Anita Wong
I don’t know why this place is only 3.7 star rating. Solid Japanese izakaya with delicious, hot ramen, generously cut pieces of chashu that’s robust in flavour. Curry pork katsu is delish. Portion sizes are above average to generous. Chef gave us extra gyoza on the house. They were accomodating when we rocked up at 8:50pm (closes 9:30pm) when other places in the area were reluctant to seat us in. Owners are friendly and helpful, and hardworking. A neighbourhood gem for sure.
JLW Wong
Nice little Japanese restaurant. Reasonable price for lunch bento $15.50 these days.
Mira Jhee
Our family's absolute favourite Japanese restaurant. Delicious, authentic food. We have never once been disappointed and it's fantastic value for money. 3.8 stars does not do this place justice.
Summer Wang
I have to admit the food is not bad but the service was shocking. Me and my partner literally got asked to finish our conversation to pay the bill and get out. First the waitress came to collect our dishes and then asked us to pay and she said people are outside waiting. We were there literary less than an hour and without being offered for anything from the menu just got asked to pay and get out. When we came out and we saw she simply give our table to someone already been sitting in the restaurant. There was no one outside waiting! Just ridiculous!
T Saldana
First time I tried Kumamoto ramen. I love garlic so I really liked this ramen dish. The pork katsu & karaage were cooked perfectly. Service was efficient. Covid-safe practices in place for a small restaurant (QR code login, sanitisers on table, EFTPOS payment, and main door left open for ventilation).
Max Blanchette
My wife and I dined here for her birthday and I must say the food and service were both exquisite and beyond the standards of any restaurant I’ve ever been to. The staff were incredibly kind and lovely and the food was to DINE for
Campbell Gellie
Love this place. Been twice in four weeks and it’s caring, flexible and absolutely delicious. Eireen is amazing, we got in late and she sat us and then the three guys who came after.
Izzy
I just moved to Neutral Bay and so pleased to have such a wonderful local Japanese restaurant around the corner. The waitress was lovey and working alone but managed the place even when it was almost at capacity. It has an authentic Japanese vibe and the vegetarian menu was substantial with plenty of vegan friendly options.
Fab Nads
Not the best quality Japanese- below average. My salmon was overcooked and the tempura batter thick and tasteless. Agree with a few regarding its authenticity. Service was fine though.
Xoxo.msjamie
Came here for dinner and decided to try their bento boxes as I can try a variety of things in the one box. Unfortunately the quality and taste of the food was only average. Batter on the fried pork cutlet and tempura were both quite hard. Service was friendly and fast.
FluffyHamster
The ramen was good but a little bit salty for me as I drank lots of water afterwards. People who like garlic should try their garlic soup ramen. Karage chicken was nice juicy and fresh.
Henry Lydecker
Neutral Bay has so many great Japanese restaurants; I had always thought of trying Tanpopo, but the recent negative reviews put me off. After finally trying Tanpopo, I regret waiting this long!<br/><br/>We ordered the eel don and the plain udon special with five pieces of aburi ($16.90 for udon and five pieces of aburi?!?!? That is an insane value!!!). The food came out very fast and it was flavourful and satisfying. The eel portion was generous and very well prepared: a great grilled taste and the classic eel sauce was salty and savoury without being too sweet. My plain udon was nice and soothing with an umami bonito broth, and the five pieces of aburi were simple but very delicious. <br/><br/>Within the crowded Neutral Bay Japanese scene I think Tanpopo is a great option for a yummy and satisfying meal without breaking the bank.
Mel
Had ramen there, instant noodle level, never had ramen that bad outside. Salmon sushi were bad too, rice was dry from last night. Only one cook, service was slow.
Thunderclaud
UPDATE - NEW OWNERS - Don’t go<br/><br/>I’m really sad to be writing this review. Tanpopo was my favourite date night spot. We have returned to Tanpopo at least 5 times since the new ownership in the hope that it was just teething problems and things would get better. They haven’t. Overly thick and chewy sashimi, rude service, loosely rolled sushi, skimpy servings, cold dishes (that are meant to be hot) and a wait of over an hour between my main and my husbands main a just a couple of reasons why I won’t be returning. I feel disappointed and will be looking for another regular Japanese haunt. <br/><br/>For context, 9 months ago I wrote this review: <br/><br/>I come to Tanpopo almost weekly with my husband for a sushi and sashimi feast. We are never disappointed and now cannot eat sushi elsewhere as it's hard to match the freshness, delicacy, generosity, price and excellent service. I love the spider roll & aburi chirashi. Ramen is amazing and it's BYO 😊
Daniella Leona
Tanpopo's ramen are some of the best in Sydney. Whilst their restaurant layout and kitchen set up is a bit rough-and-ready - the ambience isn't quite first date impress material - we haven't had a bad ramen yet.<br/><br/>Whilst we're locals we've tried ramen all over Sydney - had some good and some bad. However Tanpopo has remained consistently good with the pork always ample and super succulent, and the soup not too thick and not too thin, with every addition available as extras if you want more pork, seaweed etc. They don't scrimp on extras. Lucky us not having to travel for tasty take-away. :)<br/><br/>Service is fast even if the English imperfect.<br/><br/>If you want fine dining don't bother coming here. But for fast, flavoursome and friendly service Tanpopo won't disappoint.
Zoe Arthur
Tanpopo is our to to Japanese restaurant. The ramen is delicious, not overly thick. Miso eggplant is incredible. Agadashi tofu melts in the mouth. Tempura vegetables are light. Sashimi super fresh.
Anna
Sort of expected a bit more from Tanpopo but I guess in the end it was alright. The eggplant was nice, but I’m pretty sure it can be better. I mean it wasn’t enough to go around ordering it again. Ramen was salty and heavy, but a decent size and if had with something light, may balance out. The Tanpopo volcano roll didn’t really appeal to me when it first came out, and taste wise kinda turned out the way it looked. It was just so heavy and creamy, didn’t expect it to be to this degree, and I could barely taste any of the ingredients inside… the sauce overpowered it all. Finally, as much as I was happy I satisfied my sashimi craving, I found some pieces to be a little chewy and they didn’t melt away in my mouth like I had so desperately wanted them to!
Mik
We usual come here for a nice sushi dinner, never tried something else from the menu though. The sushi is nice and fresh, take a bit long to be served but surely worths. Recommended.
Kis The Cook
Super glad we decided to eat at Tanpopo, Neutral Bay is full of Japanese restaurants and this is up there. It's nothing fancy but the food is fresh and tasty. I'm a sucker for a volcano roll because the sauce is super yummy. The soft shell crab is a must try as well as the ramen. I don't usually like tempura however they have perfected it so it's not oily but light and crunchy.
Valley Local
Disappointing. Cold, wet day so we got our hearts set on a great Ramen. What came out was semi-cold, flavourless and a real let down. Friendly service, but they may want to rethink the open kitchen. It so messy and looks terrible.
Hungry-Sydney
Awful experience - told "no ramen" and watched them serve it to others for the rest of lunch. My GF and I stopped off at Tanpopo for a quick lunch and my expectations weren't high since I suddenly remembered that last time they gave our ramen to another table, watch them start it then take it back and give it to us. Oh well, lets give it another try...bad idea.<br/><br/>We sit down at a table, my GF chooses a ramen and I choose a bento box. She is advised by waitress - "no ramen". We check and ask "no ramen available at all?" and she says "no". My GF ordered a rice bowl which arrives looking a bit sorry for itself with tons of rice and little amount of meat best described as a topping and salad cream all over the salad.<br/><br/>We start eating when we look around and watch the kitchen deliver 2 ramens to a table. Then this other guy walks up and orders a ramen inches away from us - clear as day, she even asks him which one he would like and he points at it on the menu. I pipe up and ask the waitress why she told us no ramen. After 5 minutes still we have no reasonable answer. She tells us something about only one type of noodle available - not offered to us - and then argued he's pre-ordered - no he hadn't - and then resorts to a smile and silence.<br/><br/>On paying at the end she mumbled some excuses and told us they'll be better next time. Useless bunch - what kind of restaurant advises they don't have something and spends the next 30 minutes serving it. We won't be back. With so much choice in Neutral Bay why return.
Steph L
Their Ramen…TASTY!
Priscilla @FoodPornNation.com
This is a really cute place that I highly recommend you go to. It's tiny, it's quaint and has that Japanese-esque feel to it. Ka-wa-ii de-su-ne. The setting is a bit squishy and the service is a bit inattentive but the food more than makes up for it. It is excellent. Don't get me wrong, the staff are lovely, courteous and friendly. But at times, they just don't seem to look up. They get really focused on the job at hand. So you may find yourself either staring them down to catch their eye or making the giant leap forward to the counter to speak to them. The beef tataki at Tanpopo is one of those dishes that once you have had it, you can't imagine your life without it. I have had cravings ever since. Looking at this photo gives me momentary flashbacks into its luscious rich red centre which just sends my animal instinct into demented drooling delirium. The beef is carpaccio thin where it is slinkily nestled on top of the salad leaves and the dressing is absolutely worth
The Food Zoo
I was surprised how busy this little Japanese restaurant was! After a 15 minute wait we were eventually seated although the table had been available the entire time and clearly not reserved so that was quite confusing. The Tanpopo carpaccio and the Tanpopo volcano roll is a must! My favourite was the Tanpopo volcano roll which was just flooded with mayonnaise goodness (although some may disagree and say it’s just too rich)! Tanpopo 3/81 Military Rd Neutral Bay NSW 2089 Filed under: Japanese , Neutral Bay Tagged: camembert cheese , caparcio , japanese , mayonnaise , sushi , tempura
Heneedsfood
I was pushing it when I started ordering things like sushi, resulting with the rookie waitress yo-yo-ing between us and the kitchen to see if the boys were willing to make it. No we couldn’t have the aburi sushi but we were allowed to have the kingfish carpaccio
Andrew Dunn
The Hokkaido Ramen is just as spectacular as the ones I've had in Sapporo. I would stick my head in the bowl of it wasn't so antisocial....
NA78
Delicious. I live down the road from Tanpopo and its a regular choice. The pork soup ramen is great - the stock is a really beautiful flavour that you can tell has been developed lovingly - not rushed with a range of artificial additives - but a natural flavour. Had their dinner box special ($20) and it was very fresh. Like a lot of smaller operators they dont accept cards/debit which may be an inconvenience to some, so you do need to come armed with cash. Definitely worth a try if you're after authentic, simple Japanese flavours.
Foodie
The menu wrote the ramen soup was made for at least 8hrs, however the soup was made hot but not strong enough.<br/>Beef tataki was not raw enough.
Ana
They did it right. Customer experience wasn't the restaurant strongest point, but I have came back here three times. After being rejected due not enough seat on the first one, me and my partner found out they ran out of ramen on our second visit.<br/><br/>On our third visit finally we had the ramen, it was awesome.. soup was not too thick and the sliced pork is wonderful. Experience wasn't particularly good, we had to wait half an hour due to some confusion in the kitchen, and the waiter given away our karage to the wrong table.<br/><br/>However they quickly apologized for the delay by bribing us with a bowl of edamame for free, and they also set our karage free of charge.. appreciate it guys..
Fiona Michelon
Amazing Japanese food, quick service, cheap prices, friendly staff- my fave in the area
Jinryu
So far the only ramen place in Sydney that has melt-in-your-mouth chashu. After reading the last review, we also gave the sashimi a try... and it really was very fresh! pleasantly surprised.
Bell
Very Fresh and Excellent Service. We ended up at Tanpopo one Monday as our usual Jap favorites were shut. We were pleasantly surprised that this unassuming place has the freshest sashimi in town! The service is also excellent and take away extremely fast. It's BYO only but there are bottle shops close by. Highly recommended.
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