Nothing like a little Baek se ju to get you nice and lubricated for social settings in Canberra. My…read moreaussie main man Michael H. got us a nice room type booth in the restaurant. It's a crazy setting this place is, one part Japanese, one part Korean with a splash of Thai minus the dillution of the cuisine's personalities. Bento box of goodies for Mr. Michael, Unagi roll for Bam C., some more sushi for Veena J., and some katsu chicken for myself, washed down with some awesome "hundred years" rice wine. Yea, it's not really a hundred years old...but it's aged well and satisfies like cold water to a traveler from the desert. "You guys ready?" asked Michael. "Sure, where we going first?" I respond. "(King) O'Malley's across the way" says Veena... Let's go, let's go!!!

Honestly, I am unsure why this place has a high rating. There self cooking is good. But, there…read morepersonally prepared meals are nothing spectacular. There are plenty of places that will provide better quality nearby in the area. I found my chicken dish to still have bones in the chicken strips, carrot pieces were like eating stones. Sorry but next time I would have to pass. The good service and trendy restaurant is what keeps customers coming back.

We visited Raku in 2018 and it made our list of best restaurants for that year. When our foodie…read morecrew opted to go to Canberra, our only request was that we wanted to return to Raku. It is a sleek and contemporary fine dining Japanese restaurant with an extensive ala carte menu, as well as a tasting menu. The restaurant is located in the main CBD precinct near the Civic shopping centre and thus was easy to locate. The space is large with table seating or right up at the chefs kitchen as well private dining spaces. You can watch the chefs prepare the meats on the grill over the flame and it is mesmerising. Otherwise there's small tables or booths, it is dimly lit and has a romantic feel to it. The ambience is cool and sophisticated, but not at all arrogant and you can certainly feel comfortable dining here. We learn that Raku is named after a Japanese style of pottery (fired in open flames), which is apt for a Robata style restaurant. Secondly, the ceramics here were absolutely beautiful and demonstrated different designs and techniques. Cooking wise, the robata method enables the flavour of the flame to shine through the meat, seafood and vegetables and the blue eyed cod has to be one of the best things we've ever ordered. The Gindara saikyo yaki Alaskan black cod came with a saikyo miso w pickled cauliflower. The Smokey flavour was beautiful and it was so soft and melted in your mouth. The Ala Carte menu has so many options; from raw seafood to salads, hot dishes, tempura, maki rolls, sushi nigiri, signature dishes and robatayaki seafood, meat and veg, there is sure to be something to take your fancy. We opted for the picture perfect Hotate truffle Hokkaido scallop flavoured with truffle and ponzu as well as a beautiful maki roll filled with Spicy maguro South Australian raw tuna, Sriracha, tenkatsu, chives, takuan, cabbage. The tenkatsu crisp provided a nice crunch to the sushi. For the other two in our dining party, they ate the Hao san's tasting menu, which for $80 each is super reasonable since the ala carte diners ended up spending more than this. We do like that the restaurant enabled our dining party to have ala carte or the tasting menu (though tasting menu needs to be at least 2 people). A tasting menu is great way to do things for it enables you to experience a good range of their signature dishes. It begins with their signature Merimbula rock oysters topped with cucumber, tosazu. A light and refreshing start to the tasting. One of the favourites was the Tasmanian salmon tartar w yuzu miso & squid ink cracker that was simply stunning in both flavour and presentation. Followed up by some of the best Sashimi around; salmon, kingfish and scallop as well as 2 pieces each of the Chef's selection nigiri; Aburi salmon and tuna. Then came the lightly fried Tempura Zucchini flowers, which were beautifully done, filled with feta, goma, tofu paste and a side of dashi broth. For the main part of the tasting menu, it was an 150-day grain fed Scotch fillet, perfectly cooked medium and sliced thinly served with wasabi sour cream and a rhubarb salt. This came with a nice cup of white miso dashi w tofu, wakame & spring onion. To also accompany the main was a light Heirloom tomato salad, fried quinoa, honey soy, spicy tofu creme. We were keen for the Wagyu gyoza w truffle oil, white ponzu, mustard seed and had been talking about this well before our visit l. So when the dessert arrived we were disappointed the gyoza hadn't come. When enquiring, they had simply forgotten, so lucky we knew the menu. They were worth the wait. The tasting menu comes with a Toasted sesame ice cream w caramelised almonds sticky miso caramel, matcha wafer which did sound delightful, though being at whisky fans, we asked your we could swap out the desert for their whisky option. We are so happy they obliged. The dessert was a Japanese whisky chocolate fondant oozing with chocolate and a sticky miso caramel paired with Nikka 'from the barrel' ice cream. This is a whiskey lovers dream. Drinks wise, they have some solid cocktails with Japanese flavours, sake, beers and wines and ask for the waiters suggestion to match your meal. They also have an express $40 lunch option which sounds like a good deal too. We love Raku restaurant and this is enough of a reason to plan a visit to Canberra.

Such a bummer to write a one-star review but gutted after our experience at RAKU yesterday. In…read morealmost 15 years on Yelp, I don't think I've written more than one or two one-star reviews, but this was really awful. Had a weekday birthday and I work across the street, so my sweet partner booked us in for a 6pm dinner reservation on a Wednesday evening. Arrived a couple of minutes early and was greeted by the hostess. She asked if we had a resy and checked it in the system, then walked us saying that we had 2 seating options: - The first spot offered was at the middle of a communal table sitting closer to strangers than each other, right by the door, with the associated extra light and unwelcome chill from the opening and closing of the door. Not very nice but figured the second option would be better. - Second was two seats side by side facing the sushi bar. I know people sometimes prefer and specifically book this to watch the artistry of the sushi masters, or would be happy with these seats as walk-ins without reservations, but it was not appropriate for a celebratory dinner date. (Booked online and reconfirmed on request twice by the venue, once the Saturday before and once earlier the same day.) - We saw a couple of open two-tops at the window, so my partner asked if one of those would be an option. Instead the hostess frowned at us and said that they were booked. - I don't have a great poker face and must have visibly balked, so after frowning at us some more, the hostess then relented and said we could sit at one of the available two-tops. - Which was odd because she said less than two minutes before that they were booked (presumably by people who had specifically booked and reconfirmed those two particular tables? Not sure what the issue was but it was appalling to experience.) We weighed the idea of sitting down for a dinner at a place where the team had been so unprofessional with two people who arrived on time, looking appropriate, for a (doubly) confirmed pre-booked reservation, and opted to leave rather than put the rest of our night into the hands of this venue. Super sad as we had already picked out our favourite options from the Hao San tasting menu and were very much looking forward to the food and wine pairings. A ruined night thanks to bad service at RAKU. Such a shame as otherwise this could have been such a nice option in Canberra.

This is a great spot if you are looking for a healthy, quick and cheap mid week dinner. We decided…read moreto try the bi bim bap - and it was fresh and delicious - a full balanced meal in a bowl!

Like good sushi?...then this is a must visit…read more Located in Manuka this small eating house has been turning out great sushi for many years. There is limited inside seating, perhaps seating for 12 and approximately the same quota of seats for footpath dining however do not let this deter you. It has excellent take out and is well set up to cope with busy periods. It is common place to see long lunch times queues and I have been part of them. Service is very efficient and the wait is normally short. So how good are the sushi rolls? At least 8 out of 10, and my favourites include the salmon and avocado, the cooked tuna and crumbed prawn are delicious...actually they 13 variants are right up there. And there is more too....the vegetable and king prawn tempuras' are really tasty. The food is always so fresh, tasty and the quality is so consistently good.

The sweet soy sauce fried chicken is A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E.L.Y amazing! Great price! Get bonus wedges,…read morecoleslaw, pickled radishes and coke can! They even home deliver which is perfect if you're having a korean drama night party! The owners are lovely and its great they now accept card for payment at the restaurant. Closed on Sundays unfortunately. Still is quite quiet most night which is great because obviously people haven't discovered how amazing it is so you can pick up your food in around 20-30 minutes. Favourite place to get authentic korean fried chicken in Canberra, no other place I've been to compares.

Since the ownership changed Ka Sushi Ramen has gone downhill. The new owners use cheaper…read moreingredients at higher prices. The rice is now cheap Chinese rice instead of quality Japanese rice. The portions are smaller. The food tastes different, and not in a good way. The new owners have tried to deliver a similar menu with cheaper ingredients but they miss the mark. Avoid this place.

Good Japanese food with a large amount per serving. The food is in a reasonable price considering…read moreits quantity. Very friendly staff. The owner always say hi and goodbye to customers. I noticed this every time I have meal here. Very happy with the service. The food was quick and taste pretty good.

It went downhill really really fast after opening and now I believe it's closed. And deservedly so…read more If it IS still open, don't go.

Waited 10 minutes to be noticed and seated in a near empy restaurant. Was finally seated and…read moreordered food and drinks. Didnt get the drinks till after the main was served. Food presentation was lacklustre. Was ok but wont be going back.

Bought a udon with chicken karaage, the chicken was burnt. Asked for new chicken and they tol me…read more"that's how it comes". Pointed to a picture of it which was not burnt but golden brown. They told me no refunds. When I pushed further for an exchange, they gave me tempura prawns as the only option. Um thanks? Bad customer service.

Nice and clean with lots of variety. We came as a group on 4 walk in on the Easter weekened and…read morereally enjoyed lunch. We had rolls, srpingrolls, nigiri and mochi. Prices are a bit high but overall good value for a healthy lunch.

Meh, average sushi robot joint run by non-Japanese. Wave at the wait staff, because they don't come…read moreand ask if you want anything.