Harajuku Gyoza South Bank — Restaurant in Brisbane City

A delightful lunch ended with a crunchy Nutella Gyoza

My partner and I went for lunch at the well-recognized Harajuku Gyoza, and we were more than pleased with the food, service and overall vibe.

Despite of being on a busy Southbank street, Harajuku stands out by its fun, young and modern Japanese décor. When we entered, we were immediately greeted by a staff member which seated us and thoroughly explained to us the menu and ordering process. The full explanation came after we mentioned that it was our very first time eating at the restaurant.

The menu was easy to read and had excellent variety in flavours and ingredients. For drinks we ordered a Yoyogi Pale Ale and an iced green tea. The beer was out of this world (if you like fruity flavours). Certainly, this beer fitted perfectly with all the dishes we had later.

To eat we had the Pork and Prawn Gyoza with Ginger and Spring Onion Dressing, Grilled Duck Gyoza, Mozzarella Cheese Gyoza, Tokayaki Gyoza, Chicken Karaage, Tebasaki Peppered Chicken Wings and the One Foot Long Fries.

Overall the food was excellent. Every single plate was different to each other, providing dynamic textures, flavours and experiences.

The gyozas were delicate, crispy and airy. We particularly liked the Mozzarella Cheese Gyoza, a strange but surprisingly good dish. The Takoyaki Gyoza felt like a flavour explosion in our mouths. But the one dish that felt “robust” and hit all the flavour spots was the Pork and Prawn Gyoza with Ginger and Spring Onion Dressing. Excellent execution with sharp, spicy and sweet taste.

We also liked the sharing dishes (Karaage, wings and fries), but lacked flavour depth compared to the gyozas. The Chicken Karaage was average, as we felt it could have been crispier. It had a very basic flavour but improved when adding the lemon juice. The Tebasaki Peppered Chicken Wings were good but not excellent, with all of the pieces being crunchy and pleasant to eat. Some chicken pieces had no glaze, making them slightly ordinary. We were also expecting them to be peppery, but we could only taste the sweet and savory glaze. Both plates had a very uninterested presentation which diminished the positive eating experience. Finally, the One Foot Long Fries were beautiful with plenty of crunch and salt.

To end our modern Japanese journey, we had a Nutella Gyoza with Vanilla Ice Cream. We very much enjoyed the crunchy gyoza. The nutty and sweet hot filling fitted perfectly with the ice cream.

Regarding the service, we could not be happier. All the staff were very attentive, friendly and gave a 10/10 service. At our table we always had enough plates to eat, and the remaining ones left the kitchen in a timely and progressive manner. Only high-quality restaurants can reach this high level of dish coordination and precision.

Overall this restaurant definitely embodies its 4/5 stars Google Maps rating. For me, the service, food and experience feels more like a 5/5. Without question, I will be back at this restaurant and I recommend...

We stumbled on this place by chance when walking around South Bank.

Located right on a busy corner, there was no parking for us here, so we parked the paid parking at Parkland underneath. (finding a park on the street was near impossible!)

This place is amazing. We were greeted with loud and enthusiastic welcomes as soon as we walked in, and were say down immediately since the resturant itself was mostly empty at the time (just before lunch rush is a great choice for fast service)

We ordered through QR code on the table with the tablet provided to us. It really was something special to be ordering like this. I thought it would just be through our phones, but I like the tablet idea.

I also loved the adorable plates on our table. The floating pear was just too cute!

The restaurant filled up in no time while waiting for our meals. We were so glad we got in when we did since it looks like such a popular spot to eat.

Every person was given thier own enthusiastic welcome by all the staff. It's a wonder they don't lose thier voices 😂

The food was to die for. I highly reccomend the Takoyaki. It came out on the dish actually moving on the top! I don't know what made the flakes on top move like that but it was so surprising and delicious.

We loved that we could just order more whenever with the tablet. It's very easy (and dangerous for our wallets) that way!

Food can be a little pricey, but the quality, craftsmanship, and taste is well worth every dollar spent. I think we spent about $80 for the two of us, but we were celebrating our anniversary and got multiple dishes for us both.

Dessert was the Golden Gaytime Gyōzas. They were super messy but so worth it. With caramel and popcorn on top, these gyōzas are the best ones I've had! Everyone has to try these dessert gyōzas!

The No Face tip jar at the register is very cute and was fun to watch eat my coin I put on the bowl.

The only downside I have is the toilets. They are at the back of the store, but when you exit, you enter another dining area to get to the actual bathrooms. It felt quite awkward having to slide past another eatery to get to the bathroom. It wasn't a big deal, but I've never opened a toilet door and seen something other than the actual bathroom behind it 😂

Other than that, I loved every moment here. If I lived closer, I'd gladly spend my money here...

Very happy with my first experience, it's a nice small place with incredible staff, very real Japanese experience.

They even do the calling you master business like the maids do in the anime's.

The food was very good, portions were pretty decent as well.

Chicken Katsu Don & Curry were the main dishes I had, and the green tea kit kat matcha ice cream gyoza.

I will definitely come back here again.

Very special thanks for Art-san for being such a great host during my lunch today. My 2nd visit to your restaurant.

Also thank you to the chefs for all the great food, way too much for my liking but it was all good.

I complained to TheFork people that I want to use $20 instead of $50 at places like yours.

Fine food, but the prices are the complete opposite of fine dining.

I don't like overeating to begin with, but it also makes me feel like a real cheapskate taking advantage of a restaurant like your own.

I love Japan, the people, manga, anime and cosplaying, makes me feel bad/guilty getting so much and giving so little in return.

Only just made double digits at the end of the day, you would have at least gotten double what I paid in the end if I had the $20 option.

Anyway thank you all very much again, I will definitely visit another time.

My Dad absolutely loves the food here.

He told me he had been to a few other Japanese restaurants but wasn't too thrilled with what he had.

He was surprised how good the quality was and he liked...