Ku-O at the Gabba — Restaurant in Brisbane City

FOOD & DRINK We stumbled upon this fab little Japanese restaurant while trawling around looking for somewhere to eat, after our first choice bombed out. It was a quiet Thursday night in late October, and what a find it was. Only afterwards, did I look at the reviews, to see that Ku has an average score of 4.5. That’s no surprise, and it's well deserved, given the high quality of the food and the overall positive restaurant experience.

Being just my wife and I dining, we stuck to a fairly simple ordering protocol: a bottle of my fav Sapporo ale, a seaweed salad, a salmon teriyaki for my wife and a chicken katsu “set” for me. And what excellent meals these were. Serving sizes were generous, and everything was fresh and tasty. Clearly only the best premium grade ingredients are used. The seaweed salad was beautiful and crunchy, served on a stylish oval shaped bowl topped with lettuce to temper the flavour. My chicken katsu was succulent and tender, wrapped in a crispy batter with a white sauce sprinkled over each piece to spice it up. Included in the “set” was a serve of fluffy rice, and a selection of different vegetables and rounded off with a bowl of miso soup. A delicious all round meal. My wife’s salmon was similarly outstanding with a large piece of plumb salmon cooked to perfection and served with rice, salad and vegetables. We couldn’t have been happier with our meals. Chefs deserve a pat on the back.

AMBIENCE The place has been tastefully decked out in a traditional Japanese style: Elegant yet unpretentious, with attractive timber features and a colourful display of Japanese style umbrellas hanging upside down from the ceiling. It was about half full, which meant that it was easy to get a table at around 7.00pm. The ambience was super casual, laid back and relaxed with good acoustics, strong lighting and comfortable furniture. It’s a homely, calm and welcoming space that you’ll feel happy to be in, the moment you walk through the door.

SERVICE As one would expect from a place that excels in every department, the service was first class too. We were warmly welcomed by the friendly and polite maître d and even though we didn't have a booking, he found a nice table for us, near the middle of the room. Our orders were promptly taken and the drinks and food came out quickly. This place hums like a well oiled machine and it all runs smoothly. That’s just the way we like it.

COST We paid a reasonable 63 pesos for a single beer, a seaweed salad and two main courses, the chicken katsu and the salmon teriyaki. That’s right on point for what we had, and given the high quality of the food and service and the perfect ambience we felt that was a fair price to pay, considering that a humble cup of coffee these days costs upwards of 5 pesos.

TOILETS There are a few restaurants in this little arcade and they seem to share the same toilets, so one needs to grab a fob first. But the fob is prominently displayed at the entrance to the restaurant, next to the front desk. It’s on a hook and attached to a large spoon so it’s easy to spot. I’m not a great fan of shared toilets in public spaces, but these were well signposted, clean and adequately provisioned with a few unisex cubicles which meant that there was no waiting for one to become available.

PARKING Easy street parking nearby.

SUMMARY We had a satisfying evening here and I’d happily visit Ku-O again. The food was superb and served in generous portions. Service was fast, efficient and polite. The classic Japanese décor creates the perfect calm and laid back ambience to enjoy a relaxing meal with family or friends. Prices are reasonable, there are clean toilets and easy...

Until recently I would have given this place at least 4 stars. However on a recent visit I was totally disgusted. It doesn’t even deserve 1 star. It’s clear that it’s been taken over by new owners and staff. I went 2 weeks ago with my fiancé, it was where we went on our first date (12 months ago) and wanted to go there for our anniversary. Firstly our order was stuffed up. Ordered apple juice, never got it until after about 15 minutes, and only because I asked for it. My fiancé ordered karaage don, but got karaage udon. He kept it as it was something he wanted to try. But the udon soup was very watered down. (Good for cost cutting I guess). I ordered the karaage with tartar sauce. The sauce was not traditional Japanese tartar sauce. We decided then that we wouldn’t be back. However today I felt like some sushi and karaage for lunch. I was in the area so thought I’d give them one more try. The tuna sashimi was gristly and the tartar sauce this time was different again. This time it tasted like tartare sauce that you’d buy from the supermarket and serve with fish. Tasted so wrong with chicken. The chicken karaage almost made me feel sick after eating a few pieces. It was extremely oily and tasted like it was cooked in old oil. And the portion size of the tartar sauce went for being filled right up and piled up high to now about 0.5cm below the top of the dish. Oh and the food got put on the pass, the chef never rang the bell to let the waitress know it was ready, and it sat there for at least 5-10 minutes before she realised there was food ready. It was not busy - so there was no excuse - except the chef didn’t bother to ring the bell. The sushi chef was bored, because he was leaning all over the bench like he wanted to go to sleep. Extremely disappointed. I used my $10 discount, which it seems they are no longer running this promotion as I never got a new card. So I have decided, I will never return. If I hear that they get new owners or new staff, then I might try it again, but for now, definitely not returning. I’m only a student chef and I could cook better tasting Japanese food than these clowns. I feel this place is about to go downhill fast. This is no longer authentic tasting Japanese food. Totally disappointed and...

Ku-O is the Hidden Japanese gem at Trafalgar Square. Dined in for lunch at 1pm. Ordered the Sashimi that came with Tuna, Salmon, Scallops, caviar accompanied with the House Beer. Took approximately 13 minutes from order to being plated. The server was good seemed a bit hesitant not sure why as she was doing a lovely job.

The scallops were buttery and the fish eggs gave that pop of Saltiness like tasting the ocean. The Presentation is Immaculate. Whoever makes these 10/10 for the beautifully presented dish as seen in the pics the ornate Swan like Lemon and Butterfly Carrot were pretty and added character to the plate. This is not your ordinary Japanese diner.

Secondly, had the Chicken Katsu and to be honest not my favourite as BBQ sauce with Fried chicken isn't my thing however the warm Miso cleared my pallet and the Crunchy sesame slaw balanced the tartiness of the sauce. I would go with the grilled chicken next time on request.

All in all I would come here again. They had a group lunch next to me of 20 people and did well to serve everyone. Hopefully the fish is a little bit more chilled next time but excellent dish Would reorder. Spent about $45. Bargain for what you get 2x meals...