Izakaya Gin Claremont — Restaurant in Claremont

Went on an early Sunday evening just before 5pm & we were the first diners.

Welcomed & greeted warmly by staff & were given a table for the 3 of us straight away.

What we ordered :

Chicken Karaage served with mayo, ichimi powder, spring onion $14.00

Sashimi Bento Salmon, tuna, kingfish, scallop (3 kinds of sashimi nigiri chefs’ selection) nimono stewed seasonal vegetables bean sprouts with sesame dressing & deep fried gyozas $39.00

Sukiyaki Beef Bento Angus beef slices, nimono stewed seasonal vegetables gohan steamed rice with pickles and black sesame bean sprouts with sesame dressing & deep fried gyozas $35.00

Dishes were presented nicely in bento boxes & both mains came with Miso Soups. Fish were fresh & enjoyed by my son. We found the chicken karaage to be a tad dry & were heavily crumbed. The Sukiyaki Beef was OK but could have been seasoned better.

I requested for both chili powder & wasabi & was advised that there will be an extra $1 charge for each. What they gave us were generous.

A nice venue for a quick, easy dining. Casual & within the Claremont Quarter...

We came and ordered the pork belly skewer, unagi sushi, unagi fried rice, and chicken yaki soba.

Here’s my honest thought on why I gave 2 stars:

FOOD: The pork belly skewer and unagi sushi were tasty and tender.. definitely the highlight. But the unagi fried rice was bland, overly oily, and only had a few small pieces of unagi. We couldn’t finish it, it’s just too greasy. The photo shows it all.

The yaki soba was slightly better, but still very oily and only a few chicken. Portions for both were generous, but the taste didn’t match the price.

ATMOSPHERE: The space was very tight and noisy. Tables were packed closely together, only one person could pass through the pathway. It felt a bit uncomfortable.

STAFF: Staff were friendly and the service was fast, which we appreciated.

Hope they improve the food balance and reduce the oil. We won’t return anytime soon, but might come back in the future if...

apparently the restaurant wants to portrait itself as an upscaled Japanese dine-in restaurant, the only way they successfully did it was through the pricing. takoyaki was “warm” inside, I recon it was a result of microwave cooking process. the beef in the beef udon was dry and soup tasted pre-made and diluted with hot water. gyoza was 100% frozen and reheated. prepackaged ginger and wasabi appalling service that asking whether we want a green tea or sparking water, without mentioning tab water. (Green tea is a tea bag green tea)

I have no issues with none of the above if it were a take away sushi joint...