KU-O Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Food (4/5) For lunch, I ordered the, chicken karaage lunch special set, oden udon, and a brown sugar earl grey milk tea. First impressions of the karaage was good with a generous portion with many pieces of fried chicken. In addition to the salad in the bowl, the lunch set came with another small bowl of salad and two pieces of fish tofu. The chicken was nice and crispy on the outside while remaining succulent and moist on the inside. The amount of sauce and mayonnaise was tasteful without overloading the chicken. Salad was a simple affair, with your typical green leaves and a light dressing.

Presentation wise, the oden udon was simple and plain. There was not much to fault, but also not much that stood out. The soup was flavourful without being too salty and complimented the delightfully chewy udon noodles. The oden on the other hand seemed like something you could purchase at the surrounding Asian grocers.

The tea was pleasant though some people might find it not sweet enough for their tastes. I however, thought it was just the right sweetness for this type of meal.

For those that expect sushi at a Japanese restaurant, Ku-O did not offer any sushi, but did still included a small variety of sashimi.

Service (4/5) Service was quick and efficient without much of a personal touch. The waitress immediately seated me and brought table water without prompting. I did not have to hail the waitress to order. Meals were delivered in short time with all of my dishes arriving within a few minutes of each other. Do note that I went when the restaurant wasn’t too busy so your experience may differ.

Setting (3/5) I was seated in a booth near the front door, which would have been plenty spacious for a party of four. Decor included Japanese artwork on the wall which appeared hand painted, wooden furniture and dividers, along with paper lanterns, umbrellas and other ornaments. Though the restaurant was slightly cramped, I felt it reminiscent of the Izakayas I went to in Japan. The addition of stools in front of the kitchen would add to this feel though I appreciate there is limited space within the restaurant. My only complaint about the setting was that the air conditioning was weak. Seated near the front door, the temperature was not significantly different from the outside.

Value (4/5) At under $30 for two meals and a drink, this place is great value for a decent meal. The karaage came with plenty of rice and sides and I could barely finish it all myself. Understandably, the udon was less filling but still contained plenty of different oden for you to enjoy. I would definitely recommend ordering the meals if you have a big appetite...

Google algorithm lead me to this restaurant and I was so excited to visit here because I am fan of Japanese food. Today I ordered Katsu set and mushrooms/tofu donburi and shrimp udon(I forgot to take a photo of udon) I love the visual that meal set looked like really Japanese style meal set that I used to eat in Japan.

*Flavor: Tofu was just fried with No taste(I do not mean it was not delicious but it had NO flavor like salty, sweet). Mushroom was salty and delicious but too much butter with soy sauce. In case of Kats set, 3 kinds of pickle( red ginger, seaweed and Takana) and miso soup( very nice soup) I actually wanted to have only chicken katsu but I recognized there will be extra fries with katsu. Chicken katsu was 4-5small pieces, rest of them were shrimp and one fish. If you want to enjoy a variety of food, it would be good. But for me just okay. Amount of rice was too less, so I had to order extra udon because it was not enough. I hope they offer more rice than other fries. I ordered shrimp udon and soup was not salty but simple and yummy. I am so satisfied about udon

*Atmosphere : Very small shop with Japanese style which has own booth, so we can seat separately with other customers. I love this one. But there was too many ornaments on the ceiling, it looked crude to me.

Staff : Only one staff works over there but she could not understand me clearly, besides I couldn’t understand her. Just average worker who was not that kind but not rude. But she needs to communicate more clearly.

Others : Some menu’s price has changed and some menus were not available at this moment. Compare to other Japanese restaurants, price is quite reasonable. I love this point.

Today’s visiting was just okay. I will visit again and explore...

Used to patronise this place past 3 years but not anymore. They used to serve generous portion of Chirashizushi with thick cube pieces of fresh sashimi,many pieces of crisoy seaweed, mixture of black bean and Edamame (before price increase). There was an old Japanese chef then but we don't see him anymore. However recent visits during lunch and dinner were huge disappointment. I ordered Chirashiizushi as usual at lunch but the portion was far cry from what they used to served before price increase. Tiny pieces of sashimi and 5 pieces of bean and 4 small pieces of seaweed. I told my husband I'll give them another chance so 2 weeks later we went again for dinner. Restaurant was full and busy, as usual I ordered my favourite Chirashizushi. When it was finally served after waited for 25 minutes ( I don't mind waiting) one look at it makes me want to cry. Tiny thin pieces of fish ( looks like scraps) along with 4 small pieces of crispy seaweed and 5 pieces of bean. Definitely won't be returning , huge disappointment

Edited * 12th Nov 2024 You should know very well the pathetic portion you have served and especially after price increased too ! We now have a new favourite Japanese restaurant to go to, their standard are way better than yours unfortunately Thank you...