Reviews for Ramen Isshin, Ricky Ricardo's, and La Cubana

Ramen Isshin, Toronto's latest restaurant venture from Koji Zenimaru of Kingyo Toronto, opened days before 2014, and is receiving strong customer reviews on its Yelp page. A stone's throw from Kensington Market, patrons are invited to enrich their broth by grinding roasted sesame seeds at the table with a mortar and pestle. If audience participation is a turn-off, the menu also features takoyaki, donburi, and chicken karaage. [Eaterwire]

A few doors down, Ricky Ricardo's kitchen is open and this BlogTO review leaves no space to question the Latin cuisine's authenticity and vibrant energy. Chef Hilda Soriano's creations seem to be helping owner Rico Khan find the balance between cool club and sumptuous eats. After a few years of failed business ventures, the space may have finally turned the corner. [BlogTO]

The Globe and Mail's Chris Nuttall-Smith has published a mostly admiring, at times poetic, review of La Cubana, the Cuban diner in Roncesvalles run by Corinna Mozo. As Nuttall-Smith says: The pork shoulder is "a sweet, jiggly, porcine beauty," and the grilled fish sandwich combined with a beer equals "noon-time nirvana." The joys of the Cheap Eats-certified diner extend to the reviewer's five-year-old son, and clearly outweigh the occasional overcooked shrimp, and some inconsistencies from the kitchen. [The Globe and Mail]
[Photo Credit: La Cubana] [Official Website]