A new Japanese ramen spot in Vancouver is offering FREE ramen this month

If you thought Vancouver’s ramen game had reached its full potential, think again.

The downtown core is filled with steamy-window ramen spots, but there’s a new contender that could change how you feel about a Japanese bowl. Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba has opened its doors at 551 Seymour Street to bring you literal brothless ramen.

An authentic Tokyo-born Japanese brand, Kokoro already has franchise locations throughout Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Spain, with Vancouver being the first in North America. It’s also the first ramen shop in Vancouver to focus on mazesoba (soupless ramen).

To celebrate this no-sips-required ramen arrival, Kokoro is giving away free bowls of mazesoba during their grand opening celebrations, from September 28 to 30.

There’s going to be 100 free bowls of Tokyo Mazesoba given out each day (September 28 to 30) – 50 bowls at the store’s lunch opening and another 50 from 5:30 pm for dinner.

That’s 300 free bowls up for grabs over three days!

Additionally, all customers will get a buy one, get one free deal on mazesoba during the grand opening celebrations (the second bowl just needs to be less or equal to the value of the first bowl).

You’ll get a real sense of Japanese dining at Kokoro’s 3,500 sq. ft. Vancouver space with a thoughtfully designed interior. And when it comes to the mazesoba, you’ll probably wonder how you’ve lived without it. (Poorly. You’ve lived poorly.)

Unlike traditional ramen noodles, Kokoro’s soba noodles are made in-house using multigrain flour (FYI, it tastes as good as white flour) as they include a lot of steps in the noodle making process, including the use of a water-softening machine.

Bowls are served up with ingredients like raw egg yolk, chives, minced garlic, pork, ground saba fish, and seaweed flakes. And your options for flavour include Tokyo mazesoba, curry mazesoba, mentaiko (marinated pollock eggs) cream mazesoba, cheese mazesoba (yes!), vegan mazesoba (a few vegan options to choose from), and more.

The chef’s special and niku mazesoba are fuller bowls with extra ingredients that are also 100% worth your time.

If you’re someone who prefers broth in your ramen, Kokoro’s got your back with a selection of traditional ramen dishes on the menu. The restaurant is also serving up a variety of drinks and popular Japanese soft ice cream (also new to Vancouver).

Check out Kokoro on Instagram to see even more brothless ramen snaps before you visit.

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba Grand Opening Specials

When: September 28 to 30 
Where: 551 Seymour Street
Hours: 

• Monday to Friday: 11 am to 10 pm
• Saturday and Sunday: 11:30 am to 10 pm