Fantastic authentic Japanese restaurant with great views of the Opera House!…read moreWe use to live in Okinawa Japan for 3 years and have been in search for fresh tasty Sashimi. We were told by our hotel concierge that this is the place to check out. It did not disappoint!! The service, food, Japanese whiskey and view were 10/10! Arigato Gozaimasu Shu and staff!

Can't imagine enjoy the gorgeous seafood at home during the special period. Much thanks to the boss…read moreand all the staff.

Small suburban Japanese restaurant. The diners were mainly Japanese families…read more Had the udon hot pot lunch set - on the menu it said rice, miso soup, and a dessert would be included with all sets. But we weren't served the rice or miso (would have been too full anyway) but a little disappointed we didn't get what was promised. Udon tasted authentic, the prawn inside the tempura shell was fresh and cooked well, loved the runny egg yolk and large mushrooms. Soup base was light and tasted good. I ended up slurping all the soup, even though I don't normally eat the soup in noodle dishes. The dessert was one small scoop of black sesame ice cream. The ice cream was served inside a ramekin, and the ramekin and ice cream was frozen and ice cream had ice shavings around it. I'm pretty sure they made it more than a week ago and froze it. Didn't taste fresh, and was very dry and hard. I pierced my spoon into the ice cream and a small piece came out. Tasted very frozen, hard, and could taste the freezer taste. I didn't have any more.

Sometimes I forget that Japanese is so much more than just sushi…read more Don't get me wrong, I scoff sushi like the best of them, but come dinner time, I tend to search for a hot dinner instead of some delicate cold sashimi. Hence my wariness when a recent family diner was booked at HaNa Ju-Rin in Crows Nest. But I was oh so wrong. I'm sure it helped that my sister-in-law is an expert orderer, but I still managed to be dumbstruck by every dish. There was gyoza, there was udon, there was king fish salad. Then there were slightly more adventurous dishes like giblets, intestines and beef tongue. And finally there was the dish that rocked my world: okonomiyaki. Sweet mercy this fried pancake slice of savoury deliciousness canNOT be good for you, but you'll definitely find me hoeing into one next time I have hangover. In fact, hangover or no, you'll be sure find me hanging out in front of HaNa again soon.

A small quaint charming Japanese restaurant which has an exquisite interior and a relaxing outside…read morearea. If you choose to eat inside, the reduced lighting gives it style and personal feeling. While never too busy it also has enough customers to indicate it is worth visiting. The noise levels are quiet enough to easily have a conversation without trying to shout over other people. There should never be any need to book in advance. The staff are very friendly and accommodating but it is important to realise that for most of the waitresses, English is not their native language. You should keep your order simple and clear to prevent mistakes. The food can simply be summed up as excellent. They have always been very quick in bringing out soups and starters so it is worthwhile ordering those. You can expect some variation in how long it takes to get your main meal depending on how busy they are as well as how long it takes to prepare the food. Their miso soup is decent and they have a fantastic karage. Their sushi, sashami and bento boxes are of very high quality and they take a lot of extra effort in making sure it is presented beautifully. I am a big fan of their chicken teriyaki bento box as it has variety as well as tasting great. They are fully licensed and even have Japanese beers on tap. I can't comment too much on the alcohol situation as I generally don't drink alcohol at Japanese restaurants but the other people I go with say it is acceptable. The price they charge for all of this is incredible. You will be surprised when you see how low the bill is. I would consider this place exceptional value and doubt there are many other places in the Chatswood area that have food and service this good with such low prices. I would consider Izakaya Arigato a hidden gem. Absolutely worth checking out if you are in the area and have a craving for a decent Japanese meal.

I love Izakaya Arigato! It's a cosy little establishment serving great food and small selection of…read moreJapanese beers on tap! Takes me back to a little Izakaya I ate at in Osaka! From Sushi to Ramen, Bento to Donburri; across the board the food is great and price is just as good! My favourites are the grilled salmon nigiri and the katsu don! If you love Japanese cuisine and don't want to venture into Westfield shopping centre, this is the hidden gem in Chatswood you've been looking for!

After spending nice & relaxing Sunday afternoon at Fire Fly Bar nearby to enjoy wines, I came here…read morewith a friend to add some food to finish a day. I initially thought of ramen for 5 sec, but then we agreed it's healthier and easy on stomach if we do soba instead. We both ordered draft beer - 'Orion' beer which is from Okinawa, and seiro soba (plain soba). The soba noodles were perfectly cooked, and I enjoyed the taste + texture. The dipping sauce was good, too and we finished to drink the sauce after adding hot water which was used to boil soba noodles. It was light, but good snack to satisfy my appetite.

I had a craving for okonomiyaki and this place has a good selection of them on the menu. Place was…read morefull at 7:30 pm on a Sunday night. It's a tiny little space, with about 6 table tops and seating for 8 at the counter. We didn't have a reservation but 2 spots at the counter opened up just as we got there. Seating at the counter is fun as you get watch them cook. It can get a little warm due to the teppanyaki plates but it's nice if you're feeling chilly. We ordered the agedashi tofu, the Jugemu okonomiyaki and chicken curry hot soba (the other house speciality is fresh made soba) to share between two. Ingredients and food were all fresh and beautifully cooked. Sadly, we were too full to order dessert. I only wish there had been more sweet sauce on the okonomiyaki.

Tatsuya is a lovely little Japanese sushi bar tucked away on the corner of Chatham Road and Dickson…read moreSt West Ryde. I went there for lunch this week and I found it to be the most wonderful place. The staff are very friendly, especially the two girls serving the food. The owner was there and he actually makes the sushi - dressed in his business shirt and little hat he looked really cute. He also impressed us by clearing tables - not many owners would do that when they have staff to do it. The food is sublime: if you try nothing else, try the soft shelled crab roll (10 pieces). The way it is presented is an absolute work of art. They serve both hot and cold meals, udon soup, noodles as well as a lot of salads - great with the hot weather. West Ryde is not exactly a hot spot for restaurants but maybe Tatsuya will change that.

First off, I want to say do not confuse this with Tetsuya the fine dining Japanese restaurant in…read morethe city. Tatsuya is one those of hidden gems in West Ryde. It is in a small space and is always packed. If you don't book a table beforehand during busy times, expect to eat at the sushi bar as that will be the only available space they have. The sushi is fresh and there are a lot of varieties in terms of their sushi rolls, which are humongous! They were happy to oblige our request to only have grilled salmon and grilled scallop when we ordered their grilled sushi set. The rice meals are delicious and good value for money, the servings are plentiful. My favourites are the chicken teriyaki, the chicken is swimming in their sweet teriyaki sauce and cooked tenderly, and the cheese katsu which is a delight for someone who loves cheese as much as I do. You can BYO but they will charge a corkage fee for each wine glass. They opened a second branch in Artarmon, which can only mean business is good. How can it not be if you serve consistently good food at decent prices?

Decided to try this as we always go to the usual suspects on Harris Street. Love this place. Nice,…read morecosy intimate atmosphere. I called ahead as we had 5 people and I remember it being pretty small. They had one table left inside. We had a range of dishes, including sashimi, sushi, tofu, tempura and karaage chicken. The food is nice and fresh. The karaage chicken was really nice and juicy and had a great tangy taste which I think is what the chicken was marinated in before it was crumbed and fried. The BBQ Wagyu main was a good size however it does not come with any sides like rice or miso. It was lovely and tender and just yum. The volcano inside out roll was filled with calamari and was a big serve. I liked how they had specials that were slightly out of the norm eg sand whiting tempura. They also had mushroom karaage but we ran out of space on our little table :)

I dot do many reviews and mostly use Yelp when wondering where a good place to eat is - obviously…read more:) It would be totally amiss of me however to not review this place. I'm a big fan of Japanese cuisine- have eaten all over the world and have dined at the best restaurants in Sydney from Tetsuyas to Koby jones etc. this place is by far the best Japanese restaurant in Sydney. The food is original, scrumptious and prompt. I couldn't possibly sing its praises enough, if you're anywhere in Sydney and feel like amazing Japanese food then try this spot. Best when warm as the seating is mostly al fresco but they also do take away!!!

I have been on the hunt for a new Japanese restaurant in the Cremorne/Neutral Bay area after the…read morequality of Sushi Samurai has dropped off. My friend recommended checking out Toshiya. Whilst it isn't the cheapest place to eat, the food quality is quite good. THINGS I LIKE: *Beef Tataki - I'm not usually a big 'raw beef' kinda person, but I could eat two servings of this dish easily. *Soft Shelled Crab - it comes with some semi-spicy mayo that is awesome. *Sashimi - it's good, it's fresh. *Tempura Dumplings *Udon - very tasty, I like the Chicken Teriyaki. THINGS I DISLIKE: *SLOW/INATTENTIVE SERVICE* - I've been here twice (Sunday night, Wednesday night), and both times I've noticed that they don't have enough waitstaff, and those they have are so busy you are often left sitting there waiting to wave them over. I'm still happy with the food, but I'm not thrilled with waiting 5-10 minutes to order because their staff aren't watching the tables just running food out.

I have been looking for a great Japanese restaurant and I have finally found one! A sign of a…read moregreat restaurant is a line out the door; this is found nightly at Toshiya. However Toshiya is only open for lunch on Friday & Saturday and is pretty quiet. The lunch specials are a must! Really inexpensive for what you get. Wonderful flavors, from sashimi, to mitso soup, followed by a crab roll...delicious. I highly recommend a visit if you are craving good Japanese. I definitely will be returning to try some of their dinner specials, in particular the Share Plate for 2.

Service lacking... even asking for water (several times) and still couple of our group didn't get…read morewater. We came at the end of lunch but still were able to have blue fin tuna and lobster sushi from the sushi train. Everyone who ordered off the menu pretty happy. So service 1 but food 3-4

We enjoyed a banquet of Japanese food at Umi Sushi in Haymarket…read more Umi Sushi have other locations in Darling Quarter and Town Hall. The Haymarket store is super big with a bar to sit at, a range of smaller tables and also some private rooms that also have karaoke. It is conviently close to central station and also the capitol theatre for those theatre lovers amongst us. We sat in a booth, ideal for the 6 of us in a quiet spot and the waiter served us a few cold Asahi's, perfect to accompany our first course - an array of sushi and sashimi. This was served in a huge sushi boat, which would be suitable for a party so you can try a few things. It was filled with kingfish carpaccio, smoked Toro, and a few types of nigiri sushi - fois gras, scampi, Umi, salmon belly, kingfish as well as a purple soft shell crab roll. Our favourite was the toro (salmon belly). It also had two new dishes, their Umi chirashi waffle ice cream cones, filled with sashimi (salmon or tuna), avocado and topped with konbu cream and a lotus chip. We then got a mix of hot and cold dishes in including Truffle cabbage, mentaiko omelette, grilled cheese scallops, grilled quail, mixed skewers and a wagyu steak platter. The final savoury dish was a soy milk broth hot pot which came with premium wagyu beef and a huge platter full of seafood and dry ice smoking from it for theatrics. We cooked this ourselves and mixed it all together while we waited. Ending on a dessert platter, we enjoyed some ice cream, matcha green tea cake and cheesecake. We were certainly satisfied by the end of this.