I'm giving this four stars, simply because this is the best ramen I've had in Canberra. Admittedly…read morea low bar to surmount. The place is a really unpromising-looking noodle-in-a-box place in Belconnen Mall. Food from anywhere vaguely Asian-sounding. I wasn't holding my breath. But what a surprise. The tonkatsu broth is milky-looking and tasty (I suspect some MSG, but I'm not fussed). There are 4 perfect slices of cha shu pork, sweet corn, bamboo shoot, hijiki seaweed, and half a tea-stained boiled egg. The noodles are square rather than round, but perfectly fine. So generous marking because of the surprise location, but still at least 3 out of 5 on the "decent ramen" scale.

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.

*This is for the Isla Filipina(halo halo) dessert. Listen Australia or anyone else reading this, if…read moreyou only have to try one Filipino dessert in the summer, This has to be it. It's shaved ice with jellied fruit of coconut, jack fruit, beans etc. Top with ice cream. Folks on a hot summer day this is to die for.

Really tasteless and over priced for what your get. I liked that they had a brown rice option. But…read moreI was served a cold hot tea. Had a donburri that had some funky seafood creamy like sauce it tasted like nothing. They just seemed to slap some cheap packet pickled ginger and daikon with a pinch of cabbage

Lilotang is a new casual dining restaurant that Josiah Li has so capably created along with the…read morealready acclaimed Chairman Yip, Malamay and Lantern Rooms. There is a lovely modern feel as you enter - the walls are in birch and moveable so it can so aptly cater for variances in group sizes. Light and 'airy' there is a overall feel of being in a low key and relaxed envoirnment where fine food matters will occur. And they do, and there are some standouts - the Pork Belly sewers are in a delightful sauce; the char grilled cold eggplant in sesame sauce is tasty and from the mains the Pork Spare Rib in black pepper balsamic soy was good as was the Lamb cutlet with spicy wasabi vinaigrette.....some lovely dishes to choose from.... And if you like Sake there are plenty to pick from...at least 20, and yes the wine list is good too. This place is relatively new so I can only imagine what it will be like as it 'matures'.

In Canberra for the Cartier Exhibition in July, staying at the Burbury Hotel…read more Was convenient to try LILO+tang without a booking on the Friday night at 6.30pm. Fully booked of course, but a HK student waiter was smart to suggest if we were happy to eat in the bar area sitting on high stools. We did not mind at all as the bar area was relatively quiet with a street view. The smart waiter suggested the tasting plate menu at $65 each min 2 people which was perfect for me and my wife. Each plate was served , nicely cooked and explained to us what it was. The Japanese style dessert as recommended, Mucha ice cream, torfu with syrup was a surprise to end the meal. It was a dining experience. The Japanese beer list was awesome , the two we chose were delicious and so different from the Australian beers. Would come back again to try other dishes. Very reasonably prized . Good value.

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.

Heaven! Ordered the tasting menu. 8 of their favorite dishes. Great flavor! Refreshing! Perfect…read moreafter a 15 hr flight from USA to Australia. I never order eggplant. I would order Akiba eggplant again and again. Kingfish sashimi is addicting. Sat at the bar. Willow, Host, and Max, Bartender, deliver exceptional service. Highly recommend for a quality meal, great service, and vibe!

Akiba is such a fun spot with awesome vibes. The pork belly bao is hands down my favourite - so…read moresoft and full of flavour. The Japanese fried chicken and kingfish sashimi are also great. Staff are friendly, and the neon-lit, buzzy atmosphere makes it a perfect place for a night out.

I recently had a Birthday dinner with family at this fantastic restaurant. The ambiance was warm…read moreand welcoming. The staff were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and friendly. The food and service exceeded my expectations, it was a wonderful evening. We received extra dishes, hot sake, and a very nice small birthday cake. I believe that many elements of the food are made on-site. I have been to many Japanese restaurants around the world, this is one of the best that I have been into. I even got to briefly chat the owner. I highly recommend this great restaurant.

Been a repeating customer at Iori's for the last 9 years. Fantastic little Japanese restaurant in…read moreCivic that now has a sister Izakaya just round the corner from it Food: Fresh seafood in there, sweet, succulent sashimi pieces if you order them raw, while the cooked ones flake gently and melts in your mouth. Extensive menu covers everything from Sashimi, sushi to Wagyu beef cooked just right on a hot plate. Recommended: Lunch: Tasmanian Don - Salmon cooked in every single way possible, inclusive of roe, topped on a huge mountain of rice with soup. Dinner: Wagyu beef with the house mustard sauce (not quite sure what the full name is). Beautifully marbled steak, thinly sliced and comes in a set with seaweed salad, soup and rice. Also offers a variety of sake although I normally just head for ramune ( Japnese lemonade that tastes like a light version of Pink lemonade) for the fun factor. Service: Very attentive, efficient and professional. Might seem distant to some people, but I appreciate that this is part of the japanese hospitality culture. Also, if you sit at the sushi bar, you get to watch them cook. Sometimes, the chef would hand out some freebies that they have cooked on the spot for you to try that's not part of the menu :) Boss is friendly, as is a couple of cooks/waiters when they have gotten past being shy. Atmosphere: Casual dining, good for catching up with friends in small groups of 4 or for 1 large gathering within the "enclose" dining area. Conclusion: I have loved Iori for a long time. It's a fantastic place for food, appreciating japanese food and for gathering with friends. However, as with any place in Canberra, it can be pricey and if you compare it with the food from the Asian region, it's not something massively different from places in Sydney. However, I will venture to say, the service and the familiarity with the Boss-san is something you can't really get anywhere else, except in a small town like ours :)