Review Rising Sun Workshop - Newtown

Rising Sun Workshop is located in an odd and unassuming area of Newtown. I really liked the concept of the place with large work benches, gave it a real communal feel. Ordered the darkness which was really nice. The gyoza was on point and the scotch egg was also a winner. The flavours all worked well together. It's a small menu but I'll have to go back to try the other dishes!

Was very impressed with Rising Sun Workshop, located above an actual workshop it has a classy industrial interior. The food is delicious and given attentive love from its chefs. The eggplant dip was perhaps one of the best dips I have had in the last year.

This is such a cool Ramen shop - it’s actually integrated into a motorbike mechanic workshop. They keep the menu simple, but the Breakfast Ramen was insane - never had a broth that tastes like buttered toast but this one did. Would visit again.

Spacious upstairs, not a lot of people with large communal tables. I ordered the vegetarian The Monk Ramen and it was tasty and spicy! They didn't warn you about that. I can work here all day.

Loved it! The concept of the place was well thought-out and you'll see little details here and there that tie everything together. The ambiance and interior is top-notch! Works for casual catch-ups, couple lunch dates, and even work meetings -- everything! Everything was delicious and well-made: the mushroom sandwich and the Light Ramen (that was actually light) but the pork gyoza was the absolute winner for me! Honestly the best I've had by far! Although they have drinks, I'm not sure I would visit on an evening. As they are bit more expensive than usual and I'll be losing out on some great menu items.

Had a delicious dinner at Rising Sun Workshop. The food is clever, skilfully made and creative without being too out there for the average diner. We loved all the smaller plates. Special mentions: the lotus root dumpling (wow!), abalone skewer (that butter), squid with native vegetables and squid ink sauce, and radish cake (amazing textures). The mains unfortunately weren't quite as on point. The nikujaga short rib was incredibly chewy. The Murray Cod served with pil pil meanwhile was muddy-tasting, which spoiled an otherwise elegant and light dish. Strong finish however with the chocolate parfait. Service was very friendly, if a little lacking at times. I think this is in part due to the restaurant layout where they have to frequently go downstairs to fetch food, while the upstairs area is quite vast. I'll definitely come back, and also to try the lunchtime ramens.

Decent ramen place but small serving sizes. Light is preferred over dark and the broth isn’t too heavy as they are both a mix of chicken and tonkotsu or chicken and fish. The gyoza was nice as well, but on the expensive side (could be a function of Sydney these days). Really cool joint as it is above an actual working mechanic!

**Thanks for being open on Monday** Having had a big Sunday night, and feeling dusty the morning after, it was decided that ramen was the meal to heal. Unfortunately, as most know, not all restaurants trade on Monday. And all the other joints I frequent in the area were closed. I had known of Rising Sun for a while but never remembered to go. I was absolutely delighted by my first visit there. Big open spaces, high ceilings, large benches, cool workshop. And the ramen was stupendous - rich in flavour, decadent and perfectly cooked noodles. Nourishing to say the least. Will be back.

Fun atmosphere with a car workshop theme. Lots of sitting area up the top.<br/><br/>Had The Darkness and a glass of espresso coffee with sparkling soda water and lime.<br/><br/>Both food and coffee were good. Would come back.

Well this is the most expensive ramen that I've had in Australia but I wouldn't rate it anything above average. The "darkness" broth was pretty light-flavoured although still tasty apart from the really sharp taste probably from lots of mirin. The egg was mushy and the pork slices really didn't seem good - chewy and tasteless - and there were just two small slices, which fit with a generally small portion. The karaage was perfect - tender chicken in a tasty soft batter - but 3 small pieces for $12 probably makes it the most expensive fried chicken that I've had in Sydney. Definitely the most overpriced restaurant that I've been to this year.

Came here for the first time for a mid week dinner. <br/>All the dishes we ordered were amazing, though there were a few stand outs of the night. <br/>The prawn toast was tasty AF. It was super crispy and we loved the condiment on the side.<br/>Caesar was awesome, the fried anchovies took it to another level.<br/>We didn’t even get to take a photo of the steak as we dove right in. It was honestly one of the best steaks I’ve had in a long long time.<br/>Service was friendly and attentive.<br/>Had a great night so we’d definitely come back.

The most wonderful black pudding... Ever! Growing up in the wilds of Yorkshire, I came to love certain styles of black pudding. This is a truly excellent take on black pudding, avd the rest of the dish really works spectacularly well! I was very remiss by hoeing in before taking a pic.... I simply couldn't wait! Dooooooh!

This is my second time visiting and I was very disappointed with the service. I had to wait 10 minutes for a table for 2 upstairs even though there were empty tables around. It was a quarter to noon (when the lunch menu kicks in) and we informed our waitress that we were happy to sip on coffees to wait 15 mins for our ramen. We got immediate pushed back. We were told that lunch would not be ready for at least another half an hour, contrary to what is written on the menu, and that we had to order breakfast or be shown out. We chose to leave.

Came for breakfast and wanted to try the breakfast ramen but unfortunately they had sold out already! <br/><br/>Tried instead the Hokkaido milk bun with bacon, egg, cheese and kimslaw (kimchi coleslaw) - the kimslaw added a nice textural crunch but I wished it had more of a fiery kimchi punch whilst the milk bun was extremely soft. This was a tasty breakfast bun, but it wasn’t anything particularly special but more like a higher priced fancy egg and bacon roll. <br/><br/>My partner ordered the kimchi toastie and tomato miso.

I absolutely loved coming here. We ordered the eggplant burger and vegetarian ramen. This place has one hat! The ambience is really cool, there's lots of plants and space and a motorbike repair shop downstairs. The eggplant burger was 5/5 - it was crisp and soft and so many pickles which I LOVE. I only had a spoonful of the ramen to try but my friend really enjoyed it. If I return I will 100% order the same eggplant burger again. I also had a glass of orange wine, which was pretty and delish. Such a good lunch!

They also have a 🏍️motorcycle workshop so they have a really cool atmosphere going on 😎 Will definitely be back again<br/><br/>I admire the confidence they have to have only 3 ramen options on their lunch menu. All the broths are full of flavour 😍 The darkness is definitely heavier than the light which is more refreshing so order based on what you feel like.<br/><br/>We tried each ramen type. The salt levels were inconsistent. We found that even the same broths (like two of the lightness had completely different flavours, one person found that it was really light and refreshing but someone else found it really salty and drank a lot of water). Overall the broth did taste good though, lots of flavour and good choice of toppings. Loved the sides, they were very tasty.<br/><br/>The Darkness 🌒 ($20)<br/>Broth: Bannockburn chickens, organic pork bones, shiitake, smoked hocks.<br/>Tarè: Shoyu, mirin, sake<br/>Toppings: Kurobuta pork belly, black fungus, shroom, bamboo, egg, blackened onions, nori<br/><br/>The Light ☀️ ($20)<br/>Broth: Bannockburn chicken and super dashi double down.<br/>Tarè: Smoked salt, ginger, apple, onion, garlic<br/>Toppings: Kurobuta pork belly, greens, shroom, bamboo, egg, green onion, nori<br/><br/>The Monk 🌱 ($20)<br/>Broth: Miso, weeds and mushroom.<br/>Tarè: Peppers, chillies, roast garlic & ginger<br/>Toppings: corn, shroom, greens, sprouts, bamboo, egg, green onion and nori.<br/><br/>Gyoza pork & ginger 🥟 ($9.5)<br/>Bacon-y Corn with egg, miso 🌽 ($9.5)

This place is amazing! Definitely a hidden gem, something I would expect only locals to know which makes the experience a lot more exciting & fun. Beyond the amazing food, coffee and accommodating service—the concept of this cafe/restaurant is what makes it a 5* attraction. Rising Sun serves as a place for locals and non-locals to get creative and make it their very own workspace. Definitely read up more on its background! Will be back :)

Heard so much about this place so we thought we'd give it a try. We were there for lunch on a weekend and the place was packed. The food was good, the ramen exceptional. You can tell a lot of care has gone into the preparation of the broth as well as the other ingredients. We especially liked the dark ramen, which looked very pretty as well. But for $20 a bowl, it was a pricey lunch!

Amazing ramen! Tried the light, darkness, darker than darkness. One of the best I’ve had in Sydney! Darker than darkness definitely a highlight from the first sip. It is highly oily dripping in sesame oil making it very rich and full of flavour. Darkness is a more conservative and best of both worlds kind of ramen. All broths aren’t the thick type but pack a good punch. What I appreciate most is the level of detail between every single ingredient used in each bowl. Highly recommend

Trendy bike shop/cafe in Newtown that takes a few turns through some alleys to reach - booking is recommended for weekends as there will be a line, seating is quite spacious across 2 levels. Quite busy during peak so service may get a bit disorganised/forgetful. Ramen was good (although a bit sad they forgot the iconic bread slice i came for), burger was okay. Tea was great with deep aromatic flavours

very nice place.. great coffee and very friendly staff... enjoyed my time here thoroughly.. Would definitely recommend friends and revisit this place again.

The last place one expect to get a good bowl of ramen is probably a bike shop, but yet here we are. Straight up service was mixed. Waited for ages before getting seated, despite plenty of seats around. There were a few staff walked past, but all look somewhat indifferent & didn’t acknowledge my presence. Finally, another staff came out of a staff room & served me, she was actually friendly & helpful. If you’re a traditionalist, the ramen here is definitely not authentic, more of a fusion. Yet they do taste very good, generous chuck of pork belly that are melt in your mouth. Oozy Onsen egg. Bamboo shoots & fungus. All very good. A little pricer then a standard ramen at $20, probably due to the “fusion” tag.

This place is AMAZING!!! The experience was on another level of sophistication. The service was 100 and the food, this images don’t do justice. I’m going back again 💕

Never been disappointed here at the Rising sun workshop. The ramen broth is just right, not overly thick/thin, I especially love their vegetarian ramen, the Monk, it’s a really rare that a restaurant puts so much effort in a vegetarian ramen. All the toppings are flavourful and the broth is rich enough to be satisfying.

Will may eat <br/>will May eat 👍🏻<br/><br/>Food - Ramen for breakfast! Now that’s something new! Breakfast ramen with your breakfast essentials such as egg/tomato/bacon but in a bowl of ramen broth and noodles. <br/>Venue - restaurant is located in a quite street off the main road in Newtown. Shared communal tables.<br/>Price - around $25 pp (incl. a drink)

I dined here on a Saturday for lunch with a friend. We were seated at a long communal dining table which worked well as the space was quite large so didn't feel crowded even though it was pretty busy when we were there. We ordered a ramen, the pork katsu burger and the char grilled corn with bacon and egg on top. I quite enjoyed all the dishes, the burger in particular was juicy with a decent amount of tangy slaw. I loved the corn with the bursts of salty bacon. Overall, I enjoyed my experience here and would come back to try the other varieties of ramen on offer.

Tucked away down a quiet road in Newtown. This is sharing the same space as a bike shop. Cosy, trendy, I knew I got the right place when they got my coffee order right. The menu is heavily Asian influenced - we ordered the breakfast bibimbap and bloody sunrise. Both were super delicious and so flavoursome. Highlights: venue, great food and good drinks! Lowlights: service was friendly but would be nice to be greeted sooner.

Staff took our phone number so we could go for a walk and didn’t have to wait around, they called us within 10 minutes. <br/><br/>It was quite a long wait from ordering to get our ramen however... much longer than any other ramen place we’d been to. The price point was also a little higher than other comparable ramen places. Had the light ramen and the darkness ramen. Both tasty though the darkness was super salty by the end of it.<br/>

Great little spot for ramen and motorcycles! Tucked away from the main street youd honestly not know this workshop was here. We ordered the dark ramen and it tasted great. Well be back!

Great food, great quaint atmosphere and friendly staff! <br/>Tried the Spaghetti Ramenese and the Lamb ribs and really enjoyed it- lamb was tender and juicy. Ramanese was different but good as well - tasty pork belly ragu!

Tucked away into a laneway in Newtown off the main drag is the bustling Rising Sun Workshop, a motorcycle workshop which shares its airy warehouse space with a cafe that has some Japanese influences on its menu. We drop by for brunch, when their intriguing Breakfast Ramen is still available. The silky buttered toast and bone broth sets the scene for an alternative kind of breakfast, with springy ramen noodles, umami coming in from the grilled tomato and delicious bacon thrown in the mix with a soft boiled egg. A perfect, savoury way to start a cool morning day – because it’s never too early for ramen!

So unsatisfied with the ramen here and definitely not worth the price. Had a dark broth ramen which had this weird bitter taste that I couldn't drink it at all. The noodle was pretty ok. Tables and chair height were out of proportion as I had to lift the bowl to be able to eat comfortably. Staff were pretty helpful and friendly. They also had this weekend surcharge which I have no idea where it stems from.<br/>Definitely nothing special about this place.

I was looking for a local joint to have some breakfast and have seen great reviews for rising sun workshop so decided to give it a try. We ordered the breakfast ramen and the Hokkaido milk bun #1 and was overall was slightly disappointed with such a highly rated cafe. <br/><br/>Whoever cooked the ramen was an amazing chef. The bacon was crispy, the egg cooked perfectly and the ramen nice and chewy but the soup base ruined the whole experience for me. It was flooded with pepper seasoning so that all I can taste was pepper in the broth and that over powered everything else. <br/><br/>The milk bun was pretty tasty. The flavours was balanced and everything inside was cooked well. However the menu said there was kimchi inside but we were slightly disappointed to see the non-spicy version inside.<br/><br/>Coffee was amazing and would come back for it

I had my doubts when the anglo waitress started to talk about ramen. But gurrrrl knew her stuff. She was incredibly knowledgeable and super passionate about the food offered on the menu.<br/><br/>I like that this place doesn't pretend to be 'authentic' and 'traditional' - its unique, quirky and they're comfortable about what they do. <br/><br/>I tried the lighter one and my friend got the darker one. Both were pretty darn decent. I personally prefer the Darkness as the flavour is quite robust. <br/><br/>After the ramen with our bellies full and greedy eyes, we ordered a slice of coconut meringue cake from the cake. It was nice, not mind blowing...just nice.<br/>

Amazing find off the beaten path. Workshop for bike service with relaxed vibes and dining upstairs.<br/><br/>I'm quite surprised to see what the kitchen is churning out here. Didn't know what to expect. Dishes are beautifully presented and textures and flavours is spot on. I'd say these dishes are fine dining quality in a casual environment.<br/><br/>We had-<br/>Toastada: which is pickled octopus on a corn chip. Found the chip overpowered the delicate octopus flavour.<br/><br/>Shellfish over charcoal - we had bug, with koji butter and smoked vinegar. Love this dish. Bug cooked just right (which is not overcooked). Great charcoal and butter flavour.<br/><br/>Roast king prawns - also cooked perfectly (not overcooked). I hate seafood that's been overcooked and Rising Sun Workshop does it well. Dish is served with quality prawn crackers (YUM!) and pearl couscous.<br/><br/>Tong Dak chicken wings - I must say that these chicken wings have been catapulated to the top of my best 'chicken wing' list. A must get if you love chicken and wings. These are crunchy, spicy and sticky sweet. The perfect combo.<br/><br/>San choy bau - modern twist with chunks of pork belly.<br/><br/>Charred mackerel - love this dish. The boy hates fish and he loved this dish also. The beets and ajitsuke gribiche goes perfectly with the fish.<br/><br/>Rangers Valley onglet steak - with ramen butter and roast eshalot. If I eat steak, it has to be soft, medium rare. I only enjoy eating really good steak. This steak is my type of steak. It's perfectly cooked with a pink middle and the butter is generously slathered across the top. And those onions, so good.<br/><br/>Ice cream sandwich - sesame parfait with shortcrust biscuit, dark choc and pistachio. Love how it's white sesame and not dark. Very nutty yet smooth.<br/><br/>All washed down with Yosamusume - Tasogare, Koyoto. Love this sake. Light with apple undertones.<br/><br/>Really enjoyed this find. There were a few other customers wandering in asking for ramen which is only served a lunch. Heard their ramen is really good.<br/><br/>Taste - strong japanese influence however there are other influences too.<br/>Presentation - 5/5<br/>Cleanliness - 3.5/5<br/>Service - 5/5<br/>Wait time for food - 5/5<br/>Parking - street parking

It took me far too long to finally visit Rising Sun Workshop! What was I thinking?<br/>We went on a Saturday morning (with a pram too!) and had plenty of space. <br/>There was 10 of us booked for brunch.<br/>Service was friendly, coffee awesome and food fab. On our table people ordered the breakfast ramen, bibimbap and egg, bacon and kimslaw rolls... all was DELISH! Highly recommended.

I've heard good things about Rising Sun Workshop and decided to make a trip to Newtown. What I walked away with was $38 lighter and probably 1L of water to wash the bad tastes off my mouth.<br/><br/>The Light's broth consisted of chicken and dashi and the seafood accent was so strong 🐥🐟. The chicken broth had a sour undertone and addition of seafood clearly didn't help. Funnily enough it was called the "Light" as the soup was super duper salty 😑. And kale in ramen? If I wanted a healthy Westernised bowl of anything I would have gotten a salad, thanks for caring.<br/><br/>Am I the only one who hated Darker than Darkness 🌑😡? Actually make that 2, Ian didn't like it either. How do people even eat this? What I took from this bowl is inedible fusion-confusion. First of all let's start with the positives, noodles were cooked al dente and egg was nicely soft-boiled, that's about as far as the positives went. There were sooo many intense and conflicting flavours in the one bowl, such as bitter garlic oil, sour pickled shiitake and salty black pudding 😵. The broth itself was so pungent, muddy and salt-heavy that I had a difficult time processing all the confusing flavours on top of the salt. There was also so much bitterness coming from the thick garlic oil that no other flavours could be identified 😔. It felt like I might as well have started drinking motorcycle oil.<br/><br/>I'm all for experimenting and trying new things, as long as they make sense and not to satisfy a bunch of suburban hipsters 🙄. Darker than Darkness was a May-only special and safe to say we would never be near it, or the shop again, ever.

Ordered the light ramen..egg was good but the broth was beyond salty. Pork belly was too fat to my liking. The noodle was normal. All of us at the table can’t stop drinking water after that as we were all so thirsty. Pickles were not good too. If you want some authentic Japanese ramen, this is not the place. Staff were friendly tho.

I come here for the breakfast ramen. It is actually a bike shop with a cafe. I like the space with the high ceiling. I tried the bibimbap but still prefer the ramen. The ramen is super hearty and comforting and something different for breakfast

We had lunch here, ordered the eggplant burger and the “darkness” ramen, both delicious. Cool place with good food and friendly service, will go back!

Unfortunately I sat on the top floor at the bench overlooking the kitchen. It was a Sunday morning and I was put off by the chef who kept continually scratching his beard and head all the time. I know chefs have to taste their food, but there was a  LOT of finger licking going on every couple of minutes. By the time my food came, glorified avocado on toast and "dark chocolate" shake I forced it down. There didn't seem to be any chocolate at all in the milkshake, let alone dark chocolate. What a rort. And the avocado was BLAND, BLAND, BLAND. Very uninspired cooking. I won't be back.

The egg was amazing, I just have to say that before anything else. This is the fanciest ramen I’ve ever ordered, and the setting is really unique in a half cafe/half workshop in Newtown. I ordered the Light option. The only downside was the pork which was really chewy and hard to eat. But otherwise it was an interesting experience!

Friendly and efficient customer service, nice decor and hearty ramen...what more could your want?! It would be a great place to have a work or birthday party.

Ramen is suppose to be "fast food" and to wait for over half an hour for a bowl of ramen that barely scratches the surface for flavour gets a no from me.

AMEN FOR RAMEN! A place for motorcycle lovers and foodies! Their weekly ramen specials are always sensational and their modern twist on Japanese classics sent my tastebuds on a magical journey! Umami FTW!

Waited over 40mins for a bowel of ramen which was definitely not worth the wait. Broth was beyond salty. Noodles over cooked. Chefs should not experiment with pickled mushrooms. The place had so much potential but failed to rise above expectations.

Came to Rising Sun Workshop on Sunday morning to catch the famous Breakfast Ramen, only served before 12 noon! The ambience is sort of industrial and communal with lots of long tables for shared sitting. It is so spacey that we didn't have to queue to be seated at Sunday peak brunch time.<br/><br/>We ordered the Breakfast Ramen (of course) in butter broth. It's like all breakfast stuff, bacon, egg, tomato and butter in the ramen. The butter broth is very rich, a bit heavy for breakfast, but it is yummy nonetheless.<br/><br/>What I really liked was the Hokkaido Milk Bun #1 with bacon, egg and cheese and yummy kimslaw, what I thought was coleslaw in slightly spicy kimchi sauce. The milk buns are really soft and nice, perfect for the breakfast occasion. The hint of kimchi spiciness really refreshing. What a brilliant idea!<br/>

Cozy cafe with great ambience. Ramen and coffee was good, noodle was great, the soup was quite salty and oily. Overall, the portion is big enough for me to fill in my hunger.

Given the prevalence of social media and the time poor nature of almost everybody these days, I have decided to make my blog posts more 'snackable'. Essentially this means the posts going forward will be shorter - summarised with a few key dot points. Please provide feedback below if you like or dislike this approach - thanks for reading!

About to make a big statement here.......BEST RAMEN IN SYDNEY! 🙊<br/><br/>The dinner menu ominously lists 'Secret Ramen' on their menu, where the staff generally reserve revealing what it is until they serve it to the customer. This night I was lucky enough to try their ode to a Lebanese chicken shop - succulent chargrilled chicken, garlic aioli, pickled raddish with firm yet nice and chewy noodles. Man, it was good.<br/><br/>Rising Sun Workshop started as a haven for Newtown locals to safely work on their bikes and motor vehicles since there was no other facility in the area. The addition of the restaurant as a loft about the workshop is just a beautiful add-on that produces amazing food. Kind of reminds me of a New York style loft, but with communal table eating and food service.<br/><br/>Highly recommend! Now I just want to try every type of ramen they make....

Gorgeous two-storey industrial warehouse space with lots of dark wood and green accents from ferns and fronds. Unfortunately, there's no all day breakfast so we missed out on the breakfast ramen with a 12.30pm arrival. However, very happy to have been able to instead try the pork katsu burger which both looked great and tasted fantastic; a perfectly soft bun with a crunchy panko crumbed cutlet with a creamy and tangy slaw. And if having ramen, RSW will accommodate requests for kaedama (noodle refill).

Four of us went for brunch here and we really enjoyed it. First, let's talk about the ambience of the place. It is both a working motorcycle repair shop and a cafe. It celebrates Japanese food and Japanese bikes and its pretty cool to look over the balcony and watch a bike purr out of the shop as you wait for your meal. And wait you will, the service here is petty laid back, but that's OK as everyone is so friendly and the place is so relaxed, it's no drama to sit back with a coffee and wait for your food. <br/><br/>The food here is amazing. Three of us had the milk bun #1 a delicious combination of bacon, eggs, and coleslaw, and one had the avocado on charcoal toast which also rated well. All this was washed down with copious amounts of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. <br/><br/>The final surprise here was the price, it was very reasonable, especially when compared to some of its Newtown competition. <br/><br/>Great food, great staff, great atmosphere, great price - just go!<br/>

This awesome place is tucked away from the riff raff in Newtown. I had the Monk Ramen $19 and Porky Katsu Burger. SO TASTY SO YUM! I will be back!

Rising sun was such a lovely surprise for a relaxed dinner spot! We popped in and had a glass of red with the secret ramen of the day - pork belly with delicious shiitakes and lots of roasted veggies. Can't wait to come back and try the little share plates.

Great place for both breakfast and dinner. If you have had enough of the standard eggs and bacon breakfast well rising sun workshop will have something a little different for you- breakfast ramen, bento box, and rice cake pork and chilli greens. The dinner was just as good with tasty fresh flavours. Service very good and great concept for the motorbike workshop. Will be back

Had lunch here for the first time today, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience! We walked straight in and were greated and seated immediately. The service was prompt and very friendly, the space light and sunny with an appealing industrial ambiance. Our waiter was more than happy to talk to us about the history of the building and answer all our questions. The ramen was delicious; we both had The Dark. A rich and tasty broth, generous serving of pork belly, and delicious marinated mushroom & black fungus made this my favourite ramen I've tried yet! I'll be back to try the bacon and egg breakfast ramen, I'm intrigued!

I've come back to this place several times and have tasted quite a lot of their food, so I can say that this review is based on the average experience that I get from all the times I've visited <br/><br/>Food Taste: Definitely my favorite ramen shop in Sydney because of their unique take on this Japanese dish. I've tried The Darkness, The Light, and one of their secret ramens (which they only serve for dinner, and changes every fortnight), and I must say that I've never been disappointed. However, if you're looking for that traditional Japanese ramen taste, I don't think this is the place for you. <br/><br/>Coffee: Apart from their food menu items, they also serve excellent coffee. They use from different suppliers - some even from Melbourne, which you won't normally get from cafes here in Sydney.<br/><br/>Ambience: Because their tables are mostly communal, it may feel a bit awkward to slurp on your ramen in front of strangers (though it's encouraged in Japanese culture to do so). In other words, you may not get the kind of privacy you want if you're on a date. Otherwise, if you're just there with your mates or by yourself, then you'll be fine! They're also literally a workshop, so the theme is industrial.<br/><br/>Service: May be a bit slow when there's a crowd, but then again, which restaurant isn't? The staff are very friendly and know their menu items well.

Probably the best tasting japanese food for me so far. I found that all japanese food tasted the same so I was never the biggest fan until this place. <br/>Every dish was just so delicious! Definitely 5 out of 5 for taste. <br/>Points were taken away because they got our order wrong a few times. First they got our drink order wrong then they brought out two dishes we didn't order. The last dish also came out 30 minutes later. <br/>When booking, our friends asked for a table with lots of light but when we got there they sat us in the most darkest area?!<br/>The bill was also a bit expensive. <br/>Prices were quite high for the portion size. <br/>If we had had a good experience with the service we'd probably go back because the food was so good but now it's more like meh!

Ramen was $19 a bit on the pricey side but was really yummy. Broth was a little too salty for my liking but very good quality. I enjoyed the ramen overall. Service was quick and it was friendly.

I have been complaining to my friends about the state of Japanese cuisine in Sydney which lags behind (badly) tiny cities like Hong Kong, Singapore or Taiwan due to inferior ingredient and poor workmanship (See my previous posts). Many of them "pressured" me to come to the Rising Sun Workshop. <br/><br/>Rising Sun Workshop cafe offers an assortment of Japanese-leaning snacks and ramen dishes in a converted airy warehouse space. The social enterprise also offers a communal space for the biking community to repair and polish their motorcycles. <br/><br/>Decorated with bicycles and lovely portraits, the spacious and airy cafe appears to possess all the ingredients to attain success. After reading comments from the previous reviewers, it seems like the cafe owners cannot be bothered with their (unbelievable) structural disorganisation and intermittent service. <br/><br/>I managed to get a place at RSW after my third try. The first two tries: I reached the cafe at 9.20pm (40 minutes before closing time) and 3pm (an hour before time) and on both occasions, the kitchen closed earlier. Perhaps they could indicate on their Facebook or website that last orders are 1.5 or 2 hours before closing time (which I overheard in my third visit)<br/><br/>I ordered "Bacon-y Corn" and the Darkness on my third visit to RSW. After an arduous wait (30 minutes), a server came with a plate of gyozas, which I politely corrected him. (The cafe was operated at half capacity). The bowl of bacon-y corn arrived after another 15 minutes and I finished them within 3 minutes out of sheer hunger. The bacon-y corn was nothing exceptional (Bacon bits and corn from Woolworths). <br/><br/>Twenty minutes later, a friendly service crew approached me and asked if I enjoyed my lunch. I told her I had not taken my ramen. To my disappointment, the kitchen had forgotten my order. Twice in an hour! Although she did offer to prepare my ramen, I was not mentally prepared to wait another 75 minutes for a bowl of ramen and I had decided to leave. During that 75 minutes of boredom, I finished a round of Katy Perry's new album and many runs of Despacito. <br/><br/>RSW is a promising food institution but their ingenuity concept can be easily undone by their structural organisation and nominal service.

Friendly staff, wonderful atmosphere. The teas are amazing. However, the ramen is definitely way too salty. First bite was amazing but it builds up and I couldn't get the third bite down. I left with a salty lump in my throat I couldn't get rid of. <br/>Will be back though, hopefully other things on the menu will be better. The environment was perfect.

It had a motorbike repair garage with the cafe. You could see some classic Japanese motorcycles parked in and around the vicinity. Walking into the café, it looked extremely spacious with high ceilings and bare design. Taking the stairs up is the main dining area which was well spaced apart. The furniture was basic and not many decorations were used. The service was exceptional and the waiter was happy to have some small talk. I had heard so much about this café and was really excited to try their dishes. <br/><br/>I started with a latte and it was great. I couldn’t tell if it was purposely lopsided but it had a nice big c holding the flower in between. The coffee was aromatic and not bitter, as expected from a latte. I ordered the prison bento and it just blew me away. I was literally salivating while taking the photo because of how intricate it was. I like heavy flavours but the light and subtle flavours from this dish was mesmerising. You can mix and match your food and then have a little rice with umeboshi. Eggs were tender and juicy; tofu was silky and smooth; sesame salad was aromatic; pickled root vegetables and fish. Each bite was refreshing and light, it was a huge contrast between bacon and eggs. I ate the entire bento and felt satisfied yet not bloated. The only questionable element was the miso which was extremely salty. Otherwise, it was a perfect breakfast. I definitely recommend giving this place a try. I also wish they have more food to offer so I can try more of what they are capable of.

Inhaling ramen with a whiff of petroleum in a defunct hardware store… could anything be more Newtown than the Rising Sun Workshop? Yes, ducking into the old Mitre 10 on a drizzly Wednesday evening for dinner certainly had me raising an eyebrow. It’s a relentlessly hipster community space where you can dismantle your Ducati, rebuild your Buell, or tinker with your Triumph while at the same time be assured you won't be eating factory farmed food. Yes, as well as a bike shop, they're a daytime café that’s also open for dinner Wednesday to Saturday evenings. Safely ensconced on a banquette on the lower level, we’re tended to by warm, friendly staff who explain there’s only one ramen on offer at night. Tonight’s Secret Ramen (Shhhh!) ($22) involves...

Delicious Tonkatsu Ramen at Rising Sun Workshop. The broth is light but very very tasty. Just enough flavours packed into one bowl. Made of fresh ingredients. $19 for this dish, but it was worth it.<br/><br/>Looking forward to trying a variety of ramen next time we are in Newtown.

Awesome location in Newtown, in a converted warehouse (the old mitre 10). Best seating is upstairs on the mezzanine. They do breakfast and lunch. The cuisine Japanese inspired, I popped in for lunch and ordered 'the darkness' a super tasty ramen made with chicken pork and mushroom, absolutely delicious. Staff are friendly and there is a communal motorbike workshop that gives the whole place a cool industrial communal vibe.

Parking can be a nightmare around newtown but if you enter from brown ln to whateley st (where rising sun is), there are some bays for parking on the left. <br/><br/>Service WAS friendly WHEN we had their attention even though they were only running at half capacity. Order of prison bento (with cod fish) n brekky ramen took 40 min to arrive at our table (probable mix up as some later customers got their food first). <br/><br/>Well? Was it worth the wait? Cod fish was cooked just right, delicately seasoned which allowed the freshness to shine. Brown rice on the bento was replaced with normal white steamed rice without prior warning. Steamed broccolini (with a dollop of sesame seasoning) was nice when paired with the yoghurt. The rolled egg was luke warm plain jane but the miso n tofu came piping hot😉. A bit of a mixed bag as a whole. Prison bento 2.75/5. <br/><br/>Brekky ramen was pretty impressive in the first few slurps especially when it came out piping hot. Broth hit me with its buttery richness initially. Noodles cooked al dante. Midway though, the lack of foundation of the broth reared its ugly head as if it came out roaring but whimpered just as i wanted more from it. 3/5<br/><br/>Not many jap inspired fusion outlets in the area. As such you should give them a go if you feel like it. Note this review was based on a brekky experience.

The place was very nice decorated and never that i thought a bike workshop would serve an amazing ramen. I came in at lunch time which i am a bit late for breakfast(actually i want to try the breakfast ramen) but the dark ramen doesnt dissapoint me at all. It is filled with 63 eggs, caramelised onion, and very thick cut of braised pork belly. It was heaven even the bamboo shoot is very crisp and clean tasting. But the most amazing part is the shitake mushrooms that i believe soaked in a very strong vinegar sollution that really counteract the richness of the ramen. Splendid <br/>

-macchiato: deep, musky notes on the nose and palate. approachable, easy drinking. A very subtle hint of bitterness and no acidity. A little too far on the creamy side. Not served in a hot glass - coffee was warm<br/><br/>-ramen: broth was hearty, with butter tones featuring prominently but lacking a punchy depth of flavor. This can be forgiven though, as they are not a ramen speciality store and breakfast ramen by nature should be a little more approachable than their lunchtime counterparts. This is an easy-going meal, though the amount of butter crammed into the broth is likely to put a pregnant Holstein cow to shame. On the pro side, Rising Sun scored well against the 'breakfast' theme, and it's clear that the meal was made with a lot of attention and care. Bacon was very crispy, and as a whole the meal was pleasant to eat. <br/><br/>-service: friendly but a little disorganized and inexperienced. A pair who arrived later than us had their order taken and food served before us. I quietly noted that their banana bread and granola order took 15 mins to prepare (and our ramen and prison bento order in excess of 35 mins) - the place was running at less than half customer capacity. We also noted with some mirth that Dad's umeboshi rice was decorated with a single strand of long brown hair (perhaps they were really going for that 'prison bento' authenticity??)<br/><br/>-decor: has its own charm. Bike workshop feel with a Japanese twist.

Great vibe, located next to a bike workshop. Great and interesting selection of food with unique Japanese and Asian influences. Cannot wait to come back to try breakfast and lunch menus

I took my mum here a while back to get breakfast. They accommodated for her eggs on toast, whilst I tried the #2 Hokkaido milk bun. The bun was the delicious and I'm always going back for my strong piccolo. <br/><br/>The staff are always welcoming without the all-too-often-seen fake smiles at other places; they will not pretend to be your best friend (good), but they will give you awesome service (very good). <br/><br/>These guys are the real deal and I genuinely believe they put community first.

Went for dinner, and I was pleasantly surprised by everything.  I thought it would be a motorcycle themed cafe, but was totally wrong. The workshop is visible from the seating downstairs and creates a fantastic atmosphere of collaboration and activity while providing an additional visual focus while enjoying a meal or tasty beverage. The food is next level, highlights were the octopus cooked on charcoal with pine, and the skirt steak. The service is really friendly and personable, and you can see that everyone enjoys being in the beautiful space. It's a but hard to find, but I cant imagine that being an issue for long. Check it out before they busy and you need to line up.

Nick Smith isn’t your everyday chef. Nobody would think to put a motorcycle workshop and a restaurant under the same roof. Most would also not expect that such a restaurant would be serving pan-Asian cuisine. That such a restaurant would call ramen its signature dish – and living up to it – was the biggest surprise of them all. Enter the Rising Sun Workshop.

Rising sun workshop is located in a side street off King St, Newtown. This innovative cafe is attached to a community funded garage that runs workshops where people can learn how to fix their motor bikes. It is a cool space with all sorts of bikes parked out the front. When you enter there is an open space with a garage totally separated from the cafe but allowing you to see all of the action.The cafe has a insustrial feel with a few bikes displayed and some cool artistic pieces. The staff are relaxed, friendly and provide excellent service.

Ballsy flavoured ramen in a beautifully airy workshop loft. I had the dark ramen (highlight was the pickled mushroom) and a nice cocktail. Price was steep at $17 a bowl, a flaming rip if it hadn't been so good. Attentive service.

it is very unfortunate that i had to leave a really bad review. This is my second time came to this joint for a ramen, first was moons ago when it was just a pop up and it was great. however today i came and ordered ramen. the service were really slow as i waited almost half an hour for a bowl of ramen. thus i approached one of the staff and asked about my order. her answer was " well the docket were down there and the chef should already be making them. you are not the only one here". so i told her that it is because we had waited for a long time and i specifically asked her to let me know once she cheked our order as i would love to cancel if it has not been made yet. to be frank the place was not extremely busy. what's appalling was she did not come back to inform us neither apologise for making us wait.i did not think of the price point initially but after being kept waiting for long and treated rudely i can't justify to pay $22 for a bowl of ramen. she could handled the customer service more professionally. i think as a foodie i must say you can't survive in a food industry with that kind of attitude and sassyness. regardless of how great your food is, people will forget the taste in a week or so but people will never forget how you make them feel. for that i will never return to this joint and will not recommend this place to any of my fellow foodies.

I was in Melbourne last month but didn't get the chance to try Cibi's Japanese breakfast. So I decided to give Rising Sun a try. I'm quite disappointed:<br/>1. Coffee is below average in Newtown area<br/>2. Breakfast ramen is ok with an emphasis on the buttery flavor.<br/>3. Prison bento? Seems like chef doesn't really know about Japanese cuisine. From tofu, rice, to grilled fish and 玉子烧, very disappointed I have to say.

Rising Sun Workshop 1.0 came about as a result of a succesfful pozible campaign to establish a workshop where bike enthusiasts can get together to fixerupper their bikes. Somewhere along the line, it picked up a Ramen Kitchen run by Nick Smith. Version 1 was a somewhat short lived but well loved “popup” in Newtown. Version 2, then is the finished version of the Workshop and its taken over the old Mitre 10 site (in a circular circle of life sort of way; Mitre10 Sunlite has since returned to Newtown also opening on King Street).

Great concept and the food seems interesting. The upper level has potential, and great to kick back and chill. The Industrial fit out features oversized beams and exposed brickwork. A super spacious brunch spot with the ground level being the main workshop, making great use of the space. Look forward to returning and try their menu (rather than a coffee)

I have visited a few times now, and really love the coffee. My first visit was breakfast, and I had the milk bun with bacon, egg, cheese and Kimslaw, and I will definitely be going back for another. <br/><br/>The carrot cake looks amazing (but I am a sucker for cream cheese frosting) so that has to be on my list of take homes next visit. <br/><br/>The space and staff were inviting, and it was great to see some people working away on their motorcycles while I sipped on my flat white. <br/><br/>Overall, I really like this place, and am keen to try the breakfast ramen next visit.

Breakfast ramen is one of the those things that you wonder why noone has ever thought of before. Smith infuses the ramen broth with actual pieces of buttered toast, then ladles it into bowls of ramen with bacon, egg and grilled tomato. It doesn't get more East meets West than this.

Putting aside the delicious marinated "shroom" and the melt-in-your-mouth pork kurobuta belly, Rising Sun Workshop's ramen has got to be the most heart-breaking bowl of noodles I've had in ages. <br/><br/>Both Light and Dark ramens (17.00) we ordered featured a flavourless, bland broth and the noodles were well overcooked (my friend remarked she wished she had stayed at home for instant noodles. Pretty harsh there). The chai tea we ordered was just like the ramen broth, flavourless and made from a powder. That's cheating.<br/><br/>Overall, I loved the bright spacious interior of the workshop but the food was so disappointing I won't be returning any time soon. There are plenty of other ramen options out there in Sydney.

They’re baaaaaaaack! It’s been 2 looong years but finally the Rising Sun Workshop has returned! The communal motorcycle workshop and eatery has now got permanent digs in Newtown and with Nick Smith back at it with the ramen, we cleared our weekend so we could feast. The space is light filled and welcoming, a surprise considering the building was an 100+ year old hardware store.

First dish I tried was The Light ($17) ramen. It's a shio (salt) based double soup broth with springy ramen noodles, kurobuta belly chashu, menma, pickled mushroom, greens (kale in this case), green onion, and the best ajitama (marinated soft-boiled egg) I've had in Sydney. The perfect ajitama was super flavoursome and the yolk was runny. The shio tare has been tweaked and made the broth extra special. So besides the notes of chicken and fish, you also get hints of smoky and crisped flavours with some umami in the light broth. It's a good thing the broth is light because the big slab of chashu is fatty, rich and flavoursome! The light ramen is a perfectly balanced bowl of ramen. This has gotta be the best shio-based ramen I've had in Sydney to date.