Raijin — Restaurant in District of Belconnen

A gem of a find far from the Rising Sun! I frankly did not expect to find a great dining experience tucked in McKellar.

The only commercial establishment opened on a Saturday evening, with fiends who recommended a visit, we were quite open to what we will expect.

Once inside the restaurant, a simple and basic Japanese decor greeted us, with a Japanese TV channel on the television. Two waitresses greeted us warmly. There was already a family dining there, this was just after 6pm on Saturday.

We browsed through the menu in English, assisted with photos ad description of the wide varieties of dishes.

We did not take too long to decide on what we liked. It was almost 6.30pm and with just 2 tables amongst the 9 tables available we wondered if the visit was a good idea!

By then almost 5 tables were taken

We ordered a wide variety of dishes and as we had intended to share which would give us a wider range of testing the food without being limited to a small selections.

On the subject of sharing/trying out dishes , surprising the serves were very generous in size.

Food came pretty quickly served by two friendly waitress. As the dishes looks great, so pictures before consumption! Some dishes were not photographed, after I started to salivate....My personal dish was the roasted pork ramen. The generous serve of pork was well spiced and tender, not overwhelmingly,just right. Soup base is very comparable to the framed Mutekiva in Japan.

Dessert was very welcoming to end a great feast. We ordered red beans paste ( I cannot recalled the dish!) But it was smooth and not overwhelmingly sweet. Great end to night of authentic Japanese food afar from Japan. Cost were very reasonable

Seeing is...

After hearing amazing things about this little hidden gem for years, we finally got the chance to check it out! I had heard amazing things about their ramen as well so was keen to try as I’m on a mission to try all of Canberra’s ramen.

Service was lovely. The waitress was great at taking our order, accommodating changes, answering our questions and providing recommendations and taking our photo!

What a great menu! So many things to choose from. We ended up ordering takoyaki, eggplant tempura, avocado and salmon sushi rolls, the Char Suki Ramen and black sesame ice cream.

We also just walked in for Saturday lunch and they were pretty busy so it was great to see a local restaurant garnering so much support. We also loved the decor and how unassuming the place looked. It was super cozy with lots of parking in the middle of McKellar.

Now in terms of the actual food - we loved the Takoyaki, the sushi rolls, the eggplant tempura and the black sesame ice cream (although I didn’t think the icing/powdered sugar on top was needed as it actually interfered with the black sesame taste); but personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ramen. And I appreciate that this is totally a preference! I loved how generous the portion was and how they gave us chilli powder on the side but I wasn’t a massive fan of the broth itself.

In saying that, we’ll definitely be back to try other options on the menu including other entrees, the curries, desserts...

I am Japanese and have lived in Canberra for over 20 years, I recently went to this place for the first time and now understand why no one has recommended it to me. I believe that if it were run by Japanese people, it wouldn’t be like this. This is just my perspective, so I apologise if it offends anyone.

I tried the Sashimi Don, but I was disappointed. The fish was served in small pieces, which, in my opinion, does not qualify as "sashimi" in the Japanese sense. The rice was also clumped together and difficult to eat. The portion size was also more suited for a tray.

There was no soy sauce dispenser; the initial serving of soy sauce in a small dish was insufficient. When I asked for more, they provided another small dish, but I would have preferred a soy sauce dispenser for convenience.

While paying and leaving, I noticed staff members doing paperwork at a table in the dining area. Given my dissatisfaction with the meal, their attitude stood out to me.

Overall, I think it’s best to approach this place with the mindset of a food court rather than a restaurant. However, the prices are more in line with a proper restaurant, and the service and presentation do not meet typical restaurant...