noren

Authentic, cozy, fresh - a little piece of Japan right here in the Plateau. The small plates are not that small at all. I ordered 3 and was full. The sesame panacotta was great ♥️

Hidden little gem in Montreal. It’s not open very many days of the week but if you manage to catch it during its opening hours it’s so worth it. The space is small and cozy inside with delicious flavors from a small menu. We tried the fried eggplant, duck soba noodles, and salmon don, plus some mochi for dessert. These chefs know what they’re doing! High praise!!!

Delicious cozy little spot. The egg was jammy and seasoned to perfection, the eggplant was stunning and refreshing, the cucumber were bright and crunchy, the savory mochi were super fun to eat, and the panna cotta had the perfect amount of sweetness with a nice toasted nuttiness from the sesame note. Didn’t love the tofu but I think I may just have a hard time with cold tofu. Also had the yuzu lemonade and hojicha latte and they were both delish!

Listen, you gotta get there early in order to grab a spot to sit and eat, but it's so worth it. My friends and I tried most big plates and a few small plates and shared everything. It was so delicious! Oh and that yuzu lemonade? Refreshing!

Really good food. The flavours aren’t particularly strong/mind-blowing, but just good food. It’s a veryyy charming atmosphere. We could get 2 seats at 12pm on a Thursday. Given the small space, I wouldn’t recommend trying to go with more than 3 people. The cabbage-egg pancake was very filling (we split between 2 people). With the soup and one side, it was lots of food.

highly recommend this gem with authentic japanese food, great presentation and very friendly service. products are fresh and the taste is remarkable. i highly recommend the salmon zuke don and tataki tuna. Service is fast and you get to see the chefs as they cook and prepare your food, which makes the experience even better. I will definitely go back!

Flavours and atmosphere brought me back to Japan, fair prices, small menu, small cozy place. Great poignant flavours, well executed textures all for a fair price. I will be back to try the okonomiyaki and sake. This place loses points due to their strict schedule, but it makes me yearn the food more.

Wow! Amazing hole in the wall place! Very authentic Japanese dishes! And they only open 11-3pm! And they have a relatively tiny space which adds to the charm and authenticity! We got here after the long drive from Toronto. We stopped first in St Joseph’s Oratory, as it should be and went here and thankfully no lines! The Udon was so good although I always prefer Soba but it was amazing! So was their Takoyaki!

Incredible Japanese lunch spot. New menu every week never fails to impress. The food is so tasty and the proprietors so kind!!! It's a small spot, so come a bit earlier than you'd expect to eat. You'll be served very quickly however. Their rice balls are also amazing! Highly recommend.

Noren is a cute little hole in the wall that specializes in a couple of Japanese street food specialities. I dropped by on a Thursday afternoon after checking beforehand what their weekly special was (reimen!). They also make takoyaki and okonomiyaki along with some desserts and drinks. It's cool that they have a little old school gaming system in the corner. - Reimen ($10.00) - cold ramen with ham, cucumber, eggs, shiitake mushrooms and tomato. Their ramen was refreshingly light and summery. Shiitake mushrooms were beautifully marinated and sprinkle of sesame seeds/oil was a nice touch. I'm always willing to try new spots, especially places that specialize in only one or two things. 3.5 stars.

Noren is a cute and cozy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Plateau that is a must for all Japanese food enthusiasts to visit! They have one main dish that changes every week which I think is a very cool and unique concept. In combination to a limited menu, this allows curious customers to enjoy many dishes all during the same culinary experience! I specifically went during the week they had curry udon since it's one of my favourite meals of all time. My boyfriend and I were lucky and were seated right away in the evening. The service was great and the ambiance is modern but still Japanese-like with the bar and its stools along the kitchen. The menu written on an entire wall in chalk is also a nice touch! The food was excellent as well, and I really enjoyed the curry udon (although I must be honest, it wasn't my favourite). I give Noren 4 stars rating due to the fact that it is a bit pricey for what it is, the establishment is so small that standing in line is almost inevitable, and that the service was a bit slow. Even then, I'm definitely coming back!

A friend of mine kept talking about this place, so we took a little walk in the Plateau to find Noren. It's a small place, but very well designed and organized. A huge chalk board on the wall (chalk-wall?) listed the two constants of the menu, the takoyaki and okonomiyaki, plus the special and drinks. We ordered everything, namely the takoyaki (classic sauce), the okomiyaki (pork) and the special, which was banbanji (chicken cold udon). There was no place to sit anymore and we had 20 mins to wait, so we went for a short stroll to the park nearby. When we came back, we used the leftover waiting time to play the Nintendo Famicom that was sitting in the corner of the restaurant. I wish all restaurant had consoles. It would make waiting times so much more agreable!! We had the food as take-out, and everything came neatly packaged. The takoyaki was piping hot and absolutly delicious. Some of them didn't seem to have any tako in them, but the katsuobushi, sauce and other condiments were enough to make the soft dough sparkle with flavor. The okomiyaki was another great piece of work. It was full of shredded, still crunchy cabbage, and was much less rich/overwhelming than what you find at, e.g. Imadake. The surface of the pancake was nicely browned and the toppings were as good as ever. The pink, marinated ginger on top gave the dish some bite. The banbanji, in contrast, was a bit less impressive. The flavors were much more simple and subtle, and so it was easily overshadowed by the two previous dishes. Also, I have to say that I cook udon regularly at home, so the experience was a bit less exciting. I hope next time the special will be soba! Strongly recommend the takoyaki and okonomiyaki!!

This restaurant is super cozy and can sit up to 15 people! It can get really hot in there since its open kitchen and the AC isn't turned on at maximum power, especially during summer. Nonetheless the food taste amazing. They have various side dishes that remain the same think, and a main dish that they change every week or so. The portions are not that big though. In my opinion they make the best Takoyaki I've tasted so far in Montreal. Cooked on point with a generous portion of octopus inside!

I was surprised how tiny the place was. Maybe 10 seats top. No tables only counters. But still very cozy. The food though... wow it was amazing! I never tasted anything like it. We took everything. So the takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and the plate of the week. Everything was so tasty and authentic. The waiter was very friendly. And super cute. We look forward to trying it again.

Takoyaki was an interesting experience. While there was an elegant seafood and soy flavor profile, the balls were generally dominated by batter. I was not impressed. $8 for what amounted to 6 octopus fritters would be OK if there were more substantial meat. I'll have to come back and grab the okonomiyaki and try that. This particular dish did not impress me.

Overpriced for what it is, unfortunately. I went there for lunchtime during a weekday with a friend. After seeing the multiple good reviews on Yelp, I decided to give this restaurant a try. The decor itself is nice and cute, considering it is small and you can actually see your food being cooked (somehow) if you are sitting at their bar. As for the food, while the taste itself was decent, I found I could've gotten more for my money. I ordered their special of the week, which was a bowl of rice with chicken + egg. I also ordered okonomiyaki and takoyaki to share. The bowl of rice itself was kinda bland in flavor, without not many flavors in my mouth. As for the okonomiyaki and the takoyaki, I previously visited Japan, so my expectations were fairly high. The taste of those dishes was decent, but definitely not as good as I expected. One of the things that attracted me to this place is that I heard they run out quickly, and did not want to miss out on my chance to taste their offerings. I must say while I was not overly disapointed, I was not impressed neither.

I was down in the Plateau one evening and felt like scratching off one of my many uptown bookmarks that I don't always get the chance to test out. Entering the restaurant it's a quaint- smallish little place. Communal seating is around the kitchen counter area and there are a couple of other tables and seating. If you are coming as a large group it's not recommended. Perfect place for a 2 person meal. If you are 4+ party you will have a hard time as you will wait for a table. The menu is simple and on the chalkboard on the back right wall. Very nice to see Osaka style Japanese dishes Okonamiyaki and Takoyaki are the main dishes served. The menu had a few other dishes however selection is limited. So I decided to go with both O and T. It's interesting as you sit and watch as they prepare the food in the back corner. Decorations in the restaurant are all Japanese themed. The old TV and video games plus menu are a quirky yet cool touch! The food does take a bit of time to come out as they only had one takoyaki machine. Also a small grill on the back can only prepare one omelette at a time. The wait was a bit long however it was well worth it. Okonomiyaki was delicious. Best one I've sampled outside of Japan. Perfect crunch of the cabbage, creaminess of the mayo and Okonomiyaki sauce and lightly crispy Pork. If I closed my eyes I would think I'm down by the Glico running man neon sign in Dottonbori with Pachinko parlours buzzing in the background. Takoyaki was very good also. Tako pieces were a bit small (usually the case in North America) however it was piping hot, doughy, and needed some time to cool off. It was served with a generous serving of bonito flakes that danced around as I was waiting for it to cool. It was puffy, slightly chewy and creamy yet the takoyaki sauce offered a delicate yet balanced flavour. Overall a very strong 4 stars for Noren. If you enjoy Japanese and want to try something different definitely give it a try.

I've been looking forward to going here since a friend recommended it and I realised it was around the corner from my house! I arrived at about 2pm and queued for quite a while - maybe half an hour? - but because the restaurant is quite small, seating around 10 people, I'm not surprised. The menu is small but decent, with a couple of starter options (takoyaki and okonomiyaki with a couple of variations on flavour available), then a special of the day which today was a spicy tuna, poached egg and rice don bowl. I had the vegetarian cheese takoyaki and the special with a hojicha tea - I was pleased to see hojicha on the menu because it's my favourite tea, but hard to find! I really recommend it - it's a roasted green tea and it's incredible. The takoyaki were fresh and hot (the server warned me to wait a couple of minutes, even - the kitchen is so small that I watched them being cooked) although they arrived after the rice dish, which I wasn't expecting. They were tasty and full of flavour, and the classic sauce on top was tart and perfectly matched to the flavour of the takoyaki batter. The tuna was lovely and tender, though not all that spicy; underneath were some lightly pickled cucumbers which were so good that I might get a side of just cucumbers next time. The rice was plain and unflavoured, which was a little disappointing - maybe more sauce would be welcome - and the egg was served cold. This wasn't a huge deal as it was nicely poached, not all that runny but soft and creamy, kind of like ramen eggs are, but with a much softer white. I really love this place and the servers are sweet, and despite being pretty small it never felt all that cramped. There's even a Famicom in the corner if you're into video games!

Wow! Easily the best takoyaki and okonomiyaki I've had in Canada. I much prefer Hiroshima style okonomiyaki, but I don't think I've seen that in Canada anyway. Basically it's mostly cabbage with no noodles here. I tried the mushroom, but would have liked to try their pork. The takoyaki came piping hot. It's actually almost impossible to enjoy these beauties without destroying them or burning the roof of your mouth, but the flavour, texture, and balance of gooeyness is perfect. Love and highly recommend this cute little restaurant with friendly service.

Cozy small japanese restaurant. They don't have much on their menu. Fixed menu with okonomiyaki and takoyaki and will have weekly specials. Not suitable for big groups as the place is very small (max 10-15 spots available). We were 7 people and the staffs were very accommodating with us. Great service! Food is great! Just got back from a Japan trip not long ago. I would say that it managed to satisfy my craving! Their dessert of the week was a wasabi cake, surprisingly very good! Must try, especially if youre missing food from your japan trip!

My boyfriend and I were visiting Montreal and wanted to eat our way through the city. We came during a relatively busy time (festival season) and on really hot day. We waited about 10 minutes or so to get seated. The place is small and super cute (I've seen smaller). We sat at the window where they placed Japanese books/magazines on a variety of things i.e design, food, etc. Food: we ordered the eggplant, king oyster mushrooms, and okonomiyaki (half mushroom half pork). The eggplant was my favorite but we loved and finished everything. The only thing we were bummed about was the soba noodles were out but granted we came here an hour before closing. I saw other customers chowing on udon and it looked really fresh. They also have weekly specials and special pop ups it seems. :) It was the right amount of food for the both of us on a semi empty stomach. If you're really hungry I'd suggest to order one more thing. We were really happy when we left and walked around the neighborhood as it's close to a lot of other shops / parks.

What a very sweet surprise on a chilly wet dreary eve! I recalled passing this place a number of times during summer, always missing its open hours. I'd hoped they might serve ramen, so on my way down the Plateau to the Belgo this eve I stopped in for a comfort bowl of the soup. No ramen, but a lovely couple (the proprietors), and their equally lovely sister were happily cooking up some fabulous aromas, and feel-great vibes. The tiny space is beautifully designed. Really love the black back wall and super clean, shiny, minimal, functional details. The small vintage? TV set and stereo, a great aside. This is crowded Japan design at its zen best. The menu is really minimal as well. I didn't have a lot of spare time, but feeling peckish tried the Takoyaki. Wow, I'd never had anything like this dumpling before. Apparently, in the style of dumpling from a prefecture just west of Tokyo. Had Yuzo Tea along with. What a complete tongue bud tissue riot! BOOM another happy place in Montreal. KUDOS Noren!!! I look forward to my next meal in your very special labour of love. PS drinking licence coming soon | equals later closing hours.

I came here with my sister on a Friday night and it was packed. The place is very small, minimalist decor - which I loved. There are only 10 places so we had to wait a little bit before a place to sit opened up. When a place did open it, it was at the counter, which was really great. We had the pleasure of watching the owners cooking and plating all the food. We had takoyaki (6 pieces) for 7$, an okonomiyaki (which is a fried omelette with pork, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms) for 9$ and a week plate which was somèn noodles (cold dish) for 9$. We also tried their homemade yuzu soda 3,5$. I'm not a big fan of octopus and never had good takoyaki but the ones here are really amazing. Easily the best I've had. All the food, honestly, is delicious. Not only was the food very good, it was tasty, not pricey and the service was very good. I can't wait to go back to have some more takoyaki. Also we had a little bit of trouble to find the place since the address wasn't very clear. St-Laurent street separates Rachel West from Rachel East so make sure to go left on Rachel Street from St-Laurent. The restaurant is next to Le P'tit Atelier bakery.

This is my favourite japanese restaurant in Montreal. The food and service here is always top notch. I love that the menu changes every single week but their staples, okonomiyaki and takoyaki, is the best in town. Will never stop recommending this spot

Cute little family owned resto. Service was nice and friendly.food tasted pretty authentic and better than most izakayas in mtl. A little bit too little choices for my linking.you can pretty much order the whole mwnu and u won't be full. Their takoyakis are the best that i have tried in mtl and similar to japan's. If you are in the plateau neighborhood and want something japanese i guess it's not bad.

We loved our dinner here! My husband had never had takoyaki or okonomiyaki before so I thought this would be a great place to go based on the photos and reviews. I've had both a number of times in NYC but I've never had any that was as good as what was served at Noren. We also ordered many of the side dishes and they were all just delicious. Finished with the blackberry crumble. A perfect close to a perfect dining experience!

Came here on a rainy Friday and so happy that it had seats for 2 It is very small so you have to be a bit "spontaneous" on your planning if you wanna try this place. The takoyaki tastes exactly like the one i tried in Tokyo on the street and better than some places in Kyoto (the touristy area). It's really a treasure Montreal has to have such authentic little japanese kitchen in town! (It seems like they have a sake menu, which i will need to try next time!). Ps: the set special menu is so affordable and delicious, it could easily be your healthy Japanese 'cafeteria' if you work/live nearby!

There is something unique about this place. I've been to biru, nozy, other restaurants - but the passion and love for cooking up art is exemplified by Elise and Hiday, the owners- so genuine and kind as people. Meal of the day was exceptional and changes seasonally- thank you for making montreal a little more divine.

My favorite place in town. Very simple, but nice cozy place, awesome food and excellent playlist! Everything matches my tastes so I'm biased. i go there almost every week...

Cute tiny place with a tiny menu. The drinks are very refreshing and their food is very well made. The restaurant is very small and doesn't hold many seats, but we were lucky there were 2 seats available when we arrived. The place is well decorated. Would definitely recommend

After hearing plenty of hype around this place, I've decided to give this place a go! At first, I was taken aback on how tiny yet intimate this place was. But got used to the atmosphere quite quickly! The kitchen is an open concept; so the food can be seen prepared in front of you if you sit at the counter. The service was prompt and the waitresses were really accommodating to all my needs. In terms of menus, they have permanent items as well as weekly specials that changes constantly. I just so happened to get the Kitsune Udon on that day! On to the food, everything was very delicious, however it was also very salty. That goes for the Okonomiyaki as well as the Takoyaki. Maybe it's just me, but the saltiness completely overthrew the actual flavour of the dish. I'll just make sure to ask for less sauce next time! But other than that, I definitely think this place is worth a try if you're in the area.

This is one of those places I spend years traveling and looking for. One of the best meals I have had in the last few years. If you are a foodie that eats their way through their travels then you can't do Montréal properly without hitting this place, everything is special and carefully considered and prepared. This did not remind me on anything else I have had before. Everything is exceptional, creative, complex, though unpretentious, a place you can relax in. Even the tuna sashimi was one of the highest qualities I have ever had, so buttery. The menu is very well curated, just order everything, explorer, you will be thrilled. Just be smart about when you come and bring your patience. This is a small place. Ask for a beer while you wait. They make everything in eyeshot. You might have to visit a couple times before you hit it right, when there is seating.

Yum. For real. Best okonomiyaki of my actual life. Sweet friendly owners, small bright perfectly clean room decorated with taste. Just maybe 10 seats, most of them at the counter that wraps around where the food is prepared. Short chalkboard menu with nothing much on it besides takoyaki, okonomiyaki, a salad and edamame and the dish of the day. We shared the dish of the day, a beef curry with rice, which was simple and flavourful and tasty. But it was really the okonomiyaki - like a fried omelette with super fresh cabbage and pork belly and mushrooms - that was the star. Often I've found these greasy and too heavy, but this one was so fresh and crisp and crunchy you could eat it every day. Can't wait to go back for more.

I love the takoyaki here, I suggest taking them with a salad + desert! They are a great side dish to share with a friend too!

Came at 8:30, the place was packed. Waiting for seats may end up empty belly because they close at 9. So we had a take out and have the dish outside. Smart choice it was. We waited about another 15 mins for the food to be done (girls before us ordered 4 take outs that's why waiting this long) and no one left. No air conditioning, waiting inside is really irritating. They offer three main dishes. The second one on the list Okonomiyaki ran out. We had takoyaki even though I came for Okonomiyaki. We had the classic one. The dry fish flask danced on the balls along the heat, large amount. The most enjoyable part for me. One tip for take out don't close the lid of the box in order to let the vapour out leaving the food crispy. One star down: The batter is too much water inside, making the whole thing very soft and hard to hold together. I like it a little hard and not falling apart when lifted with one stick. Also with this amount of moisture, the food cools down very slowly, but the crispy skin may disappear before you could put it in your mouth. The choices of drinks are very attractive. I'd like to try them all. Will come back for the Okonomiyaki.

It's a very lovely restaurant. The space is really small, but thanks to the simple design and decoration, I didn't feel crowded. I went there with a friend and we shared two takoyaki, one onomiyaki and a somen noodles. The takoyaki and the onomiyaki are very very good!! But the somen noodles are just so so. There is only one chef and one waitress. So it took a little long time to wait to sit and to be served. But they were so nice and the food was so delicious! So I think it is worth to wait a bit. By the way, they offer take away service, so if you are in hurry, why not order some takoyaki to go ;)

The food was really amazing but the restaurant itself is kinda small. The menu also changes every week so its a shame if you wanted to try out their other dishes. Other than that, the staff was really nice and the price is very good for what you get.

Nice little izakaya in an area of Rachel not normally where you would look to find one. Food was delicious, affordable and ambience was totally welcoming. Might become one of my new regular lunch spots.

The food is good.the taste is good .the speed of the food service is slow. It takes up to 30 to 40 minutes to get your food.i took the special of the day it was a vegetable broth with chicken good taste good vegies and 4 mini chunks of chicken like not even 30 grams of protein probably,for 12 dollars we had hokonomiyaki as first course it is very good .good portion.but the sad thing about all that is that after 20$ (40$ for 2. one hokonomyaki and 2 specials of the day)you are hungry again an hour later.not worth it wont come back.

Best Japanese restaurant in town! If you don't believe me, great! A better chance for me to get a seat!

The cute couple/owner duo are doing many things right with this place; it's nestled in a calm corner on Rachel, a manageable menu, the decorative reading material allows for interesting conversation and the food itself consists of the unique home cook Jap flavours. Lastly, the Takoyaki earns the place an extra star by itself.

What a treat! Tiny little place with a very limited, but perfectly executed menu. The okonomyaki is the best I've ever had, and we also really enjoyed the takoyaki. We got there about 30 minutes before they closed and they were out of the special ramen for the day. Service was great and loved the chill, cozy atmosphere. Fun to sit in the window and people watch too! We'll definitely go back next time we're in Montreal.

Slightly higher end food at a very reasonable price. They have a short menu which changes weekly- you can check their entree of the week on their facebook page. The only downside was that the service wasn't the most helpful, probably because the servers were also chefs; when we first walked in, they didn't acknowledge our entrance at all, and we had no way of knowing how long it would take to get a seat. A bit of a wait to order and get the food, but worth it for the quality of the restaurant.

I had the most confusing experience @ Noren. I was the first customer there when it opened at 11:30. Nobody greeted me or even seated me so I sat myself at the counter. I thought maybe they were busy setting up and so I waited. 5 minutes turned into 10 minutes then 15 minutes. Basically, I was ignored for a solid 20 minutes while the employees were talking and laughing amongst themselves without even saying something like "we will be with you shortly." I FELT INVISIBLE. I didn't get a menu or was told anything. And then another group of customers came in who seemed like they knew the employees pretty well and they immediately served them food! That's when I got upset and spoke up. The entire experience was so bizarre. I saw another woman just leave bc she was ignored like me. I should've spoke up sooner but I kept waiting bc I thought they were setting up.. it was honestly the worst customer experience I've had @ a restaurant in my entire life.

i had the special of the week which was a poke don: edamane, seaweed, pickled cucumber and saumon. Maybe my tastebud is a bit too strong but it was lacky something. It was fresh for sure. I will be back for the okonomiyaki that are there specialities.

I know it's a siganture, but skip the poutine. Come here instead. Simply put, this is a relaxed delicious meal. Get the okonomiyaki.

Stopped in here off of a recommendation and our expectations were exceeded. Very personal atmosphere, intimate space where you can watch the chef prepare the delicious plates. We were visiting from out of town and the whole staff went above and beyond to accommodate us and give us recommendations for the remainder of our stay. If you're visiting from out of town and looking for great food with a local vibe, come here. Will definitely be coming back and recommending to friends.

Oh. My. God. I have only written two yelp reviews since I joined (including this one), because frankly, I just don't care. This place is fan-tas-tic. They only serve a few dishes, but these were a dietary highlight of my day, ney, my month. Light, skillfully crafted, great taste, amazing price to quality. Just amazing. Come. Eat. Leave. Keep coming back. Now, I wish I lived in montreal.