Absolutely loved the authenticity and the staff at this little hidden izakaya!! This is probably the most authentic izakaya I’ve been to in Sydney. The staff are very friendly and very welcoming. The food are quite pricey for the portions, but it’s the experience and vibes you’re here for mainly - not the food. I recommend the tempura okra, tempura eel and the tamagoyaki. The tamagoyaki was so fluffy with the right amount of sweetness - would’ve definitely ordered seconds if my stomach able to fit it!
Tucked away in a small corner in Darlinghurst, Nom is a small bar/restaurant offering an assortment of small bites and sakes. We ordered the wagyu asparagus, dried squid, gyoza, agedashi tofu and chicken soft bone. Each dish lovingly made but more izakaya style portions so you’ll need to order more if you’d like to get full. We didn’t order the sake this time but the selection on offer seemed very impressive!
Best place for chating and drinking with friends. Everything is so good and the best Izakaya in Sydney. Friday & Saturday booking needed....
Very satisfied and comfort dinner. It’s like a Japanese homemade bistro, but full of surprise. You could have the tasty and juicy deep fried entries such as soft bones and karaage chicken. Ox tongue is full of flavour, although there was only a pinch of salt and pepper on top. It reminds me of The Solitary Gourmet and I could feel how happy he was when he had nice food :)
Always a very special experience with incredible home style Japanese food cooked and served with care. Nice and intimate with few tables and pleasant jazz playing. Some of the warmest service I’ve experienced. Have brought guests visiting from Japan who have loved the food and experience.
Everything on the menu is great but the vinegared mackerel, minced tuna sashimi (actually ALL the sashimi), tempura okura, grilled mackerel and tarako are always on my order. The conger eel is exceptional but currently missing from the menu. You can’t go wrong with anything on offer at Nom - especially if you’ve got time to enjoy a slow relaxed meal with an incredible selection of sake.
Amazing little hole in the wall. It's been over 3 years since my last time here and this time my experience was much more pleasant. Last time I remembered we waited so long for our food it felt like we were fine dining a 3 hour degustation. I also remembered the interior being quite dark, however, now it's brightly lit, almost too bright to feel intimate. We came here on a Wednesday evening for a 6.30pm booking which was perfect as the crowd hadn't build up yet. By 7pm, the place was almost full. Our food was served relatively fast with the exeception of the tamagoyaki, which was on the sweet side so kinda made sense to be served last. Grilled half fried squid was amazing. Custard pudding looked a bit disappointing though, tasted alright. Would have been more appealing if it was made in individual serves with some whipped cream and mint as garnish instead of a big pudding cut into wedges with ice cream. Nevertheless, it's nice place for authentic home Japanese cooking made with love.
Really love the atmosphere there.
Vinegard mackerel is what i have been finding for years and finally I get to eat it in Syd!
I would strongly recommend karage,omelet, crab miso paste and vinegard mackerel.
Wonderful tasty home style food, friendly customer service with a welcoming attitude every time. My go-to place when I feel like a warm sake and delicious Japanese tapas. I always get the gyoza, rice balls, sashimi combo, nom salad, egg roll.
All I've order did not disappoint me!! • Deep fried oyster • Grilled Fish • Japanese omelet • OX tongue • NOM salad • Yakisoba • Everything is nice!
Though we didn't order Sake, the atmosphere in the store and the friendly mama make us relax and joyful.
Very cute and tiny Japanese restaurant! Make sure you book a table. Every single dish was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the potato salad and the gyoza.
If you want to try some chu-hai or cocktails it is not the site. They only provide rice sake and several kinds of beer, but on the other hand it's a really traditional izakaya. You can taste a little sake first and decide whether like or not.
1 of the best Japanese restaurant in Sydney. It's my favourite Japanese restaurant. Great atmosphere and very cosy. Food is very authentic and fantastic! Love the mentai potato salad, conger eel, grilled fish, omelette, onigiri, everything on the menu! A great sake list, and exceptional service! The waitress really knows the menu and sake list very well. She is a great sake sommelier, her recommendation is always good! They always make you feel at home. Certainly a hidden gem! Highly recommended!
A wonderful restaurant, very traditional Japanese, you'd think you were in the back streets of Tokyo eating in a little Izakaya.
Take care when ordering Saké, always ask the price first, they have a habit of opening a bottle and leaving the whole bottle on the table when you ask for a glass of saké.
A good bottle of Saké isn't cheap and they do have some sensational sakés
An intimate, casual sake restaurant that transports you to the land of temples and tanukis! I almost don't want to say too many good things about Nom because as it is I can never just walk in, it's so small yet popular. But it's worth the advanced planning! This is a very traditional restaurant owned by a little old Japanese lady who along with her team of two makes all the dishes even the desserts which sit in glass cases next to big sake bottles. The menu is authentic and traditional. Japanese Sydney folks have said to me it's got the best mentaiko potato salad in this city! I recommend the karaage, house salad, mixed sashimi and the potato salad. All delicious! We spent $25pp for dinner including green tea.
Everything was perfect - I felt like I was in a humble little hidden gem in Tokyo. Food was by far the most authentic Japanese food ever tasted in Sydney. Staff was excellent too. Wished the place was bigger and so I could come back with all my friends for more!
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I used to live nearby this restaurant and was a regular customer. I went in today for the first time in 2 years and I was greeted by friendly lady owner and she remembered me :-) We ordered whole bunch of food including a few glass of sake. The word 'NOM' in Japanese means 'to drink' and as the name suggest this place is drink and eat kind of restaurant. The most of their food is designed to go well with Sake. They are in general quite salty as you know salty flavor goes well with alcoholic drinks. Their Sake selection is great; they have a nice flavor and really good quality sake. First we ordered Potato salad which is one of dish they have recommended and one of the most popular dishes of the restaurant. And this is very nice. It has nice seasoning which has slightly chili flavor and of course goes beautifully with Sake. Next was Nom salad - rather simple salad made with cabbage and few other vegetables, simple but very refreshing salad. Pickle ginger and white bait is small side dish and it's salty and tasty.
I remember this place always had fresh sashimi and I also remember they never served sashimi with ginger pickles. The reason being is they said ginger pickle is for Sushi but not for sashimi. But I really love my sashimi with ginger. So you won't get your pickled ginger if you order Sashimi platter here. So BYOG. .. if you love your Sashimi with that extra crunchy texture and vinegary flavor of ginger.
Karage chicken is fried very beautifully with authentic Japanese seasoning and you won't get side sauce or mayo because you are not supposed to eat with it. (Response I got when I requested the sauce..) Yes they are beautiful and tasty but I do think it might be good idea if they are little more flexible with customer's request. Okura Tempura is definitely one of those dishes that are acquired taste. I used to hate this but now I don't mind... And I ordered it and it was okay.
BBQ Squid was great dish; it went really well with Sake. Perfect companion to sake if anything. Our last dish was Yaki Soba. It was tasty, salty and good tasting noodle with chicken. All in all great place to have Sake and food and be merry. I wouldn't say this is the best Japanese restaurant but it's a great place to have drinking dinner where you can have quality sake and some flavorsome Japanese food.
We've only been the once but we absolutely loved it. Really need to get back here. This place came recommended by our local Japanese barista, so we knew it would be legit. It's a tiny (I mean seriously small with limited seating) hole in the wall place in the backstreets of Darlinghurst. Run by older Japanese women, most of whom have limited English. Love that. Feels so authentic. The food is superb. Rustic, simple but done so well. Our favourite was the cod. It was so so good. Be sure to smash a bowl of potato salad. So tasty!! The sake selection seems to be excellent too. Indulged in a bottle of slightly sweet, slightly carbonated sake. Reminded me of the Korean makgoli. Yum.
Best night, massive sake list, attentive and friendly service, felt like home. didn't even need to think which sake to pick next, we mentioned we like something slightly on the sweet side, whenever we wanted more, the lady just picked one and let us Taste it before pouring into the bottle. authentic Japanese cuisine run by a few Japanese ladies, really tiny and narrow, keeps reminding me of the izakaya in Japan! Did I mention the very delicious food?! Best potato salad I ever had, very crunchy soft bone, home style and tasty Japanese omelette, traditional yakisoba. Very enjoyable!
Nom, nom, nom. I've have to agree. This place is super-cute, with super-cute service, and delicious sake. It reminds me of tiny izakaya bars in Japan, and it feels like home. It's not particularly fancy, and if it was, you probably wouldn't be able to order the delicious potato salad. I thought the sashimi was outstanding, and the tofu... oh, it was so wonderful and fresh with a beautiful texture. We almost tried a slimy cuttlefish, but the waitress decided to give us a taste beforehand and it was a little too weird. But isn't that wonderful that she took the time to explain it might be strange and give us the option. A lovely place. Book though: it's tiny, and the times I tried to walk-in, I had no luck.
An invitation by a new found friend (Junji-san) to have Japanese food and sake cannot be turned down. The workplace must be left on time, and the gym gear can stay in the bag. The venue is for the night is NOM.
Definitely pay this little place a visit. The location is convenient, food is good and well priced and the sake is plentiful.
Helen | Grab Your Fork
+3.5
"You can eat the food by itself but it is more delicious with sake." Our Japanese waitress bobs her head as she says the word "more". It's hard not to be won over. It's the clincher in a charm assault that starts before you've even stepped foot inside Nom .
So cuuuute. This place is so twee! I came here with my boyfriend a few weekends ago based on all the positive reviews here, and wanting something homely and authentic.
This is a TINY restaurant so booking is essential. It is literally two women (mother and daughter I presume), in a tiny kitchen which you can peek over and see, and all the meals come out of there. Service wasn't whizz bang fast, but thats ok - this restaurant isn't parading militant efficient service; it is authentic, home quality.
And OH, they have a huge selection of sakes! They actually import them themselves, so if you're after buying good sake for the home in Sydney, this is the place (Dan Murphys etc have like only 2 brands... eugh).
The women there was so friendly and personable, it just made the meal so much more enjoyable. Personal touches really do go the extra mile when you decide to go out and have someone else cook dinner for you.
Planning on bringing friends to this place, it is such a hidden gem!
A real gem!. Amazing food, great atmosphere, huge range of sake... What's not to love?
Great place, amazing food. Lady said we needed beer and sake for the 100% experience.... with food this good this is already at 100%. loved it.
The most delicious and authentically simple Japanese food I've eaten in Australia. Such a wonderful experience.
Awesome little Japanese restaurant. Food is super reasonable and there is a good selection of sake. Staff are great!
Great for a lunch feed or dinner is good washed down with a few biru!
Hidden Treasure. Cute little place tucked away behind bustling oxford st. Tasty snack sized meals and greate service. Didn't have sake this time round but will be back!
Hidden paradise for sake. Very reasonable prices for lots of sake and tapas food. Love their deep fried oyster, it was so juicy and was melted in my mouth. Great for small groups as everything is homemade and they don't serve more than 4-5 tables.
...interesting Japanese dishes!. Loved the staff there - the chirpy grandmama chef is adorable. The waitress is super friendly and made some great recommendations. Faves were the asparagus wrapped in pork (the marinade is fantastic!) and the Avocado Taroku. Other interesting finds were the octopus sashimi and the wagyu biltong (Japanese style!)
We don't know much about what constitutes authentic Japanese home-style cooking but we love the food at Nom. It is delicious and cheap while the staff are warm and friendly. The atmosphere is relaxed and qelcoming with Jazz playing quietly in the background. We have just eaten here 2 nights in a row and Nom will be our new regular place. A lovely place.
Nom nom nom!!. Great little spot. Only about five tables and a lady in the kitchen named Silky who whips up the most yummiest and most authentic Japanese food I've had outside Japan. One of my absolute favourites.
Blink and you'd miss it... this hole in the wall is next door to Supply Store & the former Monster Children Gallery. NOM is the closest thing to homestyle Japanese cooking that I've had since living in Tokyo and being the only ones dining, we were waited on hand & foot. There's nothing complicated about the flavours and the menu is crammed onto a chalk board along with a selection of sake and sochu just like it'd be in a lil' izakaya in Wakabayashi. Favourites amongst the dozen dishes we sampled were the "Tamako" rolled omelet and asparagus wrapped in pork. Nothing was over $10 and everything was sufficient to share so we tasted half the menu and washed it all down with a cloudy sake for only $15. An accidental find was the first of what will be many more visits and reason too for my first review on Urbanspoon : )
Lovely staff member. Awesome food. We tried pretty much everything due to a big group. Mackerel sashimi is one of the wows to our group as it's pretty rare to find. Love the eel tempura too!
Given this price range, this Japanese restaurant was absolutely worth trying!
My favorite dish was grilled octopus. It’s so fresh and juicy. With very little soy and wasabi. It was delicious enough already.
Sashimi was totally worth the price. Cos it’s relatively cheap.
Gyoza was absolute homemade taste, thin wrap with juicy fillings. Very recommended.
Waugh beef was a bit average tbh, you might not like the raw egg sauce.
What a delightful izakaya! Love the cozy atmosphere and friendly staff. The Kintsugi small plates are uniq and beautiful! Definitely will back again!
Amazing restaurant, have been to Japan a bunch of times and this is definitely the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Sydney. Such lovely staff too. 🥰
Small place so book in advance. The service is very welcoming and homely. Come here for sake and nibbles. Though it's possible to make a full meal, you'll need to order quite a few dishes as you might expect for an izakaya. Love the karaage chicken here.
Simply one of the best Japanese food I’ve had in Australia. Everything on the menu is delicious. This resturant is one of sydney little gem. If you truely love authentic Japanese cuisine, then this is the place for you.
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15/10. Our absolute FAVOURITE Japanese restaurant in Sydney. No frills, just simply delicious, comfort, Japanese food. 🙇🏻♀️😋
I've been coming to Nom since 2012 when I first arrived to Sydney. To date, I've probably eaten there almost 15x and have tried almost every item on the menu, yet I'm STILL amazed at how effortlessly delicious the food is every single visit.
The 𝙏𝘼𝙈𝘼𝙂𝙊 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧. I don't say this often... But my mouth literally waters everytime I think of this multi-layered, soft, fluffy, steamy egg omelette. I don't know what goes into it, but it is soooo full of umami and has a subtle sweetness that just makes you crave for more. I can go on and on about this egg, it is truly thaaaaat magical. Trust me.
Their whole menu is simple yet each dish is executed with poise and knowledge of how textures and flavours balance out. Portions are like your typical izakaya snacks that go perfectly well with a nice cold beer. Between 2 people, you can easily order 5-7 dishes to try.
𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁-𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁:
- Tamago
- Mentai potato salad
- Vinegar mackerel
But literally everything is good.
I've also gotta mention, this small izakaya only seats about 6 tables and is runned by 3 older Japanese ladies (could be 3 generations?) in a tiny kitchen -- it honestly feels like you're just eating at a Japanese grandmother's home - simply welcoming, homey, and cozy.
Affordable, traditional Japanese style, friendly & helpful stuff. Quick service, few Sake selections. It’s worth to be here ;)
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