Oji Seichi | The hottest new ramen spot in Toronto

Located in east Chinatown in downtown Toronto, Oji Seichi lights up the street. With its bright white brick walls, their loud yet minimal “Oji Seichi” logo, their friendly staff and their amazing food, this restaurant is a must try.

Oji Seichi is Japanese for Uncle Seichi (Sandy) who happens to be my Grandpa! So it’s kind of cool to have a ramen & gyoza house named after him. Ramen and gyoza happen to also be 2 of my favourite foods ever so it’s a no brainer why I went it. The restaurant did a soft opening recently with a small menu of ramen, Sandy sandwiches and gyoza. We honestly should of ordered one of everything (next time we will), but this time around we ordered the Classic Shoyu Ramen (x2), Classic Shio Ramen, Veggie Miso Ramen, Pork Gyoza & Sandy’s Chicken Katsu. Oh and we also got exclusive t-shirts! We were so excited to go to this place it almost felt like we were going on a date LOL. It just felt so surreal and cool to walk up knowing this place is named after Grandpa Sandy.

Sandy = Seichi

- Who is Uncle Seichi (Sandy)? -

Uncle Seichi was a Japanese Canadian father, family man, painter and that fun uncle. He was known for being creative and spontaneous; always showing the family a good time.

This is what Oji Seichi wants to provide. Great quality food that brings the family together. I truly believe that food brings people together. You can have the greatest conversations over a meal, catch up with friends and family, experience new flavours and connect while enjoying amazing food.

More about the brand

- THe Family Connection -

If you don’t already know, I am half Japanese - on my dads side. Uncle Seichi is my Grandpa! One of the partners of Oji Seichi and the Executive Chef, Mitch Bates, married into the family; marrying Uncle Seichi’s great niece. A long connection but still in the family ♡. The fact that the restaurant is named after my Grandpa still blows my mind. I just find it so cool and that his name will live on.

- Food Review -

I already mentioned above what we got but let me recap:

2x Classic Shoyu Ramen, Classic Shio Ramen, Veggie Miso Ramen, Park Gyoza & Sandy’s Chicken Katsu Sandwich

I found the food phenomenal. The noodles are freshly prepared and they were the best ramen noodles I’ve ever had. The dish was classic and fun. The broth was rich yet light. The style of ramen they sell is Tokyo/Takayama which I have never had the pleasure of enjoying before. I’m used to the miso ramens which actually, the Veggie Miso Ramen was my favourite. Not like the other miso ramen’s I’ve had; this one was so tasty and I just love a creamy broth. Plus this dish had maitake (mushroom) in it and I love me a good mushroom.

Now the pork dumplings. If you know me, I love dumplings/gyoza. Heck! I have a tattoo that says GYOZA in Japanese! We should of ordered 2 portions because they were sooooo good! The wrapping was thin and crispy and the filling was crumbly and not over cooked. Like damn…I loved them.

The Sandy Chicken Katsu sandwich was also a go-to. I’ve actually never had a proper katsu and apparently it’s suppose to be cooked with a slight pink inside which this one had. The sandwich was packed with flavour and a nice snack size.

I seriously cannot wait to go back and dine-in! Honestly the take-out wasn’t that bad. The broth was still warm after a 15 minute drive. We pan fried the gyoza to warm them up and cooked the noodles according to the package; which was boiling them for 1.5 minutes.

I’m curious to see if the menu will expand when they open to the public for dine in…so stay tuned for an Oji Seich 2.0 blog post in the future!

- How to order -

They are currently only doing take-out but will eventually open the the public of dine in (hopefully shortly after I post this!).

Go to their website and there will be an Order Ahead button on the top right. They offer limited quantities everyday so you know everything is fresh and therefore ordering ahead secures your goods for the night. It’s really easy…honestly just like online shopping. Click the link below to see their menu and order your food ⇣

Menu & Order Now!