One of the best hidden gems in Melbourne.
I don't particularly like Japanese food but the menu catered for all palettes while still being genuine in tradition. It was delectable, my hats off to the chef.
Their drinks selection is astounding, a wide range of sake that you can either sip on our throw back and the Japanese whiskeys are to die for.
The bar staff are amazing in their knowledge and serve cocktails beyond perfection. floor staff are attentive and friendly beyond expectation.
If you're after a night out just for relaxing (slightly more) drinks or a delicious feed, I highly recommend Den Deke.10/10
So lucky to have this place in our neighbourhood. The staff are awesome, food is top notch, and the ambience is awesome. Ask the guys to help you navigate the super impressive sake list. We’ve been out on to some absolute gems. Keep up the good work guys!
Great service, fantastic staff and food; tunes were on point. Exactly what you need. 10/10 would recommend.
Awesome staff very lovely enjoyed the tuna tataki so much!! the sake and shochu menu is very good with staff helping pick what you want highly recommend
This is a lovely restaurant. Nice atmosphere, great food and drink and lovely staff. We will definitely be going back!!!
Funky setup, great authentic food that finally fills the Japanese vacuum in the north Darebin area, awesome sake selection, and the staff are fab. Winning addition to the 86 tram line for sure.
Exactly what this end of thornbury / preston needed. Great food. Great drinks. Great music Awesome
Absolutely loved it! Great food, beer, sake, music and hosts!
Awesome experience intimate quirky definitely worth a look brilliant staff small a rock n roll Japanese very Tarantino
A very impressive range of sake and drinks. Very good and reasonably priced food. Real Japanese Japanese food without pretention
The service was great, the food delicious with a great atmosphere to go along with the dining experience. Thank you!
Awesome local bar. Great selection of innovative vegan dishes and creative cocktails. Crushing on the tempura ginger, potato croquettes, tofu steak and veg curry. Friendly and noninvasive service. Pretty much perfect
Really good Japanese food/entrees, really nice Japanese beer and whisky. Wonderful service from Aaron, very attentive and knew everything on the menu and in the bar. It’s very rare you find a place you can’t complain about, this is one of them. 10/10. will travel from north on regular basis
Quality food, great drinks and service. Loving this new gem in Preston.
We visited here with a group of friends on Saturday. They had a variety of great foods with a cool retro Japanese atmosphere. We had a really nice night.
Amazing service, amazing food. Definitely worth 10 stars out of 5.
Awesome place hey ho lets go. Cozy clean quick. Great fresh food. Great stuff. Is that 50 words yet?
If you’re looking for amazing Japanese, DenDeke is the place!
We have dined in before and were excited to see that they offered delivery by calling direct during this stage 4 restriction (not sure if they’re on any delivery platforms).
Highly recommend, amazing food 👌
I loved Dendeke. I went on a Saturday night and ate outside as inside was very warm. It would be nice if they could make outside dining more pleasurable with barriers between the road or something. Other than that, it was amazing food. I cant wait to go back. Seriously great Japanese food, it reminded me of being in Japan. Gluten free options were great!!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at DenDeke. The food was on point, fresh and delicious. The food is as good is it looks from my photos! Not just a pretty photo :) They have a wide selection to choose from and a good range of drinks too. The service is very friendly and the owner has a great knowledge of drinks.
We went in for lunch and ordered pork katsu set, ebi mayo and kaki fry from their specials. All dishes were excellent. Katsu was tender, generous portion of rice, prawns and oysters were fresh. The Japanese owner was very friendly and made us feel comfortable. We'll definitely come back😊
Been twice for lunch. Both times great food and service. Not many places ask for feedback on how they are doing. Off-beat with a very high standard.
Small place but with very nice vibe. A friend picked this place for our dinner date and it did not disappoint! We ordered several dishes to share, sushi, tempura, eggplant, fried oysters, ebi prawn, curry, I loved all of them, my special cocktail was refreshing and light that I had a second one. Dessert we had the matcha creme brûlée and ice-cream sandwich they were both so nice as well. Service was fast and friendly. Will definitely be back if Im in the neighbourhood!!
I came here expecting an authentic experience and was not disappointed.
We ordered the sashimi and some of the tempuras which were all outstanding. The meat dishes we ordered were cooked to perfection and we both agreed this place makes the best agedashi tofu in Melbourne.
This is a really good place to come to for a special occasion. It's important to know when ordering that portions are small and meant for sharing. We found 4-6 plates sufficient for two people.
I feel like I’m transported back to Tokyo every time I go here. If you’re Japan-obsessed you will love this.
Delicious and delightfully retro Japanese interior and music!
We had the lunch specials on a blustery autumn Melbourne day out, and found the chirashi bowls well portioned, with fresh sashimi and roe. Miso soup was yumm too!
All this is a cute retro space with adorable old world movie posters. Service was super friendly and thorough.
Will love to come back!
I chose this restaurant for Dad's birthday as it was local and he loves Japanese food. The decor is super cute with Japanese style posters. Having more diners meant we were able to sample a majority of the menu as share dishs, including beef tataki, chicken karaage, sashimi, sushi, oysters, tempura, agedashi tofu, grilled skewers, pork kakuni and wagyu kushiyaki. The dishes were small portions but that meant we were able to try different things. The skewers are a must try and one of their specialties. The seafood was super fresh and all the meats were nice and tender. A great local gem.
Very polite and friendly staff, but that's just the start. The food, so delicious! Everything is made to perfection and tastes so good.
I've always believed you can tell how good a Japanese place is by how good the Miso soup is. And, it was absolutely delicious! So was the croquettes, the seafood gratin, the sushi, and the gyoza!
Definitely worth trying or returning to!
The place is a gem here, I didn’t expect to find a genuine Japanese izakaya bar in this neighborhood. Food were delish and I specially love the atmosphere.
Authentic Japanese with outstanding service. They have a great menu made up of share plates and Japanese tapas. The service was some of the best we’ve had in Melbourne. We won’t hesitate to go back. The drinks list is impressive too! 🥂
An exciting new Japanese restaurant in the 'burbs. Love the deco: old movie posters surrounding the walls, a small but intimate layout. Our waitress was awesome, very friendly and helpful. We shared a yuzushu bottle which was great and started with ponzo oysters (yum) and an oyster shot with yuzu and wasabi (worked great for me as I'm a huge yuzu fan). Dishes came out reasonably fast, we had the salmon tuna poke (very good), wagyu tataki (not bad), nasu dengaku (huge and well marinated), karaage (nice, especially with the mayo sauce), kaku-ni (nice broth and tender pork belly although a little fatty for my liking), grilled wagyu and pork (not bad) and deep-fried crumbed mushrooms (delicious crumbs and sauce!) The scoop of green tea ice-cream was nice too and a good way to end the meal. Overall, excellent dishes, although I'd be keen to try more kushi-age (deep-fried skewers) next time I'm here!
Authentic Japanese restaurant in Preston. Had salmon and tuna poke at lunch time which came with small side dish and miso soup. Fresh ingredients and good presentation.
Inside decor was so cool and comfy atmosphere.
Although here is far from my place, I would come back at dinner time for experiencing Izakaya style.
Such a lovely place!! A hidden local gem with great service, yummy food and drinks! My partner and i got the california roll, eggplant and karaage chicken. We couldve ordered 1 more dish as the serves are more upscale ‘share’ size so not generous but it was good not to be stuffed, since we wanted to get dessert milkshakes down the road hehe! Definitely would come back! This is a great place for a chill dinner date or catchup with your bestie. I rate the rosé too
Was doing a google search on some of finest Japanese restaurants on goggle and DenDeke Japanese Bar came up on one of the articles. Being a local around the area, I thought it would be a good idea to try out their lunch special on the Sunday. Never less to say, I wasn’t disappointed. I had the Sashimi Chirashi Don and all the sashimi were fresh. I also tried some of my missus curry Kasudon but the pork was a bit too chewy and not tender enough. The side soft shell crab Tempura was a delight though as it was juicy . Will look forward to trying their dinner menu in the near future.
Cute little Japanese place in the Northern area! Just what we need so you don’t need to travel far. Definitely book as it is a small fit out. Favorite dish was the tempura spider roll and chicken gyoza! Yum 😋
A great, authentic Japanese dining experience. Have only had the pleasure of dining at DenDeke once, and still talk about it. We had some of the freshest sashimi I have ever had, matched with fantastic sake. Friendly, knowledgeable staff despite being an extremely busy Saturday night. Can’t wait to come back!
Came here very late on Saturday night, having chosen it on the spur of the moment as we were in the area. We left very impressed. All round the flavours were on point. My friend enjoyed his teriyaki salmon and the apple glaze was a nice touch. Chicken karaage and chicken katsu curry all hit the spot as well. The venue presents very well, with cute decor, a terse menu full of classics and service friendly and attentive. Portion size could be better reflected in the price (particularly for the small portion of salmon, for which rice was extra), but that’s the only improvement we could think of. Overall a solid feed and very welcome in the northern suburbs as an authentic Japanese option.
Got DenDeke takeaway and was very impressed. I’ve been wondering when a cool Japanese place would open up in this area and here it is. The staff were all super nice when I came in and it’s really cosy inside.
I love curry rice bowls and this one was pretty good, maybe could’ve done with a bit more curry and an extra skewer but very good.
The Karaage and Gyoza were so tasty! Will definitely be coming back for more!
Best Japanese I've tried - simple. Small restaurant and a little squashed. Do make sure you book. I went on a Thursday night and people were pouring in. Now I know why. Small dishes- a little like tapas. Do try Crispy Tuna Sushi Roll - simply divine. Spider roll was great. Gyoza possibly the best I've ever had. Agedashi Tofu delicious and the eggplant was so good my friend had a second serve! Watch the wine -tend to put very little in glass (which I pointed out to them- certainly not up to the level on the glass). Excellent and friendly service. Easy parking outside. And open for lunch Fri-Sunday.
This was a fun and friendly neighbourhood Japanese restaurant. The things we tried from the fairly traditional menu - sashimi, karaage, tempura, were all very nicely presented and delicious. Will be looking for a reason to return!
What a pleasant surprised! We where driving passed this place and decided to stop for a bite. We weren’t that hungry, so decided to share bits.
Oh - we where lucky to get a table as it was only 2 of us. All the other tables where booked. I can see why. It was yummy. But I suggest you book a table
Everything we ate was very fresh. Very tasty.
Stand out - the veggie gyoza. Amazing stuff. The chicken was cooked perfectly. The crab roll was tasty.
And the perfect amount of food. We left full, the kinda nice full, not blah I feel heavy
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Wow. Keisuke (pictured, of Ichi Ni Nana fame) had every right to kick me out at 2200 the friend I was dining with for a booking at 1930 didn't show up until 2130. Meanwhile, I had shown up at 1930... so I proceeded to get about 2 hours of personal attention as the restaurant slowly filled up.
First off, a plate of oysters accompanied with sake (oysters each done a different way, including one oyster shooter). So fresh - Kei says he rotates the selection every few weeks to ensure they have the best species available at the time. The shooter is highly recommended - I normally have my oysters natural, but that was something I would try again.
Next course, sashimi (and a sake that he had selected for me, apparently this one normally only comes in a bottle, but he happened to have an extra large bottle that he was serving glasses out of today). Salmon, Tuna, Kingfish. Of the freshest fish, melt in your mouth Tuna was the most memorable... but it was all amazing.
I also had the Tuna Tataki and Kingfish Ceviche which were also delightful, and the Kaku-ni was excellent as well. As always, finished off with a Green Tea Ice Cream. I must apologise for the brevity of the second part of the review, as I had also sampled a fair portion of the sake menu by then (just ask for a recommendation; he does not serve anything warm - it’s cold or room temperature is something akin to a stemless wine glass, he feels serving it hot ruins the sake as you can’t taste the subtleties.)
The bill coming to a surprisingly reasonable amount ($165 for 2, of which a substantial portion was alcohol). Eventually left at 2300... fortunately despite being the last ones do go it wasn’t a wide margin. There was not the slightest hint of any issue from the staff despite being rudely held back by the late table!
I would definitely go back very soon, and recommend everybody else to give it a go. Maybe more food and a little less sake next time...
Update:
Back again today. The most fantastic sashimi platter. Had some duck fish, Hapuka, king fish, salmon, tuna, scallop. Really amazing. They also have some of the impossible to get Japanese whiskey so better go while it’s still there.
We had a great first experience at DenDeke! The atmosphere was cozy, eclectic and relaxed and we loved the homemade yuzu cocktails. Unfortunately, they had sold out of the sushi rice when we went for a late dinner, so we will definitely be back for an earlier meal to try their selection of rolls. Our waitress was really lovely and had many helpful suggestions that made our meal even more enjoyable.
Authentic Japanese. A welcome addition to Preston. Extensive Japanese drinks list. Tasty beer on tap. Oysters, sashimi and tempura superb. Curry uninspiring.
Great service, funky busy atmosphere and very tasty food👌🍱🍣
Our highlight dishes were the Teriyaki Saba and the Soft Shell Crab Tempura
Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Fantastic restaurant- great service, beautiful food. Couldn't fault anything! Great addition to the Preston food scene. Will be coming back very soon!
Awesome food! Very Japanese cool ambience! I really love this sashimi platter, very fresh:) also they have really rare Japanese whiskeys and Sake selections! If you wanna try authentic Japanese food, I highly recommend this Dendeke restaurant!
Cool small space, very attentive and friendly waiters. Made sure we were catered for. Had Vegan Miso Soup and Tofu Steak for dinner. Very tasty and interesting flavour combinations.
Had a great experience here, i would reccomend the tuna tataki and the sashimi paired with a sake reccomended to you by the awesome bar service!
A new suburban gem located in Preston. Japanese food is one of my favourite cuisines and I was very impressed by this place with the food that was nicely presented and the taste was quality. The staff were very welcoming and attentive & I loved the modern Japanese styling of the restaurant and made me feel like I was in Japan again...
Great food. And the staff was super helpful. We had the platter and the agedashi tofu which were both on point. Hightly recommended and will be coming again.
We ordered lots of small things to share. All were great. Sashimi and Agadashi Tofu come highly recommended. Friends had the curry which was only warm and low in substance (not much chicken). A little noisy but a nice little start up.
My first experience at Dendeke was delightful. Although they were busy the staff were very friendly and the place had a great atmosphere.
I had the kushi-yaki skewers, chicken gyoza and house made curry. Everything was what you'd expect from an up market Japanese restaurant. The barman had extensive knowledge of sake and cocktails.
A very nice dining experience and I would highly recommend checking this place out
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