Review Taruhachi - North Sydney

An amazing Japanese restaurant hidden away in north Sydney. It has a really cozey atmosphere to it and the staff are nice there. This is place is also open during the evening and has a whisky bar as well. I recommend getting the bento if you’re not sure what you would like. You have the choice to choose a side dishe as well

Without a doubt Taruhaci Bento is a cosy Japanese restaurant and hidden gem in North Sydney. Great place for a quick lunch or dinner after work. We ordered the Unagi Bento box with 2 sides ($24) and Japanese Curry with rice and Ebi ($19). Both were delicious and reasonably priced. They also have an extensive list of whisky for all the whisky lovers out there. The place can get quite busy as it is relatively small, thus booking is recommended. 19/04/2022

A little hidden gem in North Sydney. Bento boxes/sushi and snacks. I had the curry and my partner had the Chicken Nanban. We both had miso and i had a suntory on tap. Such an enjoyable meal and vibe. We will be back!

This cozy, quiet place has the BEST sushi bowl I have ever eaten in my life. One bowl made me quite full (yet, I still craved more). Going back soon for more!

Hidden gem in north Sydney. Small alley leads to a authentic Japanese restaurant & bar. Remind me of the day when I was in Tokyo exploring the night bar with tons of different options for sakes and Japanese whiskeys. Lovely jazz music with lots of souvenir from Japan creates a chic atmosphere. Ordered curry chicken katsu, unagi bento box, both delicious and fresh. One of the best curry in Sydney, you can tastes fruity flavor with a hint of herb infused aroma. Chicken katsu is crispy, juicy and not favored own it’s own ( which is great cause you can actually feel the freshness of the meat and when you dig the chicken in the curry you can still taste the sweetness of the meat )

Incredible food and service. Great hidden gem in North Sydney. I got the wagyu beef, lots of others around me were ordering Katsu curry and raving about how great it was - will definitely try that next time

Tucked away in a place that people would never expect a Japanese restaurant. Well worth trying the different meals they serve. It is a lot like many of the restaurants you find in Japan, both size and meals.

A hole in the wall but certainly an amazing place. The karage chicken is well perfected and the portions balanced. Friendly team and space is atypical of what you find in Tokyo - every inch is purposeful.

We came on a Monday night and was surprised with the constant stream of Uber food orders and diners. The meals came out in an acceptable time frame. The Tofu agedashi was really good with a light tempura based batter on the Tofu and flavourful accompanying sauce. My Salmon sushi was also very tasty and the salmon was not skimpy. My daughter had Chicken Katsu Don which was huge. The Katsu cooked really well with crunchy outside and moist succulent chicken inside.<br/>Would definitely come back again.

Taruhachi is a Japanese resturant in a hidden walkway behind a cafe. <br/>They sell a variety of bento boxes for $10. I bought one with kaarage chicken, prawn skewer, chicken wing and pork meat. Great value for a fulfilling lunch! <br/>Will be back to try their other bento boxes and dishes!

Sad to see Taruhachi changed its menu - the original menu was authentic and high quality and I've always enjoyed it, however the new menu - although has a slight drop in quality, is way more affordable and food delivers much faster for people who work in North Sydney. I miss the old menu but I can afford the new menu for lunch much more now so I'll continue to support Taruhachi.

Wow, what a decline ... Taruhachi was really a hidden gem in the past. Nice atmosphere, great food. You felt as if you were in Tokyo.<br/><br/>Unfortunately all gone: The restaurant is lighted by screaming neon lamp. The rice cooker is literally in the middle of the dining room. The menu is gone. Only a few options written on a blackboard. No more specials.<br/>The tempura which was once a highlight - is prepared and only heated up.<br/><br/>This restaurant which was once a highlight has changed into a fast food joint.

What a great hidden gem. Unless you are out looking for it, it's so well tucked away at the back behind the cafe in front, you won't notice it just walking by on the street. The inside decor is modest & a little dated, but that just add to it's authenticity, this could almost be a small family run place at a backstreet somewhere in Japan. I got one of their lunch combo set meal with sashimi & teriyaki fish. For under $17 (paid cash) I got 6 pieces of mixed sashimi, 3 pieces of small teriyaki fish fillets served with rice, 3 types of salads, miso soup, and a piece of melon. The sashimi was good, and I loved the teriyaki fish with sweet soy glaze & slightly crispiness. Overall great value & tasty.

First thing I noticed is it's lunch time and I'm the only one in here.. this could be a mistake.<br/>Had the sushi and tempura set. The tempura was light and a good variety of vegetables and fish. Unfortunately though, everything else was really quite poor. The miso was bland, the salad was way too salty, some of the sushi was chewy (even the salmon which should be a no brainier).<br/>Easy to see why it's empty - not enough care given.

Brilliant!<br/>Tiny tucked away authentic Japanese restaurant!<br/>Quick service(i was there on a Tuesday and Wednesday night) great Kimuchi and Udon<br/>Great prices, you can spend $10 or $20 per person<br/>

Lovely little hidden gem in North Sydney! I always walked past this restaurant when I did my grocery shopping as its next to an Aldi and Coles.<br/><br/>Came with a friend for dinner, and when I walked in it immediately felt cozy and warm; as if you're entering your friends family home.<br/><br/>We were the first patrons, so the waitress showed us the menu very quickly. I chose the ten-don which is a tempura rice bowl. My friend got the kimuchi pork hot pot. <br/><br/>My food arrived first, and man the first bite was full of bliss! Tempura prawns were huge, followed by deep fried fish pieces and veggies. It's covered by a sweet soy sauce on a bed of rice.<br/><br/>My friends hot pot is seasoned beautifully, full of pork belly slices and vegetables; perfect for winter. It's priced well for what you get; my ten-don which had 2 large prawn pieces in it was $20.80 whilst my friends hot pot was $13 I think, she had to order rice separately.<br/><br/>Service is friendly; can't wait to come back and try something different!

This place is a small piece of Japan hidden in North Sydney. First off, be ready to wait for your meal, like a 20 min wait on average, and that's IF you're first in line! My review is based only on dinner.<br/><br/>The food quality is great and you can feel the chef takes great care in the food he makes. The sushi, sashimi, tempura, grilled fish, and udon are all awesome. This place has my favourite udon and you should try it. Definitely worth coming if you're around the area.

First time in this small but cozy hideaway. Had a lunch Tempura and Sushi bento. The sushi was not only fresh but plentiful not often seen these days. The tempura batter was a little thick but still tasty and the sides of salad and fruit really rounded off the meal. Will take the wife next and check out the Katsu.

This place can be a very nice option for lunch catch up with 1- 2 people.<br/>Surprisingly busy, considering the price is not cheap, and the location is a bit hidden from the main street.<br/>Food is yum. Service is ok. <br/>But I went back when a group of 4 to have a dinner after workout.<br/>That time was a bit disappointing. It took very long to bring out the food, the potion is small and the guys in our group were still hungry and discussed whether take the hungry jack next door as a chaser. <br/>So I recommend the place for lunch, but may have to find somewhere else for dinner, especially when you were hungry.

And when I want to eat better, I want to each sashimi. Simple, fresh and raw fish with a bowl of rice and some miso. Delish. Recently I went to a second hand bookshop in North Sydney and noticed a very japanese looking shop front next door, this is where I decided to go to eat healthier. The shop reminds me of a traditional japanese restaurant. Small, quaint, a bit rustic in a japanese way with handwritten specials on paper stuck to the wall.  I ordered, as you might have guessed; sashimi with rice. It also came with miso soup and salad which was served in the following order: salad, soup, and then a tray with sashimi (tuna and salmon), bowl of rice and some oranges. Verdict: Tasty, fresh, felt like I wasn't in North Sydney and price is proba

For someone who loves sushi, ramen, dons, and other cornerstones of Japanese cuisine as much as I do, I think it’s a complete travesty that I have never had the opportunity to visit Japan. What is this madness?  I’ve always wanted to visit, but other destinations and excuses seem to pop up just when I fix on the idea of visiting Japan. Excuses like: Korea will be cheaper, Vietnam’s better at this time of the year, I need to visit my family in China again, those flights to London are really cheap, we’re going to New Zealand why don’t you come with us, etc etc. I know I’ll make it there eventually, but in the meantime, I can at least indulge in my love of Japanese food in such (reportedly) authentic restaurants as Taruhachi in North Sydney. Hidden down a passageway behind another shop, Taruhachi is a real hidden gem on the North Shore, and popular with locals in the know even on the usually quiet Wednesday night that we were there. K delighted in the decor of the tiny restaurant which re

You certainly can not get more traditional Japanese than Taruhachi in North Sydney. What a find! Traditional, it certainly is, with the tv playing our all time favourite Japanese shows, right down to the manga magazines on hand. The walls are lined with the usual specials, mostly in Japanese. The lunch menu consists mainly of set bento boxes consisting of a main (choose from the menu on the wall, with a side of salad, fruit, rice and miso soup), while the dinner is A La Carte. The lunch trade is also extremely busy however, the evenings tend to be a lot more quiet suitable for an intimate dinner for two or a group gathering. The restaurant is not large so there is limited seating. Tempura ($18) Our recommendation, come here for the Tempura and Agedashi Tofu. Definitely the best we've ever had. The tempura is so crisp, light and not oily. There is a great variety of veggies and s

We all love hidden gems. I'm sure many of us pretend to have discovered them. Taruhachi is one of those restaurants I wish I had discovered. But I don't work in North Sydney... and besides, the person who took me here can list the names of all the people

Love this place!. So authentic! a little small and usually crowded at lunch on a weekday. service can be pretty slow but the food is great! love the little dishes and my all time favorite of fried oysters :)

BAD SERVICE. Never to go back there again. Waiters are rude and the food is nothing special and overpriced.

Had hoped for more. Had been here once before years ago but eaten at a LOT of Japanese places since then. Only one other table here and had to get the waitress' attention to take my order.<br/><br/>Note that the English menu you are given is not the full story - have a look on the whiteboards that they have standing up - some will be in Japanese but there is a full equivalent English menu around - just look for it. This will have most of what is on the laminated English menu as well as more goodies. So in fact it is a fairly wide menu for such a small place.<br/><br/>Had the kara-age chicken. While it was OK, for $12.80 it wasn't anything more than average. Had the tonkatsu set for $25.80 - the tonkatsu defintely wasn't anything to write home about. This is a place run by Japanese so expected better quality. It had the usual garbage salad and then two small litte dishes that were nothing to write home about. The salmon's head miso was a little offputting so couldn't drink much of it. The tonkatsu was no better than an el cheapo Jap place and here is charging definitely more than a cheap Jap cafe - then again, being in the heart of North Sydney will do that.<br/><br/>Expensive for the quality I got.

Expensive. Great Japanese food but a little pricey. Menu's were a little difficult but if you eat Japanese regularly you will know what your looking for.

Went based on good reviews on urbspoon however was thoroughly underwhelmed. <br/>True, once you step in it feels like a neighbourhood Izakaya style joint you'd regularly find in Japan with their regular horde of salarymen diners.... However, the difference was: those restaurants in Japan serve up top-notch, straight-to-the point home style cooking that's absolutely delicious. The taruhachi menu suggests the same however, what was served up was dismal. First up, it appears there is a difference in the Japanese language menu (pasted all around the shop and written on a handwritten whiteboard) to the English language menu in terms of the dishes offered, ie the English menu offering a selection that has considerably less than the Japanese one (it looks like the English one hadn't been updated for yonks)...this was proven by the fact a Japanese pair ordered something that wasn't available on the menu I was given. I'd already tried to ask for something from the Japanese menu pasted on the wall (with my limited Japanese, and the waitress's limited English), however, was thoroughly disappointed with the grilled jemfish we were served.... The fish did not taste fresh (which is a prerequisite for this style of cooking that uses minimal ingredients like salt as the only seasoning), meaning it was tough, tasted fishy and totally lacked flavour (no sauce was served at all). A dismal tiny portion of 2 small fillets of jemfish costed us bloody $20. <br/>Our other main, the curry katsu wasn't much better- the crumb was hard and didn't fall off the pork like it should, and the pork was also quite tough. not cheap for a dish that was $17 and it basically was only a pork cutlet with curry sauce (no veggies either!) and some rice.<br/>The only ok dish was our sashimi salad- they gave us a good portion of fresh cut sashimi, however, the dressing was WAY too vinegary and overpowered the sashimi.<br/>Basically utterly disappointed with the food served. Never will return and would strongly recommend against going. $30 p/head offers many better options elsewhere.<br/>Don't go.

Great low key, authentic Japanese. Hidden away under a building in Mount Street this little Japanese restaurant is about as authentic as it gets. Cheap as chips and packed every lunch time with a great range of typical Japanese foods - sushi, sashimi, tempura udons, and my favourite by far the Sukiyaki.

A little piece of Japan. We stumbled across this place on a visit it Sydney. When we walked in we felt like we were back in Japan. It was filled with Japanese "Salarymen" and Japanese students, so we went back the following night. There were menus everywhere in Japanese and an English menu. We wanted the authentic Japanese experience so we asked the waitress to suggest dishes from the Japanese menu. The food was exceptional! We wish we could find somewhere like this in Melbourne!

My partner & I read the reviews and thought we would givf it a go. When we got there, we were greeted and seated, whilst the owner manager did her paperwork at another table. The casual waiteress ( a Japanese lady from Osaka) came to take our order. Even though she mentioned she had worked there 3 months she did not know the menu at all and had to keep checking with the chef in the kitchen. The restaurant is more set up from lunchtime tragic of the north Sydney CBS clientelle. We found it was too difficult to order what we wanted and the price kept escaling starting from the origional $15.95 now going to $24.95. After the to and froing, we drank our wine paid the $2 for the nibbles we had and said to the waitress we willnever be back as you and the lack of flexibilty means that you will lose our $50 tonight and we will tell others not to bother to go her for dinner... Just too hard. As we left, I thanked Kayo for the service but that was received with a realy filthy glare as to say good riddens to us. That said, we went to a local pub opposite north Sydney station and got 2 meals & 2 glasses of wind for $33 and people smiled and were happy to receive u. Shame.. As I live and working north sydney and like to find and support local restarants... But not this one unfotunately, they seriously let themsflves down and ultimately their customers