Japanese Resturants In Melbourne?

[R-sanichi]

My wife and I are trying to find Japanese resturants in Melbourne that serve Japanese Japanese food, not Australian Japanese food!

From the eastern suburbs to the city, all we can find so far are places who claim they are Sushi resturants, when what they call sushi varies of three different types of fish and some hand rolls i've never even seen in Japan. W.T.F??????????

This is serious and any help will be appreciated. (I'm not just complaining).

I miss my local 105yen Kaiten Sushi place in f*kuyama. (two of the staff were Skyline owners, and they'd always make me special dishes when I walked through the door, which was about twice a week. I think there was a level of respect and appreciation becauase we had "Skyline minds".)

[Rezz]

Sorry can't answer your question about Melbourne, but I've found after 11 months of searching in Perth, that 8 out of 10 so called 'Japanese' restaurants are actually run and owned by Korean/Chinese/Malay/Philipine/Singaporean people. The 2 places that ARE genuine Japanese restaurants don't advertise and are quite small or don't have flashy style establishments.

It's kinda like an Aussie going to Japan and opening up a Russian restaurant...

[Beer Baron]

try the victoria section of the forum. someone there may be able to point you in the right direction. or come to sydney. there are some great japanese restaurants here. owned by japanese people. a few really good sushi places, even a real japanese style izakaya

[R31Nismoid]

I dont know if is indeed the way its meant to be... But i went there and i enjoyed it better than anything anywhere else

http://www.ikuizakaya.com.au/

Also Sushi Chef on Clarendon St, Sth Melb... but thats more a quick eat/take away... rather than a go out for dinner kinda place

[akeenan]

メルボルンに日本のレストランがないですよね

ive looked, the five times ive travelled back and fourth all ive found is chinese restaurants saying they are japanese too ... but they clearly are not ! i went into one and tried to order in japanese and they had no idea .....

however there are a few asian/japanese supermarkets in the cbd(bit pricey) but they sell things other places dont ....

国へ帰りたくないですよね！

[devil jin]

Sorry can't answer your question about Melbourne, but I've found after 11 months of searching in Perth, that 8 out of 10 so called 'Japanese' restaurants are actually run and owned by Korean/Chinese/Malay/Philipine/Singaporean people. The 2 places that ARE genuine Japanese restaurants don't advertise and are quite small or don't have flashy style establishments.

It's kinda like an Aussie going to Japan and opening up a Russian restaurant...

yep heaps of those in sydney as well rezz. they're everywhere.

[R-sanichi]

I dont know if is indeed the way its meant to be... But i went there and i enjoyed it better than anything anywhere else

http://www.ikuizakaya.com.au/

Also Sushi Chef on Clarendon St, Sth Melb... but thats more a quick eat/take away... rather than a go out for dinner kinda place

Hey thanks R31Nismoid! That Iku Izakaya place looks about right, the menu looks good (though the prices are 2 to 3 times the average price in Japan - but if its tasty, I'll be happy to pay.)

Edited October 20, 2006 by R-sanyon

[[WLDCRD]]

I went to a place called Oritas. Damn expensive but damn good! Lucky i didnt have to pay! haha It was only so expensive cos i had a wagyu beef steak (if you can call it a steak) haha everthing else is about the same. dont know if they have a website but check this out:

http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/?a...enue_url=oritas

[taiphan]

Hanabishi on king st..

very good traditional japanese dishes..

very pricey..but good.. try the toothfish...

[R31Nismoid]

Hey thanks R31Nismoid! That Iku Izakaya place looks about right, the menu looks good (though the prices are 2 to 3 times the average price in Japan - but if its tasty, I'll be happy to pay.)

Yeah it isnt somewhere you would go for a bite to eat each week.

More of a outing place as it is costly, guess they can charge for it cause no-where else does it.

When we went with 4 of us we just went nice and easy

2x Yakitori Platter $38ea

2x Sushi and sashimi combination $40ea

It was around $200 by the time a few beers were thrown into it.

So not that bad for around $50 a person, 2-3 drinks each... and walked away 100% full which i dont often do as i eat heaps.

[West]

There is a decent one near the conner of Lonsdale and some street which i forgot lol but near China Town, you should see it easily as it has glass all round with lots of Red lanterns.

Then there is another one on WERE ST (Off beach rd) called Surf and Turf.

Both of these from what i see are actually Japanese own and run.

For Sushi and Sashimi, i think the one near Myer in Chadstone is good.

[sam]

Try Matsumoto on Lygon Street in East Brunswick

http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayObject...A57D3/vvt.vhtml

[Leewah]

Hanabishi - King St

Ocha - Kew

Orita's - South Yarra

Koko - Crown

Shira Nui - Glen Waverley

[Kaz200]

ooh Koko at Crown is good.. expensive tho.. Teppanyaki was great and he was definately a Jap chef.. don't know about the rest of the staff.. not cheap tho but it's in the Entertainment Book so we save a bit of money at least.

Matsumoto is good, very very good service there, not the cheapest but cheaper than Koko.. its up the mid-north end of lygon st 5min drive from the italian area.

On King st there's Tori Matsu, they have all you can eat dinner for about $25.. you get a bbq at the table with a plate of marinated meats/fish etc to cook yourself. You have 1.5hrs limit and you'll need to book, we've been turned away before. They have a normal menu as well, food is pretty good, but it's been getting busier lately.

Anyway you'll find that many Jap dishes that are also served in Japan aren't even traditional japanese and were in fact Western/Portugese/Chinese etc inspired. So no matter how 'Japanese' the restaurant is, chances are they still serve imported dishes eg California rolls, noodles, gyoza, curry, tempura and even teppanyaki.

But in saying that I'm not sure what they serve in Japan so I'm not sure what you're expecting exactly..

You can find a list of restaurants here:

http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/restaurant_melbourne.php

I wish there were more Jap supermarkets around.. it's hard to find some ingredients sometimes.

[R-sanichi]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I think me and my wife will check the menus of all your suggested places.

Great news is, we found Fuji Mart in Prahran. Its next to the Prahran market, behind KFC on Chapel St. Its a real Japanese supermarket! So good...... any thing from Japan (almost), including beer. (not beer made in Singapore with Japanese brand names on the bottle - you know the ones i'm talkin about). So now my wife can cook all the Japanese dishes with the right ingredients at home.

[Zombi]

A few years ago I was on a holiday in Japan and had the most delicious fried crab ever in Akihabara. I don't remember what it was exactly, but it was basically a ball of deep-fried crab meat with the claw sticking out of it. Does anyone know anywhere in or around Melbourne I might be able to get something like it?

[Ronin 09]

Hanabishi - King St

Ocha - Kew

Orita's - South Yarra

Koko - Crown

Shira Nui - Glen Waverley

begins and ends with Shira Nui in Glen Waverley.

awesome.

also the only sushi chef in Melb that is trained to cut blowfish!