer service and fresh made food. The staff are always so nice and the atmosphere and music adds onto the culture of the restaurant. I 100% recommend to anyone planning on trying it.

japoutine?? poutine but w japanese influence japanese inspired poutine w pulled duck, cheese curds, green onion, sour cream, and yakitori sauce I loved how flavourful and generous this portion was l even tho it was takeout, the fries were still crispy! they have daily specials so be sure to check out their page to stay updated!

Boku is right on the busy streets of Yonge and I always walk past this place and always peer inside to see nice decor setting inside. Our server was absolutely a gem even though they were super new, they tried their very best and was maybe a tad nervous which is to be expected. The food was just okay - we got the beef rice bowl, baos, sushi tacos, kaarage, fried avacado and everything tasted just alright. It wasn't too expensive in price point so that is what makes this spot a decent spot to grab dinner but with all the selection around the area I probably won't be coming back here.

This place was good. We had a tough time finding great food in Toronto maaaybe because we're New Yorkers and are blessed with incredible cuisine back home places rarely compare but this was a good place, a gem in the Distillery District (which was our favorite area in Toronto. After having sat in an empty "Mills St Brewery" for 25 min without being acknowledged & the girl who sat us down was unfriendly..we just got up & left! Also we noticed a waitress in our table section with a long "Rapunzel" type wig & it turned us off, not hygienic if you're serving food. Well that was a great move to leave because we stumbled upon "Boku". They were welcoming & good food! I also loved the indoor decor. We got the seaweed salad & fried veggie dumplings (Gyoza), fried chicken sandwich that was mildly spicy but more on the sweet side & poke bowl. Pretty good!

I start by prefacing that I was really looking forward to trying this place but it really was not good. The only reason I'm giving 2 stars and not 1 was because of the friendly and quick service (and cute decor). This bowl of ramen is easily the worst bowl of ramen I've had; overcooked mushy noodles, watery and flavourless broth, flavourless toppings. Save your money and go literally anywhere else in Toronto for your ramen

Decent food fries could've been fried more, chicken was good & soup was good. A waitress spilled my soup but had no problem getting me some more for free. We switched seats because the door we were @ was too close to the entrance & it was cold out. Ambience was decent I like the ceiling.

I had a fantastic meal at Boku! We dropped by specifically to try the Smoked Duck Ramen, and it really was a great dish. I ordered the Pork Belly Baos and I was very happy with it, along with Yakitori and Coconut Shrimp and Calamari. I would easily visit again just to try another ramen of theirs.

Boy do I love fresh Ramen! Hell, I like processed Ramen! I've had many a Cup O'Noodles in my lifetime, and several knockoffs. It's hard to mess up Ramen noodles, but many places manage to do so. Not this place though! You can taste the love that goes into preparing the fresh noodles and the fresh broth. I could eat that every day! We also had the pork buns, a fried chicken appetizer and the oyster appetizer. The oyster app was rather small but still delicious. The fried chicken was amazing. I rarely ever order fried chicken at a dine in restaurant, but the server recommended it and they do something really special to it. It was crunchy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, flavored with umami that made it mmmm mmmm yummy (mmmm mmmm good is copyrighted). I'm already genetically predisposed to like chicken, but grandma didn't make chicken like this! I'm slightly embarrassed about lamenting over fried chicken like this; especially on Yelp; especially after all the other foods I've eaten in so many places, but the food here is special. The buns were delicious too! And the service was excellent. The menu is chocked full of options to choose from and I think you'll enjoy whatever you choose. If you do try (and like) the chicken, send me a note so I know it wasn't just me!

Great location and beautiful interior. The workers were also extremely nice and always made sure we were good. We ordered tako wasa, fried oysters, pork belly skewers, black garlic ramen with extra egg, and curry udon. The appetizers were super yummy, and the mains were just average. I would just recommend ordering a bunch of appetizers. We also ordered a Lychee Fizz cocktail and Sapporo which were both delicious and refreshing. Would definitely come back!

What a horrible experience. I waited at least 5 minutes to be seated and the restaurant only had a few people. I ordered duck ramen, the server came back and said they had no duck. I ordered a poke bowl, only to be told there was no rice. Then I ordered the mackerel, and guess what, she said they had none. It was painful even to get a Diet Coke. The first time I eat there, it wasn't that bad. This time, I'm not sure I will ever go back.

New restaurant on the block! Gotta give them credit for pushing ahead with opening given the pandemic. There's another branch in the Distillery district that does udon and ramen, but I see this one really likes to advertise their burgers, baos and snacks. During their opening the burger came with a side of free fries but those were not particularly memorable. My partner and I tried the Korean fried chicken sandwich, the baos, the Brussels sprouts and the tuna tataki. Of all those I think I enjoyed the tuna tataki the most for its smoky, garlicky flavours. Despite its chicken filling being done perfectly tender and crispy on the outside, the KFC burger came dripping with cloying sweet gochuchang sauce. In our opinions this overpowered the perfectly done chicken. The baos were really nothing to write home about and there was nothing mind blowing about the flavours in the beef bulgogi and crispy pork ones respectively. They came as advertised but I suspect something like a chutney or condiment pairing would make them more addictive. Deducted 2 some stars because I'm not crazy about was seeing their kitchen staff wear their mask half way with their nose exposed. I accept that this is a risk I'm taking if I choose to dine out, but seeing that gives me lower confidence that they follow covid food safety practices..

got my order wrong and the server disappeared after bringing our plates out so never got to correct it, what i was served was not bad but was not what i ordered and i would have expected some sort of correction (e.g. remaking what i had correctly ordered or offering a discount if not possible), if not at least an apology for the wrong dish coming out.

I've been multiple times, but the last time I went was disappointing. The food is a bit pricey considering what you get, and they no longer have the Tuesday deal for curry katsu. We still ordered the curry katsu, but the portion got smaller too..

Great cocktails and food. We loved the ramen and Japanese chicken curry. They have gluten free noodles

Good taste but expensive. My hubby and I came here for lunch and shared the pork bao, creamy udon and unagi don. All very tasty but pricey. Place is nice, big space, very artistic Japanese decorations, good for hanging out. Service is pleasant and quick. Not sure if I'll be back but happy I tried it.

loved the decoration and the cocktails! had the Beverly Sunset, was a good one

Best place ever tbh the umbrellas are a vibe. Food is always a 10/10, drinks are worth the price! Amazing place to gather, not too loud so you can definitely have a date here. Brie smells great! Momo peach sake was also great! Get the lychee fiesta, it's like a fiesta!

Love the umbrellas and Japanese influence in the decor. We ordered the holy cow bibimbop which was very yummy. The service was fast and efficient to help clean the tables.

I would like this place more IF their pricing isn't as steep. Ordered the black garlic ramen during UBER EATS BOGO promo so it worked out to be $8 each. It's not bad for a place that doesn't specialize in ramen (I actually enjoyed the thin straight noodles) but in all honestly I would not pay $16 (reg price) for that ramen. If I had to spend $16 on a ramen, I would go to Sansotei or Santouka. I also ordered the kaarage side dish, which is priced at a whopping $13 for 5 pieces! The kaarage was well-seasoned but I could get the same quality kaarage elsewhere for $7-$8 max. I think it's worth trying their different dishes during their soft opening (they're having 50% off on certain dishes), but would I go back for regular price? Naaah...

Customer service severely lacking here. But at least the workers weren't overly rude. I sat at the bar so I saw how the food was prepared. The girl preparing the food in the kitchen was using her bare hands! It may be "normal" but was shocked when I saw her wipe her nose and kept working! Food was also soooo salty. I drank so much water, but that was not sustainable. I ended up packing up the food to fix it at home. Cannot go back, sorry.

The food was awful, and when my friends and I ordered the salmon sushi, the salmon was so soft I was fairly sure it had gone bad-- my friend had to spit it out less than a second after she bit into it, and said the taste was strange and off. This was the second time we bought food there, and the first time, they left us waiting for around 10 minutes although there were no other customers, just to tell us they were closed, even though the lights were all on and people were in the kitchen and the doors had been open. The next time we returned, we got our food but the experience was similar, and the people there seemed unwilling to answer our questions/take our orders. Not a great experience, and I doubt I will return. Also, the prices are a bit ridiculous.