Chuji is one of my favourite spots in the city. They are reasonably priced with tons of vegetarian and vegan options. I love nasu dengaku and agedashi tofu, both of which they do really well. They also have plenty a great Japanese beer selection, plus a craft brew and sake bar next door with even more options. No reason not to love this spot.
Good traditional Japanese sushi and sashimi, I dined with 3 people and we shared the chefs selection plate ($75) it had a great selection of sushi and chunky, fatty sashimi. It was plenty to give us a taste paired with karage chicken, which was nothing to rave about but still yummy. My only turn off was the staff who seemed to not speak English well and misunderstood what was ordered. They also didn’t have a lot of the sake that was on the menu which was a little disappointing. Other than that I would visit again for the sashimi!
Lively casual dining space, we sat by the sushi bar for a variety of small pickings, casual banter and drinks. Not too noisy, efficient and friendly staff. We started with gyutan (ox tongue) two ways with salt and butter. Both delightfully unique tastes of an oft underappreciated dish. The umeshu (Harutsuku from Kobe) with its sweet and mild tartness complemented well. Next up, assorted tempura was tasty but a bit batter heavy. Whole grilled ika (squid) cooked just right with a light soy sauce. Platter of yakiniku (meat skewers) was hit and miss: beef was a bit tough but chicken and pork were outstanding. A huge variety of food available, limited only by your budget and stomach capacity. Will surely visit again to try some more dishes.
This place is has a very authentic Japanese vibe to it. The menu is very extensive. They have a lot of drink options and a lot of izakaya but also main dishes. I got a sushi/sashimi platter, takoyaki and yakisoba.
I went here w my partner. The food was good, really good!
We tried a number of dishes including sushi which was excellent.
The potato salad was good too. I really liked the beef tartare, which was soft and just delicious!
The chicken skewers were ok, they tasted dry and there was no sauce or dip. The Japanese pancake okonomiya was really good, and the Japanese mayo is always tasty.
We tried a chefs flight of 3 sake and I can’t recommend them highly enough. At 60ml a serve they were the perfect accompaniment to our meal.
My all-time favourite Japanese restaurant in Melbourne. Authentic Japanese fare, in a traditional Izakaya setting. We return often for good quality food and sake, and great service from knowledgeable staff 🍶
Great for a casual Japanese restaurant! Just note that the rolls can be really really huge! Everything seemed quite fresh and nice - just wouldn’t recommend the deep fried squid.
I base all my points on food. And this is must eatery in melb. Good portioned Japanese food with loads of tapas variety. Ambience is not the best however, service is great. We ordered 7items between 2 of us and couldn’t finish it all. Gomu ice cream is a must try !
Loved it. Great food - including some hard-to-find Japanese dishes - and a buzzy atmosphere. Excellent plum wine. If I had any criticism it would be that maybe they could use another staff member on the floor, but in any case the service was pretty fast and friendly. Good value too. Will definitely go back.
Not the most decorated and fancy izakaya, but still a great place to hang with your friends for drinks. A range of drinks and plenty of snacks and dishes (filling or not filling) to choose from. Service is nice, dishes are fine but can be better? Volcano rolls were a bit dry with the cooked fish and the tofu is not cold enough... Takoyakis were great though. But afterall it wasn't a bad visit, look forward to try something next time.
I'm surprised the rating for this place isn't higher! I think the experience is definitely very dependent on what you order, since we ordered the udon and ramen dishes which were delicious, while another time I ordered sushi and sashimi and it was pretty underwhelming. I would definitely recommend the edamame entrée and the hot udon/ramen dishes. We've been here multiple times now and the experience has always been great.
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I would honestly rate this place somewhere between 3.5-4 but it would be proven a bit difficult.. it is a Shochu and sake bar but I don’t exactly drink much normally so this review is purely based on their bites. The food was delicious but a little too ‘ordinary’ and plain in my understanding across all the plates we ordered. It lacked of wow factors, not even a tiny surprise but it was lovely smooth sailing dining experience. The most disappointing dish was the beef ribs. Bit of pieces was extremely chewy but the remaining on the plate was fine. I personally favour beef tataki and spicy tuna hand roll simply due to their subtle flavours and freshness but other than those impressions it got nothing additional to them. Overall it was a pleasant and casual spot to relax and catch up with friends over nibbles you would not feel the need to analysis or be curious about the food there. It was a simply no-brain easy to order type of restaurant you go to to share a laugh with people are comfortable being around.
Forgot to take pic on some of the foods that we ordered but anyway, this is our second visit and as the first one, everything was good. Service were friendly and very fast (well, they are japanese) but my friend complained that the white fish inside the chirashi was fishy, which i didn’t try coz i was already way too full. But other than that, everything was great and definitely will go back n dine here.
My new go to Japanese place!
Their gyutan, both flavors, were terrific! I had their cold tofu, gyoza and karaage as well and they were yummy.
Although they are on the pricier side, it's definitely worth the price! And their service is amazing as well, the staff were attentive and food was being served at a quick pace.
See review for Nihonshu bar. These two venues provide both a fantastic dining experience and a cruise bar atmosphere through a broad many of both bar foods and restaurant dishes and an extensive liquor list.
Love this little place. It is quite good for a late night meal. Japanese Izakaya style, the portion is quite big. The deep fried squid with spicy mayo is 10/10 and soft shell crab is yum. Great selection for sake. Old wooden interior design. Easy parking on the quiet day. We really enjoy it.
Delicious Japanese food, gluten free karaage available and great shochu/chū hai! Ordering is easy with numbered menu items and ordering sheets at your table.
Kanpai!
Was really affordable and decently sized so that i could get the tempura udon and still share gyoza and ribs with friends. The sake was really nice and well priced. The tempura was quite nice but the menu did not include a wide selection of ramen which was quite disappointing and it seemed very oriented around sushi which personally isn't my favourite. Would go back for the sake but am more likely to go to a specialist ramen place for dinner.
Two words: Sashimi Deluxe. Came here repeatedly for that. Generous cut and nice combination. Soft shell crab is equally delicious. Match that with a nice warm sake and you call it a day.
This restaurant in the CBD is a great little find. Great food with timely delivery to the table. I would class the sushi/sashimi/nigiri as slightly costly however the quality is certainly there.
This is more of a family style restaurant, self filled order forms are collected by super friendly staff and delivered without much of a wait.
We visited on a sunday evening and were one of 5 tables, so i would imagine if it were busier there may be longer wait times.
Came here for dinner with my family, and it surely did not disappoint! The portion sizes were much bigger than expected, and we didn't end up finishing it all! However, all the food was very tasty! I recommend their special seafood "pizza" and their crab croquettes!
Came here for dinner before heading to the theatre. And only stumbled upon it after looking for nearby places to dine at close to her majesty's theatre. We ordered small plates to share, sashimi platter, fried squid, hosomaki and stir fried vegetables accompanied with house sake. The service is excellent, staff are very attentive, and friendly and they provide you with an order docket that enables you to select your order (by number). Makes it impossible to make any mistakes! The food came out very quickly and was well presented and tasted even better. Will definitely return as we were very impressed with the price and quality of the food.
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Last night I went to Izakaya Chuji to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen in years. Ordering food was a bit confusing for some that were sitting with me. For those heading to Izakaya Chuji you get a piece of paper where you can mark down what you want to order. The word: 'Pax' on the ordering docket is not referring to the Pax Convention (sorry couldn't help myself haha 😂) but is referring to how many people that one ordering docket is for. You can have your own individual ordering docket paper but really I don't see the point of it considering that they don't place orders into their system under individual dockets instead it's for the over all table number so you still can't split the bill or just refer to your docket to be able to pay (which I thought would be a smart idea). If you order something that says: order a minimum of 3 (such as sashimi or kebabs) - even though it is one menu item you shouldn't put 1 on the docket instead you have to write 3. What I really appreciate is that the staff are very helpful when they take the dockets. They re-read and check your order for you and correct any mistakes you may have made on the docket. Also if it looks like you have ordered too much they will advise you of this! I find this really kind - some restaurants wouldn't care how much you ordered because they would be thinking of the profit they would make but in this case the waitress cared for the customer and thought more about the possible waste of food. That's very high class customer service right there!!
I really enjoyed the plum wine that they have there - menu item U1 - you really have to try it if you like plum wines! Was definitely a highlight of the meal.
I ordered the 3 pieces of salmon sashimi (or in Japanese language it's called sake sashimi - which I was so surprised that salmon and the drink sake share the same word but are pronounced differently!! You really do learn something new every day!) The salmon sashimi had very thick slices so they were very generous with their servings!
I also tried the scallop, avocado and cucumber sushi rolls. Were quite nice - I really liked the chargrilled scallops on the top of each role but I found the actual inside of the roll which only contained avocado and cucumber to be quite bland and dull.
Also if you are going with a big group and using your own individual ordering docket please perhaps consider taking your own pen! I think we were only provided one pen between every 4 people and so it took a lot longer to order because we didn't have enough pens. Haha.
I also liked how much wine they put in the glass. If you refer to my photo you can see they poured the wine way above the marking on the glass!
Fantastic place with a large variety of dishes on the menu. The seafood pizza is a must try, I'm sure to order it every time I visit.
I’ve been here a long time ago with my bf but all we ordered were donburi meals and they were decent. I have grown out of simply ordering donburi, so my bf and I came back to try their other dishes. The interior is just a long room, it’s not very interesting unless you are seated near the framed pixel art.
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One of Melbourne's classic Japanese restaurants. I have been to Izakaya Chuji many times, for the Japanese BBQ that they offer upstairs, the freshly made sushi by their sushi chefs downstairs, and typical izakaya dishes near the entrance of the restaurant.
Their BBQ, which I was served at many years ago, was of decent quality and staff was attentive. The dishes were slightly overpriced for their quality, but it is still definitely a viable option for Japanese BBQ in the city.
The sushi chefs downstairs are the stand-outs for this restaurant, however. They are skilled, friendly and efficient, serving well-made and delicious sushi, sashimi, maki and more. It is highly recommended to arrive early enough to secure a seat on their seat-limited sushi bar!
Other Japanese dishes served throughout the rest of the restaurant were somewhat lackluster, and while presented well and were of good quality, the dishes did not stand out from any other similarly priced Japanese restaurant that I have attended before. Staff were attentive as found during my BBQ experience, but were not friendly or welcoming.
I hope that Izakaya Chuji remains consistent or continues to improve by serving new and innovative dishes the next time I return.
Absolutely love this place. You can't go wrong with anything you order. The sashimi is delicious. The gyu sashi and yukke are delightful. Orion on tap as well as a superb choice of Japanese beer and sake. Friendly service. ❤️
Japanese drinks at its best, nice location however be in time to get a place, it's very popular place and seating capacity isn't great.
Staff is friendly.
I came here for some Alcohol... And boy does this place have alcohol. A gorgeous atmosphere, great food and a variety of Japanese shochu, beer, sake and everything in between. Definitely the kind of place to visit if you're going bar hopping oriental style!
BENTO ... Never disappointed ..... they always delivered ...
I have never had a bad meal in this place, not the trendiest, funkiest, but just consistently serving what they do best, good, simple, traditional and authentic Japanese dishes.
Always a fun atmosphere and friendliest service, then again they are Japanese, they know how to greet and respect their patrons.
We came here to get some light meals and a drink and enjoyed everything so much. We ordered a drink each, the Squid Karaage, two pieces of Tuna Nigiri, the Gyu Sashi (rare slices of beef - the best!) and the Seared Scallop rolls. All of this and it only cost around $60. Will be coming back again.
Loved, loved, loved this place. Sushi is fresh and tasty. I was able to get my Japanese pickle fix also. There are some great Japanese beers available to go with your meal or if you feel the need for sake, you have seemingly endless choices.
We followed our deluxe sushi with lobster tail which according to my partners was grilled to perfection. I am a lover of eating whole fish (non of that fileted perfection for me if I have the choice) so I was tre happy when I was able to order the grilled mackeral, skin and all (yes fileted but still enough bones and skin to contain the flavour). Flavour hit galore. Smoky from the grill, fresh salty ocean yum, the lovely oil from the crunchy mackerel skin fulfilled my omega 3 hit.
I highly recommend this place but book to ensure you get a seat.
This is a good casual Japanese dining place. Good variety in menu...you'll get a good hearty meal, strong flavors, generous serving, quality level is decent without being great.
There's a good vibe and busyness with this place. Service is efficient and friendly. It has a sushi bar, dining area and drinking area. For such a small restaurant, they are surprisingly accommodating for kids.
but this is not a place that gives you refinement. Big piece, thick cut...For some, this translate to value for money. 😊 Gaijin Jap Cuisine.
Overall...good place for casual Japanese cuisine without killing your wallet (about $60-75 per couple) . A place to share food with friends and talk loudly without being frown upon. A place you walk out feeling completely filled and stuffed.
Delicious food. Great service and atmosphere. Highly recommend for authentic Japanese food in Melbourne. Come one come all. Come more than once. 140 times even
Went for a late-night snack about two hours before closing time, and despite it being close to closing, service was efficient and staff were attentive and helpful.
Spicy tuna and avocado temaki was nothing short of amazing - best tuna sashimi I've had so far in Melbourne! Same could be said about their takoyaki - perfectly sized and seasoned.
Pork gyoza, however, left much to be desired, as filling was scant and unseasoned, and accompanying sauce was tasteless, as well, resulting in a very strange, durian-like aftertaste.
Capped off with the adzuki taiyaki with matcha ice cream, and goma ice cream with adzuki paste. Ice cream portions were very generous. Matcha ice cream only had a hint of a matcha flavour, and was mostly sweet. Goma ice cream was much better.
Would probably visit again to sample more of the sashimi.
I was in CBD and craving some Japanese food. Since we are already in the vicinity we went in here. The waitress was nice. I love salmon! So we ordered Sashimi and teriyaki salmon and juice on the side. I was really pleased with the meal that I went back again the second time. Overall, very good experience for both times I have been and I wouldn't mind going back to eat here again.
This is a repeat visit for my friends who raved positively about this restaurant/bar. We ordered heaps of food and the most memorable were the grilled beef and the assorted yakitori platter. We went to the sake bar, which is located right next door, after dinner and enjoyed some of the nicest Japanese spirits.
The atmosphere inside the sake bar was very pleasant and the staff was very attentive. A quiet cozy place to catch up with friends over a few drinks.
As a well-seasoned traveller to Japan and Japanese food snob who has lined up for three hours to get into restaurants in Japan, I gave this restaurant the seal of authenticity.
I went to this restaurants with my uni mates who have also been to the land of Cherry Blossom several times. We ordered ox tongue, Gyoza, assorted Yakitori, Tori-karaage, Miso grilled eggplants, beef steak, assorted Tempura and Tonkatsu.
The dishes were simple yet sophisticated as expected from Japanese cuisine in which the quality of the produced is hi-lighted through minimalistic cooking process.
We were happy with our food though our wallets may say otherwise as the place is on the pricey end.
Very attentive staff and the service is pretty fast. Food was pretty tasty and filling, although I haven't tried on the sushi. I ate a traditional katsu (pork) curry, which had lots of lovely Japanese curry in which to mix my rice and meat. Yummy, and a nice large serving.
It is a nice place for small conversations even if it gets a little bit crowded later in the evening.
Came here for a quick meal with the friends (there was only 4 of us) and it was probably the most expensive snack we've ever had.
However, the food itself was fairly decent.
We ordered the sashimi platter, yukke, deep fried soft shell crab, ox tongue and a couple of the tamago nigiri.
The portions of each meal was fairly small to share between two people, let alone four; with the exception of the sashimi platter.
The waiting staff was definitely a big win for me. All of the waitresses were immensely nice and were on point with everything! They were so polite and ensured everything was served in an orderly fashion.
The restaurant itself is very cosy. Very clean and has a relaxed setting.
To be honest, for the price we paid, there are better Japanese restaurants out there in the city and inner city suburbs so don't go out of your way just to try this one.
Best sashimi buffet! To Japanese food lover out there. this is the great place to have sashimi as much as you want ! Drop in on Monday night, buffet $45 per head. TOTALLY WORTH IT! Fresh, good quality sashimi, yukke, ox tongue etc. And for what I also come here for...DESSERT! Love black sesame ice cream (my best record is 6cups so far).
Atmospheric modern trendy Japanese Izakaya at a price. The food is simple - the corn fritter is very simple but great fresh taste; the tuna tataki simply mind blowing for such a simple dish; the wagyu carpaccio sublime; and the best dessert - black sesame brûlée, will make your tastebuds sing
Chuji is one of my favourite spots in the city. They are reasonably priced with tons of vegetarian and vegan options. I love nasu dengaku and agedashi tofu, both of which they do really well. They also have plenty a great Japanese beer selection, plus a craft brew and sake bar next door with even more options. No reason not to love this spot.
Food tastes a lot better than the decor of restaurant, which is a little dated. Portions are generous, so don't over order. Karaage chicken, pork skewers and pork katsu curry and potato croquettes. Plenty of seating, and service is friendly. All credit cards incur a 1% surcharge, which is pretty annoying. Don't forget the sake liqueurs!
Service was great, spacious restaurant and it seems to be a popular place.
The udon was crazy delicious!! 5/5
Curry was okay, a little too peppery for my personal taste. 4/5
Ice cream taiyaki was disappointing, had the impression that the ice cream would be inside the taiyaki but it was just on the side. 2/5
Bonus is that they have Liven here so you get some cashback when you dine here, yay!
Would come back for the udon!
Quality dishes, great cooking and polite staff! A fantastic experience while the are dying promotion via thefork. Spacious and comfortable seating, also bar seating for the lonely diner with discounts on drinks before 1730 on weekdays.
Good but could be so much better. Started with the chef’s tasting plate; the fish was fine but the rice was a let down. Not sure if they used sushi rice but was hard for my liking and not the quality you would usually expect. The tempura was fine, not great but not terrible. Also ordered the kushi platter (mixed skewers of pork, chicken and beef). The chicken was the best of the bunch, the beef was too hard and the pork was overdressed with sauce. Loved that they had Orion beer, highly recommend this drop.
Loved it! Great food. Great vibe. Takes me back to Japan. Quite busy but still excellent service. Loved the cerviche and tataki flavours. Sashmi platter was beautiful and fresh. Will definitely be back.
Had the best kingfish sashimi there. Good place for tapas. Friendly staff, good range of fresh/cooked tapas, made to order. A bit hot around the bar seats though. Great service, friendly staff.
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