Review Kanda Japanese Restaurant - Ivanhoe

Quirky little place with some interesting decor. Good range on the menu. Sushi is fresh and delicate. We ordered tempura and curry Katsu. Food was delicious but the mains should be served on warmed plates to keep the food hot.

It’s a bare pass at best, we think. On the good side, the place is nicely and pleasantly fitted out. Service was lovely throughout from the female server here too. Prices seem very reasonable as well. But, we thought there were negatives that we just couldn’t overlook here. My seafood bento was pretty ordinary. I’d describe the food as a bit stodgy throughout and middling in quality. I struggled to finish it, a very unusual situation for me. My partner had the same difficulty with her bento box. We found the experience quite disappointing and would struggle to find a reason to return, we think.

Nice little place. Good ambience and friendly staff. The bento was generous with good flavours. The gyu tan don was on the sweet side but still nice.

Yummy! Had sushi, sashimi, seaweed salad and crispy spicy salmon sushi roll. We found the food fresh, tasty, well prepared and well presented today. Pleasant friendly staff. Would return again.

Had such a lovely experience here! Found this on Google after craving Japanese food and it ticked all the boxes! Sushi and sashimi were delicious and fresh, mixed tempura was light and cooked to perfection, and the bento boxes were also full of yummy selections. The portion sizes are great too, we had more than though food for the two of us :) The staff were also very friendly and lovely to deal with, a massive bonus when dining in! Support local and definitely have your next meal here, you won’t regret it! ☺️

Not bad, not great. Chicken and fish were both super dry, stir fried vegetables were full of shoots, and not very tasty. Fine if you don't care what you're eating & just want fuel in your body.

Been coming here for many years now. Always great food, the sushi Rolls are super fresh, service is prompt and friendly. Sizzling Wafu Steak on a sizzling hot plate is awesome, some of my other suggestions are the Tokyo nuggets, Mix Tempura, Omu Rice, Curry Katsu Don. It's great for takeaway or sit down with family and friends. Also good beers.

Ordered by uber eats, they were quick and delicious and fresh! Easy and yummy!

Our local go to for Japanese. Their sashimi is fresh and can be seen being prepared by the chef. Food is always consistently delicious. Service is always very friendly!

The nigiri is amazing and the rest of the food was lovely too. We had take away from here tonight and this will definitely become a regular for us! - both for take away and for a sit down meal.

Went to Kanda for lunch on a Sunday, heard about it through some work friends. The wait for the food was a little long, however it was delicious. Everything tasted so fresh and was so visually pleasing. The pricing was too crazy, considering that it’s good quality sushi you’d be expecting more. Highly recommend Kanda. ☺️

I came across this place feeling like Japanese one Friday afterwork, after checking the menu which show chef special, various rolls, we decided to give it a go. The food was average, rice was a bit too hard, I didn’t enjoy the roll because of the hard rice. 3 star is for good aromatic greentea and lychee cider $9

With an extensive and affordable menu Kanda is an easy place to settle on 😊 The first few times eating there I found the service quite delayed with some dishes coming out at odd times. There must have been new training or changeover of staff bc our last experience was 10/10. Staff were prompt in taking our orders and our food (so fresh!) was out not long after. Kanda is my favourite place to eat in Ivanhoe (and that’s saying something). The traditional and spacious setting allows for a lovely relaxed lunch or dinner. Maybe it’s just my preferences, but it ticks all my boxes!

One of the best local Jap restaurant I’ve tried.<br/>Price wise - not too expensive - you actually get what you pay for.<br/>As for their sushis, they are absolutely wonderful!<br/>Place also has this cute Japan-nice ambiance :)<br/><br/>I always go back to this place.<br/><br/>Absolutely recommend

Friendly and delicious. Locate in center of Ivanhoe district. Easy to find and access. Strongly recommend Aburi Salmon and Tuna Yukke. My girlfriend and I are quite satisfied

I am a Japanese food lover and It is my first time to try this restaurant, , can’t say it is the best Japanese restaurant but overall it is a pretty good Japanese restaurant in Ivanhoe!! staffs were friendly , food were good and I ordered a deluxe cheese roll , sashimi main and seafood teppanyaki which were fantastic and fresh !! Highly recommended! And will come back again! Thank so much!!<br/>

Really enjoyed our dinner here at Kanda. <br/>Very fresh sushi and the service was nice. <br/>Clean looking restaurant. Decor was bright but plain. <br/>Overall we would definitely return. <br/>Thanks Kanda

Awful and bland. Cheap, grisly meat that is a choking hazard. Katsu curry was watery and didn't have any spice or flavour. Pork katsu was grisly and very hard to eat out of the small bowl. Beef Bento was filled out with pickles, salad and undercooked vegetables so not really any value in the box.

I love this place, both for takeaway and eat in orders. Well priced sushi, not overly noisy or loud, and a fairly relaxed vibe make for a perfect place to catch up with a friend or too. It’s not fancy, and it doesn’t need to be - it does good Japanese food, and it won’t break the bank.

Great local Japanese. The spring rolls and wasabi tempura prawns are always delicious. The only down side is the drinks menu. Great selection of sakis and beer but if your not a fan of either of those there nothing much else. The staff are always pleasant and the chocolates at the end are nice treat.

Yummy food and perfect costumer service. We placed online order through eat now, delivery was on time as well. Highly recommended ............

Reasonably consistent quality food. Service is friendly and usually attentive. Best dish so far has been the gyoza - they're amazing! Mixed tempura is also good, they usually mix up the vegetables included - last time I had tempura broccoli!

i have no idea how this place sits above 3 stars.<br/><br/>Food: 6/10 - Only tried a few things, hit and miss but they won't be big portions and they will not be cheap.<br/><br/>Service: 2/10 - Two out of 5 dishes were wrong last time, this time it took 2 hours when they said it would be one hour, several other problems but listing them would seem more like a bias rant from the impossible customer so i will leave it at that.<br/><br/>There is a better Japanese shop two or three doors up (or down?) which does not deliver, you'd be better off driving to pick it up from those guys.

Came here last night for dinner with the family. Gyoza were delicious as was the tempura entree. The bento box suki yaki was fantastic. Other dishes enjoyed was the tofu teppanyaki, katsu don and the deluxe sushi. Friendly and efficient service.

There are three Japanese restaurants in Ivanhoe. The ever popular 'Popula', no joke, which serves much of the surrounding by area as an excellent take out joint, Toyama, which is a decent eatery catering for mostly 'Western' Japanese tastes, and there is Kanda.<br/><br/>Kanda takes the idea of simple Western Japanese food, dials it back to 7/10, charges a little more than it is worth and throws in some truly forgettable service. In our three visits to Kanda, never have there been enough staff to cover the tables, and that is a problem, as it has never been full. The food is only a little more than on par with a retail outlet, but is priced at a 'cut above' rate.<br/><br/>Forget it. If you want take away, go to Popula, if you want to dine in, go to Toyama. If you have no other option, there's a decent woodfired pizza place close by.<br/><br/>Even with the cute neko chopstick rests, it's a no.

Sushi and sashimi was delicious! So fresh and tasty! The service is always good at this restaurant and it's always very busy! Will definitely keep going back!

We got food from this place off Menulog. The pork katsu curry was brick like, more suited to constructing a building than putting in your mouth. Will not return.

An absolute stellar find in Ivanhoe, super close to home! We decided to try Kanda when I was craving Japanese and there isn't anything close to where we live. We thought we've give this a go given Ivanhoe isn't that far from home. And I am so glad we did! The sashimi and sushi is so fresh, and so so delicious, we normally just order this when we visit. We did try the fried chicken as well and it is totally moreish also, but not the healthiest option! We've also tried the teriyaki rice chicken bowl and it was nice, but the teriyaki sauce is a little sweet for our liking. We certainly intend to be regulars here given how happy we've been with our visits...and the price is cheap in comparison to other Japanese options.

The Tenpura Udon (noodles and deep fried condiments) was very good. .quite a sizeable portion. Gyoza was also very yummy...awarded full marks because of the quick and friendly service...as well as the fact the price does justify the food portion.. definitely worth a try!

Delightful. Small, friendly, efficient service. Reasonable pricing. Will definitely return another time. Meals a little slow to arrive and tables slow to be cleared but the friendly staff made up for it :)

I HAVE BEEN DINING HERE FOR A FEW YEARS NOW. FIRSTLY GREAT SERVICE AND SECONDLY GREAT FOOD. THE SASHIMI AND SUSHI ON OFFER ARE BEAUTIFULLY FRESH. OTHER DISHES ARE CHICKEN YAKITORI AND THE MELTINGLY TENDER WAFU BEEF. DONT FORGET TO TRY THE GREEN TEA ICE CREAM WHICH IS SO REFRESHING AFTER A NICE MEAL. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My partner and I visited Kanda last night expecting some beautiful fresh sashimi. What we received wasn't so fresh, the raw tuna was off & smelt bad. Such a shame as we usually love sashimi. Needless to say, we left the restaurant & cancelled the rest of our orders. We won't be back again.

Delicious food, and really well priced for Japanese. The banquets are a bargain. The service is mostly friendly albeit a little slow, hard to order more drinks and get their attention. But the food makes up for this. Good quality, good servings for a good price

Under new management and much better. I like the sushi. The service is good. But the toilet looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a long time.

A regular haunt for us, Kanda is yet to disappoint. The service team are always attentive and the large menu is littered with interesting culinary gems. The lychee cidar and the plum wines are delicious and we can never resist the California rolls. Worth a look in if you're ever in the area.

Great bento box! Just upgrade the soup to chicken & mushroom.<br/>Service quick & well priced<br/>New management seem very customer service focused<br/>We'll be back!!!

Fantastic catering environment and perfect food!!!! I love Wafu steak and sushi very muchhhhhhh!

So fresh!. Best Californian rolls in the area! The mayonnaise they use is very tasty. The bento box was great value for money but mot the best i've had. They gave us free rice/jasmine tea while we waited for our food. Staff were incredibly accomodating and quite friendly. My favourite place to get sushi!

New management great!. We just tried this place again after seeing management changed and they now do delivery. Very impressed! Food is fantastic, overtakes our previous local Japanese next door. Wasn't a fan of the previous owners food, so give them another try now if you thought the same.

Vicki. Nice dishes and I love it!!!

Very fresh sashimi,Nice food. Good value. Will come back soon.<br/><br/><br/>-----16 Feb, 2015-----<br/><br/>House Deluxe. Fresh and delicious

Fantastic.. We ordered far too much food but couldn't stop eating it - all absolutely delicious. Definitely worth a visit and the staff were simply excellent.

Under new management. The food and service have greatly improved. In the past I would go to Toyama instead of Kanda, however I'll definitely be coming back here again.

Suuuu. Nice dishes, highly recommended beef tataki. Great service!

Fresh and tasty. This is a lovely little restaurant. I visited on a Wednesday night and it was a place where I could talk without shouting. Food was on the table in a short time and tasted delicious. Staff are friendly and attentive. I will try again when I am in Melbourne

New management doing a great job. Fresher, tastier and friendlier than all other Japanese restaurants in the area.

It's very nice service I love it!

:) delicious. I love the freshness of the sushi here, will try the bento boxes next time!

Miss. Very nice and fresh food, excellent service.i will go and visit again

Won't be back here for good. Came here for dinner and left with a hole in the pocket. Portion was extremely small and I cannot emphasize enough how small the food was on the plate. The ingredients were poorly ratio for each dish resulting in a very sad, sad presentation. Service was okay but this place is overstaffed. In conclusion, overpriced for what I've been served with and I'm never coming back here. Ever. ( And I was still hungry!)

Good Japanese food

Wonderful japanese restaurant. It's fresh,i love the sushi

I was having dinner last weekend, very good service and fresh sushi and sashimi. Oh, I had wafu steak and seafood teppanyaki, it's awesome:) I will come back soon.

Tasty food! The sushi options are a little expensive given the amount but otherwise pretty good. Bento boxes aren't great but dumplings are excellent! Service was 50/50.

KIND Japanese!. Firstly - SO EXCITED THEY DELIVER!!! <br/><br/>* Beautiful customer service <br/>* Substantial portions <br/>* Delicious!<br/>* Fair price<br/>* Will order often, when I'm in the area :)

I will be back!like it!. I like have Jpanese SUSHI,But I think this restaurants's food is overprice.

Most disappointing.... We has ordered harumaki, gyoza, sushi main and 2 yakizakana. The first 3 dishes arrived in reasonable time and meet our expectation. Some 15 mins later the 'salmon dish' yakizakana arrived; To our surprise it was not salmon but a whiite fleshed fish with cabbage on a sizzle platter. We informed the waiter that this was not what we had ordered to be told that they had no salmon left. The waiter returned on several occasions to provide information back from the 'kitchen' ,with a turnaround from no salmon to now being able to provide the dish. We decided to leave rather than waiting any longer and really surprised that they could now prepare the salmon dish! On departing another table of diners commented about the slow service and like us that they would not return again. For this business to survive, there needs to be a greater focus on customer service - like how it was under previous management!

Delicious Food!!. Best Japanese food - always fresh, fast and friendly service.<br/>Great value, we eat there if not weekly as often as we can :)

Loved it. Good food, great service, very reasonably priced. Will definitely be going back!

Dinner review. Been there several times. The service is good & the food is yummy

Great food and nice services attitude

The Heavenly Boat. Kanda was an accidental find and after experiencing the House Special (sushi and sashimi) and we have dined here for many years. The sushi has remained consistently good - always fresh. And we have not ventured past this as a main meal. We have tried most of the entrees and a particular favourite of the Goatilocks is the pickled octopus! The owner is a person with high integrity and this shows in how he prepares the sushi.

Staff/service was ok. Food was terrible - for starters, the Miso Soup barely had any miso that it tasted like lukewarm water with shallots. Then the fish and the prawns in my partner's Kaisen (Seafood) Ramen were so not fresh that we could both taste and smell the fridge that they were frozen in. Ditto with the pork in my Bento box. <br/>At least they took it in their stride when we sent the Ramen back. That's not enough to entice us to go back though.

Service was bad. Very bad. The food was lovely when it finally came out but it took a long time - one of our party ate 20mins after the rest. No apology given.

Excellent food, great service. I regularly purchase food for take away from Kanda Japanese Restaurant and I am always very happy with the quality, freshness and service provided. On the occasions we ate in we have also been very happy.<br/><br/>Prices are very reasonable for the volume and quality provided. I recommend the House Special Sushi/Sushmi.<br/><br/>We have tried all the Japanese options in Ivanhoe and surrounding area and this is by and far the very best!

Fresh food, good service and very reasonably priced.. I had dinner there last week with a couple of friends. Service was speedy and they're really pleasant. We all ordered an entree and main, plus a drink each for $62. I had fried pork dumplings for entree and they just kind of exploded with fresh flavour in my mouth followed by oyakodon (I think that's the right spelling) for main which was also fabulous! They obviously use very good ingredients and the meals are freshly cooked.<br/>Will be back again soon!

I've been to the restaurant a few times, the customer service is great, the waiters and waitresses are friendly. The food is delicious too, especially the sashimi and bento. I'd recommend the place for any kind of small gatherings and / or dinner dates.

Definitely eat here!. This place has a really nice atmosphere, even very early on in the evening. The food was really great, however the portions weren't enormous. Moreover, the bento box is very nice.<br/>Conclusion: wonderful atmosphere, very nice food

Sub-par faux Japanese. I had the displeasure of eating at Kanda tonight. I wasn't planning on it but that street is sorely lacking in evening eateries.<br/><br/>My husband and I lived in Japan for two years in the Kansai region which is well known for the food in Osaka, Kobe and other cities so while we may not be all-out experts on Japanese food, we think we can tell when it's pretty authentic or not.<br/><br/>The main problem in Melbourne, of which Kanda is an example, is that many Japanese restaurants are run by non-Japanese so it becomes a different take on Japanese food which is usually disappointing.<br/><br/>We ordered edamame, nasu dengaku (eggplant with miso paste), katsu don and kansei ramen. We ordered about 5 minutes after being seated, 3 other tables came in 10-15 minutes after us and they all ended up being served first. It took 30 minutes just to get the edamame!<br/><br/>The nasu dengaku was fine, it's kind of hard to mess that up because it's so simple. It took another 15 minutes for the katsu don to come out and another 15 on top of that for the ramen to finally arrive!! The katsu don was overcooked and the rice was mushy. The ramen was terrible. Many people say it's the broth that makes the ramen and this broth tasted like plain stock with no special touch. It was a huge letdown. The vegetables and seafood in the ramen were cooked fine, but the broth ruined the entire thing.<br/><br/>We didn't try any sushi or sashimi because you can get that practically anywhere around Melbourne and we like to try different Japanese dishes. I've dined in several Japanese restaurants around the northern suburbs and this experience was by far the WORST Japanese I've ever had. I will not be returning.

Don't order the wafu salad!!! It's shavings of cabbage and carrot with mayanaise on top. Absolutely appalling. We also ordered the house deluxe, yakutori and crumbed oysters - these were quite acceptable, but by no means superb.