Review Komuni Cafe - Ringwood

It's a cozy little Japanese fusion cafe/restaurant. The food is pretty average except for the eggplant. I don't know what they put in the sauce but holy moly it tastes good. I would recommend stay away from the steak, it's not really the place to order steak. The soft shell crab is good with a nice flavour. The rice is soft and fluffy and it goes well with the eggplant and the sauce. Basically just order the eggplant.

Absolutely delicious! What a glorious gem of a restaurant with fresh ingredients! Service is lovely and friendly - great choice of drinks and dishes! Always happy whenever we eat here!

Great selection of food and everything tasted great. Lots of people on a Friday night with constant delivery orders out the door. Staff were great and accomodating. The only negative was we felt it was a bit on the pricier side.

Disappointing. We started with soft shell crab, seemingly a crab severed in half. Waaay too much salt to taste anything else. Salt, with a hint of crab. Moved on the the "Ikakari" squid. The sauce made them taste like they were rolled in sugar and salt before being drenched in oil. Squid chunks remarkably similar to frozen product from Aldi. No delicate squid flavour at all, just the overpowering sauce. How bad? My companion called "done" with just 1/3 eaten. We tried to wring the oil out of what remained. I managed to wring and down the rest. But very disappointing. After this, we requested clean bowls so the oil slick and remnant crab brain-juice wouldn't interfere with the promising next course. This request was obliged most diligently and expediently by the friendly wait staff. Finally, the sashimi dom. Utterly delicious. A mix of tuna and salmon, piled onto a mound of rice with a sensible level of sauce, garnished with shredded nori. Wasn't expecting presentation of a "heap" when ordering sashimi. But it was certainly tasty and the salt was well backed off. I thought your wine markup was too high. Stay under 3x retail. $12 / glass for a bottle I had bought for $15 is unreasonable. So damn much salt. And oil. Blerggh. Will I return? No.

5 star Restaurant, can not recommend this restaurant enough, a local best kept secret that needs more recognition. The cocktails, food and service are great.

This is an extraordinary japanese restaurant, you feels like walking into a cafe but in fact a Japanese restaurant. Modern and nicely decorated. Great to know there is a great japanese restaurant around the area. Food especially their sashimi were very fresh. Service was very prompt and super friendly. My must try list - Extreme Edamame, Sweet potato gyoza, Corn Ball and eye fillet steak. Sure will be back for more.

Clean and pretty but food doesnt have much flavour. Wouldn't call it Japanese food. Would be disappointed if you are looking for authentic Japanese, you will be disappointed. More like fusion food.

Great work guys. Nicely balanced flavors, generous service, great value in a modern clean environment. Will definitely be back !!

Just ordered via Ubereats, a few vegetarian items. The sweet potato dumplings were fantastic, everything as a whole tasted fresh. A lot of restaurants are pushed for time and aren't always able to produce the best, but this place is great. Can definitely recommend.

Very nice small café located in Ringwood East, very friendly staff, I ordered 2 slices of toast with a cappuccino which tasted quite nice

The best authentic Japanese I have had for a long time nice place good food good service and very reasonably priced and local. Will be frequenting this place often

Service and food was exceptional 10/10. We will be back and would recommend to anyone. Japanese food yummo �

At last, a great place to eat only five minutes walk from my house. Generally I have not been overly impressed with any outer-eastern restaurants. They are usually fairly ordinary or too expensive for me to want to return compared to the inner suburbs. I hope Komuni will be here for many years to come.

We've been looking for really a good resturant/cafe for breakfast in this area for a while now. Think we found it... They have all your traditional options (eggs, bacon, BLT etc) but with a little Japanese twist. So very delicious!

Great Japanese inspired menu, coffee is brilliant and great range of teas. Give this place a try for sure if you're ever in the area. To be honest, probably worth a special trip out here.

We love this place. Food is always delicious and presented beautifully.

Serves authentic tasty, delicious Japanese food. Great coffee, service excellent. Have frquented Komuni several times, trying all the menu, and have no complaints. Bought my Japanese Mother here and she really enjoyed her meal. Will be back soon.

Fresh funky food served by excellent service staff and fortunate to dine in the presence of the most charismatic hosts! An awesome dining experience!

I loved this place - the service, food and atmosphere were spot on. We'll be back!

Try the sweet potato gyoza-delicious! Friendly staff too. Thanks for a lovely meal.

Food was delicious and came out very quickly, our waitress was lovely and coffee was great also. I'll be back, thank you �

Great Japanese food. Same quality every time we went there. Great service, fresh food.

Fantastic food! Had dinner there last night and was blown away. Can't wait to go there for brekkie!!

excellent service and great food - thank you will be back

Great tofu and good tea! Excellent service and chilled vibe.

Comfortable, relax and chic Japanese restaurant. Confident curry chicken don and the portion is really good size especially it is a lunch special for only $11.9. It is a “colourful” and delightful lunch. Very attentive and friendly services! I ordered an almond latte, and it is always wonderful to finish a good meal with a great coffee. Thanks.

Afraid the food here is very average and doesn’t warrant the price tag...especially for a neighborhood spot. I really wanted to support my local Jap place but sadly it’s not worthy of a return visit...

I had the teriyaki eggplant/zucchini/cabbage/capsicum. It was tasty and filling.<br/>I would love to see more vegan options, and also have them clearly marked.<br/>Would also be great if they had onion/garlic/gluten free veg options so I could bring my friend here who is allergic.

Food is overall quite good, ramen bit salty. Pricing a little expensive for local Japanese which is why we tend to not visit as we would have otherwise.

We were really excited to try out this hidden Japanese cafe. However, we were really disappointed from all aspects of this cafe. Firstly, the waiter didn’t know the menu very well, and when we asked what is in the dish, he just stood there blankly and said “I’m not sure” it would be nice if he can ask the kitchen for us.... Secondly the cutlery wasn’t right, the bowl and chop sticks are all as if from Chinese take away, when it should be Japanese table ware. The ramen is good although it is a bit too salty to my liking and the sweet potato dumpling skin felt really under cooked. Hopefully next time when we visit, it will be improved :)

This is an extraordinary japanese restaurant, you feels like walking into a cafe but in fact a Japanese restaurant. Modern and nicely decorated. Great to know there is a great japanese restaurant around the area. <br/>Food especially their sashimi were very fresh. Service was very prompt and super friendly. My must try list - Extreme Edamame, Sweet potato gyoza, Corn Ball and eye fillet steak. Sure will be back for more.

Such a great addition to the area. Food is spot on and worth the price point. You can really tell the difference in quality from your run of the mill japanese place. The extreme edamame are to die for and the mushroom main is my absolute favourite. Service is friendly. Please serve your ramen all the time!!

Great restaurant with consistently tasty fresh food. The best Japanese food in the area. Relaxed vibe. Friendly staff. A local gem. We keep going back

Delicious food, friendly service. A real find in Ringwood East. Have been twice now and excellent both times. Extreme edamame is the best edamame i have ever had. Will be back again and again!

Very, very underwhelmed. Went there for the first time, the sweet potato gyoza were undercooked with the dough raw on the 2 I tried. My chicken was cooked as gluten free as someone we were with also ordered theirs gluten free. This made it very gluggy and chewy. They need to cook people what they order. <br/>The edamame were good, but then it is hard to go wrong with edamame. <br/>Won't be going back in a hurry thats for sure as I was so disappointed (I generally love Japanese food). I must say though, the staff were very friendly.

First visit here tonight... as soon as i walked in it felt very warm and welcoming, nice decor and we were even able to sit out to enjoy the warm weather and have some wine. Food ia absolutely delicious.. we shared a few plates but the sweet potato gyoza and the nasu dengaku (miso eggplant) were to die for! staff member who was on was also a delight! will definitely be back... thanks Komuni

Great breakfasts, coffee and friendly service. Contemporary decor. Highly recommend for breakfasts. It's our preferred cafe/restaurant in the area.

We started with some ‘Edamame - steamed and lightly salted ($4.00)’. We shared a couple of dishes for our main course. There was the delightful ‘Pirikara - pan fried tiger prawns cooked in soy, chili and palm sugar, served with peanuts and nori ($22.00)’. Next, we enjoyed the extremely tender ‘Saikoro Beef - diced eye fillet pan-fried and served with shiitake puree ($18.00)’.

We love Japanese so we put on our Sunday best and drove out to Ringwood East to give this place a try. The website said open all day but a sign out the front said "Back at 5pm". Very disappointing to have to head straight home.

Delish!!! A hidden Japanese gem in the outer eastern suburbs. Main meals were a great size and the sashimi was fresh and tasty. Highly recommend it!!

This place is a hidden gem! Tucked away in a bizarre stretch of shops on Bedford Road, the best way I can think of to describe the food at Komuni is 'Japanese Tapas'. They have share plates in small, medium and large, as well as sushi and sashimi. The flavours are original and delicious and the serving sizes are reasonable. My stand our dish is the beef with shiitake purée. They also have lovely cocktails! Check it out- it's such a refreshing change from the chain restaurants and general blandness of the outer eastern suburbs.

We have been here many times.  It is great to see a Japanese Chef at a Japanese restaurant.  Always friendly and the food is fresh and delicious.  We get our meals very quickly. My husband travels to Japan for work often and finds this restaurant to be quite authentic. Highly recommend it.

Fantastic ambience and delicious, authentic food. The big Japanese breakfast is awesome and the staff are friendly. Will be back again and again. The coffee is great too.

Came here for dinner with the boyfriend after a recommendation from my sister. Just few minutes drive away so why not :) <br/>Not disappointed at all for a suburban joint. Sashimi were really good, the niku gyoza was nice and so was the mushroom don. Something about the rice that is really tasty. If I can eat salmon sashimi everyday, I'll be there everyday

Dropped in here for a quick solo lunch on Sat. I had the pork gyoza's, edamame with chilli and sesame and a prana chai. The gyoza's were delicious and I got 6 of them so good quantity and I just loved the edamame with a good hit of chilli. They serve my fav chai here - Prana chai - done the right way. Really enjoyed my quick visit here and will definitely return as I want to try many more things off the menu. A great local place.

Komuni is the new kid on the block in Ringwood. Boasting authentic Japanese cuisine, and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, I was looking forward to trying out this café. The venue is very much ‘modern, casual café’ in its interior and atmosphere. However, the dinner menu is priced well beyond ‘casual’, considering their portion sizes.

Fantastic ambiance, brilliant service and even better food. Similar to other reviewers here, I have been to Japan, which transformed my opinions of Japanese food 360°. This restaurant delivers on all fronts including authenticity, and is 8,000 km closer to home! Going for my 4th time tonight. <br/><br/>On another note, I think the maths on this site may be suspect. Curious why the average rating is 3, yet the average of the 13 reviews i can read on the site is 4.8?

Ignore any meat-and-three-veg types giving this place a so-so review because they've never eaten Japanese food before. This place is the real deal! Having eaten my way through Japan twice and being a big Japanese foodophile, this place hit the spot.Stopped in for a late lunch today, after the gorgeous ambience of the place drew us in. Floor to ceiling front windows. Light-filled and relaxing. Lovely decor. Good variety of seating options.<br/><br/>The menu is interesting and varied. Lots of options for vegetarians and gluten-free. We chose two donburi (one chicken curry, one asian mushroom amazingness) - both ample portions, authentic and filling. We shared a dessert of nutella gyoza with matcha sorbet - a must try! Coffees were also excellent, if a little on the cool side. Food and coffee served fast. Service was a little on the cool side too, but the owner eventually warmed up. The whole meal set us back only $50 for two, so good value. We're really looking forward to coming back to try the breakfast menu soon!

Hands down, the best Japanese I have had to date.... and I consider myself an expert, I've eaten in hundreds of Japanese restaurants all over the world. Beautifully located 2000 metres from my home. :)

This place will fast become an Eastside favourite. Really good authentic Japanese, service is fantastic and the decor is clean and sleek. Really just a fantastic dining experience, and in Ringwood!?

Delicious food!! We had miso, prawns, pork gyoza, eggplant, agadashi tofu and beef fillet. All excellent! Decor could do with a bit of work and it would be good if they could get rid of the greasy fish n chip shop smell which seems to penetrate from next door. But absolutely can't fault the food or service. Excellent addition to the neighbourhood!

Awesome! Food is really tasty and staff were great. It's hard to find good Japanese food & Komuni ticks all the box's. <br/>The only things I can pick on would be the decor needs a bit of work & some Japanese sweets/cakes/deserts would be nice. <br/>

We were very excited to see this restaurant open near our home and even more excited when we learned it would be a Japanese style and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have been a number of times now and each time the food is impeccable, tasty, quick and with great service. Love it! Walking there for breakfast now.

Faultless yummy all day Japanese + western breaky. Oh and the coffee! Been there now for lunch and dinner. Oh and coffee. Must try the breaky. Oh and maybe go back for more coffee! Amazing cool in the burbs. Ta!!

Totally impressed in all ways, Kate.  We have eaten in Japan (as you know) and KOMUNI is equal to dining in that amazing country.   Judy and Peter

Fantastic food and always service with a smile Excellent coffee. Will be going back again. It's great to have a Japanese restaurant in the local area

We tried Japanese for the first time. Was nice, the curry reminded us of an Indian curry, quite bland though. The sweet potato Gyoza were a little bland too. The decor is nice, easy parking, easy access. Quick to be seated and order taken.

Amazing Japanese! The Sweet Potato Gyoza were the best I have ever eaten! Have already been back twice as it is so good! Highly recommend the squid, sushi and sashimi, ebi maki and the curry don! So yummy!

Absolutely love this place, all the food is amazingly fresh and great for sharing! Fantastic atmosphere and great service, highly recommend.

Best authentic Japanese food I've had in ages. Been waiting forever for a decent Japanese restaurant to open in Ringwood. I ordered chicken teriyaki mayonnaise don and my girlfriend had the Pirikara (tiger prawns in sweet soy sauce with peanuts and nori). Food portions were generous. Drinks menu was substantial. They even serve first press Kirin beer in cans.  My partner had the moscato. For dessert we shared a bowl of ice cream with a scoop of green tea, miso and caramel and black sesame ice cream. All the food was delicious and value for money. Sea food was cooked to perfection. Ambiance was great and music was current and informed. Definitely going back there. Did I mention that the owner is the same as Peko Peko in Fitzroy.