I came by this restaurant for dinner one day and ordered the tempura udon. The broth was tasty and clear and the udon noodles were well cooked and had good texture. The tempura was fried crunchy and golden but not oily. It was also presented beautifully.
We had the special menu from here - but the food we did try was amazing.
Ordered:
š„ Egg custard
š£ Sushi
š Soba noodles with tempura
Review:
Everything we had was delicious. I had the most generous egg custard where there were mushrooms and all sorts of veggies, amazing sushi and the soba with tempura was light and tasty. The tempura isn't considered healthy, but was incredibly good at tasting delicious!
The service was incredibly friendly and the decor and atmosphere very relaxed. Would highly recommend popping into Japonica for a meal... you may find it to be your next favourite restaurant!
We stumbled upon Japonica in search of a good Japanese dinner the other night and it did not disappoint. Family run (very friendly) and really tasty food. We ordered so much food. We started with a selection to share - crispy chicken, sushi, potato and chicken bites and gyozos. And then moved on to main where I ordered the Katsu don which was crumbled pork, onions and rice. Really delicious and generous portions. Will be back.
Sushi is really yummy and generous! And the service was good as well - we wanted to order fried rice and another main but the waitress kindly advised there might be too much rice (as we had two sushi ordered already).
Amazing food! So fresh and delicious. We both ordered the $28.50 set dinner bento and the food came out so fast - great service. We will definitely be back!
Best sushi going around. Always friendly service and the food never disappoints. Great staple in South Yarra when those Japanese cravings hit
Amazing!! Best UberEats order Iāve had - everything was delicious and tasted like I was in the restaurant. Sashimi was particularly good, and the Katsu Don was one of the best Iāve had. Thanks! š
Their seared salmon nigiri is a MUST! I would honestly eat it for the rest of my life!
Customer service was that of a michelin star restaurant.
10/10 would go again for the 10th time.
Food is amazing, chef there make everything fresh, the waiter is so friendly and helpful, the dining experience is absolutely perfect !
I would strongly recommend the spicy tuna roll and the soft shell crab roll there ! :)
Great fresh food! Love our favourites, gyozas, tempura, California rolls! The service is always great and so friendly! Byo is also a great plus for us
This place has been a regular go-to for years. Sadly I hadn't visited in a year or so, but had a great meal there last night. Good, fresh food at a reasonable price and always a smile on the waitress' face.
We've visited Japonica a couple of times now and haven't been disappointed. The food always comes out quickly and is freshly prepared. Before food arrives they always provide a small serving of bean sprout salad which is quite delicious! Attentive and friendly service. No complaints here!
I've had food delivered by these guys a few times, it's always been fast, incredibly cheap and tasty. The menu is vast and there are a reasonable amount of vegetarian options. It's not 5/5 quality food, but it's definitely great bang for buck! Worth a look!
Super tasty, very filling, affordable food! Great service and convenient location.The service and food is consistently good. My partner gets the bento box and I've had the yaki soba and it's been fabulous every time. Would highly recommend!
Hidden in a corner and seems rather quiet. However they had a unique menu which was different from other Japanese restaurants. Absolutely loved the omurice (egg with special sauce) and the seafood hotpot - fresh ingredients with sweet subtle flavored broth.
This is seriously one of the best JapaneseĀ restaurants I've been to.Ā The sashimi is AMAZING! So fresh! Service is great and price is really good value!
Cheap and Cheerful. Very tasty, simple Japanese food. Fast service although there was a slight mix up with our order. I recommend checking you bill if you are dining with a group - there were a few things on our bill that we didn't eat - but the staff were OK about it it. Would go back again.
Still great food. Japonica has long been a favourite cheap and cheerful Japanese and although the restaurant could do with a bit of an update in furnishings the food is still so good. BYO which is always a winner for me but also licensed.
one well fed lady
Not the most authentic Japanese food but overall still a pleasant dining experience and we find ourselves dining there quite a few times already. Food is generally tasty & well portioned. Staff have always been very friendly.
The restaurant may look unassuming and basic but it has the best sushi rolls I've tasted in Melbourne. Don't even bother looking at the rest of the menu. Staff is great, really friendly
A pleasant unpretentious and friendly Japanese. Good quality at a reasonable price. Ideal for a quick meal after a show.
My favourite Japanese restaurant. I love the food & it's great value! The decor is simple. The chef & staff always have time for a quick hello so we always feel welcome. Can recommend the steak, edamame, tofu, sashimi, katsudon, korokke. All pretty good :)
Nice food, generous servings. We went here last night. Good location, near South Yarra. We were seated by the window, which seemed a bit unstable when people opened the door! Friendly staff, couldn't get any extra info from them about the menu items though. We ordered the dinner bento and the teriyaki fish. We asked if the fish was fresh, turns out all their fish is frozen. The dinner bento was gyoza, miso soup, prawn and veg tempura, and chicken and beef teriyaki with rice. For about $25, this was great value. The tempura was very good and the gyoza were delicious as well. The sakura teriyaki was nice, a very large portion, nicely flavoured. We ordered one glass of the house wine and one glass of Riesling. It didn''t taste like Riesling. The atmosphere was nice. My friend didn't find it very authentic but it was good value.
Yum!. I loved the gyoza! It's a dream! Have to try it out! I'm back soon!
Agedashi tofu was pretty good. Same as soba. Though, the waitresses talked too much and were quite noisy.
Weeknight feed. This place serves good value Japanese. For its price, it's a good option. I like the sashimi, beanshoot salad and nasu dengaku (baked eggplant). It also serves a top notch bowl of miso.
I've been here a lot of times and never ordered a main: we just get entree after entree to share.
Excellent, low key, fast, great quality food. Went by myself, was in and out fed to the gills in no time. Will be back again for sure.
Great Japanese, at a good price. Just love japonica, fantastic meal every time and at a very reasonable price. Service is always courteous and quick, in a traditional japanese way. As a few others have mentioned on this site they have fantastic goyza, plus some of the best teriyaki chicken in melbourne.
Go now, give it a shot.
Super soft sashimi. Very bland restaurant and nobody came over to serve us for ages. They kepy forgetting we had byo and got really confused when we asked for our drinks, but the food was really good. Really soft salmon and tuna sashimi which melted in our mouthes. Between the 4 of us we had a plate of 35 sashimi and 4 sushi plates - left feeling satisfied but not stuffed and only $25 out of pocket.
Pleasantly surprised.. Surprised on a few fronts after reading various reviews. Given it was holiday week, the place was jumping - lots of diners and lots of staff (all Japanese which is not the usual in Melbourne).
Menu was large and varied. Beanshoot starter was a nice touch. Crumbed oysters were very tasty. Gyoza were good. Sushi/Sashimi was OK, but not excellent. Try Asakusa to get an idea of what you can get for same money.
Service was attentive without being too intrusive.
Gyoza. Been here a few times with Kate, who raves about the gyoza. 'It's the best' she says. Also good is the yaki soba.
This is my favourite local Japanese. The gyoza are some of the best I've had and the sashimi is always fresh and presented beautifully. The staff are friendly and you are never left waiting. Tobi Puttock is a regular too.
Great Japanese. Excellent fresh food. Friendly service. I come back again and again. I've never been disappointed. Also excellent value.
Very authentic and cheap. The best agadashi tofu in prahran also the staff is very friendly. Try the torytery don it's amazing and soo cheap! It's BYO so great to go out for a cheap dinner with friends!
Good service, fresh sashimi & sushi, not expensive..good value
One of the few places open on 2nd Jan. Service was quick and friendly. Table could have been cleaner and the menus looked they were prnted with a portable printer. Our entree tempura was fresh and the beer cold. My grilled steak came out a little later than it should have (I think they forgot about it) however was served hot and delicious. Overall good food for the price but needs a little makeover. Btw no longer on toorak rd but on a side street
Had a lovely girls catch up dinner here recently. Family run (very friendly) and really tasty food. We ordered so much food. We started with a selection to share - crispy chicken, sushi, potato and chicken bites and gyozos. And then moved on to main where I ordered the Katsu don which was crumbled pork, onions and rice. Really delicious and generous portions. Will be back.
My family and I have been coming here for as long as i can remember and it always has been our favorite restaurant. Our go too's are always the sushi handrolls, gyoza and sashimi. Really friendly, lovely owners.
Fresh ingredients, not the most authentically prepared but staff are attentive and friendly with recommendations. The food itself is good 'Japanese style' cuisine
Delicious, cheap, and easy. They even provided a free little entree. Overall, I was impressed with the food and I recommend the katsudon.
This is my go to place in South Yarra for Tempura Udon. The sushi rolls are always fresh and prices are very reasonable. Great service and lovely staff!
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