Yebisu IzakayaShop 7-10
Regent Place
501 George St
Sydney CBD
Yebisu Izakaya is of course a Japanese restaurant - and a popular one at that with decent sized queues at the entrance (but they move quickly so don't be put off). We were astounded by just how many people they managed to calmly move through and feed - it's a slick operation that doesn't seem rushed at all. Service is quick, and if you like using modern technology then this is your place, with touch screens everywhere for you to place your orders. However the system was easy to navigate with good descriptions of each dish (and pictures of course) and the food arrived surprisingly quickly. The beauty of this system is you can order more if you need an extra dish - or if there's one you desperately want!
We started with pan fried prawn gyoza with ponzu dipping sauce. They arrived hot - in fact still steaming - which was great. The gyoza's arrive in a serving of five - so you can fight over the last one when there are two of you dining - but I won this time! Resting them on some bean sprouts was a good idea as they didn't stick to the pan. They tasted good with a very subtle flavour - and plenty of other tables around us were ordering them as well which is always a good sign.
Next up were the crab claws. As Mlady loves croquettes - and these are very similar - she instantly gravitated towards ordering them. No surprises there at all and they were crisp and tasty - especially with the tangy salad.
The flying fish roe gunkan sounded great and looked so impressive. It also turned out to taste just as good too. Whilst it's a little hard to eat as you try not to disturb the roe - it's well worth ordering!
I chose the pork belly teriyaki basically because I love pork belly. It came on a skewer and the meat was tender and tasted good. It lived up to what I was hoping for.The shitake mushrooms teriyaki was Mlady's choice - even though I managed to steal one.
Even though I love pork belly we both agreed that the mushrooms were the pick of the two.
Who loves chicken karage? If fact, who doesn't love it!
We were always going to order this dish - even before we found it on the menu.
We were looking for it and weren't disappointed. As expected, it was crisp on the outside and moist and tender inside. We loved this dish and it was a decent sized serving as well.
Have you tried sake? It's an unusual taste that some people love and others don't. I don't mind it but it wasn't something Mlady loved. This version was sweet sake - and it's poured into a glass that sits in a small wooden box. They keep pouring even though the glass is overflowing - until half the box is full. They also ring a bell whenever anyone orders sake which is a nice touch.
We didn't realise just how many teriyaki dishes we'd ordered until we went back through it to update this page.The chicken thigh teriyaki sounded like it would be tender and tasty - and it was.
It came in two skewers on a decent pile of cabbage squares.
We'd ordered most of our dishes and finished them all, but felt the urge for just one more.
The fresh spring rolls with salmon and avocado sounded very nice - and looked absolutely spectacular. This is a sea of colour on a plate, with great flavours as well.
This dish is a bit hard to eat but well worth the challenge.
Yebisu Izakaya is clearly doing a lot of things right - the queue at the door says it all. We enjoyed our meal there - the service was friendly, the food arrived quickly and the touch screen was a fun way to order. The whole place also has a fun, funky feel to it.Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Yebisu Izakaya. Thanks to Sana Motoyama from SD Marketing for arranging our visit.
