This is a tough review, because the food was better than three stars. I really enjoyed the tantan spicy ramen with its rich flavorful broth, and the homemade gyoza were stellar and well stuffed with a great pork filling. My issues here were the service, timing of dishes, and pricing. It took forever to get a water and the service was consistently slow, albeit friendly. The timing was what really soured the dinner though. My gyoza were out within ten minutes of ordering, but the ramen took over forty minutes to come out, and that's with two apologies on the delay. I understand this is a pretty high end little area, but the prices are steep for the quantity of food. The ramen broth and noodles were fine, but it was a stingy scoop of ground pork, one half of a bok choy cluster, and only half of a soft boiled egg. At $13.50 for a small bowl and light toppings, this was a little off-putting. Same thing goes for the fried oysters. $6 for two standard oysters seemed pricey. read more

Disappointing and overpriced! The tonkatsu had literally one single piece of meat in it, which was 90% fat, and the extra cabbage "noodles" was just a plain styrofoam cup of steamed cabbage that they had the nerve to charge me $4 for. I won't order from here again. read more

Food is.good, but if you are going to tell people it is going to take 80 minutes before the food will be ready eIther (1) call, text. or email when it will be done sooner or (2) don't have it done until you said it would be done so that it is hot at the time you said it would be done. read more

I came here with a friend who knows her ramen and recommended it because they carry gluten-free noodles. We got there right as they opened for lunch at 11:30am and the place filled up fast! I took this as a sign that the food was going to be fantastic. We started with the summer special poke bowl, which was good, but a bit boring compared to some of Chicago's numerous poke places (Pokiology being my personal favorite). The fish was fresh, but the innovation and flavors just weren't there. We were given a side of flavored mayo and a bottle of chili oil to mix in, but the mayo was super bland and did little to make the dish stand out. We each ordered bowls of ramen, Tantan for me and Yuzu Lover for my friend. While I appreciated the opportunity to eat gluten-free ramen, it was simply just fair to middling. The broth in tantan should be spicy and flavorful, but this one just sat there in the bowl, sadly holding the 1/2 egg and one stalk of boy choy it came with. The dish was also really lacking in crumbled pork to the point where I had to use my spoon to see if it had all sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Nope, just lacking. My friend and I discussed the food and came to the conclusion that Torino is making decent ramen for Wilmette diners, but not for me. I want to eat what the cooks are making for themselves in the back. This place can't compare to the ramen places in areas like Arlington Heights and Chicago. It's northshore ramen for American diners. Just not my speed. Unlike others, we had a great experience with service (Colleen) and timing of the dishes, but the food isn't nearly good enough for me to come back when we live near so many legit ramen places. read more

Holy smokes, this place is so good. Every time we go, we're happy. We've had the octopus puffs, edamame, and several of the steamed buns. Everything is delicious. But now I don't even order anything before the ramen, because the ramen is crazy filling. I've tried a couple different ones, but my favorite is still the Sammy (heavy with the garlic oil). My husband's favorite is the Tantan (which is a lot spicier). The restaurant gets busy at night and on weekends, obviously, but it's worth the wait. I've never had to wait long for lunch. Service is always fast and friendly. We consider this place a neighborhood gem. read more

Nice place that will customize dishes, like making a brothless Dan-dan (i.e., Tan-tan). Noddle bowls are consistently good.

Absolutely horrible delivery experience. Never got my food and driver lied to me saying he would let me know when I was close. Be ware they will scam you. read more

We have been searching for a great Ramen place in the burbs and sooo happy we found one!! Exceeded our expectations both in Ramen, appetizers, ambiance and staff. Loved this cute little modern Ramen joint! Will be excited to come back. I had the Miso (vegetarian) Ramen and it was flavorful without being too salty. I added a soft egg and mushrooms. Perfection. My husband had the scallop ramen and although it was also flavorful he said the scallops get too cooked in the broth and he would choose another dish next time. Curry one came recommended so that's the next one he will try. Open for lunch and carry out too. read more

Excellent ramen in the North Shore. Fresh noodles, tasty broth. I've had the yuzu lover ramen several times and it's pretty special. The tonkotsu broth is also very tasty. A minor issue is that sometimes they kind of skimp on ingredients like the bok choy. The seasonal menu is worth checking out. On the summer menu, for example, the eggplant agebitashi is a standout. Service is inconsistent. One night we waited way too long for our ramen. And the servers are sometimes inattentive, even when the restaurant isn't busy. Overall a really good choice for ramen in the North Shore. read more

I ordered with Ubereats here the other day and sad to say Torino ramen has somewhat disappointed me. I ordered the Mi So Hot ramen, Pork Chashu Bao, and Karaage Bao--which in total cost me $25 excluding the ubereats delivery fee (but thankfully I had an ubereats coupon allowing me to save a lot more). For the actual price though, it's not worth it. The Mi So Hot ramen were okay but not worth $16, as they were a bit soggy and just fell flat (though it was through ubereats, so you know the drill.. it might have gotten a bit soggy on the ride home) In my opinion though, I've still had better ramen in the Chicago area for much cheaper prices (around the $10-$12 price mark). Also, the Pork in the Pork Chashu Bao felt really fatty and gluttonous to eat and I personally wasn't a huge fan of it. I did find the Karaage to be alright though, as it was pretty crispy and tender. Granted, I might have not gotten the most popular dishes so they might have not been Torino's specialties, but I don't think I would come here again. read more

Great food and music. Sometimes it is slow to get food but that's because they are very rightfully busy. Love to come here all the time with my SO. read more

I came here with a group of friends for an early weekday dinner and there were a few other tables occupied while we were dining. We shared an order of chicken karage and there we were happily surprised to find that there were more pieces of chicken than we had anticipated. It was freezing outside so I had some hot barley tea but was sad to find out that they don't provide free refills but each cup is only $1. I ordered the sammy ramen (chicken and pork based broth, pork chashu, half soft boiled egg, menma, bean sprouts and bok choy) and hubby ordered the torino ramen (chicken based broth, pork chashu, half soft boiled egg, menma, bean sprouts and bok choy). I didn't have high expectations but the ramen was better than I thought it would be especially since the sammy broth was a combination of chicken and pork. I tend to be drawn to the traditional creamy tonkotsu style broth and the broth was to my liking. The portions are definitely smaller than most other ramen places. I was able to finish my bowl of ramen and I almost never finish the entire bowl when I get ramen (hubby always gets 1.5 meals). Overall, my tummy left happy so we will be back for more if we are in the area! read more

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One of our favorite spots for ramen- and you can't beat the Karaage (Japanese fried chicken).

Great ramen place for lunch or dinner, but be prepared to wait in the evenings as it's a small space and gets very busy. Fast, friendly, efficient service, but a bit loud and cramped--tables are very close together. I especially love the appetizers here, including the chicken meatballs and shumai. The bao are divine and the variety of donburi and ramen should satisfy just about everyone. Vegetarians and meat lovers alike will find something to enjoy. read more

Torino Ramen, Delightful bowl of respite, In the midst of cold. My companions and I stumbled upon Torino Ramen after a fumbled attempt to trek down to Happy Lamb. We wanted to explore the North Shore area beyond Evanston and came upon Torino Ramen. Torino was on a Christmas light studded street and was so inviting on a cold wintry evening. The interior is intimate and perfect for a date night or dinner with friends. We lounged around the bar while waiting for our table - enjoying the delicious cocktails and expansive drink menu. As a gin lover, I got the 'Midday' which had lovely tones of elderflower complementing the smooth gin. The ramens are also very affordably priced for the portion size. My companions and I ordered the Torino, Sammy, and Curry Ramen. Everyone was extremely pleased with their ramen and were joyful that there was actually a delicious ramen joint in the North Shore! The noodles were cooked to ala dente perfection and had a lovely chew. The broths were successfully straddling the delicate balance of being flavorful while not being too heavy. The service was very attentive and they truly wanted to make our first experience at Torino a positive one. They were kind enough to let us have a complimentary taste of their barley tea! One of my companions had been craving Japanese curry for the past few days and had her curry prayers answered at Torino. In the words of my companion: "Curry ramen was delightfully reminiscent of Japanese Katsu curry but with all the perks of ramen." read more

Maybe because I had super high expectations of this new ramen joint in town... it just did not meet my expectations. Their website describes owners and chefs who pride in quality and authentic ramen from Japan... so I suppose I expected a replica of what I exactly experienced in Japan. Not the case. The ramen itself is good... but I'm not sure if I would consider it truly authentic and anything 'special'. read more

Torino Ramen is a very welcome addition to downtown Wilmette, and I'm just sorry that I didn't get over there sooner. If I had, I would've been enjoying their delicious ramen for months now! But now that I have been to Torino, I'm happy to recommend it to all of my friends and neighbors. The cozy wood interior is a great place to take shelter on a rainy day like today (I suspect it would be nice on a cold, snowy day, as well, and I intend to find out over the winter). The small kitchen is manned by three Japanese natives turned Midwest ramen gurus -- mom of 5, Chikako; hockey mom, Tomoko; and social texting mom, Chika. Together, they whip up beautiful, traditional ramen dishes made from family recipes using all-natural ingredients for their complex and delicious homemade broths. Initially, my husband was slightly disappointed that there was only one spicy ramen dish on the menu, and it was vegetarian. But then we were told that you can add pork, chicken or spicy meatballs to any ramen, or you can request chili oil and spicy togarashi seasonings to add to any dish. I ordered the Kitano ramen with unbelievably tender pork in a miso chicken broth. My husband ordered the Sammy, also with the yummy pork, but in a chicken and pork bone broth. Both were outstanding, especially with the extra kick from the chili oil and togarashi. But don't think that Torino is a just a one-dimensional ramen shop -- they also do other dishes very well. It was difficult to decide (the gyoza and karaage were both so tempting), but we finally selected two starters. The takoyaki (fried octopus puffs) was too intriguing to pass up. Unsure of what they might be, we were pleasantly surprised when they arrived and looked like little delicate hushpuppies. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, they sort of reminded me of a Cadbury cream egg, but with octopus (ok, that makes no sense). The flavor was actually quite good, but for me, the texture was a bit odd. I wasn't sure if they weren't cooked all the way through or if they were intentionally gooey on the inside. We both agreed on the latter and happily finished every last one. The Iko Geso Age (two skewers of deep-fried squid), however, was possibly the best I've ever had, and that's saying a lot. I've had my share of fried calamari in my lifetime, but this was unrivaled. The batter, likely made with rice flour, was so light that it clung to every tiny leg and produced an incredibly crispy result. I could seriously eat that every day. Next time I return to Torino, it will be hard to decide between one of the ramens or the bao buns, but I know for sure that I will be having the fried squid. In closing, let me just say that I really hate people who misuse Yelp's star system to detract for tangential things, such as difficulty of parking or hours of business, that are completely unrelated to the quality of the restaurant. If you think the prices are too high or the service was poor, that's one thing - that's a direct reflection on the quality of your experience. And feel free to mention peripheral distractions, such as a lengthy wait time, in your review, but don't punish a worthy establishment for things that have absolutely nothing to do with the food and/or the service that they provide. Figures it would be Mancow that would have a beef about their hours. He doesn't care about how a one- or two-star rating might negatively effect the business of hard-working people who take pride in their craft. And, by the way, Torino is now open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 am-9:00 pm, and for dinner on Saturdays, 5:00-9:00 pm. Please go. You won't regret it. read more

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Always had a great experience with the food trailer and a very healthy fashion. But very disappointing ordered a iced tea and was charge 550 for that Ice-T seems a little excessive read more

Torino Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Wilmette, Illinois

If you want to stay on the north shore for ramen, this is a great choice. I've eaten here so many times, and am always pleased. The broth is really reach, the noodles nice and chewy, and the toppings are very fresh. I've also gotten the lunch special, which gives you a smaller bowl of soup alongside something extra-- some sushi, a bao, what have you. Even the take out is good-- the noodles and toppings are packaged separately from the broth, so everything can be combined when you're ready to eat and nothing gets soggy. One of my favorite lunches in Wilmette! read more

Always great food and service. Can't beat the ramen in the area especially the spicy ramen

Unconventional ramen done really well. Never knew curry and ramen would make such a harmonious combo.

On a cold and wintery night, a hot and nourishing bowl of ramen, mother ramen, she sings to me. This place is great! We walked over here from our family's nearby home and this downtown area is so cute. There were so many ramen choices that we had a hard time choosing. I ended ordering the Ginger Chicken with cabbage noodles and no scallions under the seasonal section and my partner ordered the Sammy ramen with kale noodles and a side of chicken karaage. Chicken karaage is the Japanese's version of a fried chicken and I really liked theirs. Their chicken taste fresh and I like the many options of adding on certain proteins and vegetables. When my ramen arrived, it did not have the cabbage noodles that I had requested, our server was kind enough to offer to make me a new one. A few moments later it was swapped but this time, it had the scallions that I didn't want. No biggie because I scooped it out anyway and the ramen was so tasty but the waitress and owner felt very bad about this and they surprised us at the end with not charging us for both my ginger chicken ramen and the side dish chicken karaage! Wow - they are so generous and awesome. I did not expect them to do this at all. This has never happened to me at any prior restaurant. The ladies that own and work here are so sweet!! I insisted on paying for the side dish but they were firm with their integrity and for that I give them my respect. I gave them a nice tip for only charging me one ramen and I highly recommend this restaurant because the food is not only delicious, but it was made with love and integrity! We walked away as very happy customers with full bellies. read more

During COVID times, Torino has their act down! Convenient and quick curbside pickup and expertly packaged food. Could not recommend Torino more! If you are tentative about ramen to go, don't be! Delicious and warm broths perfectly combat the cooler temps. Will be returning again... and again. Arigato gozaimasu! read more

My favorite ramen spots are all in the city, so I got super excited when I learned about Torino Ramen. My friend and I ordered the Sammy, ebi bao buns, and gyoza. Everything was delicious, but I wish there was a spicier ramen option. The server suggested adding chili oil, but that doesn't usually make it spicy for me. The ebi bao bun was the standout of the meal. The shrimp was perfectly fried. Unfortunately, our service wasn't that good until another server took over. Hoping my next visit is a bit better. read more

Torino Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Wilmette, Illinois

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I'm sorry to say that this restaurant did not make it to the preferred list for ramen. We like to support local but when the food has little taste, restaurant smells a bit like cleaning fluid and atmosphere is just so-so, I can not recommend. We had the Tantun ramen, their most popular and an order of sushi, which was pretty good. read more

Good food, a solid meal. But not lifechanging.

Came here on the advice of a friend and really pleased with this friend because I'm definitely coming back for more :D My sister lived in Japan for a year and I was able to visit her twice for about a month total. When I returned, I really missed authentic Japanese cuisine (cream cheese in sushi will never appeal to me again, sadly) and so I started trying to stake out the best places in Chicago to get my fix. This is by far the best ramen I've had stateside; I was so pleased I asked the chef to make an appearance! Sure, $12 a bowl can seem pricey but the slurpy rich goodness was so good going down that I didn't even notice my wallet getting lighter. It was pure euphoria. Service was spectacular with very attentive and enthusiastic staff, menu selection was not overwhelming (which I appreciate), and the sake was cold and delicious. Go forth and ramen my friends. read more

Good food with plenty of vegetarian options. Staff was friendly. Service was a little slow but thats likely a problem most places these days

I was surprised how crowded this place was for lunch on a Wednesday, but they were able to seat my wife and I right away. I'm vegetarian, and at first was dismayed to notice all the soups on the menu had chicken or pork broth. I had looked at their menu online, and thought there was at least one miso broth option, but in person that was miso and chicken. However, I spoke to my server who was very friendly about it, and assured me they could do a vegetarian broth. So I ended up getting a veggie variation on the Sammy ramen, with tofu instead of pork and veggie broth. It was super delicious! The cubes of tofu were just the right size, lightly fried on the outside and silky smooth inside. Yummy broth and amazing, perfectly chewy noodles. I'm surprised how many reviews here are wanting larger portions; I'm not a light eater, but I couldn't eat more than half of my bowl, tasty as it was. I hope they will open for dinner more than 2 days a week before too long. read more

Tornio Ramen has outstanding Asian cuisine and customer service. Truly authentic which is genuinely hard-to-find on the North Shore. Our family loves this place. Highly recommend read more

Love this local Ramen restaurant, just the fact that the owners are three local mom's from the community makes me want to support it even more. Soups and Bao buns are flavorful, plenty of selections without being too overwhelming. Staff is friendly but can get very busy. It's quite small inside but cozy, and many times around dinner time you must wait a little while to get a table. In the summer it was nice eating outdoors. We've taken many other friends there and we've gotten thumbs up from all. Definitely one of our favorite go to spots in downtown Wilmette. read more

YES! Delicious ramen, the broth is deep and lots of great flavors. And the NOODLES, awesome. I have been looking for a ramen place and am so happy to have found this one. This is absolutely a welcomed addition to the lackluster line up of restaurants in Wilmette. read more

Loved it and I will be back! I ordered several small side dishes, ramen and a chicken rice bowl (Don). They were all very good and very authentic japanese. read more

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