Perfect experience. First big meal after the lockdown. Thanks.
I finally got to go to Gaku Robata Grill and I loved it. It’s tiny and only seats 24 so it’s not the place for a big group. Their biggest table seats 4.
Now let’s talk about the food. It’s beautiful Japanese food with fusion tweaks. The sea urchin hand roll (pictured) was to die for and I loved the ‘Acqua Pazza’ (pictured) which was delicate and I could eat bowls and bowls of the soup.
I definitely want to go back during the day to try their ramen. #gakurobatagrill
Visited there on my lunch break to try the duck yuzu ramen and it was so good I went back the next two days to try the tonkatsu and A5 Wagyu ramen. Flavours were excellent, the yuzu really reminded me of afuri in japan. Definitely stopping by for more whenever I’m in the neighbourhood.
Another place for having some great sushi you can also use it the place if you want to have sometime with someone they have a beautiful ambience which is definitely on a place you
Great portions, great flavours!
Was feeling adventurous so I ordered their clam chowder ramen (a winter special) , I also got extra cha shu topping , which came out as delightfully thick pork slices. Would definitely be returning soon!
Does My Bomb Look Big In This
+5
The advent of truffle season has seen truffle-enhanced dishes pop-up all-over town. Gaku Robata Grill won my business for two reasons. The first was a clever picture of their Truffle Tamagoyaki ($32), where five generous portions of Japanese free-range egg omelette are dusted with a generous amount of fluffy, shaved black truffle. The second reason for my visit was they finally got the Council seal of approval for their robata grill after my initial review, so I was keen to give it a whirl.From the sake of the month list, we begin our drinking adventure with Tsukino Katsura ($25/300ml), an unpasteurised sparkling sake, that is rather delightful. Think salt spray and lightly fermented yoghurt, with a fresh fruity finish. By contrast the...
Marina Darmawan Soetanto
+5
This is our 4th time here. Always love their Yuzu Duck Ramen, refreshing with a hint of sweetness! Everything cooked to perfection and all elements making it very enjoyable. This time we also tried their special A5 Wagyu beef ramen. First taste of the soup hit you right in the heart! :) it’s super oishi! Wagyu meat melts in your mouth. This ramen is more on the pricey side though, $30 a bowl. But it’s a worthy treat! For dessert, we tried the Sakura ice cream sandwich. It is tiny, yet very delicious! Sakura ice cream and red bean paste, sandwiched between 2 light and crispy wafers.
This place is definitely recommended, especially when you want to treat yourself to an exceptional bowl of ramen!
Just came by for the Ramen on the Saturday and boy have we been missing out...definitely the best creative ramen if not almost the best in Sydney.
We’ll be back for the other two offerings soon :)
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Food here deserved 3 hat or even 1 Michelin Star.
It was brilliant and memorable dinner experience
Venue:
Located on Darlinghurst, minimalist decor and serving awesome food to the next level!
Love the window seat however if you have a chance to sit in front of the counter, that’s the extra point! The best sit in the house for foodie!
Service:
It was good, attentive and also keeping distance for us to enjoy the food and once a while come to check our food, and topping up water on our table.
Food & Drink:
I have ‘kirin’ to start with, cost $8, save option with variations lots of food that we ordered.
Sashimi:
It was the classic selection of: scallops, tuna, king fish, salmon and oyster
Tasmanian Sea Urchin Hans roll:
This is not your everyday typical sushi that you find in local sushi shop.
Sea urchin is so buttery, grain of sushi rice was plum & separate nicely, and sitting on the top of crisp seaweed that give extra crisp on this dish.
Chawanmushi: ( must try dish!)
Served on tiny clay pot with the lid.
The most exciting part is when you open the lid.... aroma of black truffle perfuming the air... amazing!
The soft delicate mixture of eggs, truffle and spanned crab leg worth every single bite of it!
The taste was still lingering in my palate after the dish was long gone!
Karage Chicken
Light and crispy coating, chicken was marinated beautifully.
It’s a crowd pleasure...
Duck Breast ($26)
Smokey aroma when the clay pot lid open also magical! peanut Miso sauce was nothing like I’ve try before, and goes very well with the duck.
This is my favourite dish for last night dinner!
Duck was succulent, meat is still blushing pink and those duck skins was slightly crunchy, it was one of the best duck dish I’ve try by far!
Mud 🦀 Crab ($118)
Chef said it’s the best season right now, so we must try!
Cooked in black pepper and some great beers as a side condiment while you enjoying the meat.
Meat was succulent and sweet, mild black pepper sauce is not overpowering.
4 of us silence for good 10 minutes enjoying finger licking good sauce residue on our finger after battling try to get the meat out of the crab leg!
The best is yet to come!
While you are enjoying the feast, might also try the beef.
2 option of beef, angus and Wagyu.
Since we are in the mood, we choose the Wagyu.
Full blood A5, Kagoshima Wagyu Beef, marble score 12, that cost $ 43/100 gram.
We divided to have 200 gram for 4 of us.
Even though the meat was served with 3 condiments; salt, smoked soy sauce and black pepper sauce, this piece of meat doesn’t need any of those sauce.
The meat is self was buttery and so tender!
It’s so Fricken Good!
Well done, guys!
The best Japanese restaurant in the area now.
Highly recommend especially dinner!
Must try Chawanmush✨
Lunch time ramen also fantastic🍜Must try this tiny Japanese restaurant!
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Ramen review only:
Glad I can finally make this review after making my way through their entire lunch ramen menu. When gaku robata first opened there was quite a stir. The chefs had quite a following and there were long queues at lunchtime every day. The hype doesn't go unjustified, as the choices here are all creative and quite unique, so I'll briefly go over each.
Duck yuzu: usually seems to be the most popular option, however as much as I love yuzu it seems to be a bit overpowering in this bowl. When you drink the broth down all you can taste is slightly salty, sour yuzu with little depth. The toppings are decent, the duck tsukune is great. This is definitely a light bowl that leaves you feeling refreshed after, but abit one dimensional for my liking.
Asari soy: really surprised by this, nice thick broth with good umami. The use of clams as the soup base is an interesting twist. Overall not amazing but worth a try.
Tonkotsus: usually not a fan of tonkotsu (as it lacks umami and any depth of flavour) but this is a pork/chicken combo broth. Broth is not overly salty and has a pleasant ginger taste that helps lighten it up. Really liked the umami in this bowl, however I'm not a fan of their chashu. The pork is cooked well but is overly fatty and extremely sickening to eat in large amounts, so I dont recommend the char-siumen. The spicy option is decent but the spice does overwhelm some of the flavours.
Their clam chowder special was a really nice winter warmer but has now been replaced.
Also really like the thin fried veges (yam?) in their topping as it adds an element of crunch and tastes great. The pricing is on the high end, $19 for the duck ramen is a tad on the high end considering Chaco a couple of min away charges $17 for a comparable yuzu ramen with a whole imported scallop and wonton. Gyoza was very mediocre and karaage just okay. $5 bottled beer is an added bonus though.
Service is mixed. Chef Shimon seems to be very friendly towards old customers whom he knows, but cold towards others which is a bit alarming. The other assistant chefs are usually super friendly which makes wonder who should really be serving the customers. Overall the ramen is really solid but just short of top tier.
Very good ramen, small restaurant but service is really good and friendly. Only catch is to arrive early before there’s no more ramen available!
Small bar like restaurant. Extensive menu. Enjoyed most of the dishes here.
Love
Burdoch chips
Burrata cheese
Truffle edamame
Boy didn't enjoy the wagyu
I didn't enjoy the tuna with sea urchin. I prefer salmon.
Banoffee dessert was ok. I think it's a safe option. Going to try the other two, melon and a brulee, I think.
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Ramen was rich and yummy
Gaku Robata Grill is a robata grill (still waiting council approval) at night and ramen restaurant by day led by chef Haru Inukai and ex-Aria chef Shimon Hanakura. It is located in Darlinghurst with very minimal seating arrangements inside. No high chairs and not pram friendly.
When we arrived, we noticed a line was already forming outside the restaurant. We made sure we were going to be there close to opening time as only 40 bowls of ramen were to be served between 12pm and 2pm daily and I wasn't going to be missing out.
We didn't have to wait too long which was good but was concerned where we were going to be seated as it was such a small restaurant that fitting a pram inside was going to be tight as there was no high chairs. It was tight but we managed to squeeze in. We were seated and served at times by chef Shimon Hanakura himself.
We had to order and pay first from a limited menu of ramen, sides and beverages. We decided on the winter special of clam chowder ramen, char siu ramen with an extra serving of kaedama (noodles for the kids), karaage chicken, and gyoza. We also had the Matcha Cremeux for dessert.
The food didn't take long to arrive. The karaage chicken came with 3 juicy crispy pieces. It was so yummy that we ordered an extra serving. There was a nice dressing on top that worked nicely with the chicken.
The gyoza was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It had mild flavours. It was okay.
The clam chowder ramen was very hot and comforting. It was very creamy and rich. It was yummy and had a nice balance of flavours. The ramen was cooked well. There was sufficient amount of clams. The egg was cooked well. I liked the texture of the fried vegetable.
The char siu ramen was rich and creamy and had a nice balance of flavours. It wasn't too salty. There was a generous serving of pork. It was soft and yummy. The ramen was cooked well.
The Matcha Cremeux was served with frozen strawberries and a light cream. The cremeux was smooth and had the right amount of Matcha. It went well with the frozen strawberries. It was yummy.
Verdict: Ramen was yummy and karaage definitely worth trying. Definitely will be back.
Don’t let the skewed ratings fool you!
This place is truly 5 star.
Gaku serves just 40 bowls of ramen a day during lunch so get there early.
We had the Asari Soy ramen and their winter special Truffle Potage ramen.
There’s no other ramen joint that serves up flavours like this so if you snooze and miss out, that’s ok —coz more for me. 😋
Full review: https://instagram.com/p/Bkor4wkgJO5/
I often say how lucky we are to live in such a diverse food area like Darlinghurst. We have a myriad of options to choose from, most of which was only a few minutes from our doorstep! GAKU ROBATA GRILL is one of the most recent newcomers to the area. We had tried to go a few weeks ago for lunch (where they do ramen!) but they were already full when we got there and a line was starting to form.
Fuck, that’s delicious. Friendly staff, friendly chef!
Had the chicken base ramen and the duck one going back today try again. Fuck, that’s delicious
Recommend go during the week at lunch for ramen so ur not salty like the previous review! Busy and only 40 ramens made! Exclusive
But every lunchtime, Gaku will be a ramenya. The interior is very contemporary Japanese with mostly counter-style seating. There. are 4 ramen choices on offer. We opted for the chicken tonkotsu ramen and yuzu duck ramen.
A delicious experience. Dined on a Saturday evening and not a chance to get in without a reservation (many hopeful walk ins were turned away). The menu has a decent range - from the usual sashimi/sushi/tempura staple but the main draw is the robata. Cooking meat & vegetables on an open charcoal grill Japanese style brings out the aroma of the foods & the light sauce & accompaniments just lifts things higher. The oysters were superb. The ox tongue was melt in the mouth delicious. The agadashi tofu was a little disappointing. However the star dish was a special they had on that evening : Foire gras/Wagyu in truffle oil in a hot pot with Japanese rice. A bit pricey @ $68 but it was absolutely delicious. Service is efficient but staff had no time for niceties & were focussed on taking orders & bringing out the food. Approximately $100+ a head, a little on the high end for a casual meal but we walked away satiated with smiles on our faces.
Accidentally went in to have dinner the other night. We’re totally surprised with their food. It was amazing! Fresh, tasty and the vibe is great. Despite with the small portion of food and price is a bit exy but we’re still satisfied and ended up ordering a lot. Definitely will come back to try out more.
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Ordered the chawan mushi, signature hand roll, char Siu, quail, and eel. Each meat was tender but crisp on the outside - perfect. The kingfish sashimi was also very very tender and lovely. The umeshu tasting set was also really enjoyable and paired really nicely with different dishes.
Chawan mushi was absolute heaven and oh I wish I could live inside that little clay pot. Could not get enough of the softness and truffle-egg-crab blend of flavours.
Was a little let down by the signature hand roll as I thought it would be a very large maki roll, and that we had to DIY the rolls. Also the seaweed used here was already salted and I think that took away from the flavours of the rice and seafood. Novelty was nice but probably would order something else.
We found that we did order a little too much by the end of the night, and I think it would be nice if the staff could have a better idea of how much to order. We did ask but the server reassured us it was enough. Maybe something along the lines of “2 grilled items, 2 starters, and 1 main” would have been useful
Mariko “Mickey” Kawase
+5
Popped in for an early dinner. Great hidden gem in our local area. Between the two, we ordered the nasu nibitashi, chawan-mushi, beef tongue, toothfish collar saikyo-yaki and yaki-onigiri which were all so divine.
Chawan-mushi had crab meat and truffle and is an absolute must. Also hard to find saikyo-yaki and nibitashi, which are great traditional dishes that as a Japanese you can’t go past without ordering.
For those giving negative reviews of this place, need to understand how unique and special this place is. Jog on, go to a westernised institution like a Merivale and order your karaage and spider crab roll laced in mayo. Please don’t taint a legit Japanese restaurant where you don’t understand the subtle flavours of Japanese cuisine.
One of the best ramen I’ve had in Sydney - the asari soy clam ramen had a poignant buttery flavour that went beautifully with the clams, and the duck yuzu ramen was packed with unexpected and refreshing flavours. I also liked the tempura burdock in both the ramens that we ordered. Service was quick and friendly.
We visited Gaku recently after trying their lunchtime ramen menu which was delicious. The restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere and the staff are friendly and gave us a few nice recommendations. There is a nice selection of small dishes which are great to share. Our favourite dishes were the chawan mushi with spanner crab meat and Truffle sauce and their char siu dish. Between two people we ordered about 2 small dishes, 2 charcoal grill items and a few sushi dishes which was plenty of food.
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