Review Happy Kappa Japanese Cafe - Richmond

Tasty, hearty real Japanese meals made by a lovely Japanese couple. The restaurant itself is small and intimate, usually not crowded so if you enjoy proper Japanese comfort food in a low key and quiet environment then you should definitely head to Happy Kappa.

Authentic Japanese fare, with great portion sizes, I often struggle to finish my Katsu Curry each Monday and have no choice but to wash it down with a tasty Grape Calpico! Oishii! You are also best to hurry to your seat as on some days your food can arrive at your table before you do!

Have been coming here for a while. Food is always good, but the service can be a bit hit and miss. There are a few better options on Swan St for Japanese these days so this place has started to get much quieter.

Pleasant food, quick service with an old big band jazz soundtrack quietly playing in the background. Lovely spot for a simple, hearty meal.

Place is cash only which really sucks Food is just ok, nothing special. Service can be fast or slow depending on the day Unfortunately is the best Japanese joint on Swan

They want to charge me 20 cents for the little packet of wasabi that every other place in town throws in for free.

Tasty & filling option for lunch or dinner, with a nice atmosphere.

nice food and friendly staff, great ambience

Their dons come with plenty of rice, but not so much for the main dish. Regardless of that I love this place, the food tastes great and the jazz music on the background made this place very relaxing. It's quite cheap too. As for the dishes, i personally like their tori karaage and katsudon.

Great little place. We've been twice and enjoyed both meals and the atmosphere. Very affordable and lovely staff. Meals also generally come at quite quickly. Cash only.

DO: Katsu curry, katsu don or any of the Bentos. Real authentic Japanese food cooked and operated by real Japanese staff. Arigato gozaimasu!<br/><br/>DON'T: Come here for long lunches, the food comes out super fast and is perfect for those short on time. <br/><br/>TIP: Cash only. Nearest ATM is 2 doors down and is a CBA.

Let's be honest, this isn't a fancy restaurant...it's the type of place where you go for a quick meal that's relatively inexpensive but taste like your Japanese mother in law cooked it for you, with a mother's only ingredient - love. <br/><br/>If I had to score this in terms of value for money, then it would be a 5 out of 5. However, 5's are reserved for places a little bit more upmarket like a Vue de Monde or a Tetsuya's.<br/><br/>My faves? Katsu Don and for those colder Melbourne days, go the Katsu Curry. Want a side? Ask for their off the menu friend mini prawns and thank me later. This place is a Swan Street gem!

Authentic Japanese. We love the atmosphere with its tatami scrolls, ukiyo art and little figurines that solidly remind us of Japan. The food is delicious too of course, and good value. Would recommend.

Aaaahmaaaaaazing!! <br/>One of the best Japanese restaurants I have ever been to! My new favourite in Melbourne!<br/>The sashimi melts in your mouth, the bento box special is so huge and generous in portion size!<br/>The katsu is crispy and everything is full of delicious, fresh flavour and no fatty bits.<br/>It is all cooked to perfection!!!<br/><br/>It's a definite must-visit Japanese restaurant!<br/>The food is really reasonably priced, service is fast and the decor is 'traditional' Japanese. <br/>The menu isn't hugely extensive but has lots of crowd pleasers (don't forget to look in the cabinet at the sushi rolls).<br/><br/>Yum!! Definitely coming back!!! Xx

Absolutely amazing food. Good portion sizes, gorgeously polite and friendly staff, BYO and genuine Japanese food. The curry and the miso torikaragi ramune are my favourites

Delicious, cheap and cheerful Japanese cuisine. Partner loved the katsu curry and I loved the teriyaki chicken and rice. We also had some edamame. I think the whole bill for two of us was about $22 and we were full.. the portions were very decent. Just wish they were open weekends!!

When our Ramen arrived, we weren't very pleased. The noodles weren't cooked as to the way we were expecting it to be. It seemed like they were

It's BYO, cash only, and this place won't win any prizes for decor. It's got a bunch of big wooden tables and a few longer communal ones, and there's random Japanese decorative stuff plonked all over pretty much every surface. The standard fluorescent lights have been 'cleverly' hidden by draped fabric, and you eat from plastic bowls with disposable chopsticks as you would from most Japanese takeaway joints. But, it's charming in a quaint way. Your eye always has something to rove over (not least all the spunky creative-type lunch patrons), and soft, soothing jazz music plays overhead.

The deco is neat too. The walls are lined with Japanese cultural artifacts, and the place feels cosy without being too shabby.

VERY HAPPY KAPPA!. A small traditional looking Japanese restaurant, this place has one waiter/ waitress and manage to give fantastic service with one person.<br/><br/>Orders are taken by a tall Japanese gentleman very curtious, patient and great customer service. Inexpensive tasty food, served almost immediately after cooked which is about 5/10 mins. The portion size is perfect and the quality is great. I recommend the katsu don, flavour. flavour, flavour. 10 out of 10 in my books.<br/><br/>One time we went in for a meal and it was absolutely packed for the ruby games, this was a big test to see the quality and service, well Happy Kappa you knocked them dead, just as I expected fantastic all round , other restaurants should go there to see what service and quality is all about....for the price it is excellent!

Can't fault. Love the look & feel of this place & service rivals the speed of light. Portions could be a little bigger (sashimi) but I guess that's the westerner in me coming out!

The best. Hands down best value for money

Disappointing. The service and quirky decor were great. Ordered the Torikara Miso Ramen which came out quickly.<br/>The fried chicken was way overdone and inedible, both in taste and toughness. The corn seemed like it was canned and the noodles looked and tasted like they came out of a two minute noodle pack. I was hoping for fresher food that was more carefully prepared. <br/>Happy Kappa was inexpensive, but I would prefer to have value for money than a disappointing food experience.

Good food and trendy atmosphere. Shame they're only open for lunch...

Happy Kappa is now open again in the evenings, Monday to Friday. Yummy food for a reasonable price!! Love this restaurant's cosy, laid back atmosphere!

Awesome Bento Box less than $15 >.

I hate them. I went there and for a food I gave them $7.7 which was 10 cents less. Then I gave them $20 and that guy started to change my coins. Finally, he gave me $7.7 and totally forgot that I gave him another $20. He was so rude and I won't come back to that shop again. They robbed my money!

Cheap and Cheerful. Japanese restaurant Happy Kappa is located on the city end of Swan st. It offers a cosy place to enjoy Japanese dishes at prices that won't break the bank. Not a place for a hot date but more somewhere to go when you cannot be bothered cooking. Great service.

Sushi Rolls. I haven't tried the menu items, but their sushi rolls are unimpressive. The rice very much lacks vinegar, the fillings are so little in comparison to the rice. The saddest roll is the vegetarian roll, one tiny piece of carrot and cucumber each, some avocado.

The Katsu curry and Katsu don are favorites of mine

Amazing restaurant. It is hard to find something bad to say about this restaurant. Food is good, portions are really decent, prices are cheap, staff are nice and service is fast. I have never waited more than 10 minutes for my order. I am a regular and that won't change.

Cheap yummy Japanese food. I love this little Japanese restaurant. Best Udon and Katsu don hands down!!! Very reasonably priced, and great food! Owners are friendly as well :) Would recommend to anyone.

Good food, reasonably priced. My friend and I went here for dinner over the weekend. I ordered the sashimi combo (approx $15) and my friend had a chicken soup of some kind with veggies. The salmon in my sashimi combo tasted reasonably fresh.<br/>We also had a serve of edamame beans and a can of unsweetened green tea each. All up it came out to around $35 -cheap. <br/>The service was good and the place is quite cosy , not overcrowded. I would go back and probably order the same. Given I have fructose issues, next time I would probably avoid the soy sauce and pickled ginger.

Fantastic curry! Awesome Katsu Don!. Fantastic Cheap and Delicious japanese curry! awesome quick lunch stop and food comes out quick even during busy lunch hour.<br/><br/>only one problem. they are so popular they always run low on sushi! dont expect any sushi to be left past 1:30pm!<br/><br/>ill be back :D

Love this joint. Katsu Don or sashimi FTW. <br/>Cool decor and aways has some mellow jazz playing too.

Delicious authentic Japanese curry! Can't get enough of it!

Me gustap

The tea is good, go there if you like microwave food...

Cheap and Cheerful. Absolutely no complaints here. Ordered the katsu curry - delish! <br/>Quick, friendly service and a lovely atmosphere.

Great place, regardless of the price. Real small town Japanese feel, reminds me of my trips to Japan.<br/>And to the tools that said the food is microwaved, go back to McDonald's would ya! If you walk through the kitchen you will see all the food is made fresh apart from the beans!<br/>A must have in Melbourne!

Not sure why previous rebiew said food was microwaved, I got the fried chicken & it was fresh and and delicious, served on a seaweed rice I'd neverhad before with yummy pickled sweet chilis or capsicums...son had the veggie curry and said it was one of the best Japanese curries he'd had. We also had Endamame, yummy and obviously fresh (have eaten fresh and frozen and both nice but fresh tastes better), huge serve for under $4.00. Best value Japanese food I have ever eaten .

We went here one Tuesday night based on favourable reviews on Urbanspoon and were incredibly disappointed. Everything we ordered was Microwaved. Nothing fresh. We couldn't even face eating it. Will not be going back.

Fast, cheap and delicious!. Just make sure you bring your own drinks! You'll be surrounded by others drinking their own beers and find yourself with none!

Cheap and cheerful. Lovely cheap Japanese food with a casual atmosphere. The Ramen was delicious... and huge! BYO is also good. Great place for a cheap mid week meal.

Not bad but not great either. Nothing to shout about. Food was reasonably priced (around $11 for a bento) but for that price, I expected better quality to match it. It felt like I should have only paid $5 for it. Don Don would have given me way better quality food for cheaper. The fried chicken in the chicken bento was clearly reheated. It tasted ok but was super dry. The salad had no dressing and was really dry as it felt like it was left out for a while. Also had the salmon & prawn don. Taste was average but the sashimi looked a bit sad. Didn't look fresh. I reckon $2 for a small cup of green tea was expensive. Service was good though and the food arrived really quickly. So if all you want is a fast average meal and don't expect much, then you'll be alright.

Love this place!. This has got to be my favourite quick, cheap, healthy and delicious dinner place ever. I eat here at least 3 times a week. Edamame, sashimi plate, the value meal set, teriyaki chicken or tuna don are all my favourites. The food is consistent and the staff are adorable!

Love this place. Fast, cheap and what lovely service

What a surprise! Really authentic. They serve food just like the way Japanese do. Highly recommend!

Great place. Loved this place. Great interior with the walls decorated with lovely Japanese cultural items and photos. Food was also fantastic and plentiful. Staff friendly. Loved it!

Cosy, cheap and fast. We liked this place. It was an unexpected success.

Quick and Tasty Weekday Lunch. Great Bento Boxes and Chicken Ramen Soups. Tasty, hearty and well priced: $10-$15.

A place that I visited quite a bit (and have returned to even after I finished my internship) is Happy Kappa. This grungy Japanese café is only open on weekdays but its kooky interior, friendly service and cheap lunches make it the ideal spot for office workers to grab a bite to eat...In addition to the Japanese curries, my go-to dish at Happy Kappa is the chicken katsu don. At only $8.80 for a generously-sized portion, the dish represents excellent value and is delicious. The crumbed chicken piece is deep fried before being chucked in a bowl with rice, egg, and cooked onions. Highly recommended.