Review Kagawa Japanese Cuisine - Canberra

We were able to dine at this restaurant without a booking, and we appreciated the BYO option. The food was enjoyable, but I couldn't rate it as high as some of the other Japanese restaurants I've been to. They were extremely busy with takeaway orders which, put some strain on the lady preparing the sushi and sashimi. Therefore out of all the dishes we ordered, the sashimi came out last, which was a little bit disappointing.

Next level delicious. The salmon nigiri tastes like it's legitimately just jumped off a plate from the streets of Osaka right into my mouth. Outrageously yum. Gyoza-yum, teppanyaki-yum, corn batai-yuuuuum, don-yum(would probably swap out for a ramen bowl next time), potato mochi-tasty but wouldn't get again. Fried banana a nice end to a great meal.

This was my second time dining here and I think I have found my favourite Japanese in Canberra. The food is fantastic, the service is quick and friendly, and the prices are good too. Just remember to really pull hard on the door to get in hahah 😉😅

They probably dislike me for ordering their largest set of sushi each time but honestly it's really very good. The fish is always really fresh and the variety is great. Comes with some pickled ginger and soy sauce, as well as some wasabi. I usually share it as a large meal between two, and I think it would be a great appetiser for a party of 4-6. I sometimes order a set of tempura or the rare beef sashimi, which is amazingly delicious, only complaint would be I wish there were more of it. They've always been really good to me, the set itself takes about an hour for them to make on busy nights so I appreciate them taking the time to do it. I think the ownership of the restaurant has changed hands a few times but the sushi and nigiri has always been super solid and it is my go-to each time.

Nice little seating area, the theming was cool. Rice dishes weren't the best and a bit on the small side, I don't recommend. The ramen was good! The sushi was good but wasn't really anything special. Overall everything felt average.

Nice little place for a quick feed, not as high quality as others but nice setting for a meal. BYO is appreciated. Veggie options.

Best traditional Japanese place in Canberra. Although they serve sushi, the reason to come here is for all of the traditional Japanese dishes. This is my safe place to bring people when you don't know what they will eat as they have a huge range of vegetable and meat dishes, from hot to mild. Food has always been fresh and clean.

The karage chicken was great. We found the ramen and other main dishes to be super bland though and very average. Same with the curry. It wasn't bad but was definitely just the most okay Japanese place I've ever been too. Lovely staff though!

this place is a joke. took 30mins for my order (gyudon) to arrive. the beef they used is the cheapest cut - lots of fat and lipids. very small serving too. ate half of my plate and left. i'm surprised why it has a high rating! it seeems like people in canberra aren't exposed to much japanese food, so this is already good enough for them. once you try the japanese food in sydney, you will never go back to this place.

A great little Japanese spot in Dickson. Good sushi, reasonable service, good price. Loved the tofu, edamame and tempura veg. Menu quite extensive, would recommend

Average japanese food made by Chinese. Service is slow but friendly.<br/><br/>I would not go back again as there are so many Asian restaurants in Dickson.

Kagawa is a cosy Japanese restaurant in Dickson. The prices here are unbeatable and the value for money is absolutely incredible. We opted for a mixed sushi/sashimi platter to start and we were not disappointed. The sashimi was incredibly fresh and flavoursome, I absolutely loved the powerful taste of the tuna sashimi mixed with just a hint of wasabi. <br/><br/>My main was the seafood udon, I've read that slurping is a sign of satisfaction and politeness, hopefully I didn't annoy anyone with my powerful slurps in recognition of the awesome food at Kagawa.

Great food and service. Seating can be a bit tight, especially if it is full house. Teriyaki salmon cooked very well. Their sake also hits the spot! Pricing quite affordable.

I had the teriyaki chicken lunch bentou, which wasn't very impressive. Usually a bentou will have more components to it, but this one was quite simple and relied heavily on the salty teriyaki sauce. The only redeeming feature was the price - $9.90. <br/><br/>My friend had the tempura donburi and she was disappointed with the texture of the tempura batter, it seemed to be made with the wrong kind of batter flour. <br/><br/>Overall, a disappointing meal and won't be returning here again.

This restaurant takes an outrageous amount of time to make. I have tried this place and it took 45 minutes to an hour to create a simple Bento box.The staff there are quite slouch and lazy as for it took 5 minutes for them to get me a bowel of rice. From this point of view, i recommend this restaurant for people who are very patient and like there good to be done properly with an big amount of time.

My partner and I love Kagawa in Dickson! It's one of those small, cute restaurants that serves delicious food and it's so cheap. We often go here on our budget date nights and hadn't been for ages (we had our fair share of eating out during our recent two month holiday in South America). So last night we headed to Kagawa and like every other time we visit, it didn't disappoint. We arrived at about 7:45pm on a Saturday night and didn't have a reservation. With a friendly hello and big smiles from the staff, this was no issues and we were seated quickly. Our table was soon set in front of us and we were given menus. We always have an idea of what we want to order here. So off we went and ordered the agedashi tofu, pork and prawn gyoza, tempura, soba noodles, a sushi set and an Asahi each. We asked if we could replace the small sushi rolls with cooked tuna instead of the seafood stick and the waitress quickly checked with the chef and was back in no time telling us that it was no problem. Our orders were taken quickly and within 10-15 minutes after ordering the first of the dishes had arrived at our table. One of the things I love about this place is that the dishes come out continuously and they're all great to share. When one plate was cleared, another would arrive and the empty plate was replaced with a full plate. Sometimes we order more if we're still hungry but we were satisfied after our little Japanese feast. We were given a warm thank you from the staff and we handed over $53 for everything! We walked out the door with a smile on our face as we always do when leaving Kagawa. We're heading to Japan next year and can't wait to eat all of the food!

Used to be our favourite Japanese in Canberra but their sashimi/sushi hasn't been as good the last few times we've gone. Nevertheless, they are exceptional value for money (a bowl of udon or rice with toppings for $10-12), and their tempura stays crispy even after sitting on the table for 20 minutes. Definitely recommend if you're after something other than sushi/sashimi.

Yam food, great service and cozy atmosphere. You are willing to pay more!. How delightful you can be when you just walk in this shop, hearing a warming greeting in japanese! It impressed me at first place! Service was really great, not only smiles on staff faces, also the fast-serving. Every dish we had was fresh and delicious, and also, served in a big portion. Price is way too reasonable. I'd like to pay $20 extra for this wonderful dinner experience, which I really did when I left as tips.

Not authentic Japanese foods at all. Bad experience poor service. Ramen is tasteless and sushi is way soaky

Not good enough. The nicest thing I can say about this place is that it's cheap. The food tends to be bland and inoffensive, but not worth paying someone else to cook. The atmosphere is weird, with a sort of 70s vibe that would be cute if it wasn't for the owner chastising his staff in full view of the customers. There are better alternatives a short walk away, so it's best to give it a miss.

Authentic Japanese!. Waiting staff were very friendly and knew their menu. Atmosphere is very good, even knew some of the songs they were playing in the restaurant. Beef entre was very salty but flavoursome. I had the tonkatsu Bento and the chicken looked quite dry at first but it was a really tasty fried chicken. Gyoza were spot on, croquettes were ultra cheesy, so delicious. In short, this was an enjoyable place to eat.

Will not come again. Sizzling dish was not sizzling at all. I can say the metal plate was just warm only. Sashimi tuna tasted weird. Not fresh. Ramen okay but i can cook better than here.

Boring. I ordered the seafood udon dish and it was the most boring noodle dish I've ever had. I've eaten 1000s of noodle meals so this is quite some feat. The seafood appeared to be a couple of prawns and a few pieces of mystery processed seafood pieces. There was virtually no flavour to the meal at all. <br/><br/>The fact that it was so rubbish and prepared by a chef tells me the chefs simply doesn't care at all. I find it very hard to believe a chef would serve up the boring dish that was given to me.<br/><br/>The first two drinks I ordered weren't even available. It's not like they had run out either as the restaurant had only just opened.<br/><br/>I felt totally ripped off and a fool for having eaten there.

I had never been to Kagawa before but I found the food was amazing. My partner and I shared gyoza, salmon sashimi, miso soup, teriyaki chicken, salmon sushi and seafood udon. We found the salmon was very fresh. The waitresses were attentive and helpful. One even noticed I was struggling with chop sticks so came around to offer me a spoon. I had a great lunch experience and would definitely go back.

Won't be going there again. Ordered the sushi/sashimi combo platter, pork gyoza and bibina ramen.<br/>Sashimi platter and gyoza was rather average, nothing to write home about.<br/>Was very much looking forward to the ramen however was hugely disappointed. The noodles tasted dough-y and undercooked, the soup broth was watery and tasteless and the vegetables could have been on par with cut up cardboard.<br/>Very disappointed, definitely won't be going back.

Review by Anisa from The Macadames. For a detailed review of Kagawa, please go to http://themacadames.com/2014/02/15/kagawa-canberra/.<br/><br/>Anisa - The Macadames. xx

Falling short of expectations. I've been here ten or so times over the past four years, but I don't think I'll be visiting again. On my last visit I ordered miso ramen and was brought what appeared, and tasted like, ramen noodles in plain miso soup. This may not be a specialist ramen restaurant, but trying to pass miso soup off as a proper soup stock is pretty poor. The katsu-don type sets are fine and decently executed (but then again, most Japanese restaurants use the same brand of 'katsu curry' so it's not hard to be consistent!) but there are more authentic Japanese restaurants in Canberra - or so I hope.

Authentic Japanese for cheap prices. I'd give the tempura a miss, the batter isn't right, but all other food is fantastic. Good agadashi tofu as long as they don't skimp on the sauce, same with the yakkitori...seems to depend on what chef u get. Still love going though.

Worst Japanese I've had in years. Salmon avocado rolls tasted like yesterday's with way too much rice and little anything else. Service average too especially for Japanese who are normally very good.

Cheap meals. Walked into this restaurant with high hopes as it was full of customers, but only to be disappointed. No doubt the food was cheap at ~$10 - 15 per meal, but it is not so fresh and didn't taste very nice at all. Just as a reference, we ordered a bento box, and udon soup.

Gyozo were okay, sashimi was good, tepanyaki beef was tough and with a glutinous sauce. Not brilliant - stick to the staples (sushi, sashimi, gyozo...) and it can be a very nice feed. Service okay.

Good food; average service. We went here for my birthday dinner. Friends of ours who had lived in Japan had previously raved about this place so I'd been keen to try it for a while. When we turned up they hadn't written down our booking and the place was packed so we then had to wait 10 minutes for a table. They apologised and gave us free drinks while we waited. <br/><br/>Once seated we ordered a range of izakaya-type fare and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing either. The sushi, however, was excellent, and the sushi chef was clearly Japanese. The rice was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and the sushi was perfectly rolled. <br/><br/>The service was unfortunately pretty average. We didn't get chopsticks until we asked for them and our dishes were dumped unceremoniously on our tables.<br/><br/>I'd go here again for the sushi, but I wouldn't go out of my way.

Worst teriyaki chicken I have ever had. This place looked promising.. had quite a few people inside.. but what a disappointment!<br/>I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Lunch Box Special. It came with miso, teriyaki chicken, rice, seaweed salad, green salad and pickles. The chicken was terrible. It was cut into tiny little pieces and had been deep fried until it was dry and crunchy and then coated in teriyaki sauce. <br/>I have never had teriyaki chicken that has been deep fried before - how lazy! If I wanted deep fry I would have ordered katsu! Which my friend ordered and said was delicious by the way! He agreed with me about my dish though. <br/>Shame I will never be going there again to try the katsu!<br/>The dark bits in the picture arent yummy caramelised bits unfortunately - they are hard dry crackly bits :(

Great place! Cheap, had excellent sashimi there before. Tonight had giant servings of tonkatsu which was delicious.

I found the food at Kagawa simple, tasty, fresh and cheap. Just how good Japanese should be really...

The menu is bright and colourful, and completely packed with pictures of each dish on both sides. So much to choose from! To try something new, I ordered the Avocado Capis - a sweet creamy milkshake that didn't taste like avocado at all. It's not even green. My friends tell me 'capis' is similar to Yakult. My partner ordered the Iced Lychee - extremely sweet and tasted like it had just come out of the can along with the syrup it comes in. Still refreshing. We started with the pork and prawn gyoza ($6.90). A little pan fried dumpling that surprises you with a small kick of chilli and spices when you're least expecting it. Not too bad. I chose the Seafood Udon ($16) as my main. The seafood included prawns, scallops, fish and crab stick mixed in a broth containing broccoli, bamboo shoots and seaweed.

I do like their lunch ‘sets’ and I think they are good value. If it’s not enough you could get a few extra sushi rolls (and pray it doesn’t take long to come).