Thrilled to find a no-fuss, authentic Japanese sushi bar. The fish is fresh, well prepared with sushi rice done well. You can tell the elderly husband and wife team take pride in what they do. The friendly and warm service they deliver really is the cherry on top
Absolutely delicious and quality ingredients. We got the no. 8 and was particularly impressed by how fresh and tasty it was. Would definitely come back again to try their other sushi!
lovely couple who handmake the sushi to order. Exceptionally good value and one of the best in the area. Definitely worth coming in again
Fresh ingredients, carefully prepared right in front of you; a guaranteed win run by a wholesome Japanese couple. It's cash only though so you have to be prepared for that!
Popula Japanese take away. Three words. THIS IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!! I was in the area for a friend’s birthday so on the way I decided I wanted sushi. Well I chose the right place for sure. Highly recommend, great food and service :)
I am a Japanese that recently moved from the South East side of Melbourne to nearby area. Nice little sushi bar run by Japanese couple. My first time here and I will keep coming back!
My favourite takeaway sushi shop! Cleanly prepared and really fresh, authentic nigiri, sashimi and maki/hand rolls. I will definitely be coming back again and again. Would 100% recommend it, particularly if you live around the Ivanhoe area.
They are the tastiest, freshest sushi around Ivanhoe. The Japanese couple is ultra-cute and polite. Only bad thing is it's cash only and you have to wait about 10 min to pick up your food (cos it's made on the spot)
Lovely place with traditional sushi run by an elderly Japanese couple. Incredibly friendly, lovely service and delicious food. Have options more available for a western palate and always ask about wasabi (for those who can’t handle it).
They catered my aunty’s 60th birthday. Easy pick up. The sush was delish. Great serving sizes and variety. Generous servings of salmon for each sushi. Also provided plenty of soy sauce for the event.
The best sushi in Melbourne.Lots of unique vegetables inside the Vegetarian sushi.The staff are friendly and kind.A very professional business🙏The prices are very good.
Cute little takeaway sushi shop run by an adorable Japanese couple. Sushi is made fresh to order and neatly packed into plastic takeaway containers. The sushi rice can be a bit vinegary at times and make sure to clarify how much wasabi you'd like as they are heavier handed than standard Melbourne sushi shops. Great local place in the middle of suburbia!
Sushi was freshly made in front of you. This is a takeaway restaurant but they provided limited seats for customer who hoping to dine in. It will be served like the pictures shown. The sauce plate is so cute. We ordered a large combo which have 24 pieces (sushi, sashimi and rolls). Two words, clean and delicious.
Please do come here if you want some authentic sushi made with fresh ingredients with affordable price (:
Sushi served in container boxes may not appear to be as delicate as what the fancy places serve. However, they are made with SKILLS, love and passion by a Japanese sushi chef (yeah, they ARE from Japan, not like what the rumors spread about the couple who runs the eatery being Chinese). They are also one of the friendliest and loveliest couple that I have met in the f&b line. Very polite. Very humble. They were smiling the whole time while I talked to them. The couple even thanked me for coming all the way to try out their sushi (during my first visit).
I will definitely come back again to taste more sushi, can't wait!
Authentic sushi made by hand, to order. This shouldn't be classed as 'fast food', it's 'slow food' and done very well. The couple are so friendly and focussed on their work, it seems like every piece is being put up for judgement and has to be perfect. I don't get to this place often enough. Remember to phone ahead at busy times - maybe 1 hour on a Friday night.
If you haven't tried it yet, you need to go!
Little Picky Very Hungry
+4.5
Luckily we happened to be around Ivanhoe, or else we wouldn’t have found this little gem🎐
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We ordered NO.1 NIGIRL ($13) & NO.33 NIGIRI & SASHIMI ($15) 🐟 they were freshly made to order 🔪 sushi and sashimi came with generous portion size, you can really taste the freshness in your mouth! 👅Each piece of handcrafted sushi is a work of art. You can tell the owner is a skillful sushi chef with passion. The Best sushi in town!!🍣👍🏻👍🏻other than Hinoki in Fitzroy
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It’s authentic and great value for money. I wish I lived closer to that area 😭 Although this is a takeaway shop, there are still some seats for you dine in. And don’t expect the wait time to be quick, it takes time and dedication to master the craft of sushi👨🏻🍳So I would recommend to placing your order over the phone at least an hour in advance.
Freshly prepared Japanese food made to order. We ordered No 19 platter (sushi and sashimi), and it was beautiful. Fresh, lots of variety and a generous serve. I'd recommend ringing and ordering at least an hour ahead of pickup to give the owners time to hand slice & make up your meal. Well worth it!
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UPDATE 02/12/2017
Back for more freshly made Sushi and Sashimi with extra Wasabi .... 15 minutes wait is all good .... still extremely good for $15.00!
PREVIOUS
It's a Culinary art not just take-away food .....
Simplicity at its best .... it look simple, but intricate, awesome, authentic, fresh, efficient and take-away only.
Popula is a "no frill" take-away shop with two entries; front main street and rear car park. The rear entry/car park is always busy but the best place to park. The shop itself is small, tidy, organised, clean and efficiently set up. Plenty on the menu, easy to navigate and comes with photos on the wall, bench-top and on a printed form too.
A soft spoken artisan "senior" couple of husband & wife (I think) efficiently and "seem" effortlessly operating this place. All Sushi & Sashimi are lovingly hand-made by the couple, Tsuma-san does most of the preparation and Otto-san makes more of those intricate delicacies, watching him making these "culinary art" while waiting is a joy in itself.
More importantly, fresh, taste fantastic and value for money, $9.00 for a Lunch pack and $9.00 for five "big" Inari .... unbelievable ... yes, we will come back for more.
Food is an art .... Trust that they can pass on this culinary art to the next generation as we all would like to enjoy these for a long long time. Domo arigato gozaimasu. JT-31/08/2017.
Popula has the freshest sushi in Melbourne! The Japanese couple who make it are lovely and take great care in preparing the food. I got the nigiri and sashimi and it was amazing!
Visited on a Friday around 12pm and was the only one in the shop - great time to visit and the sushi was prepared quickly.
Small little shop to take away sushi, operated by I think Couple Japanese, very polite and friendly, clean and tidy shop.
Another option which closer to my home to take away sushi. The sushi rice was a little dry to my preference, fresh sashimi.
The freshest most authentic sushi in Melbourne! Run by a lovely old Japanese couple who are always super nice and enthusiastic. My favourite is the Nigri & Sushimi platter which ensures you get a wide variety of sushi.
A small establishment hidden inside Ivanhoe. You wouldn't expect the quality of sushi produced by this shop from the plain outside appearance. The prices are very reasonable compared to other sushi places and their options give you a nice variety. The raw fish options (salmon and tuna) are nice but not amazing (such as offered by Suzuran and Hinoki). Will always manage to drop by for lunch whenever I'm in the area.
I love this place and the lovely couple who own and run it. Lovely fresh sushi made with care, not speed - so make sure you have the time to wait, or just order ahead for pick up later on. And bring CASH.
Pardon the half eaten sushi I got impatient...3rd time ive returned to Popula and ill definitely be returning..fresh sushi and sashimi at a fair price..home made wasabi..a definite must try..Warning: Largely take out--there aren't many seats to dine in and its cash only
This tiny little shop is run by a friendly old Japanese couple who make everything themselves, so might be a bit of a wait. It is well worth it. The fish is all fresh daily and the rice in particular is well seasoned and cooked.
Melissa Clayton-Smythe
+4.5
Authentic Japanese takeaway run by experienced Japanese couple. Always fresh, well priced and tastes great. Worth the wait time. Great platters for parties available.
No frill sushi take away style shop. Run by a Japanese couple making quality sushi, nigiri. They can get very busy & if you going to sit down & eat looks like staff gets tiny bit annoying as there are no plates or anything and orders kept coming. Fresh ingredients. Taste was good! Great party platters etch. Overall rating 3.8*
I've been coming here for years for fresh, delicious sushi and the wonderful service of the Japanese couple who own this restaurant. Best sushi in Ivanhoe.
Got sashimi takeaway. It's an experience. Sit down and watch the man cut the fish and the woman prep. They are friendly, their accents and broken English almost part of the play.
The environment is simple, quiet, nothing to disturb you.
The service is wonderful.
The food was great, fresh, and the wasabi is hands-down the best in town. Ask for more.
I recommend! Will come again.
After seeing all the positive reviews I just had to try this place out for myself. True to the other reviews, this takeaway is run by a husband and wife team operating out of a small shop. The menu is extensive and the aroma of perfectly vinegared rice makes anyone's taste buds water. Opted for one of the large platters so that I could have a taste of everything. Wait time was a bit on the long side and thus is because they have a thriving business. My assessment of the sushi and sashimi is probably a 7.5/10 - probably on the tough end but I do score hard when it comes to Japanese food. Overall a very enjoyable takeaway meal but my local trumps this place. Definitely back again if I'm in the area.
Everything that Popula serves is delicious and very authentic. Very highly regarded in the Japanese community - one Japanese friend who lives out in the western suburbs recommended it to me!
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Nothing fancy here. This is a takeaway shop. But for those of you who craves to eat excellent nigiri sushi and you don't care too much about being serves in a restaurant, this is the place for you. An old Japanese couple ran this place. Husband Chef. Wife Sous Chef/cashier/waitress.
Simplicity is never simple and sushi is definitely one of those craft which requires time, dedication and talent to be any good.
Most people always start with "are the fish fresh?" when they ask about the quality of a sushi. But to me, the soul of a sushi, regardless if it is a maki or nigiri, lies in the rice. Which rice to use? Which Kirin? How much salt and seasoning? What level of moist should it be? How warm was your hand when you were prepping the sushi? How tight should you press?
It is because of this that I'm rating this place 4stars. The rice. Not many places do the rice right for me. This is one of the few places where I refrained from using the soy sauce because I wanted to taste everything the chef wanted me to taste.
Only problem with this place is...don't come during peak hour...when too rushed, the quality drop. Not too much, but I can tell. And also you can't eat here. Best sushi experience is at the counter. I can write an essay about this. Nvm. Being a takeaway joint...it can never fulfill it's full potential as customer will not be able to taste it at it's optimum.
For purist sushi enthusiast only.
Best sushi in Melbourne by a long way. On the many occasions I've been here, the owners have always been super friendly and the sushi is made to order. So fresh and tasty. You're never waiting long which makes it all the more better. Definitely come down and give it a try. You won't regret it.
Best sushi, sashimi, nigiri etc I have had in Melbourne, by a long shot. Proper japanese food, made by an older japanese couple, all freshly put together when you order.
If you are having an office function or a home party, I would totally recommend getting one or two of their assorted trays of sushi rolls. Guaranteed to be a hit.
Its not a eat-in place, its not fancy looking, they only take cash (similar to most places in Japan). Nevertheless, the dishes are wonderful, melt in your mouth.
Freshly made sushi. That you can't go passed! Love this place, always consistently delicious with the friendliest staff you'll ever meet. If your looking for some fresh sushi/Japanese check this place out!
You will be in for a suprise. I used to work near Ivanhoe and didn't know what to eat for lunch one day and stumbled across this small, not exactly attractive looking japanese take away. Boy am I glad I went in, because it is then that I have found the best sushi place in the whole of Melbourne! It was pleasant surprise! The sushi there are just to die for. Super fresh and the chef really take his time preparing each sushi. They are made to order not those cold hard sushi rolls made by chinese or Koreans. And to whoever who said the owners are chinese in the comment below, I can assure you they are japanese- because I am chinese who have studied japanese!
This place is incredible! So fresh and tasty and the staff were lovely! Will most definitely be coming back!
Great value, great food, great service. I've been eating here for over 20 years and I've never been disappointed. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.
Fresh and Authentic. The couple who runs this sushi business ares synthetically Japanese from Kyoto!!!!
They have been in business in Ivanhoe for more than 20 years.
Their food is simply prepared and not laden with sauces. The food is dealt with respect and hygiene is paramount.
I don't eat sushi prepared in mass or at shopping centres.
My local fav!. This place is great, I'm a foodie and chef and this is one of the nicest sushi shops going around! fresh good quality ingredients not doused with cheap sweet mayonnaise, price is on par with any decent sushi joint! no idea what winks is on about maybe go back to sushi sushi if you want cheap and nasty!
Amazing sushi. I love the sushi here, it's so fresh and delicious. I highly recommend.
Doumo arigatou gozaimashita. Consistantly good sushi/sashimi made fresh to order. The owners are lovely too and the shop is very quaint.
Consistently good and genuine sushi always worth a visit
9.75/10 - Best Sushi In Melbourne. I've been coming here for the last 8 years and I can safely say that this is the best sushi I've ever had. It is fresh and tastes authentic; it is made by a lovely Japanese couple who are very friendly. The "$8 Lunch Box" is value for money and is filling. Don't be fooled by food-court sushi chains, this is what real sushi tastes like.
Food: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Ambience: 10/10
Price: 9/10
I really like this little sushi place. When you walked into the shop, you will be welcome and greeted by the lovely shop owners. The sushi is freshly made after taking orders, so it might take a little waiting time, but it is worth for waiting.
Actually Japanese. What a find. You can actually speak Japanese in this place and be understood, unlike all the other sushi places in Melbourne. Very friendly owners/chef. Prices are okay, the Nigiri box has become my favourite lately.
Oishikatta desu!
After 12 years in Tokyo, it was great to find Popula through Urbanspoon. Stood in the shop for 15 minutes chatting to the lovely owners as they freshly prepared a delicious Nigiri set for me. Felt like I was back in my Tokyo neighborhood. Gochiso sama deshita!!
Wow! It is amazing to watch the owner craft each piece in front of you with deft hands.
Tasty, genuine Japanese sushi made with love.
So good! The Japanese couple are cute and put up with my terrible Japanese. The sushi is made fresh and is the best!
Fine fresh food. Popula is a neat little gem that I imagine one may find in a hidden backalley in Japan. Their sushi, made fresh to order, is crafted by a friendly, old Japanese man and wife duo, who have been making sushi for many years.
The use only the best quality fish; you can really taste the difference by the fresh, clean flavours. To top it off, it's a great opportunity to watch him deftly cut into the fish with his sushi knife and put together the sushi and sashimi with such skill.
It certainly leaves you with an appreciation for the delicious food you are sure to enjoy when you go to Popula.
This is my new favourite sushi place in Melbourne. If you compare their prices, I think they are very reasonable and bang for your buck. I highly recommend calling up a few hours beforehand. If you’re driving in like I did, park on Upper Heidelberg Rd, outside the newsagency.
The amount of variety I got in my small nigiri party platter is impressive. The tamagoyaki had a subtle sweetness, I’m generally not a big fan but this won me over. The unagi was well seasoned with tare sauce. The portions were generous.
Run by a husband and wife team.
Delicious! Must eat Sushi 🍱🍣!! Nigiri sushi by Japanese chef 👍 One of my favourite sushi restaurants in Eastern Melbourne
The best sushi in town. I remember coming here when I was smaller and again recently and it's still the best authentic Japanese sushi I've ever had. Brings me back to Japan.
This is seriously the most amazing food establishment I have ever come across in my life. The energy of the staff will make anyones day better. The 15 second interaction of 2 hello’s and 4 thank you’s will glue a smile on your face for the next hour.
The quality and cleanliness of the fish is top shelf. This is as good a quality sashimi as I have found anywhere in the world with a price that has been seemingly untouched by inflation. This place is a consumers dream. I’ve loved every lunch I’ve ever gotten from there.
Tried to feel more of Tokyo Olympic by getting local sushi. As fresh as it gets. Ordered this 42pcs platter ($55) over the phone and told to be picked up in hour time. Coles just near by so time easy spend.
The wait is totally worth it sushi rice has just right amount of vingear, plus it can choose to put wasabi with the nigiri (of course I would).
Platter is well present. Owner is kind enough to tell me they use blue fin tuna today. Though I'm not the expert of it but sure it tastes fresh.
Just park at the coles or there are few parking spots right outside the shop.
Oishii !
Love this local place where a Japanese couple make the best no frills nigiris. We order their medium platter every other week as a treat, the fish is always fresh, the tamago nigiris, the unagi is delicious are so tasty and delicious. Never been a fan of prawn nigiris normally, but this place has changed my mind, it's so fresh and plump, I it's become one of my favourites on the platter. The sushi rice is on point and slightly warm because we order in advance for pickup later, we really appreciate how it's made just before pickup, so fresh and slightly warm. It the highlight of our week! Thank you for being so consistently delicious! Might just make an order again tonight!
Owners are absolutely friendly and lovely, but taste and quality of sushis and sashimis are just okay 🧐 Overall still better than those franchise sushi shops!
Hands downs, best sushi in Melbourne. Long live the Japanese couple who run this tiny shop. We need you.
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