Higher Energy
The food was lovely. My mocktail was tasty and very popular. The only issue is how long we had to wait… ( about 1.5hr)plus one of our friends ordered red wine and it took four gos before they were able to give her one glass… by the fourth glass she probably would have been better off ordering the bottle. I must admit I never thought Pinot Noir would be so hard to order 🙁
They forgot three of our dishes so we waited ages until we asked and realised the dishes were never coming. It worked out because some dishes were cancelled but I still wanted dessert which was amazing.
Very expensive place, I would give it five if the food had come quickly and they hadn’t forgotten our order. The seats were super uncomfortable ( stools with no back support - the worst for someone with back pain like me )
I would suggest going when it’s not so busy but given how popular this place is not sure when that would be.. and I would highly recommend ensuring you get a good chair to sit on.
**** Also the set menu said $75pp there were six of us and four us said we wanted the set menu… they said we couldn’t do that… the set menu was meant to be for the entire table… ( I think it should state that on the menu as it can be a bit deceiving).
The waitress/waiters were nice but they were very busy … hence why they probably missed our dishes. Food was yummy so you can’t fault that.
Our dinner came to $600+ dollars I had one mocktail, a cocktail was ordered, 4 glasses of the cheapest red wine, and about three beers plus the food we ordered… for what we ate.. not sure if it was value for money… what I ordered just for me inclusive of drink was $87 and I only shared my dessert and one dish with my partner otherwise it would have been over $100 just on me alone ..
Anyhow.. view is beautiful if you sit outside and you are facing it otherwise you are stuck with a very uncomfortable chair.
Robo
Just grabbed their takeaway 8-piece sushi option for $14.95, Very fresh and absolutely beautiful. Will be going back there. Service wasn’t super-fast (15min wait) but that was soon forgotten because of the freshness of the food.
JASON Chan
food not too bad,
maybe not enough staff ,attend abit slow.
menu had been change different from before.
price reasonable, still can improve.
Shaye Pm
New Japanese in Port Melbourne for $42.50!!! ❤
Went there last night to check it out, the menu is very similar to the famous franchise Okami. With slightly less fried items.
But‼️the main difference I have to say is the quality of their ingredients.
If you are craving sushi/sashimi this is THE PLACE. The salmon sashimi slice is generously thick. Their rice is perfect in consistency and flavour. I loved all the sushi roll options.
Beef tataki is also miles better than Okami. Much better quality, thicker slice. No fat.
I did love the Yakitori. The charred could have been better but it was tender. Squid tentacles were also great, would be best with beer! All the fried dishes were overall really good as it's not oily and they have a good batter.
And the final surprise the fried rice!!! This might have been one of the best fried rice to us. It has the "aromatic" of what a good fried rice should be. It also has this chewiness consistency that is really nice to have. A TAD on a salty side. But great flavour.
Some negatives would be the Steak dish. Not sure if it's the way they cut it or the type of meat but it was too chewy and not tender. I loved miso steak at Okami and this one ain't better. But I would recommend to maybe ask if they can cut it in a smaller size and that might fix it. And the gyoza is so-so.
Overall. Good place. Clean and nicer atmosphere.
Maxispaces G
It's called express, but do not be fooled by the name, as the most disappointing about this place is slow service and production.
First when you enter, the atmosphere is pretty good since the shop is quiet new and all decorations is quiet trendy and authentic looking. I have been to the Forrest hill one and the feel is really different.
So we all sat down and ordered, but the wait is super super long. For a all you can eat restaurant, this will drive lots of customers crazy, as you can see from the photos, not all the tables are even full, but our dishes took over 25 - 35 minutes to deliver on to the table, when most of the Japanese dishes are cold. The service is super slow, the kitchen. Is super slow. Would not recommend anyone if they would like a good meal, because by the time the dishes come on, you will be full from sitting there waiting. Not just slow food, also slow in collecting any empty plate, did not make a complain at all, just watching.
Definitely not a restaurant that I would come for a second time. Maybe will still consider the Forrest hill one since they are more stable, but this one at the location of Port Melbourne, they should of done better.
The Gollys
We had a really great experience here. We had a la carte and food was served quickly and was super fresh and yummy. The tataki beef was great. The scallops and seafood salad were nice. Bento boxes were good. Everything we really enjoyed. We will def go back. Also the teriyaki beef wrapped with mushrooms was def a favourite too.
Yae Ji Lizzy Lee
Tried the 2 hours all you can eat buffet. Quality of the food was average and the staff there were friendly. We ordered out first few dishes with the drink, the food came out approximately 40 minutes later. We ended up ordering more drinks as we had finished a jug of beer by the time the first dishes we ordered were served...
Tricia Ho
We had the all you can eat buffet which was pretty good. However, service can be slow compared to other Japanese buffet places like Okami. We really liked the scallop, beef tataki and chocolate mousse! We also really like that you can order just salmon sashimi. Recommend going on a weekday evening to avoid the crowd. Parking can be a challenge so best to allow extra time for that.
Rebecca C
Disappointing experience. Service was slow - we waited at least 10 mins after sitting down before deciding to get our own menus - though it was a busy night. But food was even slower to come out. We made 3 sets of orders from the all you can eat menu - the first set took about 45 mins before everything came out. We didn’t even receive our second set. We ordered our third set about 30 mins after waiting for the second set - this arrived another 30 mins later. And with all that, the food was only average at best. Wouldn’t return again.
Michael Garzia
Was great for a boy’s night. Plenty of food (obviously) to a point where we could’ve put them out of business. The sushi and sashimi were excellent which is unusual for an all you can eat. Will be back 100%
Yen Nguyen
Those people who say service was bad, food was slow to come out, I don’t know where you went. We’ve been twice and are going again tonight. The girls are very busy because each table will order multiple times then they have to bring food out, clear your tables then take your orders again. Through all of this they are still attentive, friendly and helpful. Food came out at a good pace, enough for you to enjoy what’s on the table before the next lot comes out.<br/><br/>Servings are small but much suited to a buffet style with little waste.. there is after all a war on waste!<br/><br/>We love the Sashimi, beef tataki, scallops, mushrooms, seafood tempura, beef steak. Kids love california rolls, chicken skewers, karaage chicken, udon and miso soup.<br/><br/>Will be coming back for more.
Mason Mitsios
Food quality is amazing, unfortunately the service was not. Staff were nice but food came out slowly and given to wrong tables. Asked multiple times for certain dishes and they never came. Staff kept saying sorry but did nothing about it. Disappointed
I Eat
Not happy with the service! <br/><br/>Ordered a number of dishes, got told by the waitress to wait for the dishes to come out before ordering more. Waited 40 minutes before the first and only sushi dish came out. All other fried quick filling foods came out fast. Sushi and sashimi on the other hand was DISAPPOINTING! We ordered 3 plates of sashimi and a number of hand rolls and in the end only got one of each. When asked they brought out the only one we ordered almost an hr ago. They knew exactly what we ordered but had neglected our order. <br/><br/>I will not return to this place. Don’t make it a all you can eat ‘sushi and sashimi’ if you’re gonna ignore peoples’ orders and only bringing out the filling items first. <br/>
Littlefoodiekiki
It was a week night and we had a group booking of 10 people. The food isnt the best but ok for all you can eat. The food kept coming out because we didnt stop ordering but i would say the sizes are pretty small.<br/>I have read other review saying they are little reluctant to bring out food which i would agree on that part with some dishes cause all the food that kept coming out was the less expensive dishes and because there were 10 of us, we weren't to sure who ordered what.<br/>Service isnt the best but bearable.
Love-my-food
4.5 star. Have been here many times for lunch and their “all you can eat” dinner. Staff are friendly and food is great and fresh. I love their lunch bento set and the environtment is very kid friendly. For dinner it can get very busy after 7pm, so try to get in early to avoid long waiting. One of the best buffet in Melbourne with the price you paid for.
Tak Wai-
Had an enjoyable night here. When we were on the way home we got a call from the restaurant.. I left my phone there! They kept it and called! The best and nicest staff ever! The food was also great with a range of variety. Will definitely go again.
Disfa
We came for a lunch. Dissapointed. The udon soup was not warm. Not hearty warm dish during winter at all. The beef teriyaki tough and chewy. Few the serving bowl cracked- maybe to emphasize the rustic japanese food?
Linda Norman
Disappointing. Kept losing our booking. Our group ordered the all you can eat banquet but they seemed reluctant to bring out all the dishes. We had to ask for the sashimi several times and then it was dry. Some dishes were nice ie beef carpaccio and black sesame ice cream. One of the waitresses was extremely rude spoiling the night for us as the other staff seemed to be friendly. This place sits in a prominent location with likely high rent so they will have to step up in order to sustain a viable business.
Jenn.lucinda
Great Japanese with very friendly staff. The asahi ontap is particularly tasty and I can’t go past the sashimi or the beef tataki. A great addition to port Melbourne!
Tracy Manson
Great place. Done the full options eat with friends. Had an absolutely delicious menu. Great service and will definitely be back. Fabulous experience. Loved!!!
Linda
They did a good job utilising this lovely corner location on Bay Street. The restaurant was warm, comfy, well-lit and classy. The lunch time menu offered an affordable lunch option, however, the quality was a little lacking. The katsu was over cooked and dry and salmon, bland and small portioned. A little room for growth, but a nice addition overall to PM.
Changfaith
Terrible service and food is below average. We will not recommend this place to anyone. The staff is generally not attentive and we had to wait longer than expected for ordering and service. <br/><br/>
Andrew Dowling
Great Japanese! Had dinner here with the family and everyone loved it! Arrived early and we didn’t have to wait too long for the dishes to arrive! A recommendation from my children and I have to agree with them that Isshin Port Melbourne is well worth a visit, we’ll be back!
MC Missy
Disappointed with the ‘All you can eat’ menu and how long it took for food to get to us. We were there for over an hour and had 4 small dishes come to our table. We decided to leave early and went home to eat. We were so hungry. They were definitely understaffed. Won’t be going back.
The_Very_Hungry_Hippo
Bring me more food and you get more stars.... Not really ‘All you can eat’ <br/><br/>The Simpson episode said it perfectly when Lionel Hutz said, “Does this look like a man who’s had all you can eat?! 🤷🏻♂️”<br/><br/>New Year’s Day and only 2 waiters for a full restaurant - and only ONE Chef. Hopefully it’s not the microwave.
Foodiee
Came here for a friend's birthday dinner. Never expected much from all you can eat places and so I was not really disappointed by tonight's experience. Get there early and start ordering to avoid a backlog in the kitchen. Also, if you want to try the scallops, make sure you order them first thing before you order anything else. The plum wine chocolate mousse is worth a try. Overall the food was within "all you can eat" expectation.
Sarah Chan
This place is okay but if you're not ordering off the all you can eat menu expect a long waiting time for your food. Attentive and friendly staff.
Shel
Value for money and food was quality! Really enjoyed my our experience. It was a new restaurant so it was gamble but it really did pay off. I will definitely be back for more
Wei Guo
Had the Buffet dinner. Food above average, service was good, good value for the money. i was afraid at the first because of all those "service too bad too slow" comments, but It turned out to be alright, for $39.99 you get more than what you pay
Hahaha
I think I will never have meal here anymore，mostly because of the serving. We wasted sooooo much time on waiting for the food. It is the first time I still feel very hungry after having a buffet. The food taste just soso and not worth of waiting sooooo long.
Lillyy Zhao
Never! Eat! Here! Definitely donn recommend this place. We had buffet. They deliver food soooooo slow. Basically you get about 3-5 small dishes per hour. We were hungry from the beginning till the end.
Ben B
Polite service, takeaway sushi is good and looks like it is made fresh every day. Just a little heavy on the mayonnaise, other than that, very yummy will come back again :)
Daniel
Delicious food and a great place to organize a long over due catch-up with mates especially when ordering the all you can eat offer. Friendly staff however I would appreciate more attendance and care given with their service. 😊
Jessica
Great food, great service and the staff (especially the owner) are very friendly!!<br/>Favourite place for Japanese food. Will definitely be returning
Long Black With Cinnamon
Friendly staff. Nice ambience. We had the sushi and sashimi combination platter and the mushroom scallops - good dinner for 2! Will be back to try the bento
Angela
Must try the pork Gyoza! Salmon was well cooked, beef was good too. Serving sizes are on the small side but the taste makes up for it. Must try.
TheFitFoodie
Isshin Izakaya is a relatively new restaurant in Port Melbourne offering a modern fit out, indoor and outdoor seating and a lovely drinks and food menu. <br/>My family love Japanese food however this was actually my first time eating at a Japanese restaurant - and I loved it!! The service was a little slow however to be fair we went in the first week they opened and these things do happen so no problem. The food was delicious. Each dish was flavoursim and tasty, special mention to the scallops and mushroom dish, I could have eaten 20 of those easily. <br/>Lovely wines to compliment the tastes - great experience and will be back. <br/>We spent $140 on 3 hungry people which I thought was reasonable.
Foodholic
3.5/5 (zomato won’t let me put in a half point). Well-priced, service is a bit of a hit and miss (one lady is friendly but the other is not) but food is generally good EXCEPT for the seaweed salad. The saltiness in this salad is just extreme, not to mention the tiny serving for $6. The seafood salad on the other hand is a good deal but the mayo can be too much to stomach in one go. Moral of the story - don’t buy the seaweed salad and you should enjoy the meal.
Christine Camero
Was greeted with a warm welcome as soon as we stepped in the restaurant. Also, they made sure everything was okay. <br/><br/>Food was absolutely amazing ❤️ will definitely come back for more
Axel Wong
One of the worst Japanese restaurants I had especially seeing how high the price was. The food was cold and took to long to make we came in at 6 and left at nearly nine. Don’t waste your money here find somewhere else!<br/>
John Wong
Absolutely the worst japanese restaurant i have ever been to in my life. All 10 dishes we ordered were disgusting. Dont waste money! People should pass a test before being allowed to open to public
Ella Victoria
I absolutely love this place and am surprised by some of the other reviews! I’ve gone back again and again for their bento boxes, gyoza and okonomiyaki! Their staff are attentive and super friendly and the ambience is great. Such a beautiful restaurant at such an affordable price point. I’d recommend going with a group and trying a number of their small dishes. They have so many vegetarian options which is also great!
Izzfizz101
Lunch deal is pretty good, had the beef bento and it was good value, had tempura prawn and vegetables done well and some salmon sashimi. The only issue is that the mocktails at 8.50 are we overpriced massively, but very clean and good service, will be back.
Damien Lenger
Visited this place a few weeks ago the food was quite good but service was a problem, with staff standing around had to ask were are drinks were . Some of the waiter's were unfamiliar with the menu and couldn't speak English . Overall a frustrating experience and over priced for what it is , my guess is its banking on bayside clients not concerned about value for money . A big mistake two other Japanese restaurants in the street both do it better.
Heidi
We were waiting for this place to open for a few months! It's finally arrived! The fit out is quite modern with lots of table options, booths, open round and square tables, outside and along the window. The highlights for us were the mixed sashimi, fresh and nicely presented. We also loved the soft shell crab noodle salad. Interested to try more of the maki rolls next time we go!
Frank Collins
Has what it takes; delicious, weii-priced menu; good service; good variety of drinks; and a comfortable environment. Well recommended. The only disappointment was my dessert, cherry mousse.
GK
Disappointed. Meals came out in dribs and drabs. Quality average. $28 for 7 small pieces of waygu steak in a salad not good enough - still hungry. Garlic fried rice dry. Better Japanese options close by.<br/><br/><br/>
Ayby Baby
Sashimi was either not fresh or not cooled properly as it had a bad smell. Garlic fried rice is a winner. Staff don't appear to know much about the menu, food comes out at different times then they take away your plate before you've even finished chewing.
Plummy Loves Yummy
Incredibly reasonably priced for lovely food. <br/><br/>We visited isshin in its opening week. Large Port Melbourne venue that has been shit for some time has been transformed into a modern well decorated Japanese restaurant <br/><br/>We went for lunch, sadly only bento box selections are available for lunch. I would suggest having their entire menu available all day as I was a little sad I couldn’t sample their evening options. <br/><br/>That said we had the chicken and beef bento boxes and neither disappointed. <br/><br/>I recommend the beef as value for money and it was delicious. <br/><br/>Very yummy. Need to head back for dinner soon.
Marcus
Oh. My. Lord. Food quality is outstanding. Best Japanese restaurant within a 15km radius. Wow. Ok, so what are the alternatives? Nothing is a patch on this one! Isshin Izakaya is far better than Komeyui in Port Melbourne, it makes Moshi Moshi look like a dirty brown KFC gravy pot and Ichi Ni St Kilda like an overpriced bag of ‘new flavour’ BBQ Shapes. So glad this has replaced an old Telstra shop or whatever that weird art cafe thing was before. Prediction folks - this will lift the general food quality along Bay St faster than you can say “Bitcoin bubble”. Be warned other Port Melbourne restaurants - you must lift your game - or you’ll be stale bread against this glistening Nippon food emporium!
Lilmeh
I went on opening day so I guess this review is a bit biased.<br/>With three tables of customers, the service was a complete miss - 10 mins to get their attention to order drinks, 15mins to order post giving menus, my cocktail also came AFTER two entrees and a main (and it was staggered serving for each course), which shows how disorganised and lost everyone was.<br/>The food was ok - for the price, I honestly didn't expect less than what they delivered. That being said, the execution was on point.<br/>I live across the road, so hopefully they lift their game up so I can update this review.<br/><br/>Update: So I've been a few times now and the latest food and service has made me lose all faith this will last beyond the last place in the same spot (1 year).<br/>The food is now at the level of fellow Gyoza Gyoza (if not worse at times) and the staff is most definitely disinterested as I asked twice for water, and it never came (not even through three courses from a lone diner).<br/>Unfortunately this level of restaurant has competition at $6 a dish price point in Melbourne. This restaurant is priced between Moshi Moshi nearby and Komeyui - of which it is of no competition to either.
Kim Miller
I came to this Japanese gem with my mother on Saturday night and was so amazed by both the food and service. The cutlery was pristine and the whole fitout was authentic Japanese with lots of space. The tempura prawn and vegetables was a really decent size and tasted delicious. Definitely the okonomiyaki pancake was the highlight, it was mind blowing, I could come back and eat that every day, so light, fresh and tasty. I truly love the dragon rolls, they were presented so beautifully and had a real punch of flavour with the spicy mayo. And to top such a great night, I had the black sesame ice-cream for dessert which was such a beautifully flavoured ice-cream with a hint of pistachio and honeycomb blended with sesame seeds. I can’t wait to go back, they will definitely be seeing a lot of me.
Tassha.chan
Found a new gem in Port Melbourne today after going to the beach. A Japanese restaurant with a modern touch, very relaxing environment along with a wide range of dishes to choose from the menu. I was very impressed with the okonomiyaki, the Japanese savoury pancake, it was packed with flavours and many ingredients. Top quality sashimi, refreshing soba noodle salad and much more... I definitely would come back again!
Judy’s Food
Right next to the beach side, it’s a lovely modern Japanese bar. There is a variety of dishes to choose from but the most important thing is their lychee mojito cocktail. Recommended for all who come to give it a try WILL NOT DISAPPOINT!!
Tina Guo
Delicious food, good service, beautiful view! And we love the delicate tableware,🍱🍱🍱too!<br/><br/> We have tried Yakitory Chicken Set, Pork Fillet Ramen and Sushi combination. 🍣🍣🍣I love the sauce of the Chicken Set. What surprises me is that my little son loves the Ramen 🍜🍜🍜so much and ate a lot! He is so happy! <br/><br/>After eating, we went to the seaside to have a walk! It’s just 3 min walk to seaside! We will definitely come again!😁😁😁
Mitchell Eaton
Delicious food, friendly service and a great drinks list. Came here for lunch on a Friday, great value lunch menu and the Lychee Mojito was delicious! Space had a good feel, looking forward to returning.
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