We were very kindly invited to dine at Ishiya in exchange for an honest review, and we had such a pleasant experience. The restaurant was a lot smaller than I thought, no more than 20 tables in total, but very cosy and warm and I liked the layout very much. We were given a small table in a corner which suited us very well as we had an infant son and this allowed us more space to lay him on the seats. The service was attentive and impeccable throughout - the person who attended to us, Winsey (I hope I spelled that right, and I think she might have been the manager?), was always going the extra mile to make us feel comfortable. I should be honest here and note that they knew our experience was being reviewed (completely understandable); however, my observations were that they were also attentive and friendly to all the other diners, and that seems consistent with many of the other reviews on here. Regardless, they were very accommodating considering we had an infant with us, and had to stand up occasionally or move things around, and asked how we would like our food served (one at a time for example so we could take care of our baby) to best suit us. I would definitely feel comfortable returning as a regular customer knowing we would be well taken care of.
We ordered their weekday stonegrill dinner set menu, which consisted of a stone grill protein and 3 sides each. This costs about $50 depending on which protein you choose. We chose a beef combination stonegrill set (half portions of porterhouse, wagyu rump and tenderloin steaks), and a wagyu tasting set (slices of wagyu rump and karubi). For sides we chose the fried rice, sashimi, chicken tatsuta, takoyaki and agedashi tofu. In addition, we ordered a few other entrees - the scampi seafood truffle tart, wagyu foie gras sushi, sticky caramel wagyu karaage, and the seaweed salad. We also had a mocktail (I think it was a peach fantasia? There was watermelon in it and the menu on Zomato isn't updated, but anyway).
They start all diners off with a complimentary appetiser (potato salad), which I thought was a really nice touch (always nice to have some free food to start off with). The potato salad really hit the spot for me, nicely chilled and the shavings of red onion on top really made the taste sing. You might think that's a bit of an exaggeration but I guess I like my potato salads. They served us our additional entrees first. The wagyu sushi was very nicely presented and Winsey explained that they have red wine salt on the side which was really nice with the sushi. I personally wouldn't put soy sauce on it since it would overpower the sushi. I couldn't really taste much of the foie gras though (I think there was only a little on top), so that's a bit of a minus point, but the wagyu itself was very nice. The wagyu karaage was delicious - a lot like a beef version of garlic soy korean fried chicken. The wagyu inside was very tender, and they have hot mustard on the side that you can use which adds a complexity in flavour. I would definitely order this again. The scampi tart itself was very delicate and nicely presented in domes with truffle smoke infused. There was a hint of truffle if you removed the dome and get a good sniff in but it wasn't very strong, and unfortunately I couldn't really taste much truffle in the actual tart. The tart itself was delicate and crumbly (but can be cut surprisingly well without breaking into a hundred pieces). I think the main issue I have with the filling is that the addition of corn overpowers the taste of everything else, and I could mostly only taste the corn and not much of the scampi, which was unfortunate.
Next came the sides as part of our set menu. The sashimi was nicely chilled and presented on a nice big bowl of ice. Having the sashimi at the right temperature makes such a big difference to the taste in my opinion, so we really liked that. The rest of the sides were all prepared with the same level of professionalism. I should mention though that the portions for the chicken tatsuta (4 pieces) and takoyaki (3 pieces) were somewhat more generous than the sashimi (3 slices) and agedashi tofu (1 piece), so if you're hungry it would probably be better to order the former ones instead. I would have liked an extra piece of agedashi and a slice or 2 of sashimi to balance it out, personally.
Next came the main courses. I hadn't had meat cooked on a stone grill before so it was an interesting experience. One thing good about this was that it generates a lot less smoke than a traditional BBQ, which makes it more suitable for smaller spaces and intimate events. All the meats were really soft and tender, though we did find the karubi was somewhat harder to chew. I wasn't sure if that was because I was cooking it correctly (seemed like I was), but upon inquiring they generously brought out another portion of scotch fillet for me to try despite us insisting multiple times that we didn't have a problem with the karubi. The scotch fillet was also very tender and flavourful. Since we weren't the biggest fans of karubi, I would probably go for the combination stone grill next time round - it's quite satisfying having 3 big lumps of meat in front of you. That said, with the uncut meats, I would definitely keep in mind to not leave it on the stonegrill for too long. The meat is thick so it won't cook through, but the outer surface does get overly seared and stringy if you're not a fast eater (a huge waste!), so definitely flip it once in a while or take it off the grill if you're busy in conversation or something. If you order the sliced variants, you can cook them as you please so there is less risk of that happening. Oh, I should also mention that they had an additional sauce (not part of the 4 standard sauces they serve) made up of wagyu fat and honey which I really enjoyed. I'm not sure if that only comes with certain proteins but do ask for that sauce if possible.
After the hugely satisfying meal, we were sent off with a melon sorbet in a waffle cone for good measure. In terms of prices, Ishiya is understandably more of a mid-upper price range sort of place. That said, all things considered I think their weekday dinner set menu is pretty good value for money at $50 if you consider that you're getting a very good sized and quality steak along with 3 sides for that price, since a typical steak at a fine restaurant will cost you around $40. Throw in the chicken tatsuta, takoyaki and rice and it's a pretty filling meal. I would also recommend the wagyu karaage, which comes in a decent portion to share.
Overall, we found our experience at Ishiya thoroughly enjoyable, so thank you Winsey and the rest of the team at Ishiya for making our night and for the memorable experience.
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