Ichikuro — Restaurant in Melbourne

This is a good place if you have too much money but nowhere to spend.

Me, my wife and my three-year-old daughter spent 141$ total, but I am not even half full. This price is just not reasonable; the portion is just a scam. We ordered a 59$ set, which included wagyu ribs, wagyu loin, OX tongue, chicken thigh, and pork belly. It sounds good, correct? But when it comes to the table, I am shocked because each kind of beef only has 4 thin slices of meat. Can you believe that (about 15-20$ if you order separately)? OK, I know Wagyu is expensive, but if you spend 80-100$, you can get a whole kg of lower level of Wagyu from a meat shop. About the chicken (12$ if you order separately), guess what? There are only 5-6 dice in a 2cm size. I think the total weight for this 59$ set is even less than 200g, including the chicken.

And at the end, when I paid the bill, the genius lady wanted to give me 2 of 50C, 1 of 2$ and 5 of 1$. I said I could not hold so many coins in my wallet. Can I have that 5$ note? Finally, I need to thank this restaurant. I never felt I was living in such a rich community. So, after I arrived home, I cooked another ribeye I bought from the supermarket.

If you want to eat Wagyu beef, go to Bunnings, spend $ 45$ to buy a Charcoal Grill and char and go to an Australian butcher store. You can use 60-80$ to get two whole pieces of...

Was excited to come here but left extremely disappointed and hungry.... we got two sets of meat thinking it’d be plenty for 4 to eat. Turns out, each set comes with only a few slices of meat each.

Take for example the Kagoshima tasting set. $75. For 6 slices of meat. Not to mention they’re thin slices. That’s more than $10 per slice... sure they tasted good, but not worth $10 a piece.

Same thing with tasting set D. $99. 4 different cuts of meat and only 3 pieces each.

Other menu items are similar. Vegetable platters and lettuce platters worth $15 each but you only get a small plate of veggies. Korean bbq restaurants are more generous with this, some giving out a big plate of lettuce and veggies for free to accompany meat.

All in all, spent $250 for two meat sets, two veggie platters, drinks (non alcoholic) and a couple bowls rice.

I don’t get why this place has so many 5 star reviews. Sure the ambience and vibe is great and seems like a true authentic Japanese restaurant, but you’re not getting your moneys worth here at all. Better off going to Marble Yakiniku in Glen or Wagyu Ya/Niku Ou where the sets are similarly priced and you get waaaayy more meat in a set and feel satisfied leaving with a full stomach.

edit: looking at older reviews now and it seems like they used to be more generous with meat servings. Wonder...

Going out for Japanese food in Melbourne is like going on a mission. Not all are authentic and delicious.

After spending years living in Japan, moving back to Melbourne I was on the hunt for the best Japanese food in Melbourne.

Through social media, Ichikuro BBQ popped up, and by far, it is the best Yakiniku in Melbourne.

Atmosphere, size of restaurant, food and drinks, it brings me back to my weekly yakiniku session whilst living in Japan.

Since finding out bout the restaurant in June, I have been here a total of 5 times and it never disappoints.

Thick cut ox tongue, “ハラミ”, spicy cold noodles and unagi don is always a go to order. If you do like Unagi (eel), Ichikuro does the best unagi don in Melbourne. The taste is the same as I would get in the Unagi capital of Japan, Nagano Prefecture.

Yes, people complain portion is small, but Ichikuro brings the atmosphere and vibes of Japan, to Blackburn. The portions you get here are the same portions you would get in Japan.

Booking in advanced is recommended, and after talking to the owner in Japanese, the meat is also...