This is by far the best Japanese restaurant in Canberra - but also one of the best I’ve ever been to, full stop. As good as any I’ve been to in Tokyo, and I have been to many. Now, I admit the flavor is a little different from ordinary Japanese, and that may not suit the purists and the psueds. Also one of the best restaurants in Canberra. Owner/chef Hao-san is spot on here.
A big thank you to the team at RAKU tonight. I brought my family along for a special occasion and they treated us so well. This was the first time some of them had tried Japanese food and they were blown away not only by the quality of food, but the service that came with it. We had some special requirements and they not only catered to us but they looked after us so well.
I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you to everyone there.
Blue Finn tuna sashimi tastes really good. Not recommend chicken skewers. Drinks (watermelon) are good. Will come again :)
We visited Raku in 2018 and it made our list of best restaurants for that year. When our foodie crew opted to go to Canberra, our only request was that we wanted to return to Raku. It is a sleek and contemporary fine dining Japanese restaurant with an extensive ala carte menu, as well as a tasting menu.
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This Japanese restaurant is located on Bunda Street. My friends and I visited here as some of them have been here previously and highly recommended we dine here. Everything about this evening was exquisite and very glad we ate here. The service is attentive and lovely.
The dishes are classic Japanese however they gave a contemporary take on them. Some of my fellow diners went with the Hao San’s Tasting Menu. Excellent value at $80 per guest with a minimum of two people. Great range of a variety of food including sashimi, raw seafood, salad, and cooked items as well as dessert.
I opted for a la carte as not the biggest seafood fan which with Japanese you would expect a tasting menu to be seafood heavy. I was very happy with my choices. I started off with Hotate Truffle Nigiri. Chopped raw scallop and truffle sat upon rice were delectable. I then had the Gyu Hoho Nikomi which was a 6 hour braised wagyu cheeks served with wasabi sour cream and dutch carrot. Tasty tender pieces of beef were amazing and that sour cream went well with it. I had a serving of steamed rice with it. I then had some tempura of Hana No Zukkini. Stuffed zucchini flowers with a filling of feta, goma, and tofu paste. Served with dashi broth. The flowers had a lovely light tempura batter surrounding it. It was a tasty bite.
I finished off with Yuzu Kurimu. A yuzu and matcha pannacotta sat the bottom of the dish. Very creamy and delicious flavour. On top of it was a layer of sake jelly. Lovely touch. On top of this sat cookie crumbs, lychee sorbet, and mango pearls. These textural elements provided the necessary coldness and crunch to this dessert.
Had a mocktail of Murasaki. Quite a sweet drink of blueberry, lychee, lime, and jasmine syrup. It was a delightful looking drink.
Really worth sampling this restaurant as it wins on ambience, service, and food.
My husband and I had our 6 year anniversary lunch there yesterday. We had express lunch aka feed me option and sparkling sake. We chose the barramundi instead of the steak. The food and sake were amazing. Sashimi was melting in your mouth. Love the miso soup it was not salty at all! The sushi rolls were interesting and wrapped with crispy bits. Staff were so attentive. Highly recommended to anyone!
Booked for a Tuesday night about two months in advance. Was glad I did because we definitely got a nice table for two by the window. We decided to order the tasting menu. Absolutely loved the food. The scallops were sourced from Hokkaido and were very sweet. The sashimi was fat, fleshy and rich. We liked the truffle nigiri. I was surprised as we’d never understood the truffle hype, until we ate this and finally understood the power of truffle being paired with other foods so beautifully. They did forget our drinks order though. So we had to remind them after an uncomfortable long time. Also, wasn’t impressed upon arrival it took ages for someone to notice us standing at the door waiting to be seated. Some staff saw us but looked away as though it wasn’t their duty. Overall, still a great experience and nice restaurant.
Excellent! Amazing flavours, food selection and service. Definitely worth the price for a special night out. Tasting menu is highly recommended and the best value for money.
The cocktails are an absolute treat and really add to a special night out
Appetizers are really nice. Roasted eel is the best I’ve ever had. But no some sashimi... Not tasted enough as it in Japan, also the beef.... Generally, it is a good place to go in Canberra.
Food: 4.8/5 (I’m harsh)
Service: 10000/10
Had the royal banquet and service got me feeling like royalty. Food was sublime: would like to have some fattier tuna in the sashimi but no big problem - selection was amazing and I trust the chef.
Again service was amazing. Had a gentleman with a silver Casio with watch. The attention to details and to our enjoyment made things special.
Thank you guys.
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Visited again iin February 2020 as a couple sitting on the kitchen bar watching the highly skilled chefs. Incredible quiet teamwork. We had the $80 banquet. Great value given the quality.strongly recommended.
On a mid weeknight, Raku was really busy even for our early 6:30 pm sitting. Our party of four dined in a small booth which created an intimate environment, allowing for private conversations. If a couple, consider sitting at the counter and then being entertained by the sushi chef and the very competent cooking and wait staff.
We went with the $80 tasting menu which was truly outstanding. It started with Merimbula rock oysters ( served on a huge bowl of ice and a captivating ice sculpture), and Tasmanian salmon tartar with Yuzu miso and a wonderful squid ink cracker. The presentation and the unusual and fine flavours were outstanding.
We then had a diverse mix of sashimi and nigiri.
The tempura zucchini flowers, feta, tofu with a dashi broth was a sumptuous mix of delicate flavours.
The Canadian scallops with jalapeño, green apple, etc had a gentle kick and brought out the intense scallop flavour.
This was followed by a complex and flavour packed gyoza, comprising Australian wagyu with truffle oil and ponzu mustard.
The grain fed scotch fillet ( served medium rare) was perfect and nicely accompanied by heirloom tomato salad, fried quinoa and a gently spiced tofu. It complemented the steak really well.
The wine list is excellent as it features many varieties from many small winemakers in many parts of Australia, including the Canberra region. We had a Mount Gambier riesling which went well with food ( not as flinty and acid as some) and an Adelaide Hills Gamay and Pinot Noir, a medium weight wine which went well with the latter dishes.
The meal was beautifully finished with roasted sesame ice cream with caramelised almonds, sticky miso caramel and matcha wafer.
Overall, a first class dining experience with wonderful presentation and delicate flavours, with great wine and very good service.
Highly recommend for a special night out.
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4.3
We were super impressed with Raku, a stylish modern Japanese restaurant. We chose it carefully as a special restaurant experience for our stay in Canberra. Our research was sound. We were delighted with the experience.
We chose the feed me option at $80 a head. We thought it offered a range of fantastic dishes. It wasn’t easy to choose favourite dishes as they were all good. The oysters were delicious and the squid ink cracker both cute and tasty. The sashimi was first class - so fresh and beautifully chilled - as was the nigiri. The tempura zucchini flower was gorgeous and delightfully flavoured. The Canadian scallops were terrific and we adored the Wagyu gyozas as well. The tomato salad was cute and the scotch fillet beautifully prepared and cooked. The miso to finish the savoury courses was beautiful. This is no ordinary miso. It was notable for its quality and depth of flavour. The toasted sesame ice cream to finish was a beauty. Great depth of flavour and not too sweet.
Little things matter here. We noted that the soy sauce and wasabi being used seemed to be very good quality. The wasabi was particularly good.
Design and decor is lovely throughout the restaurant. It’s a classy and lovely space. We were lucky enough to get a booth I assume because we had booked some time ago. There are advantages and disadvantages to a booth. The extra privacy is great but you can be a little out of sight for wine top ups and reordering. Overall it’s well worth doing
The wine options are good here. There’s a good range of quality wines at reasonable prices. We had a riesling and a Pinot noir fanatic blend.
Service was excellent throughout the night. We had a succession of servers who all knew their role well and were nice throughout. My booking experience was a good one too. All done online with multiple reminders.
This is a very good restaurant. We highly recommend it.
Every single dish on the Hao San Tasting menu was so delicious and beautifully presented. The cocktails were also very refreshing and tasty. The customer service was friendly, attentive and accommodating. The atmosphere was classy and lively. We were there for lunch on a Tuesday and it was pretty busy, so we highly recommend booking a table. We will definitely come back to Raku next time we're in Canberra.
Absolutely amazing, delicious, fresh and prompt. Had our anniversary lunch at Raku with their tasting menu and some wine. When I go back next, definitely trying their whiskey tasting paddle. Highly recommended. Thank you Raku for a memorable dining experience! We will be back.
Really enjoyed my experience, a solid combination of lovely food and atmosphere. Efficient service that's not over the top. A nice surprise was the outstanding wine list that was unexpected given the cuisine.
Lunch or dinner, recommended. (I like the booths) But book!
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Raku is an absolutely amazing place! We had booked for 8 of us for a celebratory weekend and everyone recommended Raku. We were all very glad we did as it was our highlight for the whole weekend. Being a larger group we got to sit in the private room and had the tasting menu. It was so nice having an more quiet area just for our group. The staff as well were so nice and friendly, and made us all feel very special. In particular one who I didn't catch his name but he impressed us with his languages and humor and was all round amazing. He also was able to pick up on that two of us were Kosher based on dietary requests and was able to substitute certain foods with no issues at all. The food itself was so unique and fascinating but also very delicious, and was so well presented like nothing I had ever seen. There were so many new things I tried that night that I never had before and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I can't recommend Raku enough! Thank you so much for making our night so great!
Wow! Amazing food. Had the Hao San’s Tasting menu and Enjoyed all the dishes. Flavourful and the produce was of high quality. The service was great and loved observing the open kitchen. Lovely dining experience can’t wait to return for more.
Incredible food, we probably got a bit carried away with our order as the portions were quite generous but everything we had was amazing. Our favourite was the popcorn shrimp. Can't wait to visit again soon.
Best Japanese in Canberra. Must book first as they book out very quickly. Great for a special occasion. Everything was really delicious and service was amazing.
Wonderful and really tasty drinks menu. Great recommendation from staff too.
Have been meaning to go for months and I'm happy to say the my expectations were blown away. The cocktails were perfectly balanced ways to start the meal. The atmosphere from the open kitchen and the fire grill immediately transport you away from CityWalk.
We had the Hao San Tasting menu, which was perfectly portioned and a great journey through the various plates they offer. We were so excited for every page and so sad to finish them. Enjoy your time! You will not be disappointed.
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