Well-regarded Toronto ramen chain Sansotei is planning to open in Montreal this spring.
The small chain’s website lists a Montreal location as “coming soon”, and a linked map shows that it will be located right near the Quartier des Spectacles, taking over the space of Malaysian chain Papparoti on Ste-Catherine just west of de Bleury.
While chain imports from Ontario to Quebec have a mixed history (some succeed, some fail), Sansotei is a particularly promising addition to Montreal’s relatively small ramen scene. Since its first Toronto location opened in 2012, it has received ample praise, and is regularly named among the best options for the dish in the city; similar compliments followed when it expanded to Ottawa in 2016.
Sansotei keeps a tight menu: the go-to order is a creamy, Fukuoka-style tonkotsu pork broth (also known as hakata) — it’s available in a regular style or laced with black garlic oil. Options like miso and tantan ramens round out the offerings; prices are pretty standard (and affordable) at around $12 to $14 a bowl.
Beyond the warming bowls of noodle soup are a handful of sides like gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), fried chicken, and a seaweed salad.
It will be the first expansion for Sansotei outside of Ontario. It joins one other Toronto-based ramen chain in the city: Kinton Ramen first opened in Montreal in 2016, and has since expanded around the city and out to Laval and Pointe-Claire.
No word yet on whether Sansotei plans to do the same, although the same approach seems to have paid off in the Greater Toronto Area, where it counts ten locations (with one more coming), including a number of smaller take-out restaurants.
While no opening date has been publicly given for Montreal, a source for Eater suggests it is likely to open in May.
- Sansotei Ramen [Official]
- Dining Out: Sansotei Ramen an instant success [Ottawa Citizen]
- Top Six in the 6: Best Places to Eat Ramen [Foodism]
- Kinton Is Now Serving Triple the Ramen in Montreal [EMTL]