ramen burger

Hour long waits for ramen burgers in Toronto right now

The CNE food scene is all about that new-new; we see it every single year in the form of internet hype and gigantic food-court lineups.

Novelty is cool. We get it. Who doesn't want to try something they've never tried before?

"Newest" doesn't always mean "best," however – or even the most popular, as evidenced by the number of people rushing for ramen burgers in Toronto now.

A post shared by Yatai Street Food (@eatyatai) on

"Sometimes no matter how much you prep or order, it's never enough," wrote Yatai Street Food on Instagram last week after having to refuse some customers.

"We are so sorry if you came through and missed out tonight on our series of #RamenBurgers. It was a crazy day/night and we just fell short of the finish line."

Yatai Street Food is back at The Ex this year after a massively successful run with their Japanese street food stall in 2016, and, despite being a repeat option, they're still selling more than they can make or keep in stock.

Yatai, which is a sister project of Cabbagetown's Kanpai snack bar, is responsible for introducing Toronto to the ramen burger trend (which, naturally, was already a thing in New York) and remains the only CNE vendor of its kind.

The buns are made of grilled ramen noodles, and while they don't appear to have changed since last year, Yatai is offering some new variations on the burger itself.

The 'Last Samurai' burger, for instance, features fried chicken and two kinds of kewpie mayo.

A post shared by Yatai Street Food (@eatyatai) on

Of course, customers can still buy Yatai's 2016 hit, "The OG (beef)" burger if they'd like to... when it's not sold out.

The ramen burgers will cost you about $13 and at least an hour in line, according to Instagrammers at The Ex.

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Eat & Drink

Smeg to open first-ever Canadian flagship in Toronto

Food insecurity could bring this old disease back to Canada

Once-hyped Chinese restaurant known for its noodles shuts down Toronto location

$82 turkey at Loblaw-owned store in Ontario has shoppers stunned

Bizarre interaction at Tim Hortons in Toronto goes viral on TikTok

Major location of Toronto healthy eating chain to be replaced by a Tim Hortons

Thousands show up to Picklefest in Toronto for pickle-inspired food and drinks

Toronto grocery store responds to reports of Listeria outbreak