Nikuzo Japanese Restaurant

Value is often a part of our decision making when we want to find a place to eat. I mean, that would make perfect sense, because, who would want to pay large amounts when that doesn't reflect in quality. I guess my friends and I are the type of consumers that would not always mind paying for quality every once in a while. There is nothing that screams out quality more than a Japanese all you can eat yakiniku style buffet. To those not familiar with the this type of cuisine, it's very similar to that of Korean BBQ but the only difference, in my opinion, is that the quality of the meat is a lot better. Actually, the quality of vegetables are quite good too, so overall, this meal is worth every penny.

So now that we've established what Japanese yakiniku BBQ is about, let's look into the place I would like to share with you guys here in Sydney. For this trip, you will need to head off to Bondi Junction. The name of the is called Nikuzo, with the exact address being 1 Newland Street, Bondi Junction, NSW 2022. The easiest way to get to this place is to simply take the train down to Bondi Junction Station. From here, you should probably rely on your handy mate Google Maps. If I were to go to this place again, I would have no idea where to go.

Before you just show up to Nikuzo, I would highly recommend that you give them a call to book the time for your table. They tend to be quite famous for their quality and really awesome service, so it's highly recommended that you'd rather your folks book a table. If you're planning to head over on a weekend or say, Thursday or Friday night, I would say that it's almost a must to reserve a place. Just another thing that you should really keep in mind is to wear something that you won't wear again after this meal. If you've had any experience at all having a Korean BBQ or yakiniku, you will realise that the strong barbeque smell of the smoke will just stick on your clothes, your hair and everything you bring to the table. Now that you have been warned, the best approach towards dining here is to wear something that you will just put through the washes!

So now that you're here, be ready to a feast of some great grilled meats and a strong selection of dishes prepared from the kitchen team. This is what is really great about this place: you can order your desired meats, seafoods and vegetables to be grilled, as well as benefit from other items on the menu, like sashimi, salads, gyozas and even oysters. If I am not mistaken, you could either choose from one of their three menus, which are essentially the cheapest, the normal and the most expensive. The main difference between these three is the type of items you could choose from the menu. Obviously, the more you pay, the more items you're eligible to order. And this goes back to the point I made earlier about not minding to pay a higher price for the quality you receive. As you could see from the pictures that I will post below, we really took advantage of the oysters, which were quite fresh. We didn't expect the same quality of the oysters that you would get in Michelin starred restaurants, but honestly, these were really fresh and were very good.

We also took advantage of the unlimited edamame, which are the steamed Japanese beans, the green ones next to the plate of meat below. They are lightly seasoned with salt, and are just really fun to eat! I mean, considering that this is like a feast of meat, this is probably the best option for some vegetable to balance out the meal. But as per always, I am obliged to let you guys know what items on the menu are good here, since I am after all inviting you all to try this place:

• Ox Tongue: Don't be too fast to judge just because it's the tongue of a cow. This is something that people in Japan really enjoy and something that I've also come to really like. The ox tongue is lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and they came in thin slices. When I was in Japan, my friends and I would get a bunch of these to start off our meal since they're thin and will cook in just about a minute. They're quite light too so it's a good way to get the bbq going.



• Wagyu Beef Ribs: Now this sounds a lot better than the previous part. Pretty much almost everything that starts with wagyu and ends with ribs is almost a guaranteed to be good. Make sure you get loads of this while you're at it, because it ain't everyday that you get to grill up some wagyu beef ribs.
• Chicken Karaage: This is something that comes from the back kitchen and not from the grill in front of you. This is basically a dish of Japanese fried chicken, which when done right, tastes absolutely divine. You will trade over KFC any day for a basket of chicken karaage.
• Soft Shell Crab: Yes, for the high price you pay, you will also be able to get soft shell crab, and as many portions as you desire. These crabs are lightly seasoned, lightly battered, then deep fried. The result is a really tasteful dish of crab that you would be able to consume wholly, leaving nothing left on the plate. Just like the wagyu beef ribs, this is another dish that you really need to take advantage of!

Another thing they do really well here are the sauces. They have all kind of sauces to go with different items on their menu, whether it be for the grilled meats or the kitchen-made items. You also have the flexibility of mixing these sauces and coming up with your own perfect creation, which further adds on to the already awesome concept of cooking your own food. I would recommend cooking the fresh garlic in butter from the corn, until the garlic is fully cooked and soft. From here, you can mix the warm garlic with the sauce of your choice, and this, ladies and gentlemen, will give you a delicious garlic infused sauce. This won't be too strong on your palate since the cooked garlic is less strong than raw garlic. The taste will be subtle, and as per always, delicious!

There are many more options on the menu that I simply don't remember. On this note, I think it's fair not to move on more the main meal and head over to dessert. Yes, as hard as it may be, you should do yourself a favour and keep some room for sweets at the end. The selection for dessert is much smaller than that of the main menu, so you won't have a dilemma in picking what you'd like. What I would suggest that you get though, are two things.

• One, vanilla ice cream with matcha powder. I think they also have a coffee ice cream or another version with Bailey's or some alcohol on top, but I think a simple vanilla ice cream with green tea powder does the trick every time.
• Two, taiyaki. In other words, taiyaki is like a pancake stuffed with sweetened red bean paste, and comes in a shape of a fish. The ultimate combination for dessert is to order a few taiyaki fishies, and a few portions of the mentioned vanilla ice cream, and dip the taiyaki into the ice cream. This is a much more luxurious version of breakfast pancakes with syrup and ice cream. Clearly, we're taking things to the next level here at Nikuzo.



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I think I've mentioned enough about the food. Let's move on to talk about the service. Since the heart and soul of the place is run by Japanese people, you could expect the staff to be friendly and polite. One particular fault that I got out of my experience was that sometimes the staffs were very slow. Just when we wanted to order more food, or ask for something, there wasn't always some there to help us. Since the buffet had a time limit, we were keen on keeping up the momentum of our grill. This was frustrating at the beginning since we were all hungry, but we slowly grew into it and couldn't be too bothered.

Not to be mistaken, there are also other Japanese BBQ places in Sydney. I've tried the two other well-known ones, which are Koh-ya and Suminoya. I will link the websites to these two at the bottom in case you're interested. As a matter of fact, these two places are actually more famous than Nikuzo, since they're in the same chain of restaurants and probably has more power in advertising themselves. Anyhow, I feel that the quality of food at Nikuzo is slightly better. You will not be able to get a lot of extras other than the meat, salad and rice, like you would at Nikuzo, hence why your dollars go further here. Another thing that may or may not be important is the difference in ambience. The best ambience is definitely Nikuzo, since the other places are either too crowded or too un-Japanese like.

In conclusion, I must say that since moving out of Japan, Nikuzo was the closest experience I got to actually having a yakiniku meal in Japan. I love yakiniku and was there almost every single week for a period during my last year of high school, so I am quite familiar with the dishes and the structure. In saying that, I would recommend you guys to try Nikuzo over other Japanese BBQ concepts in the city as mentioned.

Nikuzo Japanese Yakiniku Restaurant - Ratings

1. Accessibility - 8/10;
2. Price - 8/10;
3. Selection - 10/10;
4. Staff Friendliness - 9/10;
5. Cleanliness - 9/10;
6. Overall - 9/10.

Urban Spoon - comments and recommendations on Nikuzo Japanese Restaurant Bondi Beach:Here

Koh-Ya Japanese Restaurant: Here

Suminoya Japanese Restaurant: here

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